Full Day Rome: Colosseum, Vatican City & Central Rome Tour

We were looking forward to a full day sightseeing, but an hour before our 10:30am meeting time to start the day we were informed that our first tour of the Colosseum was canceled. I was told our guide had an emergency and could not meet us. It was very disappointing considering we booked this months ago and we had limited time in Rome. (We found out later in the evening that after I had made this tour request months earlier our reservation was not booked by the tour company properly with the Colosseum Visitor System so it was canceled and we could not get rescheduled.) A refund for this portion of the tour was issued the next day. Instead we were told to start at 11:30am at the Vatican City instead of at 2:30pm as originally planned. We arrived at the meeting spot at 11:20am and were told to wait until our guide materialized. Not until almost an hour later at 12:15pm did our guide corral us to start the tour. So in essence our entire morning was shot wasting around doing nothing, and we were still quite jetlagged and could have easily used the morning for extra sleep had we known in advance. It was off to a bad start. Fortunately, the guide for the Vatican City Tour, Gulia, was on point and did a very good job of explaining the area and what we were seeing. She has some humorous and witty commentary and overall made the tour quite enjoyable to turn our start into a more pleasant experience. The only thing we later learned that was missed or not shared was when we parted from Gulia we went into the Basilica on our own. We were not told about the tombs in the lower level of the Basilica to visit so we missed that. It would have been nice to have known we had access to that with our ticket as well. The last portion of the tour was not until 6:00pm to do a walking tour of Central Rome. We met our guide at the Spanish Steps and spent the evening seeing the ancient sights of Rome. This was an overall glimpse of all the historical features and sites in Central Rome from the Roman aqueducts, Trevi Fountain, Egyptian Obelisks, The Parthenon, Memorial to the Past King, Mussolini’s former Headquarters, Roman Forum and the Colosseum to name a few. Our guide did a good job of explaining the different structures and their significance from the Roman period. And we were treated to a Gelato mid tour.

This is not a good tour to take. It is three tours totally unconnected with different guides and very little assistance at the end of each tour. The worst part was that at the last minute I got an email that the Colosseum was cancelled because there are no guide available. I was really upset because I had very little time in Rome. It was very unprofessional. The Rome Tour was done with an excellent guide (Verdan) but I was the only one who showed up. You are better off taking 3 individual tours. Besides it is way too much to walk and see in one day. I was deeply disappointed.

I had an amazing time exploring Rome with this service. The operator was very communicative and helpful. I recommend this to everyone!