Recommendations for Guided Tours in Rome and Florence

I did an evening walking tour when I first got to Rome just to get my bearings. I scheduled it through Airbnb with a local guide. His name was Isuf. He was very personable and knowledgeable. He showed us (there was one other person signed up as well) around all the most famous sites and explained things from a historical as well as personal perspective. He also gave recommendations for places to eat and things to see that weren't on the tour. At the end of the night he offered to walk me back to my apartment so I'd feel safe. I didn't take him up on his offer, so he asked me to message him when I got back safely, which I did. I can't remember what I paid, but I remember thinking it was well worth the cost.

I saw a note in one of the RS books about Elena Fulceri in Florence ([email protected] & Instagram Florencewithflair). Elena was wonderful - she helped me set up 2 tours in Florence. A garden tour with her and to the Uffizi and Accademia with her colleague, Silvia. I had a great time on both and felt like I was walking around the city with a very knowledgeable friend.
She also helped connect me to a guide in Siena who was fantastic.

You might want to think about the scope and type of tours you want. Everything in Florence is pretty centralized and walkable but do you want to cross the Arno? Some years ago, we did one of the free tours of Florence. Not horrid but a lot of people and uneven guides. We got a nice orientation to historic Florence and the price was right. Rome is more spread out. It seems to me you'd need some kind of transportation to tour the whole place. Do you want to have an overview of everything or focus on certain areas? We've routinely put in 26,000 steps per day in Rome and that's with the occasional taxi. There's so much to see!

I used Rome In Limo for 2 of my trips; one was a med cruise and one was a road trip. I used them in Rome twice and in Naples. In Rome, we did the Rome in a Day tour for our cruise and the 2-Day Package during our road trip. I highly recommend them for the Vatican tour with a guide. They are so knowledgeable, and you skip all the lines with the guide. We saw parts of the Vatican that I never knew even existed. They work with you to customize your perfect trip. Whatever you choose, I wish you an amazing time in Rome.