Going on our first Rick Steves tour!

I did this tour a few years ago. Great introduction to Italy and to RS touring. The itinerary includes a guided tour of the Colosseum so no need to book it in advance. There is a free day in Cinque Terre with plenty of walking opportunities. I do not recall that I booked anything in advance. Your guide will discuss several optional activities for free time and will point out restaurants for nights dining on your own.

I enjoyed this tour a lot!
The Colosseum interior was included when I took the tour, but recent changes have made that something not included, as explained on the tour page.

The only thing I reserved ahead was a food tour before the tour started, my favorite thing to do in a new city.

Enjoy!

This was my first RS tour and my first trip to Italy. Both were wonderful and unfortunately it turned out I loved RS tours and have now done 12, hahaha! Prepare your wallet for the future!

I do recommend going to Rome a few days ahead of the tour. There is SO much to see here! I'd also stay in Florence for a few days after if you have the time to spend. We were slightly restricted on time as I traveled with my brother, SIL and their 2 adult sons, one of whom could only be gone for 2 weeks.

I'm not a big foodie and I don't reserve restaurants so don't fret if this is not something you enjoy. I am an early dinner eater so usually am able to get into places without a problem.

Yes to booking the Colosseum/Forum. When I went they were included but the Colosseum has gotten to be a PIA with ticketing so I'm sure that is why they are not included on the tour any more. I would book the Borghese Gallery which I enjoyed a lot. I've been to the Vatican 3 times on various RS tours and it's just a madhouse. The Borghese limits admissions so it is not crowded and you can actually view the art work at leisure.

Someone here on the forum posted about Simon Schama's Power of Art series on BBC. I watched his awesome series on Bernini and wow, it made the Borghese really powerful for me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wet-VF2bDCA&t=623s

Last time I was in Rome (2022) I also got tickets to the Domus Aurea, Nero's Golden Palace which is now underground across from the Colosseum. It was fabulous and I recommend it if you enjoy archeological digs!

The only suggestion I'd have is researching things to do on the free day in Cinque Terre. Many people are happy just walking along the trails, having lunch somewhere, going for a swim, etc. But there are other places nearby you could visit, or perhaps get an early start to visit something and then spend the afternoon in the CT. Portovenere is a delight, as is Santa Margherita Ligure up the coast amd down the coast Lerici is interesting. Even Pisa or Lucca are less than 90 minutes away from Monterosso. These destinations (and more) are variously reachable by ferry, bus, train. You don't say if you've traveled to Europe before, I guess it depends on how comfortable you'd be taking public transportation. It's not so much a matter of booking ahead as figuring out where to go and how.

Visiting the Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel and Colosseum on Your Own

The Vatican Museums and Colosseum are world-renowned sights drawing huge crowds of visitors. Due to the overcrowding and unreliable availability for group reservations, our tours don't visit the inside of either sight as a group.
Colosseum

Our local guide walks the group around the outside of the Colosseum, explaining the significance and engineering of this ancient wonder. We also take an in-depth walking tour in the more enjoyable and less crowded Roman Forum, the true heart of ancient Rome.
Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

As a group, we visit Vatican City where a local expert will introduce us to the world’s smallest country, and the greatest church in Christendom: the awe-inspiring St. Peter's Basilica, home to Michelangelo's sublime Pietà.

If you would like to go inside the Colosseum and/or the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, we encourage you to do so during your free time in Rome (or pre-/post-tour). Below you'll find our recommendations on when to visit and how to get reservations for each of the affected tours (this information is also available under Pre-tour Planning in your account.

Our free Rick Steves Audio Europe app also has great self-guided tours of both the Colosseum and Vatican Museums. Before you leave for your tour, we recommend downloading the app from the App Store (Apple phones) or Google Play (Android phones) and adding the Colosseum and Vatican Museums audio tours to your playlist.

Thank you for your understanding as we navigate overcrowding and group restrictions in the ever-changing tourism industry. We are always dedicated to bringing you the best experiences that Europe has to offer!

Select your tour for recommendations on when to visit.
Best of Europe in 14 Days
Best of Europe in 21 Days
Best of Italy in 17 Days
Best of Rome in 7 Days
Best of Venice, Florence & Rome in 10 Days
Heart of Italy in 9 Days
Visiting the Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel and Colosseum

Tickets are available two months prior to the date you prefer to visit the Vatican Museums and one month prior for the Colosseum. Please note tickets may sell out quickly from the official site. Here are the best days and times to visit either or both sites based on your tour itinerary:

Day 1 before noon (allowing you time to get to the Welcome Meeting at 3 p.m.)
Day 2 at 11 a.m. or later (we recommend visiting the Vatican Museums first, as we'll be nearby, and if visiting both, reserve the Colosseum for around 4 p.m.)
Pre-tour if you're adding extra days
Please note: The Vatican Museums is closed most Sundays and may also close for special events and holidays. It's a good idea to check The Vatican Museums calendar before making reservations.

