It's our first time in Rome. We essentially have one day of touring. Looking at the tour company options, we could see the major sites (Vatican and Ancient Rome) with one of them over the course of a day. Another option would be to do it on our own using downloadable audio guides. Recommendations?
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
I would book a guided tour of the vatican museums through the vatican website. I'm not really a guided tour type person so for other locations I would use audio tours. This will allow you to go at your own pace, bypassing things of less interest and moving on to things of more interest. You can stop and start when you wish also. Donna
Posted by
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
1127 posts
Through Eternity, www.ThroughEternity.com
Posted by
Yarmouthport, MA, USA
40 posts
We used Context Tours for the vatican and were VERY pleased. The four- hour tour took 5 due to the amount of visitors allowed into the museums at one time. Go on the first tour of the day to avoid crowds. our guide, Jose, spent as much time as WE wanted throughout the tour. Try Through Etrnity Tours for the colosseum. Philippo Tucci was great
Posted by
Lake Forest, Illinois, USA
59 posts
On a friend's recommendation, we booked 2 tours in Rome through Walks of Italy tours. And I thanked her when we returned! One of the Colosseum/Roman Forum and one of the Vatican Museum/St. Peter's. Both were small group and fantastic because the guides were experts and truly passionate about the history of the sites they were taking us through. If you're short on time especially, think about that Vatican museum tour. It takes you through the highlights with a small enough group that they can tailor it to your interests. I couldn't imagine doing it on an audiotour in a hurry on my own. And for the Colosseum and Roman Forum, what I learned is that it is really helpful to have an experienced guide. Much of the area is ruins, so having a person to help you envision what was there was awesome. That was one of the highlights of our trip.
Posted by
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
26 posts
Through Eternity Tours. More personable, with lots of human interest stories. Not something you get through an audio tour.