ROME TOUR COMPANY

You should review the responses to the same question asked yesterday.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/day-trips-in-rome-c480c8ea-328a-4de2-af64-987ac79e2668

I have recently taken tours with both Walks of Italy and Dark Rome, and both companies and guides were excellent. With six of you, including a 12-year old, you might well find that a private tour would be more flexible for your needs, and even less expensive than 6 tickets for some of the group tours. I believe both of those firms also offer private tours. I have not used individual private guides myself, but others on this Helpline have and can give some very positive recommendations.

I have dealt with the Walks of Italy information phone line, which is in the US, in Texas if I remember correctly, and they were very well-informed and helpful. If you do book spaces in a group tour, be sure to ask about discounts. They have Rick Steves discounts, senior discounts, maybe youth discounts, and discounts for taking several different tours, and some of the discounts can be stacked one on the other.

Have a wonderful family trip! Should be a great bonding experience.

Thank you!!!

I did the Walks of Italy Vatican tour in september. our guide luigi was excellent. It was a skip the line early start and we waited about 10 minutes in line outside. I did notice several groups that went in front of us were Dark Rome. I also did a tour in Florence with them and our guide there was just as excellent. For the Vatican the early start we went right into the Sistine Chapel which was nice to be in almost empty. Along the way he pointed out some items that we should take pictures of. There was few people in that early in the morning and I have great pictures of the art. he didn't explain them at that point as we walked past. After the Sistine Chapel we went back around for the tour of the museum and he explained everything then. I was glad he told us to take pictures earlier. At this point the museum was packed and you couldn't get a decent picture without people in your way. The part at St. Peters was quick, he hit the big parts. We stayed in the church after the tour and used Rick's book for some more. We also climbed the dome.

I also called their number (in Lousiana) with a question and the staff was very helpful and responsive.

All three companies are very reputable and highly rated so I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I used Through Eternity for two tours in Rome (Colosseum/Forum & Palatine Hill) and was very pleased with the quality of the tour and guide. I would not hesitate to use them again. We were the only people on the Palatine Hill tour so it felt like a private tour. We had the same guide for both tours and she was extremely knowledgeable and interesting.

As for the tour of the Vatican, most tours include St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. I would look for a tour that includes all three sites. We used Presto Tours a few years ago and did a "skip the line" tour which included all three sites and we were very pleased. It was nice to have a guide to point out interesting things at all three sites and I can't imagine visiting St. Peter's Basilica without the guide as he really enriched the experience. Our tour ended in St. Peter's Basilica which afforded us the opportunity to linger longer after the tour was done but at least the guide gave us a good overview of the major areas of interest in the basilica. I believe all tour groups in the Vatican must use head-sets which was helpful because we could wander away from our guide but still hear him. I would definitely look for a "skip the line" tour. Our tour started very early in the morning and afforded us the opportunity to get ahead of the masses. The sites were still crowded but not as crowded as I imagine they would have been mid-morning. Have a great trip.

I think all of the companies would give you a great tour service. We used Through Eternity for our tours in Rome last summer. We are a family of five, two parents, three adult sons. All of our tours were customized day tours to include everything we wanted to do. We had a different guide each day. We couldn't have been happier.
I would certainly encourage you to book private guides for your group given the size and age diversity. It may seem expensive but it is the best value. You could book standard private tours or customize your own. We emailed back and forth with through eternity to create day tours that encompassed all that we wanted to see. The couldn't have been more accommodating. We will do it again when we return!
All the companies are good but we certainly had a great experience with through eternity. Context travel also comes very highly recommended.

I find that a good guide always enhances my experience, no matter how much I know about a site. And a guide will help me focus on what specifically interests me. With 5, you could book a private tour. I'd suggest you check with Context Rome. I've used them in multiple cities and had experiences that far outstripped other companies. Their guides all have professional expertise related to the tour topic (eg, I've toured St Peter's with a PhD in art history who teaches baroque art at the university level and serves as a US TV/radio commentator on the subject; and I've toured the Louvre with a PhD who was working at the Louvre as a collection manager). They also have itineraries adapted to families. And finally, even their group tours are limited to 6 people, so the groups move through crowded sites like the Vatican relatively easily (vs waiting for a group of 20 or 25 to move and regather). I'd suggest checking their website.