Rome on €37/Day: Colosseum, Vatican and Pantheon
Rome’s three main sights cost €48 per person. We kept the rest to €36.94/day:
TRIP STATS
- DAILY RATE: €36.94 (per person)
- SLEEP: Hostel
- BY: Public Transit
- PEOPLE: 2
- DAYS: 5
- TOTAL: €369.40
- CURRENCY: Euro (€)
- DATE: February 2025
- ROUTE: Rome
- TOOLS: Booking.com, Lidl
| ITEM | COST (2P) | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Stay | €187.40 | 5 nights in a hostel. €117.40 + €70 city tax. €18.74/night per person |
| Transit | €12.00 | Metro and public buses |
| Food | €74.00 | €7.40/day per person. Shopped at Lidl. Cooked in the hostel |
| Sights | €96.00 | Per person: €18 – Colosseum (+Roman Forum) €5 – Pantheon €25 – Vatican Museums (Sistine Chapel) |
| TOTAL | €369.40 | 5 days at €36.94/day per person |
Getting There
Flying
We flew from Larnaca, Cyprus with Wizz Air for €28 – small carry-on only. Arrived in Rome Fiumicino (FCO). From the airport, the cheapest way to the center is taking a blue Cotral bus to EUR Magliana, where you connect to Metro Line B into the center. Around €4 total.
Both Ryanair and Wizz Air fly to Fiumicino for under €20 – flexible dates, small bag only. Destinations include Spain, Greece, France, Poland, the UK, the Netherlands, and most of Europe. Search Skyscanner with flexible date search. Rome Ciampino (CIA) – closer to the center – also has budget flights, but the selection is smaller.
Bus
After Rome we went to Naples on Itabus for €5. Rome was the first stop on a 23-day trip – full overview: Southern Italy & Malta on €31/Day.
Itabus and FlixBus compete aggressively on Italian routes, which keeps prices low. Compare both on Omio, but book directly to save €1–€2 on each trip. Always search Google for promo codes before buying. 10–20% discounts are easy to find.
Getting Around
Metro and public buses. Total for two over 5 days: €12.00.
Single BIT ticket is €1.50 – valid 100 minutes, covers metro and buses. Tap a contactless card directly at the gates, no paper ticket needed.
Rome’s center is walkable for most sights. Transit was useful for a couple of longer trips.
Accommodation
Zidan Guest House. 4/5. Surprisingly comfortable and very peaceful. Good location – close to the center but not in a busy area. Social atmosphere. Kitchen is fine but closes at night.
Booked on Booking.com. 5 nights at €117.40, plus €70 tourist tax in cash (€7 per person per night). Total: €187.40.
The tourist tax in Rome is €4–€10 per person per night depending on accommodation type and location. On a budget stay it’s a significant add-on.
To find the cheapest offers, use Booking.com, sort by “Price (lowest first)” and filter to “Good: 7+” to cut the bad listings.
Food
€74 for two over five days. €7.40/day per person.
One grocery run at Lidl at the start of the stay, then cooked in the hostel. We also picked up €1–€2 pizza slices from Conad when we didn’t cook.
Sights
Rome is the one place where paid sights are hard to avoid. €48 per person covers the three main ones.
- Colosseum + Roman Forum – €18 per person.
- Pantheon – €5 per person.
- Vatican Museums (+ Sistine Chapel) – €25 per person.
Colosseum: Book at least 2 weeks ahead off-season. In high season, 30–60 days.
Pantheon: You can buy tickets on the same day, but booking ahead skips the queue.
Vatican Museums: Includes the Sistine Chapel. Book well in advance – it sells out.
EU Residents Aged 18-25: All Italian state-run sights cost €2. That’s Colosseum, Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo – €16 savings on the Colosseum alone. The Vatican Museums don’t qualify. They’re in the Vatican, not Italy, technically out of the EU.
Free Entry – First Sunday: Italian state sights (Colosseum, Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo) are free on the first Sunday of each month. No booking – queue only. Gets crowded early. If you want to save, factor in the wait.
Vatican Museums Free Day: Last Sunday of the month. Saves €25. Opening hours are reduced and it gets very crowded. Arrive by around 7am to queue.
Papal Mass: Free. Sunday mornings at St. Peter’s Square. No ticket needed, just show up. We attended in February 2025 – one of Pope Francis’s last public appearances before he passed away in April 2025. Worth planning a day around if you’re there on a Sunday.
Largo di Torre Argentina: Free from street level. Ancient Republican-era ruins below the square, with a large cat colony living among them. Julius Caesar was assassinated here. You can see everything without paying – the ruins sit open below you. Paid entry (€5) gets you down into the site.
Via Appia Antica: Free. One of Rome’s oldest roads, lined with tombs and ruins for several kilometers out of the city. Quiet, mostly locals walking and cycling. Take bus 118 from Circus Maximus metro to reach it. When you’ve had enough, buses back run along the road – check Google Maps for the nearest stop.
Season
The lowest season is mid-January to February. That’s my recommendation. We went at the beginning of February. Accommodation is cheaper, the main sights are not too packed, and the city is noticeably quieter.
High season runs April–October. The city gets crazy with tourists and in the summer the heat is unbearable. Book the Colosseum 30–60 days ahead if you’re going in peak months.
Practical
Currency
Euro (€). Cards are accepted almost everywhere in Rome. If you’re coming from a non-Euro country, Revolut works well for foreign currency payments – note the 1% weekend markup on currency exchange.
SIM
Italy is covered by EU Roam Like at Home rules. If you have a European SIM, no extra charges.
If you don’t have one, check eSIMDB, filter by data needed, trip length, and sort by price.
Lyca Mobile Italy runs eSIM-based promos for €6/month – worth checking their site before buying anything else.
Language
Italian. English is widely understood in tourism, hospitality and among younger people.
A few useful phrases: buongiorno – good morning/good day, ciao – hi/bye, grazie – thank you.
Tips Summary
- Airport Transfer: Skip the €14 train. Take the Cotral bus to EUR Magliana, then Metro Line B into the center. €4 total.
- Flights: Ryanair and Wizz Air fly to Fiumicino for under €20. Flexible dates Skyscanner search, small bag only.
- Bus Between Cities: Compare Itabus and FlixBus on Omio, then book directly to save €1–€2. Search Google for promo codes before buying – 10% discounts are easy to find.
- Transit: BIT ticket is €1.50, valid 100 minutes, covers metro and buses. Tap a contactless card directly at the gates.
- Accommodation: Search Booking.com, sort by “Price (lowest first)”, filter to “Good: 7+”. Always check the tourist tax – in Rome it’s €4–€10 per person per night on top of the room rate.
- Food: One grocery run at Lidl, cook in the hostel.
- Pizza: Some local spots can get as cheap as €5 per pizza.
- Colosseum: Book at least 2 weeks ahead off-season, 30–60 days in high season.
- EU Residents Aged 18-25: Italian state sights cost €2. Saves €16 on the Colosseum alone.
- Free Entry – First Sunday: Colosseum, Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo are free on the first Sunday of each month. Queue only – gets crowded early.
- Vatican Free Day: Last Sunday of the month. Saves €25. Arrive by 7am.
- Via Appia Antica: Free ancient road with ruins and tombs. Take bus 118 from Circus Maximus metro. Bus back runs along the road – check Google Maps for the nearest stop.
- Season: Go mid-January to February. Cheaper accommodation, thinner crowds, cooler temperatures.
The Budget System
I keep daily travel costs under €20–€30 using two methods:
● €3/Day Rental Car Guide
● Sleeping in Rental Cars
One week of travel cost me less than a day of work in Australia.
