Rome Open Top Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Buses

A Comparison Of The Leading Operators In Rome - Which One To Choose

Roma Cristiana Rome City HOHO Sightseeing OPen Top Tour Bus

Roma Cristiana HOHO Rome Sightseeing Bus

At the moment there are no less than seven hop on, hop off tour (HOHO) sightseeing buses operating daily in Rome.


Six of the seven HOHO buses offer a very similar product and perhaps as a result there is a lot of competitive marketing activity. No doubt you will be approached by a tout, especially around places like Termini station. The last thing you want to be is hustled into a hop on hop off tour by a tout that loiters around the main pick up points or purchase the tour from your hotel or agent pushing the tour paying most commission.


HoHo Tour Bus Overview
Roma Cristiana Bus
Open Tour Bus
Battelli di Roma Boat
Private Car Tours

This page attempts to explain the basics so the Rome Hop on Hop Off tour you choose is an informed choice.

Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Buses & Ticketing

All the operators use very similar double deck open top buses.Each passenger will get a disposable audio device for commentary along the way with a choice of at minimum 8 languages. Most buses have their first bus departing Termini at 08:30 or 09:00 with the last bus leaving at 18:00 or soon after finishing around 20:00.


On Sundays there are often road closures that may affect routes and availability of stops to all operators.


Most operators will sell you a ticket of 24 or 48 hours duration from the time you start. Ciao Roma sell tickets based on calendar days.


If you have kids its worth looking at age bands for child fares, the different operators have significant differences in rules for age bands for children.

Some operators offer a heavily discounted ticket where you cannot do the hopping on and off, you just stay on the bus for one lap of the route.

Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Buses & Comparative Routes Around Rome

All the operators use very similar double deck open top buses. Each passenger will get a disposable audio device for commentary along the way with a choice of at minimum 8 languages. Most buses have their first bus departing Termini at 08:30 or 09:00 with the last bus leaving at 18:00 or soon after finishing around 20:00.


Apart from the Archeobus, all the rival HOHO operators operate a very similar core route around the main Rome sights. Only the Ciao Roma buses do not start their journeys at or visit Termini Station the main transport hub for the city of Rome.

The main difference in route for operators covers the northern eastern part of the city. After leaving the Vatican the buses differ slightly on how they get over to the Spanish Steps area. It only really matters if the Villa Borghese is a must see stop for you, not all operators stop near here.

The streets around main attractions in the ancient city area are far too narrow for the sightseeing buses, so for the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and Pantheon there is a short walk from the nearest bus stop.

The Various Operators Of Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Buses In Rome

There are seven operators in Rome currently offering hop on, hop off sightseeing buses. Below we list the operators and a little about them. We go into detail of the two most popular bus lines Open tour and Roma Cristiana that in our view offer the best solution for most visitors, critically frequency of buses.


Roma Cristiana Bus

One of the main operators. In addition to 24 hour and 48 hour tickets for the core hop on hop off service, Roma Cristiana also offer walking tours of the Vatican and St Peter's so you can get most out of your visit and also offer combo tickets for up to 3 days that include Rome's public transport as well as the Roma Cristiana Sightseeing Bus.

More Information & Ticketing Of Roma Cristiana


Open Tour Bus

A choice of a 24 or 48 hours ticket with which to make use of the 17 stops. English and Italian speaking host onboard each bus to assist with any queries as well as audio guides in 6 different languages.
April to October. If you purchase the 48 hour bus ticket, you also have the option to add a 24 hour hop-on hop-off Rome cruise

More Information & Ticketing Of Open Tour


City Sightseeing Bus

48 hours tickets only with two slightly different routes each with around 12 stops. audio guides in 6 different languages.
Frequencies much less than Open Tour and Roma Cristiana above.
A audio walking guide is also available to purchase on board so you can experience informed commentary on the sights as you walk around.
10% discount on other HoHo city hop on hop off bus tours in Italy run by City Sightseeing.


110 Open Bus

24 hour tickets only with around 12 stops. audio guides in 8 different languages.
110 Open Bus has a reduced non-stop ticket where you do not get off the bus, you just tour the city on the approximately 2 hour circuit of the main sights.
Also available is a 48 hour combo ticket twinning 110 Open Bus with the Archeobus bus detailed below.
With the Open 110 ticket, you also enjoy reduced entrance fees for many museums throughout Rome, (but not the blockbuster ones a first time visitor has at the top of their lists).


Green Line Tour

24 hour or 48 hour tickets only with the usual 12/13 stop, 2 hour tour and audio guide.
On paper comparatively not the greatest value with higher prices and less frequencies than most of the competitors in Rome offering almost identical product.
Only bundle available is the 24 hour ticket with lunch at Hard Rock Cafe.
The company operates a wide range of formal tours in Rome, but not of the hop on. hop off sightseeing format.


Ciao Roma Tour

24 hour or 48 hour tickets only with the usual 12 stop, 2 hour tour and audio guide in 13 languages.
Comparatively less frequent than most of its competitors with buses 30 minutes apart.
The only HOHO bus that doesn't visit Termini Station, its office where the bus stops is about a 5 minute walk away.
Associated with Gray Line in America.


Archeobus Tour

The Archeobus is the odd one out of the tour buses in Rome. It ignores the main sights in the centre of Rome, Instead it makes its way through the city centre and then south of the city along the Park of Via Appia Antica. The Via Appia Antica is the old Roman Appian Way.
From Termini Station the bus also stops at the Colosseum, Roman Forum and the Baths of Caracalla before getting out to Via Appia Antica proper.


The standard ticket is valid on the day. If you were to stay on the bus for the entire loop, it would take approximately 1 hour 45 minutes.

There is also a 48 hour bundle deal where you can combine the Archeobus with the 110 Open Tour tour.

More Details About Visiting The Via Appia Antica & Archeobus