Rome: Half Day Private Tour To Discover Hidden Gems With Tasting

A little awkward at first as the driver did not know how to speak English. We really didn't understand where we were going or what we were supposed to expect. It was a pleasant surprise. A private tour... just the family. A little time to ourselves and time to take in the sights all that we wanted. At a very busy tourist time of year.. this was an exceptional way to experience Rome. We got passed around to a couple of guides and we had our choice of meal at the restaurant with several people looking out for us to ensure we met up with all our guides and drivers. Amazing experience. Nice to get away from all the craziness of a full bus load of people on a shore excursion.

Our cruise ship dropped us to the port of Civitavecchia, and from there we traveled to Rome by bus. We had about 12 hours from the time we were dropped off at the port, to the time we had to be back on the bus. We were there in July 2016, on a Thursday. It is typically a very busy time in July, so our family of 9 people decided we only have enough time to see the Vatican in order to make it back on the ship. That's why this skip the line tour which allows you to see the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican museum, was a MUST. Do not subject yourself to the lines if you are on a time crunch! Lunch was provided which consisted of pizza/pasta and a meat/cheese plate and wine, of course. It was good. We were able to see and take pictures at the beautiful Trevi Fountain as well as the Panthenon, and stopped to get an explanation of various monuments and fountains around Rome. We also stopped at the Spanish Steps and took pictures. Our tour guide was Flavio and he was excellent. He was very patient with our large group and took time to carefully explain the important highlights and details, and was very knowledgeable. He especially was impressive with his knowledge of Michelangelo's work in the Sistine chapel. He also went above and beyond for my daughter who is in a wheelchair. He did whatever he could to help us find ramps and alternate routes whenever there were steps, and he also helped us carry the wheelchair down several steps when going from the Sistine Chapel to the basilica there was no alternate ramp. We all really appreciated him and admired his kindness. The ONLY negative was that there was VERY limited time about 30 minutes for shopping, and many of my family members wanted to have more time but that is just the nature of our trip, as we had to be back on the ship.