guided tours for Colloseum and Vatican

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Context Travel tours in Rome, Venice and Paris; I have taken 4 just in Rome, over the course of a couple of trips. There is a maximum of 6 people in a group - that alone is worth gold! Plus, the docents who lead the walks are very knowledgeable: they don't spew general info memorized without any interest in the subject, and there's no thick accent to muddle through... Context has been worth every penny! Just put in your dates in the search engine and see what is available for your dates. If there are four of you, look at ALL the listings, by browsing all walks, because you are almost at the price-point for a private tour. I have done this at least 3 times with them and will be doing again in Paris this June. http://www.contexttravel.com/city/Rome In Rome, these are the ones that I have done with them: Arte Vaticana (group) -- the best!! Roma Antica (private) -- the second best! Classical Rome (private)
Churches of the Celio (private - custom) The next time that I go to Rome, I really want to do their Buried Under Rome tour!

Thanks so much Diane. I will check out their website.

Holly, let me second the vote for Context Travel. I've used them in multiple cities and have ALWAYS found them to be amazing. I can almost guaruntee that you'll learn far more than with other tours, and they are often great about asking what interests you and ensuring that gets focus. I had a great guide with them for the Vatican (Liz Lev); if she still leads tours for them, I'd suggest you sign up for hers.

We toured the Vatican on the "Pristine Sistine" tour with this company http://www.walksofitaly.com/ and had a fantastic experience. Very small group made it almost personal. Also highly recommend Francesca Caruso, [email protected], for Ancient Rome. She is a Rick Steves' recommendation as well. She is a private guide and will customize to your desires.

Thanks Sherry and Laurel. I appreciate your suggestions.