Tours in Rome

[sasue]

We're struggling with exactly how to tour Rome. We have decided to take the express train. We want to see the Sistine Chapel and the inside of the Coliseum, hopefully tours at each place. Does anyone have any advice as how to do this. Any tour company recommendations? We'd just like a tour of these places and not a tour there and back. Also, how do we get tickets in advance for the Vatican Museum and Coliseum? Thanks.

[twoatsea]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=803139

 

lambs2 had a great post on the above thread. Gives a good explanation of how to tour Rome in one day.

 

RE: tour of Vatican Museums, where you can see the Sistine Chapel, IMO the easiest & cheapest way is to pre-reserve a tour with the offical Vatican website - vatican.va. Much cheaper than tour companies. Many tour companies cannot bypass the long & hot line. You will be given a time to appear (you can request the time), you walk past all of the people who have been waiting for a long time, escorted inside, get a headset to hear the guide easily, & you are on your way. If you want to leave the tour, do so, but you must return the headsets. Discuss this with the guide. You may need to go back to the beginning to return them. Some have said they saw return baskets after exiting the Sistine. I never read of a deposit for the headsets, so doesn't seem like you would have to return to the beginning. Note: when exiting the Sistine, don't take the door to the left; take the one to the right - says for tour groups (just go out with a bunch of other people). This exit will lead you to St. Peter's basilica without waiting in another line.

 

You can buy tickets on the Colosseum website in advance & I suggest you do so to bypass the line, once again. Sorry, I don't know the site, but I'm sure a google search would easily find it. Don't know if you can purchase a tour there. However, I know there are tours you can purchase at the Colosseum - but English tours are at certain times & might be full. Don't know of any private tour company.

 

I'm watching TV & took so long to type this you may have already gotten a duplicate response. If so, sorry.

 

By the way, there is a HoHo bus (hop-on/hop-off) bus - #110 red double decker. That is an easy way to see the tourist parts of the city & get from spot to spot. The entire tour is 2 hours. You get headsets to plug in with some interesting info.

 

Or, use the metro. It is simple to use, safe (except for pickpockets who are everywhere - use your under your clothes money bag), & quick. However, it does not go to all of the sites, so does involve some walking, of course. But then anything would involve some walking, which I am sure you have figured out.

 

Have fun. I love Roma!

[drsb]

Take a look at http://www.angeltoursrome.com/tours.htm. They might be what you are looking for. They have lots of good reviews. I have booked a private tour of the Vatican with them, followed by transportation to the ship when I sail in Oct.

[cruisingmimi]

You will not be disappointed with Angel Tours. We have used them twice and most recently in December. I refer a lot of people to them as they offer a wonderful and educational tour. You can check their website for further info, email, prices, etc.

 

I am helping several friends who will be on a cruise in September and I am going to set up a tour of the Vatican with the Angels for them as well. They can also arrange transportation to and from Civitavecchia if you need rides.

 

Mary

[Crrbncrzn]

We just returned from our cruise last week and highly recommend Rome In Limo tours. Our driver, Maurizo was very knowledgeable and expertly guided us around Rome seeing many of the sites before an on time return to our ship. They also arranged a separate private tour at the Vatican which was very informative with the very knowledgeable Lauren. When we compared our day to those who took ship tour excursions, not only did we see twice as many sites, but the information and detail we got was much better. You simply need to understand you are not going to see all of Rome in one day, but can certainly see many of the great sites and have a wonderful day in a truly remarkable city.

[texancruzer]

Another vote for Angel Tours. DH and I did a PRIVATE tour (90 euros per person) of the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peters last November. Just the two of us and our guide. It was pricey but amazing. Their group tours are kept small too and much cheaper.

 

Then all 3 of us went to a small hole-in-the-wall pizza place and had lunch.

 

Afterwards we jumped in a taxi and went for a private tour of the Coliseum/Forum/Palantine Hill with the same guide. Again 90 euros per person. Again - worth every penny.

 

We basically had one day to sightsee in Rome altho we were there 2 nights precruise. We wanted to get the most out of our day with the least hassle and this was the way to go.

 

Eileen was so great. She patiently answered the million and one questions I asked her throughout the day as well as constantly gave us all the history as well as interesting things for all those places we went. Even personal insight into living and working in Rome (she was from Ireland) and was a just a joy to spend the day with.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

And yet another recommendation for Angel Tours. We used them in Rome in May, 2007 for a Colosseum/Forum group tour in the morning and a Vatican (incl. Sistine Chapel) group tour in the afternoon. They limit the size of the groups so it's very easy to hear what the guide is saying. Our guide (from the UK) had an education in classical history and his insights gave more meaning to what we were seeing than we could have gained by trying to see it on our own with a tour book in hand.

[Illsticktocrusing]

During our trip in Rome last year we used (www.Rome-Day-tours.com). Rich and his wife were our tour guides (Colosseum and Vatican/Sistine Chapel). They are both very knowledgeable and made our trip more enjoyable. They set up a meeting location based on your itinerary. We are planning on using them again we were return to Rome this August. We just arrange a specific location to meet (ie. one of the train stops) and will begin our tour.

[bunnyette]

I can't recommend Through Eternity Tours enough! Very reasonably priced, great guides and they meet at very easy to find locations. Their website is www.througheternity.com. They do mainly walking tours. They also arrange for group tours too.

[Abbyroo]

In the escorted tours recommended, were you told to dress in a certain way to enter the Vatican?

 

Ruth

[texancruzer]

Almost all churches, basilicas, monastaries or whatever in Europe have a dress code. Most do not allow knees showing (ie shorts) tank tops, crop tops and basically request your shoulders be covered.

 

We saw some people entering anyway...... some people were stopped and some werent.

 

If I am going all the way to Europe to see the churches etc.... I am going to dress so I know I will get in and stay in :D and to be respectful of their customs or wishes.

 

We saw lots of vendors outside selling beautiful scarves which people used to tie around their waists to cover their knees or over the shoulders so as to conform to the code.

 

some tour companies will tell you ahead of time the requirements - others will assume you know.

[agathasmum]

Another vote for Angel Tours. Pre and Post cruise we toured with them and did Colisseum and Forum, Heart of Rome walking tour and Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel. They do do a tour specifically for cruise passengers s well.

 

Their guides are young, fun and very knowledgeable.

 

Susan

[stockcar]

Last year we used Romeconnections http://www.romeconnection.com/

Couldn't recommend them highly enough. Met us on time in a luxury mercedes minibus and our driver/guide spirited us through the traffic to all the sights (we had our eyes closed most of the time! Italian drivers all think they are in a race). Arranged the itinery to suit us including a very pleasant lunch at a small restaurant.

[cruisemom42]

Although many people here have reported excellent tours with Angel Tours, I do suggest that you check out recommendations on Tripadvisor.com as well. (It's a land-based travel site so there are generally a lot more reviews.) Angel Tours doesn't always fare so well compared with other operators. It seems to be more a "luck of the draw" thing with some guides that are very good and some not so good. Also, they employ college students for the most part, so their staff fluctuates.

 

Just fyi.....

 

(I have also read that while their guides are enthusiastic, their facts are at times not exactly spot on...)

 

No flames please! Just reporting what I've read and what helped me make a decision on tours in Rome.