Rome Shore Excursion (without Vatican?)

[Lbaird5]

Hi, 

 

My husband and I will be spending one day in Rome next September sailing on the Norwegian Epic. I'm looking to book a shore excursion that includes a guided tour of the Colosseum and surrounding area.  Everything I've looked at so far has the Vatican included. Not that I wouldn't want to see the Vatican, it's just we only have one day and I'd rather spend it doing a tour of the city and Colosseum and leave the Vatican for another trip. 

 

Does anyone have any suggested tour options? Where it's only me and my husband travelling together a private tour with just the both of us is going to be too expensive. Looking to do a group tour of some sort. 

 

Thanks, 

Leanne

[CruiserBruce]

I would join the Roll Call for your cruise, found here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/446-norwegian-epic-roll-calls/

 

and try to build a private tour for 6 or 8 people with similar wishes. Private tours are customizable, so you don't have to do the Vatican if you don't want.

 

Second, check a  couple of the tour providers, like the wonderful Rome in Limo. They have tour share features on their websites. You might be able to build a tour without the Vatican.

[mapleleaves]

I'm on the EPIC in Sept also.   Like you, we want to focus on 'ancient rome' and couldn't find a tour that doesn't spend a few hrs at the Vatican.  I looked at customizing a tour but the more I researched,  it seemed easy enough to go DIY.    We'll.take the train from Civi, hop off at St Pietro for a photo opp at the Vatican, then head to the sites we want to see, and on our own schedule.  After reading a number of trip reports, it seems simple enough to do and so economical .

This web site might help: https://www.rometoolkit.com/airport/civitavechia_train.htm

And this thread :  

 

In Naples i didn't find exactly what I wanted either, so I found a vendor who was willing to customize their itinerary.  As  Bruce suggested, use the Roll Call to find a few people with similar interests to share the tour and the cost. 

Our roll call is pretty quiet but I expect it will pick up in the Spring. Good luck !

Edited January 8, 2019 by mapleleaves
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[Karae]

You can just show up at the Colosseum and there are tons of private tour operators to choose from....that's what we did, we also included Palentine HIll.

 

[Lbaird5]

Thanks everyone!! Appreciate all the feedback!

[mapleleaves]

Official  ticket office for Colosseum :

https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

 

There's a lengthy informative thread on the Rome forum of tripadvisor that talks about tickets, tours, underground, belevedere, etc.  

[SoccerMom#3]

We used Italytours.eu for a one day tour including the Colosseum and the Vatican.  They got us skip the line tickets for both and we had a private guide at the Vatican.  I highly recommend Italy Tours.

 

We did our Rome touring before we got on the ship rather than as an excursion when we were on the cruise.

[Pens fan]

I just booked a tour through Rome in Limo called Rome Highlights and the Catacombs http://www.romeinlimo.com/tours-of-rome/ancient-rome-and-catacombs.htm for our pre cruise stay in Rome.  Like you, we decided to forgo the Vatican to spend more time on the ancient sights, and this fit the bill perfectly for us.  They also offer this tour from Civitavecchia, though it's more expensive due to the extra travel time.  The earlier suggestion about sharing with someone on your roll call is a good one.  

 

 

[LipstickLeslie]

Here's one without the Vatican too: https://www.romeprivateexcursions.com/shore-excursions/