Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Guided Tour or AudioGuide Option
Rome, Italy
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
Why travellers loved this
·
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
No one should leave Rome without visiting the Colosseum, Roman Forum, or Palatine Hill, where the city began—yet understanding the history behind the ruins can be a challenge when visiting independently. Enrich your visit with crucial context on this guided tour which also includes admission. Prefer the freedom of visiting alone? Then opt for entry combined with an audioguide, and listen to recorded insights while you wander.
- Stroll around Palatine Hill and learn about the palaces of the Roman emperors
- Visit the Roman Forum to see temples, arches, and religious monuments
- Choose from a variety of departure times to suit your schedule
- Audio guide tour option available for independent travelers
Why Travellers Choose This Tour
A few different morning tour times offer options for beating the afternoon heat.
What's Included
- Entrance to the Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
- Colosseum entrance ticket (valued at €18 per person)
- Colosseum reservation fee (valued at €2 per person)
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transportation to/from attractions
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Basilica of Saints Cosmas and DamianVia dei Fori Imperiali, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
The meeting point is in the square in front of the Santi Cosma and Damiano Basilica in Via dei Fori Imperiali 1. You will find our staff wearing a light blue vest with our logos. Please arrive 15 minutes early. The tour cannot be joined in case of delays.
End point
- ColosseumP.za del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Itinerary
Choose from one of several start times through the morning and afternoon when you book. Then on the day, head to the meeting point on Via Frangipane, near the entrance to the Roman Forum.
Once the site of brutal gladiatorial battle, the amphitheater was the go-to place for the ancient Romans’ entertainment. Hear about the gladiators, wild animals, emperors, and senators as you explore, and imagine the roar of the crowds, centuries ago.
From the Colosseum, you’ll continue to Palatine Hill to see where the emperors built their lavish palaces. Gaze at the view over Circus Maximus where chariot races were held, and look down at the ruined temples of the Roman Forum. Then, get a close-up view as you head inside the forum itself to learn about daily life in Ancient Rome.
After three hours, your tour ends outside the Roman Forum.
Once the site of brutal gladiatorial battle, the amphitheater was the go-to place for the ancient Romans’ entertainment. Hear about the gladiators, wild animals, emperors, and senators as you explore, and imagine the roar of the crowds, centuries ago.
From the Colosseum, you’ll continue to Palatine Hill to see where the emperors built their lavish palaces. Gaze at the view over Circus Maximus where chariot races were held, and look down at the ruined temples of the Roman Forum. Then, get a close-up view as you head inside the forum itself to learn about daily life in Ancient Rome.
After three hours, your tour ends outside the Roman Forum.
1
Colosseum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
2
Palatine Hill
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Roman Forum
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travellers can participate
- Please make sure that the names provided EXACTLY MATCH THE NAMES on the passports or ID cards of all participants (children included), otherwise entry to the Colosseum will be denied. A valid ID is required for everyone to enter. Nicknames, missing names, or incorrect first or last names are not accepted by Colosseum guards. Feel free to contact us if you need any assistance with this.
- For minors, the age must be 17 or younger on the day of the activity
- The entrance tickets to the Colosseum cannot be changed or refunded
- Each traveler must show a valid ID matching the booking name for entry. Without ID, entry is not guaranteed
- Please show up at least 15 minutes before the tour to do the check in
- Meeting time is subject to change; if this occurs, you will receive a call or message from the activity provider. Please provide your correct phone number and country code
- Late arrivals will not be refunded
- All visitors must pass through a metal detector to enter the Colosseum. No exceptions
- Not Allowed: Big backpacks, pets, weapons, sharp items, large bags, alcohol, drugs, sprays, glass.
- By purchasing this tour, you agree to our Terms and Conditions
- If you booked the audio guide option, please download the app in advance using Wi-Fi. Once downloaded, it works offline. Earphones are not provided – please bring your own, compatible with your smartphones. Note that older phones may not support the app properly. For bookings after 4:00 PM, you may not have enough time to visit the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. You can either arrive earlier or visit the Roman Forum the next day.
