Guided Tours of Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill and of St. Peter's/Sistine Chapel/Vatican Museums

Hi there,
My husband and I had a wonderful trip to Rome and Assisi in November of 2024. We used LivTours for a first entry Colosseum tour that was "semi-private" which meant the group max was 6 people. We really enjoyed it. The guide was wonderful, very knowledgeable, and spoke excellent English. Here is a link to the specific tour we did:
https://livtours.com/tours/first-entry-semi-private-colosseum-roman-forum-tour-arena-access/

We also really enjoyed a small group tour we did called "through the holy doors", which was a walking tour with stops in many beautiful churches. Roberto is the owner/guide and he is so very knowledgeable about SO much of these churches. As Catholics, we loved this tour. I just recommended this tour to friends and they loved this as well. https://treasuresofrome.it/between-holy-door/

We did not do a formal guided tour of St. Peter's, but I must recommend the dome climb there. My notes say we arrived at 6:30 for 7 am opening. Go directly to dome climb first. Then see rest of basilica and papal crypts below. The view from the dome was fantastic. Be sure there is no papal audience that day or the Square will be full!

Here is the trip report I posted on it. You may find other ideas that may be useful. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-assisi-and-rome-italy-2024-part-2

ENJOY
Joanne

Thank you Joanne. This is really helpful.

Hi ec.bargher,

You must book Francesca for a private tour of the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill or the Vatican Tour! She is an Archaeologist and a native of Rome and is incredible! She works with the company Archaeology in Rome
My husband and I booked a private tour with her this past September and it was a highlight of all our many trips to Italy!

I'm particular to private guiding during my international travels, especially so in big cities with incredible (and endless) history. I highly recommend Wally (Ms) Zanchetta ([email protected]) as an exceptional private guide in Rome. She guided me last February from my accommodation in the Celio rione to the Baths of Caracalla and I had such a fantastic time with her. She's expert and charming; knowledgeable and funny and speaks fluent English. Tip: do some pretrip Italian language study and work some learned vocab in your conversations. Great way to get some tutorial on the subject while you charm her right back :-) Supremely engaging and worth every €. Definitely see if she's available at any time during your stay in Rome. If she is not available, ask for a colleague - you'll be in the best of hands. Enjoy and have a great trip!

We’ve used Miles&Miles and had an outstanding experience in case you need another option.