110open HOHO Bus Rome

[Alex71]

Anyone used the 120open HOHO bus in Rome? They seem to have the best rates and kids are free. Also, do you have to get on at the Termini station or can you already get on at he San Pietro stop, which seems a shorter train ride from the port?

 

Thanks!

[euro cruiser]

You can get on at any of the stops, and you can buy your ticket on the bus if you haven't purchased it ahead of time on line.

 

Just my opinion, which you didn't ask for but here it is anyway; unless you are mobility impaired a HOHO bus in Rome isn't a great idea. You waste a lot of time standing around waiting for the bus, and it can't get close to many major sites. Furthermore, Rome is fairly small and you can easily walk from place to place.

 

For what you would spend for even just two adults on the bus, you could get a couple of taxi rides to cover any longer distance (a mile or two) that you might need to travel in Rome.

 

That said, here's the information in English on the bus: http://www.trambusopen.com/en/110open.cfm

[Alex71]

Thank you, Euro Cruiser. Last time we were in Rome (8 years ago) we did a lot of walking and occasionally took the metro or a bus. The reason I'm considering a HOHO bus this time is that we have two small kids (5 and 7) and I'm fearing they will tire out at some point, so I was hoping we would be able to just ride around for a little while until they have enough energy to continue.

 

Any tips and recommendations you have for things that we could throw in the mix to keep the kids going would be much appreciated. We don't want to make the entire day about the kids though.

[euro cruiser]

Are you willing to use public transit (buses) with the kids? If so, you can do that with the BIRG ticket that covers both the round trip train ride (Civitavecchia to Rome and back) as well as mass transit in Rome. The public bus system is more direct than the HOHO if you're using it to get from point A to point B. If you are using more as a rest, the HOHO is a better choice.

 

It's hard to find a balance between the adult program and meeting kids needs on a port stop. Perhaps if you could identify the two or three things that the adults consider "must do" things in Rome, we could help you fill in with some kid-friendly things that would work.

 

Also, what day of the week will you be there?

 

Some things that have worked with our kids on various trips include:

* pedal carts in Villa Borghese

* playground at Pincio

* the tortoise fountain in the Ghetto area

* the Colosseum, especially when we had one of the books that show you a picture of what it looks like today, with an acetate overlay that lets them see what it would have looked like in its heyday.

* puppet show on Gianicolo hill (only on Sundays, however)

[Alex71]

Are you willing to use public transit (buses) with the kids? If so, you can do that with the BIRG ticket that covers both the round trip train ride (Civitavecchia to Rome and back) as well as mass transit in Rome. The public bus system is more direct than the HOHO if you're using it to get from point A to point B. If you are using more as a rest, the HOHO is a better choice.

 

It's hard to find a balance between the adult program and meeting kids needs on a port stop. Perhaps if you could identify the two or three things that the adults consider "must do" things in Rome, we could help you fill in with some kid-friendly things that would work.

 

Also, what day of the week will you be there?

 

Some things that have worked with our kids on various trips include:

* pedal carts in Villa Borghese

* playground at Pincio

* the tortoise fountain in the Ghetto area

* the Colosseum, especially when we had one of the books that show you a picture of what it looks like today, with an acetate overlay that lets them see what it would have looked like in its heyday.

* puppet show on Gianicolo hill (only on Sundays, however)

 

Thank you very much, Euro Cruiser, that's excellent advice. We'll visit Rome on Friday, January 4 as part of our New Year's cruise. I can imagine the kids will like the Colosseum. They were very impressed by Herculaneum when we stopped in Naples on our fall cruise three weeks ago. Thank you again for your advice on how to get there from the port, it all worked really well.

 

Just watched a Youtube video of the pedal cats, they look like someting the kids will enjoy.

 

My wife and I spent four days in Rome for a few years ago and back then visited all the must see sites. This time, we don't want to pack too much into our agenda and leave enough time to just take in the urban vibe and atmosphere. Of course, we will visit the Colosseum again, as it will complete the picture for the kids.

 

I think we will skip St. Peter's Basilica this time as I recall the line being rather long and I don't want the kids to start fussing while we are inside.

[euro cruiser]

There are lots of other impressive churches in Rome that you can walk through rather than St. Peter's. For sheer mass of decoration I like Gesu - try and find one square inch that hasn't been frescoed or in some other way decorated. It's almost anxiety-producing, there's so much to look at.

 

There are also a couple of lovely tiny churches located just a block away from one another - Sant'Andrea al Quirnale and San Carlo alle Quatre Fontane.

 

The Trevi Fountain is a must with kids, the sheer size of it is a nice contrast to the tiny Fontane delle Tartarughe (the tortoise fountain).

 

Let's try out a possible itinerary:

 

- Colosseum, followed by a quick walk through the Forum, exiting near Campidoglio

- Camidoglio, then down the Cordonata (we spent some time one day trying to imagine what it would have felt like to climb the Cordonata to visit the Capital ... what affect the structure would have on your mood as you approached ... a good conversation with the kids)

- Fontane delle Tartarughe

- If your kids like cats, the cat sanctuary at Area Sacra dell Argentina

- Gesu

- Trevi

- Spanish Steps (only because they are on the way to Villa Borghese)

- Villa Borghese (pedal carts) & Pincio

- Termini (for train back to Civitavecchia)

 

You'd probably be ready for lunch after Gesu and there are lots of options between there and Trevi.

 

There are plenty of places along the way where you could pick up a bus, but it's all so close you may not want/need to, other than getting from Villa Borghese back to Termini. At that point you would have a choice of either a bus or the metro (the Spagna stop has an entrance/exit from the park).

 

Do check into the pedal carts - they might not be available in January.

[Alex71]

This is perfect, thank you so much, really looking forward to this day! 1 hour and 20 minutes of walking over the course of the day will be perfectly managable for the kids, assuming we'll take the metro back to Termini.

 

Starting with the Colosseum will right away get their attention and ending the day (hopefully) with a treat will also be great. Again, thank you very much for putting this together for us!

[euro cruiser]

I just thought of something else we did when the kids were young - kind of like the license plate game while on a road trip, we had them keep track of all the animals they found in fountains or statues. Wolves, horses, tortoises, snakes, etc. There are dozens of them around Rome that you'll walk past, and it was a way to get them engaged when their interest started to fail.

[Alex71]

Excellent idea, that will definitely keep them moving!