Official website: Vatican Museums Tickets

The basic ticket is called: Admission tickets – Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

If tickets are sold out at the official website, consider booking from another website, such as Omnia Vatican Rome.
Official website: Colosseum Tickets

The basic ticket is called: Ticket Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine_24

If tickets are sold out at the official website, consider booking from another website, such as Get Your Guide.
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/groups-visiting-the-vatican-colosseum

In case you have not already seen this

When we were in CT, the guide offered us a choice of a day pass for the trains or for the ferry. ( no idea if that is still an offering) We chose the ferry pass ( it was July) as walking the trails in near 90F was quite unappealing
Believe you get a much better view of the villages from the water. Wandered around Riomaggiore, walked as much of trail that paved.

Also not a foodie. I like RS recommendations because his priority is not "the Best" or gourmet experiences, but good values and convenient locations. What we have successfully done on RS tours, is while we are out and about, or walking around the hotel area, we will scout out restaurants that look good, and pop in to see if we can make reservations for later that day or the next. Often, when they figure out we are fast-eating Americans, they give us a reservation earlier than the normal late-eating locals, knowing we wont stay all evening.

I have been on 10 Rick Steves tours, but not Heart of Italy. I have rarely booked anything in advance for my free time since the tour guides are wonderful in giving many suggestions that do not require that. The exceptions have been sights that fill up far in advance (such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam) and food tours. There will be many, many good restaurants in each location where you can walk-in or make a same-day reservation, so I don’t bother researching in advance.

I like to do a bit of research on each location and make a list of interesting possibilities, but don’t plan very specifically. I decide what to do during my free time once on site based on my energy level, the weather, the location of the hotel, the tour guide’s suggestions, etc.

If you can add some independent time in Rome and Florence, do it! There is so much to do and see in those cities, you won’t have any trouble filling your time. Extra days also allow you to relax a bit and just wander about, relieving the pressure to plan every minute.

Thank you so much for the replies! There's a lot to consider, and I appreciate the advice (I'm copying/pasting much of it into my own document for future reference).

I had not thought about a food tour, but that would be a great thing to do, so I don't have to stress about eating at a tourist trap :) I don't need many amazing food experiences, but we want at least one or two :)

I've been watching Cinque Terre videos, and I think we'd probably like to walk the trail from Monterosso to Vernazzo, then train/ferry for the rest (depending where we are staying, do all the walking early, then train to the middle villages, take the ferry back to the village closest to the hotel). I'll definitely look into the other villages you mentioned.

Thanks for the info on the Colosseum. It looks like I have almost a full year before I can even book it... and I'm also trying to decide if we'd feel FOMO if we don't do it. We probably won't buy tickets for the Sistene chapel (not enough interest for the crowds).

We have visited Europe before- Spain,France, London, Scotland (me), Austria, and Iceland. None of these were on a tour, although we have hired guides for day trips/city tours which are so worth the money, in my opinion. This is our first time to Italy.

Keep the replies coming! The more I know going into it, the better trip we'll have :)

I took this tour and the time in the Vatican Museums was my biggest disappointment. I think you are wise to skip this. I did enjoy the colosseum, but the forum area was exceptionally interesting. I had made arrangements for the Borghese Gallery ahead of time and was so glad that I did. You will want to compare the tour start dates with the hours of this Gallery. I had to do it the day before the tour if I was going to to get a chance to do it at all. Some of my tour mates didn't realize this and missed out.
The Capitoline Museums did not require prepurchase and were an easy walk from the hotel we stayed at (Hotel Smeraldo).

I generally use the group dinners as my "splurge meals" on a tour as they are always delicious and already paid for! For the other times, the guides will tell you suggested restaurants in the area. Unless you have a specific celebration or restaurant that you really want to plan in advance, I would wait and go with guide suggestions.

You will have plenty of chances to walk, never fear!

I just have to laugh...went over to FB and my memory for today is from 11 years ago....in front of the Colosseum on the Heart of Italy tour!

BTW, we all loved Volterra as well. Such an interesting hill town!

Be sure you add stairs into your fitness routine. Rome is pretty hilly and there are a lot of stairs.

Make it a point to eat all the gelato you can!

I used Eating Europe for a wonderful and fun food tour in Rome’s Trastavere neighborhood. We did it on an evening during an RS tour when we were on our own. A bit pricey, but worth it. They also run food tours elsewhere in Italy, including Florence.

https://www.eatingeurope.com/

I'm just back from Rome and heard a number of references to the fact that 2025 is a Jubilee year. Rome is preparing for even larger than usual crowds. Plan carefully for your free time and jump on available tickets for anything that interests you.