Which Omnia Card to buy
The Omnia sells in three versions. All three cover the Vatican Museums. They differ on what else you get.
Omnia Vatican and Rome Pass (72 hours)
The full three-day card. It covers the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, the open-top bus, St John Lateran and the Mamertine Prison, and it adds a Roma Pass: two free entries including the Colosseum, plus three days of metro and buses.
Fast-track into the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum, then take in the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and a set of audio walks. It’s fully digital and valid for a year, with no Roma Pass or transport and nothing to collect.
One day, built around the Vatican: the Museums, the open bus and two smaller sites. There is no Roma Pass, so no Colosseum and no transport. It is non-refundable.
Highlights
Tickets & Prices
The three cards suit different trips.
- Omnia Vatican and Rome Pass (72 hours). The full card, with the Roma Pass and city transport.
- Omnia Smart. Digital, valid a year: the Vatican and the Colosseum, no transport.
- Omnia Vatican card (24 hours). One day, the Vatican and the bus, no Roma Pass.
The 72-hour and 24-hour cards are printed passes. You collect them at an office in Rome on the confirmation email, and if your Vatican slot is the same day, get there an hour before. The Smart card is digital, so there is nothing to collect. The 24-hour and Smart cards are non-refundable, so pick your dates carefully.
For the Vatican and the Colosseum without a bus or a transport card, the Rome Tourist Card covers them on separate timed tickets.
What’s included in the Omnia Card
The 72-hour card is two passes in one packet, and it helps to keep them apart.
- The Omnia pass is the Vatican side. It gets you skip-the-line entry to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, the open-top bus, St John Lateran and the Mamertine Prison, and a set of audio walks on your phone. St Peter’s Basilica comes with an audio guide. The security line to get in is one no pass skips.
- The Roma Pass is the rest of Rome, and it is adults only. It covers two free entries from a list of more than forty sites, the Colosseum and Roman Forum among them, reduced entry after that, and three days of metro and buses.
How the Omnia Card works
How long the Omnia Card lasts
The 72-hour card holds two passes, and each runs its own 72 hours from the first time you use it. You can start the Vatican side one day and the Roma Pass the next, and they expire separately.
The 24-hour card runs 24 hours from first use. The Smart card is valid for a year, used whenever you like.
Collecting and using your card
- You collect the 72-hour and 24-hour cards at an office in Rome, on the confirmation email. The Smart card is digital, with nothing to collect.
- The audio guides play through an app you download first.
- The Colosseum works differently. You pick up its ticket at the Mamertine Prison, showing ID, before you go to the Colosseum itself.
- The Omnia and the Roma Pass are two separate passes bundled together. Guidebooks often say the Omnia alone covers everything the Roma Pass does. It doesn’t.
Omnia Card vs Roma Pass vs the Rome Tourist Card
- The Omnia bundles the Vatican Museums with a Roma Pass and city transport, so one purchase gets you both. Over a standalone Roma Pass, the extra mostly pays for the Vatican Museums entry, the open bus and a few smaller sites.
- The Roma Pass on its own is cheaper. It gives you two free entries and the transport, but nothing at the Vatican and no bus. If you’re not doing the Vatican Museums, it’s the one to buy.
- The Rome Tourist Card is a set of separate timed tickets: the Vatican and the Colosseum, plus a city audio-guide app. It has no bus and no public transport. It suits people who want those two booked and don’t need a transport card.
Is the Omnia Card worth it?
The Omnia Card saves you time. On a three-day trip the tickets it covers come to a little under the price of the card, so you don’t save by buying it. The saving is in the queue. The Vatican Museums line can run over an hour in high season, and the card takes you past it. With the Roma Pass you go into the Colosseum through the group entrance, away from the main busy line.
That is worth paying for on a busy three-day trip when you’re doing both the Vatican and the Colosseum.
If the Vatican Museums aren’t on your plan, the Roma Pass on its own is cheaper and does the same. If you’re staying central and walking most places, you won’t use the transport. The Roma Pass side is adults only, so it seldom adds up for families. And with a disability you’re often let in free without queuing, so the card buys you little.
Insider Tips
- Book your Vatican Museums slot before you travel, and collect the card at least an hour before it.
- Add up the tickets you’d buy anyway before you decide. On a light trip the card costs more than booking direct.
- The Colosseum ticket is collected at the Mamertine Prison, with ID, before you go to the Colosseum.
- Use the open bus early in the day. The stops are mostly by the churches, and the posted times aren’t reliable.
- Staying central and happy to walk? Skip the card and buy what you want direct.
- For the Vatican and the Colosseum without transport, the digital Smart card is cheaper than the full pass and valid a year.
FAQs
What does the Omnia Card include?
The 72-hour card covers the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, the open bus, St John Lateran and the Mamertine Prison, plus a Roma Pass: two free entries, the Colosseum among them, and transport. The Smart card covers the Vatican and the Colosseum, digitally, with no Roma Pass or transport. The 24-hour card is the Vatican and the bus only.
Is the Omnia Card worth it?
It saves you time in the queues. On a busy three-day trip doing the Vatican and the Colosseum it’s worth it for skipping the lines. On a lighter trip, booking the tickets separately costs less.
Omnia Card vs Roma Pass: which is better?
The Omnia if you want the Vatican and a transport card in one purchase. The Roma Pass on its own if you’re not doing the Vatican, because it’s cheaper and still covers two free entries and transport.
How long is the Omnia Card valid?
The 72-hour card is two passes, each valid 72 hours from its own first use, so they can run on different days. The 24-hour card lasts a day. The Smart card is valid for a year.
Does the Omnia Card include the Colosseum?
The 72-hour card does, through the Roma Pass, and you collect the Colosseum ticket at the Mamertine Prison first. The Smart card includes it too. The 24-hour card doesn’t.
How much is the Omnia Card?
Prices are on the booking options above. The 72-hour card costs the most and the 24-hour the least, with the Smart card in between.