Rome, Italy May 1, 2020

The best way is to look up the website of each place that you are planning to go to as most sell tickets online and list the days they are closed. For example the Colosieum is open on May 1 but the Vatican Museum is not. However the closures for next year may not be listed yet,

I second checking individual websites for places you are interested in visiting. How many days will you be in Rome? What are you most interested in seeing? Just book tickets/plan venues that are open on that day and see the others on the surrounding days, if you are there more than a day.

We were in Rome last summer during the week of the feast of St. Peter and Paul. Even though it fell on a Friday, it impacted the rest of our week because tours/tickets sold out more quickly. We had a hard time scheduling entry into the Vatican between the Pope’s Wednesday address and the tour groups that had already booked up Thursday because it was closed on Friday, if that makes any sense. (I started reserving in March for late June and we saw everything, just not in the order we would’ve liked). So, the sooner you nail down what you want to see, the more likely you are to fit it in.

Thank you!

How about enjoying the holiday with the Romans? Instead of sightseeing, walk around the historic center, have a nice meal or two, grab a gelato, maybe picnic in a park. Italians on a holiday are fun to be around.

We will be using Viator and a Golf Cart tour.

telbert616, a lot of us would recommend booking your tours and/or tickets directly with the attractions or tour companies themselves. Viator is a 3rd-party re-seller and don't operate tours themselves so you're likely to pay a markup versus cutting out the middleman.

If you know the sorts of things you're expecting to use Viator for, we might be able to make alternative suggestions? Also, May 1 would be a good day for a self-guided tour or two. Many guidebooks include them or you can download a couple of Rick's toy your own devices for free.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy

Who would you recommend other than Viator for our excursions. Also looking for a day trip to Tuscany for the four of us that would include different venues, a vineyard and lunch. Open to suggestions.

also looking for a day trip to Tuscany for the four of us that would include different venues, a vineyard and lunch. Open to suggestions.

You might have to hire a personal guide for what you are looking for.

Still, take a look at the suggestions below: (The tours seem to have what you asked about.)

Our day starts in central Florence, where you’ll meet your expert tour leader and small group of just 18 people. Then hop into your comfortable minibus and head into the beautiful hills of Tuscany. --- Walks of Italy

https://www.walksofitaly.com/florence-tours/tuscany-day-trips-from-florence/

Stipulation is you have to be staying in Florence - the meet up, etc. Perhaps secure a night or two in Florence and book the tour?

If interested, you could take the fast train from Rome Termini to Florence - take a carry on enough for a couple of days.

Adding --

The Roman Guy tour is similar to Walks of Italy https://theromanguy.com/tours/italy/florence-tuscany/chianti-wine-tour-from-florence -- Again, you have to be staying in Florence.

Who would you recommend other than Viator for our excursions.

I probably wouldn't choose any single company for everything. In some cases you might want to book directly through an attraction itself. It also depends on if you want to sightsee independently or with a tour. It would help to know how many FULL days you'll be in Rome and what you want to see?

I also personally wouldn't advise an escorted day trip to the Tuscan countryside from Rome as I'm pretty sure it'll involve more hours sitting on the bus than actual sightseeing. That may not bother you so maybe someone else has a suggestion there.

Who would you recommend other than Viator for our excursions. Also looking for a day trip to Tuscany for the four of us that would include different venues, a vineyard and lunch. Open to suggestions.

Just keep in mind that Viator is just a tour aggregator - a middle man of sorts for actual tours operated by other groups. It looks like the Tuscany Day Trip you are interested is actually operated by Dark Rome/City Wonders - its not difficult to find out who the tour operator actually is. Here is the site for that tour:

Tuscany Day Trip

Viator does charge a little more than the actual tour operator (in this case, only ~$3) but that isn't really the issue. If there are any problems, questions, changes, etc, you will have to go through Viator. If the tour operator overbooks or there are any other logistical issues, third party sales will be cut to accommodate direct bookings. Booking direct also means you can take advantage of any promotions they may be running. Otherwise, Viator is a legit reseller.

The trip does look awesome and it does seem like you will see and do a lot, but it is a 12-hour excursion and with travel time, it might be a Griswald Family dash and see/always on the move kinda day.

Herf,

Another travel tour company to bookmark, lol. Good one!

I don't think I've heard of them before. Nice to have choices.

Also looks like a lovely tour for the OP to consider.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Husband is already on it. Apparently Dark Rome is owned by City Wonders.

Ha ha, when I watched the snippet provided by Herf, I saw the tee shirts, and then realized. Hey, good to know anyway :)

Enjoy whatever you plan to do!

Another travel tour company to bookmark, lol. Good one!

We used Dark Rome/City Wonders for our First Entry to the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum tour and absolutely loved it. We booked in advance and took advantage of a special sale that saved us some euros.

Thank you. We appreciated your feedback. We definitely plan on booking with Dark Rome/City Tours and My Best Tour. Our biggest challenge is May 1, 2020, but we are working around the issue and hope to join Italians as they celebrate their Labor Day.

We definitely plan on booking with Dark Rome/City Tours and My Best Tour.

Terrific! I hope it works out for you guys! Have fun!! Enjoy the wine :)

Check out The Roman Guy for tours also.

Check out The Roman Guy for tours also.

lol! "Funny" you mention that - I am very familiar with TRG. (I don't know any of them personally. I really enjoy their videos.)

Very often, if not always at times, I suggest to peeps on the forum to check out The Roman Guy Tours and to watch their videos.

Sean narrates most of them - he is just a regular guy - no pretense. Bojan is quirky funny too. The vids are funny at times, down-to-Earth, easy to understand, geared toward the newer traveler, give good tips and suggestions, and give a peek into Rome's neighborhoods (in their "neighborhood" series)

Wow! will definitely take a look at TRG videos. Also found Walks of Italy tour company. Very good reviews.

Yes, telbert

All three tour companies are popular and get very good reviews. What is also another nice "perk" is that their groups are not too big - a "comfortable" size - usually not more than 15-18 as they state on their website.

They are a fun watch. Sean just makes me laugh. Reminds me of some of the Boston guys back in the day joking around. He is from Philly - so on the East Coast.

You may also like to browse the skyline cams of Rome, Lazio - https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lazio.html

Cams are strategically placed to give you a bird's peek onto the Piazzas - it can be a fun watch to see the different times of day in Rome - their "craziness and calmness."

Watching the Trevi late at night is lovely - Fountain lit up - maybe one or two peeps visting in the wee hours, lol.

Police are parked there all night or pretty much to make sure no one decides to grab some coin or do a remake of "La Dolce Vita!"

They have cams for parts of Florence too (and other regions) https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/toscana.html