small group tours

[zaban3]

We will be in Rome three days before med. cruise and want to take some "small group" walking tours. Any recommendations for tour companies? I've looked at Trip Adviser and many companies get good reviews.

[cruisemom42]

From personal experience I can highly recommend Through Eternity Tours and also Context Travel. Context's tours tend to be a bit more in-depth and I wouldn't necessarily recommend them for children (although they do seem to have a couple that are geared for families) or if you only have a casual interest in something.

 

If there are others you are considering, you should post the names here and someone might be able to chime in. I've certainly done my share of group tours in Rome and some are MUCH better than others. :cool:

[zaban3]

Just my husband and me. I was an art history major in college so I may enjoy the more in depth tour.

[cruisemom42]

Just my husband and me. I was an art history major in college so I may enjoy the more in depth tour.

 

I personally have loved the Context tours I've taken. They are some of the best, bar none, that I've had anywhere I've traveled. The guides are very good at finding out the groups' interests and including them as part of the tour if possible. They are also very knowledgeable but still engaging. I research and read a lot before I travel; I've still managed to learn some new things from my Context guides.....

[pete_coach]

We really enjoyed our walking tour and the best of all, it was free. (gratuity at the end is never turned down though LOL)

http://www.romefreewalkingtour.com/?gclid=CJSrmva7qK0CFWcBQAodaTNAoQ

[coyboy1971]

From personal experience I can highly recommend Through Eternity Tours and also Context Travel. Context's tours tend to be a bit more in-depth and I wouldn't necessarily recommend them for children (although they do seem to have a couple that are geared for families) or if you only have a casual interest in something.

 

If there are others you are considering, you should post the names here and someone might be able to chime in. I've certainly done my share of group tours in Rome and some are MUCH better than others. :cool:

 

We have used Context in both Paris and Venice. They have great docents, and super food and wine tours.

[bobalink]

We will be in Rome three days before med. cruise and want to take some "small group" walking tours. Any recommendations for tour companies? I've looked at Trip Adviser and many companies get good reviews.

 

Another option that may be of interest to you:

 

FREE from the Rick Steves website, Audio Europe, walking tours that you can download to your iPod.

 

We used several of them this past summer and enjoyed it very much.

 

http://www.ricksteves.com/ae/ae_menu.htm

 

Enjoy!

[SAS21]

We used Romeingtours.com when we were there in May. Very informative and we were able to schedule the things we wanted to see at our own pace.

[hylasgirl]

We will be in Rome three days before med. cruise and want to take some "small group" walking tours. Any recommendations for tour companies? I've looked at Trip Adviser and many companies get good reviews.

 

 

We have used Romeinlimo several times for small walking tours. They are #1 on the Trip Advisor under "things to do". We have done the ancient center and also the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica walking tours. They did an excellent job and it was a small group.

[ksps cruise fan]

Just my husband and me. I was an art history major in college so I may enjoy the more in depth tour.

 

Context Travel supplies bios for each guide assigned to each specific tour. I recommend you read those bios to see if their level of education and experience appeals to you. I've found that Context's guides' backgrounds far exceeds guide certification and earning that is pretty rigorous all by itself.

 

Incidentally, Context's Tours are all available as a six-person maximum small group experience or a private experience. Not surprisingly, there's a huge difference in price. If the quality at Context appeals, but the price of all private tours is too high, look on the calendar to see if a tour you're interesting in taking is scheduled for the days of your visit. If not, write to the folks at Context and ask if a specific tour can be added to the calendar as a group tour.

[wantocruisemore]

Just my husband and me. I was an art history major in college so I may enjoy the more in depth tour.

 

Art History was also one of my majors in college. We LOVED RomeinLimo for our tours of the Vatican as well as their transports etc. For our upcoming cruise we have a walking tour of the Forum and Palatine Hill scheduled. I like that they are flexible and let you choose where you want to see.

 

Depending on when you are there, you may also enjoy the Upper Levels/Underground tour of the Colosseum. The tour guides they use at the Colosseum are not the best but the access can't be beat.

[zaban3]

Are these private tours only?

[wantocruisemore]

Are these private tours only?

 

We either did private tours or DIY. The tour at the Colosseum for the upper levels/underground was through the Colosseum and the guide was employed by them. There were 25 total in the tour, you pay ahead online. The rest of the tours were just my family of 9.

[lidopuppy]

We really enjoyed our walking tour and the best of all, it was free. (gratuity at the end is never turned down though LOL)

http://www.romefreewalkingtour.com/?gclid=CJSrmva7qK0CFWcBQAodaTNAoQ

What specifically did you (or anyone) enjoy about the free tour? We'll be in Rome 2 days prior to sailing. We're looking to see the main sights, but we really typically dont like DETAILED tours. We just like to get the basic info and move on. our hotel is near the Pantheon so i think we're pretty centrally located.