Colosseum 3hr arena floor tour vs 5hr w/ underground access

Lisa, the 5-hour Through Eternity Tour includes an "upper ring" of Colosseum, the underground plus the Forum, Palatine and Farnese Gardens/Aviaries as well (plus a break) so it's a very comprehensive tour. Whether you want to devote this amount of time is strictly up to the amount of personal interest you have in the additional corners of Colosseum.

You can see into the underground from general areas of the arena, and the info you'll receive about it above is probably very much the same as if venturing below. Honestly, we didn't feel the need to spend the additional just to access that piece and didn't feel like we'd missed out but it seems to be a burning gotta-do for others. We've also found other sites in the city to be more interesting to us so again, it's up to personal preference.

Thank you Kathy... this is good information! I appreciate the reply! I actually already have the Walks of Italy tour booked but then I started second guessing myself! My original thought was, “as cool as the underground part seems I just wasn’t sold on giving up that much of my day when there’s other things in the area i’d like to explore afterward” knowing we’ll get glimpses of it and the info helps!
But I’m still open to hear what anyone else’s experience might be!
Thanks again!
Lisa

I did the underground and it was fine. That's it. There's maybe a smidge more info but not enough to justify two more hours and I wouldn't go again. You get plenty of good views and information from the arena floor.

I'm not going to be popular here, but more than 3 hours is a stretch. If there were no other sites to see and experience then ok, but give me 3 hours in the Colosseum and I'll find a great way to use 2 more on the Captoline (hill, museum, or Church).

We went in The Roman Guy's Top Level tour which includes and ends in the Forum, then we explored more on our own. It was a great 3 hours after which my brain couldn't hold anymore. Recommended highly. https://www.apathtolunch.com/2018/08/the-best-tour-of-romes-colosseum.html?m=1

Just to clarify, neither of the tours the OP mentioned spend 3 hours JUST at the Colosseum. Both of them include the Forum and Palatine (and I highly recommend seeing the Palatine) as well. Through Eternity's longer tour also includes a piece or two of the arena that WOI's doesn't + the Farnese Gardens/Aviaries + a break that one reviewer noted was 45 minutes or so to grab lunch.

Thank you Kathy for the clarification! I failed to mention all that the tour included.... as that was part of the draw when I stumbled upon it. It sounded amazing! but it comes with the price of extra time and extra money. I appreciate all the input here. I think we are sticking with Walks of Italy. Capitoline & Pantheon are on my bucket list and it makes more sense to save ourselves the extra hours to try fitting those in since we’ll be right there.