Get on the Bus by WheninRome
I personally found the Rome bus system to be a trifle intimidating at first. Especially since I live in an area where buses are not a common mode of transportation (though they should be!). However, once we got used to them the bus system came to be relatively easy to use and made the city a lot easier and quicker to get around.It was our third day in Rome by the time that we felt like we had the bus system mastered. I downloaded a map, link below, from the Metro system website, which showed the various routes and was extremely helpful. I printed a few out on 11"x17" paper and took them with us in case a couple were lost or destroyed.
For tickets, we purchased a Roma Pass on our first day (the bus/Metro ticket is good for 3 days after validation) and when that expired we purchased another 3-day bus/Metro transportation ticket (11 euros).
Everyone says to be extremely diligent about validating your tickets. I agree and we were, but I didn't see anyone have their tickets checked the entire week we were in Rome and I saw a lot of locals ignore the ticket requirements. However, I would not do that myself and wouldn't recommend it to another tourist.
