We will go to Italy this spring. We plan to use the Rick Steves audio guides in Venice, Florence, and some spots in Rome. My question is: would it be better to take an in depth guided tour of the Vatican Museum, the Colosseum (plus Forum and Palatine hill) and Pompeii (done in a day trip). We plan to devote a day to each of the 3 sites. We both enjoy history, art and archeology. We usually like to go it alone, but I am concerned that the 3 above mentioned sites are large and packed with so much info that we may do better with a tour. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15771 posts
I recently spent an entire day at Pompeii, on my own. I picked up the free booklet at the entrance, along with the map. It seemed to me that the booklet included the same information as the on-site audio guides, which you have to pay for. The booklet has photos of each place described. Along with that, I had the RS audio guide and another one I had purchased. At first I switched between the 2 audio guides, but soon found that Rick's guide was much more interesting and all I needed along with the booklet. Of course, I had a few questions that weren't covered by the explanations, but I didn't feel that I had missed out by not having a private guide. I read the novel "Pompeii" by Robert Harris shortly before I traveled, which gave me a good sense of what the town was like in the first century and how it was destroyed. Don't miss the Villa dei Misteri, a bit outside the ancient town walls.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
If you have a good guide book or audio guide you can get as much information as a guide can give you. Audio guides also allow you to go at your own pace and spend as much or little time in certain areas as you wish. I like using audio guides and prefer them over "real" guides but that's just my personal opinion. I guess it depends on what you'll be more comfortable with. If you like to do it on your own then you'll be fine on your own in Rome. The colosseum and Vatican museums are very well signed. That along with an audio guide and a guide book will be plenty, IMO. Donna
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
I love audio guides and have used them on many occasions. However, in the case of Pompeii I would hire a living person as a guide if you have a special interest in history and archeology. This is such a large site and it's easy to get lost in it, even with an audio guide. You can hire one of the accredited guides that are waiting for business right at the entrance of the ruins. They are quite affordable for private 2 hour tours and then you can still spend as much time as you want to wander around on your own afterwards.
Posted by
aberdeen, scotland & london, uk
241 posts
Agree with Donna. Vatican would be too busy for guided tour. Colesseum depends on what you want to know. Forum's more difficult because it's hard to work out which bit is which at eye level. Not been to Pompeii.
S
Posted by
OP
Courtenay
12 posts
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. It is so helpful to hear from people who have already been to Italy. I will read the recommended book set in Pompeii. Great idea! Nancy
Posted by
Overland Park, KS
101 posts
We used RS free pod casts at the Forum, Versaille, and a couple of other places. For me, I thought they were very good. Just the right amount of information with an interesting presentation. If you really want a lot of in depth information then perhaps you should choose another guide. For me, sometimes there is more history than I want and they just seem to drone on. You could simply download one and give it a listen and see if has enough information for you or not.