Rome Tours

I have no experience with Rome tour companies (Rick lists a bunch in his books). But your question "is it recommended to go through a tour company instead of just showing up and waiting in line to get in somewhere?" implies that lines are a great problem. There are only a few places where lines are an issue (mainly the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums). Rick has line-beating tips in his book, but one way is to have certain kinds of tours (others tours don't bypass the line - be careful when purchasing if this is your goal). For St. Peter's, there can be lines, but I don't think they can be skipped, even with a tour (not sure). For the Borghese Gallery, you must have advance reservations (numbers are strictly limited). For most other sights, lines are not really an issue. Of course, you may want a tour for other reasons.

Are looking for a tour to take you everywhere or a tour for a specific location? For specific locations we have used Angel Tours and like them a lot.

Never used tour groups for Rome but did Walks of Italy's Pristine Sistine tour of the Vatican. Thought it was well worth the money. You can check out their tours for Rome

Context Travel has amazing tours. Their walks aren't cheap but they are worth every penny. For economical tours try Through Eternity.

Completely agree with the previous post: we just returned from Rome and highly recommend Context, which is very expert, as well as Through Eternity, which is a bit less expensive but also very focused. These tend to be focused on history, architecture and art, and not dumbed -down. For instance, we took the evening stroll tour through the main city center sights, with Through Eternity, and it was not at all a surface tour. With Context, we took two, including a walk through the most ancient sites along the Tiber, and a walking seminar on Caravaggio works in situ.

If you are looking for tours in order to bypass the lines at specific sites you'll only need to worry about the colosseum and the Vatican museums. For both of those sites you can book with their official sites and save a lot of money over private tours offered by other companies. http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do http://www.ticketclic.it/Gb/HTML/musei/colosseo.cfm Just be aware that in both cases you don't need to be on a tour in order to bypass the lines. You can buy entry tickets that allow you to bypass the lines at both sites. A tour is not necessary in order to do this. Only take a tour if you wish to learn more about what you're seeing. If you just wish to bypass the lines buy the entry tickets. You can book a tour or entry tickets at the sites listed above. The tours are very good and informative. If you wish to take a tour of the city there are several free tours offered every day. Just do a quick google search and they'll pop up. Donna

This is my first trip to Rome, these tips are very helpful. Thank you all for your advice. My goal is to learn about what I'm seeing and not just look, that is why I thought a tour (especially of the Vatican) would be the most beneficial. Please keep the tips coming and any other recommendations that you see fit to give. Thank you!

I read an article in the New York times about how two tour companies offer Vatican After Hours Tours. We haven't taken ours yet but do have it booked via Context Travel for July. It is 2.5 hours and it starts after the museums are closed and everyone else is out. It is groups of 4 people and includes time in the Sistine Chapel.

Given your stated goals, I'd echo earlier recommendations for Context Travel. I've taken at least a dozen of their walking tours in various cities, and it's always been a great experience: Well educated guides who provide interesting, quality information, very small groups, and agendas that often can be adapted to group interests. Their tour of St Peter's and the Vatican Museums was remarkable... When I took it, the guide was an art historian with expertise in the Baroque period, who taught at the university level and was a practicing Catholic; she provided great perspective and insight.

Count me in with those recommending Context Tours. We took one a few years ago of the Vatican and Vatican museum. Our docent was friendly, fun and knowledgable. The tour was expensive, but for us, it was well worth the investment.

Just got back from Italy a week ago. We took a Walks of Italy tour to the Vatican.....SO WORTH IT! You get there early but bypass all lines and get to see the Sistine Chapel early. We reserved a ticket online here at home before we left for the Colosseum.....again so worth it as you walk right past all of the lines. We also reserved a ticket time online here at home for the Borghese Gallery....and you just wait until the time you signed up for comes ( get there 30 minutes ahead) and walk right in. WE could not figure out why more people do not do this...it is so easy and such a timesaver!

Jane, may I ask which Vatican tour you did with Walks of Italy?
Thanks,

I second Walks of Italy! I just returned and did their VIP Colosseum tour and their Pristine Sistine tour and highly recommend them. I used Rick Steve's Rome book in most places in Rome, but these tours were well worth the money!