I Love Rome is the pink hop-on hop-off bus you see outside Termini and, less obviously, the brand under which Carrani Tours sells its day trips from Rome. It suits anyone who wants a bus loop on the city day between two excursions, and anyone who wants a Pompeii or Capri day from a long-established coach company. Price level: low for the bus at €17.60, mid for the day trips from €69.30 for the Pompeii shuttle to €149 for Capri (prices checked regularly).
What I Love Rome actually is
The full name is Gray Line I Love Rome. It is the sightseeing brand of Carrani Tours, the Rome operator founded in 1925, which was appointed the Gray Line group's licensee for the city in 2014 according to both companies' sites. The retail site is graylinerome.com; the address iloverome.it, which is often quoted for the brand, resolved to a parked hosting page when we checked, so do not judge the company by it. Our Carrani Tours review has the corporate facts; this page is about what you can buy.
Company presence in the city is real: an office at Via Solferino 17 next to Termini (open from 06:30 daily according to the hop-on page), a visitors centre at Via Rusticucci 4A near St Peter's Square, a store at Via Solferino 15/19, and staff in pink-branded shirts at the published meeting points.
The hop-on hop-off bus
One route, pink open-top double-deckers, audio commentary in 12 languages plus a children's track in English and Italian, free Wi-Fi, medium-size pets allowed. The official itinerary runs Termini, Santa Maria Maggiore, Circo Massimo and the Mouth of Truth, Piazza Venezia, the Vatican with Castel Sant'Angelo, the Spanish Steps and Piazza Barberini for the Trevi Fountain. The page states that the Colosseum archaeological area stop is closed until further notice, so you walk to the Colosseum from Circo Massimo or Piazza Venezia.
Hours from the official page: buses leave Termini (stop 1) from 08:30, last departure 18:40 in the April-to-early-November season and 17:40 in winter. Tickets: daily, half day (4 hours from first stamping), 24, 48 and 72 hours from first stamping, and a single non-stop run. You may change the date within 24 hours of the original; unused tickets are not refunded once expired.
Same trip, platforms compared
Prices refreshed from the GetYourGuide, Tiqets and Headout feeds.
| Platform | Price | Rating | Duration | Cancellation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TiqetsI Love Rome: Hop-on Hop-off Panoramic Bus Tour | €22 Lowest price | ★ 4.2 (513) | — | — | Book on Tiqets |
| HeadoutI Love Rome: Rome Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour | €22 | ★ 4.3 (1,788) | 24 h | Free cancellation | Book on Headout |
GetYourGuide sells what the supplier page calls the same product under the title "Hop-on Hop-off Sightseeing Bus Tour with Audioguide" at €17.60 with a 4.1 rating from more than 5,000 reviews; Tiqets and Headout list it at the same price with ratings of 4.2 and 4.3. For the ticket maths (24 hours versus 48 hours around a day trip) use the hop-on hop-off page; the short version is that a 24-hour ticket stamped at 15:00 covers the next morning too.
Day trips from Rome under the I Love Rome name
The out-of-Rome catalogue on graylinerome.com listed 33 items when we read it. The ones that also appear on GetYourGuide, at prices that matched the direct site within a euro:
Three formats to understand before you pick:
- Pompeii is sold as a shuttle with options ("Rome to Pompeii: Tour Options and Shuttle", €69.30) rather than as a fixed guided day. You buy the coach and choose whether to add the guide and ticket. It is cheaper than the guided coach days on the Pompeii page and it gives you the ruins at your own pace, but you must book the nominative Pompeii ticket yourself if you take the transfer-only option.
- Tivoli is a five-hour day with both villas, €118.80, with hotel pick-up available as an option. Compare it with the Tivoli day trip alternatives and with the Cotral bus if you only want Villa d'Este.
- Capri, Amalfi, Venice, Florence are train-based or train-plus-ferry days at €130.50 to €261; these are the long days where a coordinator on the train earns the fee.
The practical detail
Meeting points. Lettered and mapped on the official site: A is the visitors centre at Via Rusticucci 4A, B Piazza del Risorgimento, C the Arch of Constantine, E Viale Vaticano 100, F Largo Argentina, G Piazza della Minerva. Arrive 15 minutes early. The exact point for your booking is on the voucher.
Cancellation. The hop-on page says fully refundable up to 24 hours in advance; the day-trip listings show free cancellation, with attraction tickets excluded once issued.
Complaints. The terms ask for any complaint within 15 days of the service date.
Traffic. The company warns that road closures and events cause last-minute route changes on the bus; on a Sunday with a race or a papal event, expect gaps.
Booking direct or on a platform
For the bus, the price is the same everywhere we looked, so choose by cancellation terms and by which app you already have: Tiqets and Headout both carry it, GetYourGuide too. For the day trips, GetYourGuide prices matched graylinerome.com and add a review feed, so we default to the platform; book direct if you want the Termini office as a physical fallback.
Verdict
Among Rome's hop-on brands, I Love Rome has the best platform ratings we could find (4.1 to 4.3 across three platforms) and the most transparent published information: hours, stops, ticket rules and a closed-stop notice, all on one page. One route and no Colosseum stop are the limits. The day trips are Carrani coaches and trains at fair prices, with the Pompeii shuttle a useful cheaper format for people who want the ruins without a guide. Compare with Green Line if the cheapest bus ticket matters more than the rating.