Rome -- Walk of Italy Colosseum tour (on sale) vs Roma Pass??

Hi horsewoofie,

If you recently booked the Pristine Tour, call Walks Of Italy and ask if they can make an adjustment because of the (2019) sale. Doesn't hurt to inquire. It seems Walks of Italy are flexible. During the same call, maybe get their advice or suggestions if you are undecided about the Colosseum tour.

The Colosseum can be toured on your own of course, but, if you are really into the history of it all, and you feel you would benefit from the professional guide, then reserve it.

Weigh the cost, benefits and comparison of getting the Roma pass, buying individual BIT tickets and/or taking the Colosseum tour.

What month are you going? We did both tours with WoI. Loved the Pristine Sistine tour. The Colosseum tour with the Paletine Hill and Forum is 4 long hours. Yes, much if it is interesting, but we were there in February so it was not hot and it was pretty empty. Also, we were in Rome for 7.5 days so we had time to spare. If it was summer and I had limited time. I would just go on my own or take one of the tours offered by the colosseum for a shorter time.

We felt it was worthy of our time to do both the Colosseum and Palatine/Forum tours with Walks of Italy. We felt fortunate to join a small group. The tour guide was one of the most knowledgeable guides we've ever had. We spent four nights in Rome that year (Sept.) prior to a Southern Italy/Sicily Tour. We did the tour after a well rested nights sleep. Our tour was scheduled at 10:00 am the following morning.

We bought the Roma Pass and then used Rick Steves audio tours for both the Colosseum and Forum. The audio tour is very comprehensive and we learned so much.

We took three Walks of Italy tours, two in Florence and one in Rome. We were very pleased with them. I understand your concern about planning too much. It can be hard to strike the right balance.

I just booked the Pristine Sistine tour and when on the phone, asked for advice on which Colosseum tour to book. The agent at Walks gave me several choices and highlighted the strengths of each tour. We ended up booking the Gladiator's Gate with Arena Floor tour. Just call and ask, and see what they recommend. Hopefully they'll give you the discounted rate on your tour that's already booked, too.

I can't decide if it will be best to do the WoI tour or get the Roma
Pass to tour the Colosseum on our own. I understand the Roma Pass also
includes bus passes.

Horsewoofie, I would not buy that pass if all you intend to use it for is the Colosseum. Yes, it includes buses and metro (not to or from the airports) but we've used public transport VERY little on our several trips to Rome. It's a great city to walk and you'll experience more of it on your feet than from behind glass. Should you want to take a couple of hops on transport, , just buy a couple of single-ride BIT tickets ( €1,50 apiece) at a bar or tobacco shop and tuck them in your pocket for that opportunity.

http://www.atac.roma.it/page.asp?p=229&i=14&lingua=ENG

But here's the fuzzy part of your question: you mention only the Colosseum but not the Forum and Palatine? If you want to see these other two pieces, I might consider a tour, such as WOI offers, which includes all three as the latter two are more complex to understand without a bit of advance reading (which is how we did them).

If all you're interested in is the Colosseum, I'd look at booking the VERY economical 45-minute tour offered on coopculture, the official ticket outlet:

http://ecm.coopculture.it/index.php?option=com_snapp&view=products&catalogid=08F1776A-4A9B-B682-0EB2-01651506A87E&snappTemplate=template3&lang=en

You will have to choose a specific day and open time slot. Ticket price is € 19,00, which includes your general entry ticket to the Colosseum + the tour + entry to the Palatine and Forum (no tour) + reservation fee. After your tour of the Colosseum is over, you're free to spend as much time in the general-public areas of the arena as you wish before moving on the Forum and Palatine, or skipping the last two completely if they're not of interest.

The tour does not include the underground or Belvedere but you can see into the underground from above and you'll get the same information as visitors taking that tour.

Thanks Everyone. I have to let you know how nice and accommodating Walks of Italy is. I called them with 3 questions:
1) Which Colosseum tour? We decided on Caesar's Palace/Colosseum/Roman Forum. My sister-in-law is excited about the ancient frescoes at Caesar's and who can go to Rome without seeing the Colosseum.
2) I had bought the Pristine Sistine tour in September. I asked if I could get some discount towards that tour. The rep cancelled that purchase so I could buy it on sale.
3) The after hours tour of Doges Palace and St. Mark's in Venice shows no tours available. She offered to email me a discount authorization so when the tour opens up in early spring we can get the Black Friday discount.
End result is I bought the two Rome tours and will buy the Venice one when available.

We start our tour May 2 in Rome and end May 23 in Venice with RS South of Italy tour and an overnight stay in Calabria in-between.

Well done! Sounds like you're all set! :O)

I'm so glad I found this thread! Now I am checking out tours for my trip. Thanks for the information!

Ahhh, horsewoofie, glad the inquiries "paid off." It never hurts to ask.

It seems your upcoming trip this Spring is really coming together. (There is a reason why the 'rear view mirror is much smaller than the windshield')

;)

I know - a little late to the game!

I am in the process of researching Colosseum tours for our mid-March trip and found this thread. Looking to take advantage of WoI's 30% off sale before it ends and two tours caught my eye - The Gladiator's Gate Special Access with RF and PH tour and The Premium Colosseum Tour with RF and PH. The latter has a smaller max group size but not sure how large groups will be when we visit. The former has access to the arena floor.

Both sound appealing and they are comparable in cost. I know the chances of anyone having done both tours are slim but just curious as to thoughts of which tour might be the "better" of the two? I know it will be very subjective but just in a quandry as to which to book...….

TIA!

Herfnerd,

I was looking at those two, and decided on the Premium Colosseum. The main difference seems to be access to the floor of the Colosseum and group size (15 versus 25). Since I prefer a smaller group and don't really care about access to the floor, it works for me. If you specifically would like the time on the floor, I would choose the Gladiator's Gate.

Another thought would be to look at the dates you want and see what fits best, since they may run on different days and times. Edited to add: Although it looks like they might be exactly the same, having looked at mid-March.

I'm so glad to hear that the Walks of Italy tours are good - I JUST booked the Pristine Sistine, Premium Colosseum w/ Roman Forum & Palatine Hill, a Pompeii/Amalfi Coast day trip from Rome AND a Pasta-making class/dinner with them - the Cyber week sales were great, and you got additional discounts when booking some together!

@horsewoofie—hoping you do a trip report on your return!!!

Diveloonie, would this be overkill?—-I thought about doing a trip report during the trip, like a journal.

Everyone who have “lived” with my ups & downs for almost 2 years, may think that’s too much. Can’t remember who did the Put Report on One Thread post (Frank?) but I promise to dust off my journalism skills to make it interesting and compact.

@horsewoofie, yes, please do a trip report!