Should I use Rick Steves podcasts or organized tours in Rome?

Sheron,

I haven't used Rick's Podcasts in Rome, but I have used them at sites in Paris and they work well. However, in most cases I would always prefer a "live" Tour Guide where possible, as that method provides the option of asking questions. That makes for a more interesting tour IMO.

Regarding tours of the Colosseum, you have the option of using an AudioGuide OR the "official" Tour Guides inside (look for the booth with all the "flashing lights" where the AudioGuides are charged, just inside the security checkpoint). I used Rick's suggested method to buy a combo ticket on Palatine Hill that covers the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill, and it worked well (but the tours inside are extra cost).

I'd highly recommend the "official" Colosseum Guides as the best option. The Guide that led my tour, Barbara, was extremely knowledgeable and there didn't seem to be any question she couldn't answer. They use small radio receivers, so that those at the back of the group can still hear the narration. The cost was very reasonable (as I recall about 7€, but check Rick's book for current prices). Using the Colosseum Guides will "afford enough time" as once the guided tour is over, you can wander around on your own as much as you want.

One other point to note - you may be approached outside the Colosseum by persons asking "do you speak English". The Colosseum staff warned our group about those "unofficial Guides", and strongly advised that we didn't patronize their tours as they reportedly "scam" tourists.

If you're interested in tours of the Musei Capotolini or other sites in Rome, I'd highly recommend Francesca Caruso (contact details are listed in Rick's book).

Happy travels!

I think a real guide would be better than the podcast as you can ask questions to a person. There are many tour companies that offer tours of the Colisseum & Roman Forum. I have had excellent experiences with Context Rome and Through Eternity.

We used Rick's podcasts on our mp3 player for: Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Forum, Uffizi, Accademia, the Borghese Museum, St. Peter's Basilica and St. Mark's Basilica. For the most part, we loved saving the money at so many places rather than renting the listening devices, not waiting in lines to rent them, and being able to turn it on and off, go back to certain parts and listen again if we needed or wanted to. He puts in some humor as well, that made things a little more interesting, as if that were possible.....I guess we really liked the independence rather than having to get, pay for, and rely on a "live" guide. He really does put a LOT of info in the podcasts. Now, we did reserve a live tour for the Doges Palace in Venice. We did that since we were reserving the "secret itineraries" tour. We did enjoy that, but don't think I would have wanted to go at that pace for all the places we saw.

As far as enough time in the Colosseum, whether you do "live" or RS, there is no time limit...we followed RS's podcast in certain areas, would turn it off and explore/take pictures, then listen some more. We probably spent at least a couple of hours in there. We thorougly enjoyed the Forum too.

Obviously with the podcasts you can't ask q's, but I really do feel like we learned so much between brochures, books and listening. Hope some of this helps.

Depends what you're looking for. If you want an encyclopedic tour these will not be for you. If you want a thorough guide that covers all the highlights these are perfect. Rick covers all the important stuff without getting bogged down with too many details. Easy to start and stop so you can go at your own pace and much cheaper than constantly renting audioguides. Only negative is Rick's sometimes corny humor My family of four used them throughout Rome, Florence and Venice and loved them. Instead od using the Rick Steve's podcast in the Vatican Museum, we took the official Vatical tour. Wish we had stuck with the RS podcast. Our tour was crowded and hard to hear and rushed. I highly reccomend Rick's podcasts.

I would pick a real guide over an audio guide ANY day. You can ask questions, you can ask for restaurant tips or any other kind of advice about the city you are in. An audio guide seems so impersonal.

My wife and I used the podcasts exclusivly this past May and they were spectacular. The best part about them is that you can go at your own pace and not have to miss out on any info, just pause and take in the sight. Also, if you are a big fan of Rick, it's like having him right there on your trip. Plenty of info, and not much fluff.

But I would suggest using all of his Italy podcasts, and not just the ones for the Forum and Colosseum, they are all very good. Download them at home and listen to them for a few minutes to see if you like them. But they won't let you down.

There is also a "Night Walk across Rome: Campo de Fiori to the Spanish Steps" in his guidebook. Well worth the time and you will probably run into other people with the guidebook doing the same thing. It was one of our favorite things we did while in Rome.

Download the podcasts and listen to them, if you think that will be enough info for you then you have your answer. Some places we prefer a live guide, others an audio tour is enough, it depends on how much we were able to research ourselves before we arrived. Some audio tours are better than others and some guides are better than others. A good audio guide can be much better than a lousy live guide, so it really can depend on the site and the options available.

In your example of the Colosseum, you don't have to leave when the tour is done, so you could use a live guide there, then follow up for some areas with the audio guide if you want to go back. We had an entertaining guide at the Colosseum, but it was drizzly so we felt that we didn't get a great tour from him.

My wife and I used them on our trip to Italy in August. As other have stated, it depends on what you want and what kind of person you are. If you really want to know about a site and get deeper into a subject than you probably want a guide you can ask questions to. I am not a person who normally spends the money for the audio guides at museums so this was great. I loved saving the money. The guides were great for the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica, Colosseum, Sistine Chapel, Accademia & Michelangelo's David, Uffizi Gallery, Frari Church, and St. Mark's Basilica.

It was a little hard to follow for the Roman Forum.

We were just in Rome last week and did a combination of both. We were only planning on using RS audio tours, but when we got to the Colosseum we were asked if we wanted to join a tour group of that and the Roman Forum for 10 euros each. We decided to do that, but had a short break inside the Colosseum where we listened to the audio guide as well. For the Colosseum, you will be fine with just the audio guide, we didn't really learn anything else from the tour guide that Rick didn't tell us. But for the Roman Forum, I would say to get a tour guide because there is so much stuff and I don't think you could do it just with the audio guide with out getting lost.

Have fun, and watch out for the Roman Guards, their pictures aren't free!!!

Sheron,here is another link for podcasts. I found them particularly informative, even after three previous visits and much reading. Having done both group and individual travel, I much prefer the latter, as I tend to spend hours and hours at the one site, but like everything else in life, it's all about individual preferences. http://www.italyguides.it/us/italy_travel.htm Love Rome.

We used Rick's audio tours extensively on our trip. I would recommend a guide for the Vatican, although Rick's audio tour of the Sistine Chapel was great, since there is no talking in the Chapel, so our guide just left us there for a few minutes.

As someone said previously, the only guide we had problems following was that of the Roman Forum. A few times, we weren't certain if we were where we were supposed to be, and as many times, we thought that we were in the right place, only to find out that we were someplace else. But, it was still useful. Apparently, one source of confusion was that the entrance had changed, so finding where Rick wanted you to start was confusing, because it wasn't there!

Real tours are always more informative than an audio tour. But, the expense can rack up, and you can begin to feel like herded cattle. So, we opted for minimal guided tours and never regretted it.