- The Ancient Rome tour involves Steps and a lot of walking on un-even path especially in the Roman Forum . We highly suggest flat confortable shoes. This tour is not suitable for any person with recent surgeries, with disabilities and for people in wheelchairs due to the street level , up street level and steps.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travellers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 3 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveller Photos
Reviews
4.4
based on 799 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
Don’t hire this company . Avoid at all costs. I tried to message them that I could not get my tickets
Paid more than double for this ticket for no benefit. Met the vendor at the meeting point 10 minutes away from the venue. Here he handed out printed tickets then walked us close enough to see the lines of people lining up for Colosseum entry. He simply told us to head over and line up and then he left. The audio guide contained very limited information and was over within a few minutes.
We had a very interesting tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and answered any questions very well. We had ample opportunities to take pictures. Unfortunately due to a tragic accident at the Colosseum, it closed just prior to us entering, but she did a wonderful job explaining what was on the inside and used photographs to demonstrate what we were unable to see that day.
The directions for the meeting point could be a little more clear. Once you find the meeting point, it is also not explicitly clear what you are supposed to do and who you are supposed to meet.
You will listen to the tour on your phone. To do this, you first need to download the app “PopGuide”. If your mobile phone carrier and home are outside of Italy (e.g. T-Mobile from USA), you first need to make sure you can download the app. This was challenging and we were not able to download it to each of our phones due to connection issues.
It might be worth investigating whether you can download PopGuide while at home prior to traveling.
Once you have the app downloaded, you will see a map. The map contains 10 to 20 sites to view and listen to their description. The content is informative and provides perspective about what you are viewing. It can be overwhelming because there is so much history for each of the viewing stops.
If I had to do again, I would pay the extra money for human guide.
It was a very good tour and the time saved in the lines for buying tickets where worth it. The audio info was very useful and informative.
There is a lot of history in Rome and the Colosseum so a guided tour was a must! There is a good amount of walking so bring great shoes and plenty of water if you arrive in the summer. Plenty of places nearby to eat afterwards.
The tour was very educational. The Tours guy was very knowledgeable about all the Roman history. I would tell anyone to take this tour as long but worth it.
Be well hydrated and rested for complete excursion experience during hot summer months. Go early, to avoid massive crowds and utilize your guide’s knowledge and suggestions.
Booked the audio guide. There’s an app you have to download to use it, but I did not find it informative. Limited info on the Colosseum. Couldn’t find any info on the Forum or Palatine Hill.
Brilliant tour, watch out for the days temperature. Great guide, brilliant insight. A history lesson you should take.
Understand life in ancient Rome, not only the Colloseum but also the Roman forum. Amazing to understand the taughtbprocess in building such an arena, with details still in use today.
Excellent tour. Very informative and fun. Lots of information and beautiful scenery. Great experience
We loved the audio guide skip the line. Quick and easy to get in and enjoy at your own pace. Just remember there are tons of tour operators at the meeting place so know the company name in advance. Mine was Vivitas Travel. Guilia was great communicating with me via the Viator app. She was very organized and I had everything I needed and she gave wonderful instructions. Her colleague who brings the blue flags was late so it did take a while to find them. Thankfully the water sellers know them and helped me find them. Bring water and buy an extra bottle from the water sellers if it’s hot. There’s a fountain in the Coloseu that you WILL need to fill up 2 bottles for everyone in your party.
The won’t even give upto 5mins grace, traffic was horrible and the told me no refunds!
Don’t use them. Very selfish, even after I communicated with them!
The meetup area is a bit chaotic/confusing—don’t bother to show up early because the guides show up on time. They call your name and pass out vouchers (and stickers) then direct you to your group guide. The voucher redemption point and tour beginning is really in the same place. From there, everything runs smoothly. Our guide was knowledgeable, funny & engaging.
Unfortunately we did not receive the message regarding the new meeting point until after our tour. We met at the location provided by the voucher in the Viator App. We were wrongly advised by a number of other tour guides when I asked where our tour was since I saw no light blue shirts (based on instructions on voucher) and who even the tour company was and none indicated anything as related to Viator. It wasn’t until I called to get proper information and the new meeting point was sent. However by that time it was too late and we missed the guide. We were told we could still get into the colloseum so we rushed to make our entry window to get in. So we visited the Collosium on our own with no guide as paid for. Our family was very disappointed in this effort and why the meeting point was changed from what I understood from the Viator voucher. Because of this we missed our tour.
