Walks of Italy or Through Eternity?

I did the early morning Vatican/St. Peter's tour with Through Eternity and was very happy with it.

We did the small group early morning tour of the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill with Walks of Italy in October, and it was exquisite!

Barb, I have done the early morning Pristine Sistine tour of the Vatican with Walks of Italy, and it was excellent, both the tour itself, and the concept, which got us into the Sistine Chapel with almost no other people, and had us finish at the Vatican altogether by mid-day. Also had an excellent Colosseum complex tour with Walks of Italy, including the upper and lower levels. Turned out there was a transit etc. strike that day. We could do the full Colosseum Tour but the Forum was closed off as the staff was on strike. We still toured it, but from outside looking down at the Forum, not walking among the ruins. The guide added some extra things, and we were credited back a partial refund due to the circumstances, without even asking. Walks of Italy is a great company, has helpful staff at their offices in the US as well as Italy, and offers a 10% RS discount if you mention it, at least they did that a year ago. I have also had good experiences with Dark Rome and have heard good things about Context Italy and Through Eternity. In general, tourism and guiding are serious and quality businesses in Italy and in Rome, and there are various good choices for both private and group yours. Also, I understand that tours offered by many sites themselves are very good and less expensive, including the Vatican and the Colosseum.

I took 2 tours with Through Eternity in March 2013 - Roman Forum/Colosseum/Palatine Hill and Vatican Museums/St Peter's - and had a wonderful experience. Both guides were very knowledgeable. I'm going back to Italy this March and have booked a tour with them in Florence.

Thanks so much everyone for your comments. My husband decided that he was only interested in the 3 hour tours. So that narrows it down. I definitely want the Colosseum etc. to be in the morning - we are going the end of June and I know it will probably be hot.

Larry, we booked the Pristine Sistine for Septmeber and you can still use the RS discount. Since the tour starts at 7:30, I was hoping to be done in 4hours, but you said mid afternoon. Is this just because you stayed around longer?

Actually tisa82, I said mid-day, by which I meant around noon. As I remember, the group gathered at a coffee shop by 7:30 am, walked as a group to the entry of the Vatican Museum, waited for a while with a few other groups while our Walks of Italy guide gave us headsets and some orientation, then entered just after 8:00 am. Passed quite quickly through the Museum and went to the Sistine Chapel where we spent about 20 minutes with very few other people, able to see the beautiful floor with plenty of room to sit on the few benches and look up at the incredible ceiling. No talking and NO photos inside. Then we went back through the Museum, as it began to fill with people. Walked back past the Sistine Chapel which was totally mobbed with people by then, and went directly into St. Peter's Basilica. After the guide showed us around, around 11:30 or so, the tour ended. We could wander some more in St, Peter's if we liked, as I did, then it took a while to poke around outside, stop in a book or gift shop, and leave the Vatican, which I did at about 12:30 pm.

My experience with Walks of Italy was exactly as Larry stated.

It sounds like all these touring companies are similar to Dark Rome (I think Larry might have mentioned them as well). Would all of you say that these "expert guided tours" are considerably better than just making a reservation at these sites like the Colosseum and the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel?

I'm seeing the positive responses, but the tours I'm looking at are between $80 - $110 for the guided tours, but regular admission to the Colosseum is around $20 and the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel is about $30 per person. Would you guys agree that getting the 3-4 hour guided tours is worth the significant cost increase to admission? I do realize this might be a matter of personal preference, but was hoping to understand why having a guide could cost $50 more than a regular admission.

thanks!

I have heard excellent reports about both these company group tours and the tours offered by the sites themselves. Either is vastly superior to just roaming around yourself, with a guide book and even an audio tour, I think. A good guide can bring things to life and answer all kinds of questions. In terms of Walks of Italy and its Pristine Sistine tour, or any other very early morning tour, I do not know if you can get in that early, and visit the Sistine Chapel when it is empty like that, with just arrangements through the Vatican. Also, there is a door directly from the Museum near the Sistine Chapel into St. Peter's supposedly only available to people in tour groups, not sure how they define that. Enforcement appears to vary with the crowdedness and individual guard, according to comments on this forum. If you do not use that door, I understand you need to walk all the way back through the Museum, and then around the outside, to get back to St. Peters, a long walk and quite some time involved. You also need to do that if you have checked anything at the entrance, to go pick it up.