My husband and I are traveling with another couple to Rome, and renting an apartment, so we don't have the luxury of asking a hotel to arrange tours for us. Should we book a tour of the Roman Forum in advance, or is it easy to find a group tour from just walking around the Colosseum area? For what it's worth, we'll be there the last week of May, so I'm sure it will be fairly crowded with tourists at that time...
Posted by
Aiken, SC, United States
87 posts
We went to Italy at the end of May last year. While we did get reservations ahead of time for the Vatican, we did not do so for the Colosseum and Forum. There were plenty of tour guides outside the Colosseum. We chose one and the tour started shortly afterward. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a tour group once you get there. Hope this helps. Have fun!
Linda
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
Be very careful with the pick up tours outside the colosseum. Many of them are unlicensed and if they are caught the tour is disbanded and you don't get a refund.
For 5 euros you can book an official tour of the forum directly at the site.
Donna
Posted by
La Pine, Or
82 posts
We just returned from Rome and followed Rick's advice on buying tickets at the Palentine Hill / Forum ticket booth. It was worth it's weight in gold. We walked right over to the Colosseum and went to the purchased ticket line bypassing hundreds of people waiting to buy tickets. We followed signs to rent the audio tour for 5.5 euro's and did the tour on our own. It was great and far less than a group tour. We did see lots of people asking us to join in the "english tour", but having read about the scams, we brushed past them and were very happy with the audio we rented. Enjoy!
Posted by
Penticton
107 posts
It depends what type of experience you want. Do you want an in depth personal tour or are you happy with a less personal quick tour? I think all of the tours are good but for me, I like the former so I prefer to hire a private guide and customize the tour to my requirements. For 4 adults, hiring a private guide ahead of time might be good value. It all comes down to what type of experience you want.
Posted by
Alta Loma, CA, USA
1446 posts
I personally would hire a guide ahead of time so you know you are getting a quality tour/guide. We used Through Eternity for a group tour of the Forum/Colosseum & then for a tour of the Palatine Hill. We were very pleased with the quality of our tour guide and would not hesitate to use Through Eternity again.
Posted by
OP
30 posts
Thanks guys! For the group tours you book in advance, about how much does it cost per person?
Posted by
OP
30 posts
Thanks guys! For the group tours you book in advance, about how much does it cost per person?
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6237 posts
There are many tour companies you can choose from:
Walks of Italy, Through Eternity, DarkRome, What a Life...
Walks of Italy offers a 10% RS discount- code is 10ricksteves
Through Eternity offers a 10% RS discount- code is RICKSTEVES
Posted by
North Carolina
98 posts
You may even want to consider downloading Rick's audio tours. My daughter and I just returned from Italy and found the tours to be very informative and entertaining, and we could start, stop, "rewind," and return to specific sections as we wished. It also freed up more of our time. We had plenty of things we had to be on time for--trains, the Vatican museums, etc.