I used Viator for tours many times in the past vacations with no problem. I am not happy about missing our tour in Rome as this was also the last day of our stay. I will have to reconsider when traveling abroad due to the circumstances experienced. It was quite an investment and very stressful to make tour and were not accomodated.
An awful day. Tour company changed the meeting place late by sending an email with new meeting point. No explanation given. I noticed that we had two meeting points so arrived an hour early. Went to original meeting point and queued to speak to check in guy. Wasted 20 mins to be told I wasn’t on the the list. Pointed over the road and said I needed to go there. Found alternative meeting point on map sent to me on email but that was wrong too. Called the number given a few times, no answer so went back to original meeting point, no joy, they couldn’t help. Then received a call from tour guide asking if we were coming. Explained that the meeting point on map was wrong. They sent a video showing the way to another meeting point. We followed this and arrived just after 10am but the tour had left without us. There were 6/8 people with us trying to find the meeting point. We all missed the guided tour because the company changed the meeting point very late and gave incorrect new meeting point on map. Our granddaughter was hoping to use the tour for her school work on Roman life but missed out! Viator have refused a refund. Don’t use this company!
Wonderful tour! We had a fantastic tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what he was sharing. We really enjoyed it, and learned a lot. Definitely recommend!
Very informative, passionate and friendly tour guide. Knowledgeable and friendly and concerned with all in the group.
This tour is a medium effort level tour. The tour guide was knowledgeable about the three areas. I wished they would have provided a brief restroom break along the way and time to visit the book shops/souvenir areas.
The tour guide was great and really knew her stuff. Made it very entertaining and enjoyable. Also did a good job at keeping us in the shade and making the tour not drag on too much.
I was very surprised to find the audio guide we ordered didn't come with headphones. This added 50% to the cost.
Some better directions to find the ticket man would be better. For others benefit, there are steps up to Via Colloseo within the metro station.
The tour guide Elida was really informative. She provided a lot of information took us on some good information we need to understand in English
Very easy and communicative in terms of meeting points and the itinerary. Your guide was very good and informative and patient. Would recommend
Diego was absolutely amazing in his knowledge of the site. We would not have known what we were looking at without his insight.
Obviously the experience of a lifetime…but I wish there were more signs and or that I paid money for a tour with a guide (not just audio).
It was a great experience. Everyone must see it once. But try to book with the official site. Better deal. But must do in advance
Very nice and good guide. The tour was great. No waiting line, very interesting tour. Thanks very much to the lady who guided us👍
if you are looking to walk around by yourself it was great! we were under the impression we would be in a group tour but we got the tickets and were off by ourself! we had the audio guide downloaded and tried listening to that but ended up just walking around by ourself! I loved how incontact the company was and sent lots of reminders which was a big plus!!!
While we were able to meet up with the group. There was not a clear direction on where optional tour guid would be so we just explored the Collesium alone
Member Pricing
From
US$40.11
per personWas US$42.23(-5%)
Up to 3 days in advance.
Compare Similar Experiences
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
Attractions in Rome, Italy
- Via Margutta Tours & Tickets
- Rome Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo Tours & Tickets
- Capitoline Hill and Museums (Campidoglio e Musei Capitolini) Tours & Tickets
- Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Tours & Tickets
- Aventine Hill (Aventino) Tours & Tickets
- Circus of Maxentius (Circo di Massenzio) Tours & Tickets
- Column of Marcus Aurelius (Colonna di Marco Aurelio) Tours & Tickets
- Keats-Shelley House Tours & Tickets
- Turtle Fountain (Fontana delle Tartarughe) Tours & Tickets
- Seven Hills of Rome (Sette Colli di Roma) Tours & Tickets
- Piazza del Campidoglio Tours & Tickets
- Palatine Museum (Museo del Palatino) Tours & Tickets
- Vatican Museums Tours & Tickets
- Trajan's Market (Mercati di Traiano) Tours & Tickets
- Herculaneum Archaeological Park (Parco Archeologico di Ercolano) Tours & Tickets
- Rome Olympic Stadium (Stadio Olimpico) Tours & Tickets
- Roman Forum (Foro Romano) Tours & Tickets
- Vatican Gardens Tours & Tickets
- Piazza Navona Tours & Tickets
- Trevi Fountain Tours & Tickets
More attractions near Rome, Italy