Sites in Rome - Tour or no tour?

I don't think a formal tour is necessary for the Colosseum or the Forum. You can download the Rick Steves Audio Europe App which has walking tours of both.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-europe

I have taken the Underground/Third Tier tour of the Colosseum and thought it was good. You get to go below the "floor" of the Colosseum and you also get to go the top. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable.

We did it (not third ring or underground) on our own with their rented audioguides and our own guidebooks, and it worked fine for us.

I think tours are good if they give you something you can't do on your own, such as the underground tour at the Colosseum or the early morning tours of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, etc.. Also, when you don't have a lot of time in a city, tours can make your sightseeing time more efficient. Those are generally worth it, as long as the cost is not prohibitive. Otherwise I do enjoy wandering around places on my own with a guidebook or recorded tour so I can control how much time I spend at the different sights. Sometimes it just depends on whether you just want to see a sight and explore a little vs wanting to delve deeper into the history and details of the who, what, why, when, where of a particular sight. Neither way is right or wrong and only you can decide which category you fall into for a particular place - sometimes one, sometimes the other.

You will get lots of different viewpoints on this...so here is mine. I spend my precious vacation days and money going to Rome, so I intend to get the most out of my visit to these ancient sites. We booked tours with Walks of Italy for the Colosseum, Forum and palatine hill and we are so happy we did. It was an efficient use of our time, we learned so much, had special skip the line access, access to the underground and another top tier with incredible views. Our guide pointed out ruins that, if not properly explained, would have gone unnoticed by us. We had plenty of time to wonder around on our own and plenty of time left in the day to do whatever. I also like tours because they give us a structure to our day and getting there is also an experience. We met other travelers, had some laughs and we still talk about the tours we took in Roma. Another great walking tour is a food tour (eatingitaly.com)

You'll definitely get the whole range of answers to this question. But you missed the most important one..... What do you want to get out of your Rome experience? What do you want to do and see? I'm sure you have some idea about what are "must sees" for you or your group. Use that as a starting point.

That being said, if the Vatican Museums is on the list a tour is a must. I'd also recommend a Jewish Roma tour. Beyond that, book a tour if it gets you places you can't get to otherwise or if the cost offsets the limited time you have in the city. Personally, I did a lot of research ahead of time and knew exactly what I wanted to see and do. I saw the Coliseum but didn't have the desire to do the underground tour (which many rave about) because the standard admission was enough for me.

the other consideration is, how do you like to travel? Are you OK with following like ducklings behind a tour guide who may be moving faster or slower than you like, and showing you things that either fascinate or bore you? Or would you rather use a book like Rick's that lays out walking tours that you DIY, or follow along on an iPod? You might try reading Rick's book and seeing if you think that is how you want to do this.

The only place I would say a guided tour would be critical to maximize your time would be a Vatican tour; otherwise you would be fine without as long as you read about the location before you arrived or downloaded a guide. Another site that we really enjoyed was exploring Ostia Antica. You can also enjoy several of the main sites during an evening stroll, ending with a gelato or drink.

The only place I would say a guided tour would be critical to maximize your time would be a Vatican tour; otherwise you would be fine without as long as you read about the location before you arrived or downloaded a guide. Another site that we really enjoyed was exploring Ostia Antica. You can also enjoy several of the main sites during an evening stroll, ending with a gelato or drink.

Thank you for all of the wonderful suggestions and tips, it's much appreciated! I was wondering though, as people have said if you download Rick's audio guides to your phone, then you are using data which is super expensive. Thoughts on that?

No, you load Rick's audio guides onto your phone before you leave home. Delete when done.

Folks here have posted a lot of useful info already and I'll offer my own without it being to specific to a particular destination.

If it's a city or place I am relatively familiar with myself - by my own research, podcasts, books, etc. - I'll skip on the tours. If it's something I feel like I need to see but am not that psyched to see - I'll skip on the tours. Would a tour make it more interesting if I am borderline? Absolutely. But if it's something that requires reservations, a certain time frame, or is double-triple the cost of entry I'm likely not going to be swayed.

Now, if it's a place I am really excited about and, regardless of my own knowledge or research, I'll snag a tour so long as it doesn't require me to set an alarm (within reason). What I mean by that is I often don't know when I might run across something that deserves more attention or a part of town I want to keep exploring so I don't like being locked into timed reservations.

If it's a place that I know how a lot of history that interests me and i don't know enough about it to do it justice - I'll do the tour! If it's a destination that is large in scale and requires some logistical planning to get to - I'll book a tour!

I don't believe I have yet done a tour in Rome. But, that's because I know quite a bit about it, read and read on the way there to see what I've missed, and have easily accessible resources on my phone (maps, anecdotes, audio guides...thanks, Rick!). Spain and France - I'm not nearly as learned there so I rely more on tours to at least become acclimated and then focus in on what I enjoy most on my own.