Vespa tours in Rome

I think riding on the back would be fine. Driving one by yourself in Rome is a whole different question. Traffic in Rome is chaotic but assume the drivers are well experienced with driving double. I would do it.

It sounds like a really bad idea to me, and I have plenty of Vespa riding experience in Rome and Florence. For one, the traffic in Rome is noisy and chaotic. The Vespa itself will add to the noise. How do you hear the driver, who should be facing forward? What if the driver has awful bad breath? The passenger is stuck downwind.

I can't believe there's a business that offers such a service. I'd love to see the rental contract. I'll bet you surrender everything in the event of an accident. When I first read this I thought it was a joke. 72 and 69 are not the daredevil years. These are the years to protect yourself at all costs.

They certainly DO have these tours. While we have not taken any of them, I see that this one is getting very good reviews, and looks to have some impressive endorsements.

http://scooteroma.com
http://scooteroma.com/tours/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187791-d4083157-Reviews-Scooteroma_Tours-Rome_Lazio.html

I could probably dig around for some others but let's just say that you CAN do this. I'd at least contact them with any questions you might have? Shoot, 70 is the new 50, eh? :O)

wisetrek03, I'd feel differently if your husband wanted to navigate a Vespa on his own in Rome traffic (yikes!) but riding along with an experienced driver is a different animal.

I agree with Kathy, if your driver is experienced, it can be great fun. You might have a peek at the film, Roman Holiday, to see how things might end up if you try this on your own (kidding).

I am 69, and my Vespa has 25,000 km on the clock. I ride it most days.

If you do decide to take the tour in Rome, check that your travel insurance covers the risk of riding a scooter. I would not be relying on the insurance carried by the tour operator, no matter how fine their documents look.

..receiving tour information in a loud and busy city, while wearing a
helmut and riding in busy, chaotic traffic?

For heaven's sake, read the description? The driver makes STOPS for the narrative part. And I'm with Frank: there's nothing "chest beating" about a guided Vespa tour at all. In fact, the company linked above is owned and operated by a WOMAN.

This Vespa tour business sounds like a thumbs down from all the Sharks
on Shark Tank.

Been in business since 2007. No Shark Tank needed, already plenty successful.

Looks like fun to me!
https://www.youtube.com/user/ScooteromaTours

I have experience with bikes in small to large european cities. I have been a driver and rider on a Vespa in the states. Due to bike handling safety I have never been hit, yet! On the scooter I would have a bit more speed as would other moving objects. I have had a sense they could not and would not see me. No accidents, yet! Do you know scooters/motorcycles can ride the shoulder and between cars in Italy? On a nearly empty freeway located in the south of Italy a motorbike came up fast on the shoulder, what the heck was that about? On another trip two Ferraris came up mighty fast but they were in the lane. I would suggest if you have no experience with motorbikes or scooters to consider a different option for a tour, maybe in a Feraris.

Kathy, thanks for the link. I'm in! Anybody else?

A glance at pix on Trip Advisor turns up a range of sizes and life stages of people who've done it, like these:

https://tinyurl.com/ybv6mqmp

https://tinyurl.com/yc9jt6u6

Someone who said she usually needs a wheelchair to get around even did it.

A quick sample of a few reviews from mature riders:
"Jacopo and Michele arrived on their scooters to take me and my best friend both riding pillion. I am 51 and my friend is 71 so not your usual scooter tourists. We had the ride of our lives."

"I'm over 70 and must say that 'helmet hair' wasn't my prime concern when I booked my 4 hour Rome tour with Scooterama! Long story short: Not only did I visit the regular highlights, we went to special places that make me love Rome more than I ever thought I would. I felt safe at all times as we zipped around town."

wisetrek03, I'd skim the reviews and pictures and make your own decision but I am 62 and would not hesitate to book this tour. Not a single person in the feedback I skimmed mentioned feeling unsafe. Shoot, people older than you or your husband tandem-jump out of planes, for pete's sake (and you really DO sign your life away for that)! So go for it: it may turn out to be a cherished memory of your trip. :O)

One of our tour mates on our recent Village Italy tour took one of these in Rome pre-tour. She loved it! She was worried that she'd be too old and too heavy, but neither was a problem. I'll PM her with a link to this thread.

Edit to add: I just PMed Lo. I suspect you'll hear from her soon.

And here I am to tell you what a blast I had behind Michele on my Scooteroma 3-hour street art tour in hot Rome in June. He picked me up right in front of my apartment near the Vatican on his vintage 70's Vespa. I put on my helmet, got on the back of the bike and off we went.

I put my arms around his waist and we both got very sweaty. I had no problems hearing him and he could hear me just fine. We made many stops where we got off the Vespa and discussed the art we were seeing. We integrated 2 cold drink, rest and conversation stops with the art.

He's young enough to be my son or grandson, has a wife and small child and has been driving a Vespa since he was 14. I had no concern about his art knowledge or his driving skills.

I was concerned that Scooteroma would not accept me because of my age (71) or my weight (200), but they had no problem with that. I did check with my travel insurer to be certain that riding on the back of a Vespa would be covered if anything happened. They said that I would be covered, but I did document the phone call by date, time and the name of the person I talked to.

Yes, Vespas and motorcycles do go between lanes of vehicles, between vehicles and the curb and between vehicles and the center double line. Sometimes they go over the double line when possible. At one stoplight I noticed that there was a horizontal line of 2-wheeled vehicles in front of everyone else. Lanes? We don't need no stinkin' lanes!

Riding on the back of that Vespa was great fun and made the whole experience better than it would have been in a car or bus. However, you can go on the same tours in a Piaggio Ape Calessino if you have 2-3 people. You can see that at the bottom of the linked page. It's open air, but I can't imagine that it would be as much fun.

There's just something about coming home around the curve of the Colosseum on the back of a Vespa, leaning just a little bit that feels so, so Roman.

My opinion, which I would like it not to be harshly criticized and respected, is do not ride a scooter without experience as a passenger or driver in Rome. Do check liability and insurance. Pulling individuals comments from their post to state your opinion can lead to criticism and disrespect of the poster. Go for the ride, if it is what you would like to do. Also, risk taking at a younger age is far easier to recover physically and emotionally from. And I have experience with that too.

My husband and I ,both in our sixties, had the BEST time with Scooterama. I could recommend them totally!!! Go and enjoy. It was so fabulous. X

There's just something about coming home around the curve of the
Colosseum on the back of a Vespa, leaning just a little bit that feels
so, so Roman.

Lo, I love that image. So "Roman Holiday." And I'm picturing you with a mile-wide grin on your face!

Your picture is absolutely correct. We did get some stares from people on the sidewalks as we went by. I grinned even bigger for them.

I expect my grin was about the same as my husband's was when he drove the Nurburgring. I know I also had a big grin when I rode around it with the guy from whom he rented the track prepared car.

That's another fun thing to do, but you gotta go to Germany for that.

LO, I love it that you did this! I'm seriously considering one of these tours for our next trip!

My husband and I did a Vespa tour in Rome, about 2 years ago. We are both in our 60's and it was wonderful. The guides stopped at all the places of interest that we wanted to see and they did tell us about the history. At some places they provided us with a small device on which we could listen inside a church while they were waiting outside. The tour lasted 4 hours, from 10am to 2pm. We even had Sparkling wine at a viewpoint over Rome.

Wow, thank you all for these great comments! Still deciding....but these responses have been so helpful. If we do this and live through it, we will post on this Travel Forum!