Ostia Antica from Rome by Train: Tickets, Hours and BIT

Getting there on the Metromare

The line Cotral now markets as the Metromare is the old Roma–Lido railway; Cotral's own service charter calls it "Metromare/Roma-Lido". It runs between Porta San Paolo and Cristoforo Colombo, and Ostia Antica is one of its stations.

Roma Mobilità lists Ostiense station as an interchange with metro B at Piramide and the Roma–Lido line, so from the centre you ride metro B to Piramide and change to the Metromare at Porta San Paolo (Roma Mobilità lines page, checked 12 October 2026).

Cotral's 2026 service charter describes the 2025 service as running from 5:15 to 23:30, "net of" closures for modernisation works, and it plans earlier weekday closures for the 2026 works, so go by the current notice on the Metromare page. Neither Cotral nor Roma Mobilità publishes a journey time or frequency on the pages checked.

Which ticket works on the train

• BIT, €1.50, 100 minutes. ATAC's BIT page lists Metromare among the urban railways where the BIT is valid, and Cotral's ticket page confirms the BIT on the Metromare for journeys within the Comune di Roma. Validate it at the start of the journey.
• Tap & Go. ATAC's Tap & Go page says contactless payment works on the Cotral-run Roma–Lido and Roma–Viterbo (urban section) lines where stations have entry gates. Each tap is charged as a BIT, and the sixth BIT in 24 hours is charged as an €8.50 Roma 24-hour ticket. It covers one person per card. For ticket checks on board the Roma–Lido trains, ATAC says you need its Tap & Go app, which runs only on Android phones with NFC; if you cannot use it, a paper BIT avoids the question.
• Passes. Cotral's ticket page lists the Roma 24-hour ticket for journeys within the Comune di Roma but, unlike the BIT, does not name the Metromare for it, so a BIT or Tap & Go is the safest choice.

Sample cost for two adults: four BITs (€6) plus two €18 site tickets comes to €42. A family with two children under 18 pays the same €36 in entry, plus transit for each person.

For the rules on validating paper tickets and the fines, see Rome metro and bus tickets.

Opening hours and closed days

The Scavi di Ostia open at 8:30 Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays, and close at a time that depends on the season (park visitor page, last modified 25 March 2026, checked 12 October 2026):

The ticket office also closes an hour before the site. The park is closed on Mondays and 25 December.

The Museo Ostiense inside the site keeps shorter hours: it opens at 9:30 from April to 24 October and at 10:30 from 25 October to March, with last entry 15:00 in winter. It is always closed on the first Sunday of the month and on the ministry's other free days (25 April, 2 June and 4 November).

Tickets and free entry

The park sells one integrated ticket at €18, valid for 8 consecutive days at all of the park's archaeological sites and museums. EU citizens aged 18–25 pay €2. Audio guides cost €7 (long route) or €5 (short route or kids). Prices may rise during temporary exhibitions.

Under-18s enter free at state museums and archaeological areas under the ministry's concessions page; children under 12 must be accompanied. On the first Sunday of the month entry to all park sites is free, with no booking, according to the park's home page.

Buy at the ticket office (cash or card), online through the park's CoopCulture link, or in the Musei Italiani app.

When to go, and when to switch plans

A weekday morning avoids the Monday closure and the early winter closing. From 25 October the last entry is 15:30, so leave Rome by late morning at the latest. If you have only one free day and want a bigger site, compare the Pompeii day trip by train, which needs a fast train and a named, timed ticket.