I called the # in your book to reserve a tour at the Coliseum & Palatine Hill. I had trouble understanding the receptionist's English. On what days are English tours offered by the official office? Must I pay for the entrance ticket? May I use the Roma Pass with this booking?
Posted by
Dallas, TX, USA
1170 posts
I would take a tour through an outside tour company and skip the "official" tour. It sounds like a nightmare to me. I used "Context" on my last trip and while it was quite pricey, it was worth it to have someone who A. spoke the Queen's English, and B. knew what they were talking about.
Posted by
Boston, MA, USA
262 posts
we used Walks of Rome, they were outstanding and you can book online.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
You really don't need a guide for the colosseum as it's very well marked. I would try to find a guide for the forum and palatine hill. There are some good audio guides out there if you want to go that way. The ones I use are pocketvox.com. Their tour of the forum is very good and easy to follow. Donna
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7570 posts
It is worth noting for Ina's sake that the answers given on this forum are by posters like her, not provided by Rick Steves or his staff. I am not aware of the official tours, but generally the cost of the guided tour is in addition to the entrance fee, for which yes, you could probably use your Roma Pass. I would suspect that they have English speaking guides there daily, something you could arrange that day or for the next day when there.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
39 posts
We just returned from Italy and took a tour with Alessandra Mazzoccoli and she was AWESOME. 45 euros/hour for 2 people, and you can visit whatever sites you would like to see - we did Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill, and she reserved our tickets for us so we didn't have to wait in line at the Colosseum. Her email is alemazzoccoli AT gmail DOT com