Catacombs and Roman Countryside Half-Day Walking Tour

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Rome, Italy

3 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Experience the Roman countryside on this half-day tour that combines travel by vehicle and on foot. With a guide leading the way, explore the Appian Way, an ancient road out of the city. Visit the fascinating Catacombs of San Sebastiano or San Callisto, where you’ll walk through underground tunnels, and be wowed by the sophisticated engineering of the Roman aqueducts. Explore a different side of Rome beyond the busy city.

Ideal for visitors to Rome who prefer the countryside
Admire the mighty arches of Rome's ancient aqueducts
Includes bus transfers, catacombs admission, and headsets if required
Tour starts (and ends) at an easy-to-find location in central Rome

What's Included

Professional guide
Admission Fees to the Catacombs of San Callisto
Bus transfer
Headsets available upon request

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Food and drinks, unless specified

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via Cavour, 224, 00184 Roma RM, Italy

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.9:45 am

Itinerary

Your half-day tour into the Roman countryside starts as you leave the city by coach or van to travel along the ancient Appian Way. The road dates back to 312 BC, when it provided strategic access in and out of the Roman Republic.

Stop to explore the historical sites around the Appian Way on foot, starting with a walk as you leave the southern edge of the city. With your guide, enjoy the scenery and snap a few photos before continuing in your vehicle to one of Rome’s ancient burial sites, either the Catacombs of San Sebastiano or San Callisto. Follow your guide through the underground tunnels, learning about historic burial processes.

Next, head to the remains of a Roman aqueduct, where you’ll be wowed by their masterful use of engineering to bring water into the city. Hear from your guide about why this area was chosen as the site of the aqueducts. Enjoy time for photos before the drive back to Rome, where your tour ends.

Catacombs of Saint Callixtus

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Circo Massimo (Pass By)

Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella e Castrum Caetani - Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Appian Way (Via Appia Antica)

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Luggage storage NOT available
Stroller accessible

A dress code is required to enter the catacombs. Both shoulders and knees MUST be covered for both men and women. This dress code is strictly enforced and you will be refused entry if you fail to comply with requirements.
Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.3

based on 411 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Booking cancelled with less than 24 hours notice by tour operator

Paul_C, Oct 2025

Tour operator phoned with less than 24 hours notice to state that they could not accommodate us on the tour which we booked and paid for 2 weeks earlier. No explanation offered, no refund yet received.

The family from Toronto, who loved the tour.

MaryCam_N, Sep 2025

Wonderful! We booked this tour to visit the catacombs and the 1st Roman aqueduct. Cathia and Mario, our tour guide and driver, were very welcoming, patient, and knowledgeable. We have a young toddler and both Cathia and Mario were very accommodating and kind. We loved this tour and will take another tour that they offer when we come back to Italy soon.

Worth It!

Wendy, May 2024

Francesca and Mario were wonderful! Thank you for a memorable day! Catacombs and Aquaduct Park were awe-inspiring and beautiful

Catacombs, aqueduct, and apian way

Jim_D, Oct 2023

Just an all around good tour. The catacombs were really interesting and the guide gave a pretty good overview on the history of the catacombs, Apian Way and the Aquaducts.

Great tour to do

mouldyoldy, Sep 2023

Tour was really good . the catacombs are amazing and the guide was great . seeing Appian Way and Aqueducts also great

Split up and only heard 1 of 3 words

Jonathan_G, May 2023

The tour itself was good and the tour guide did a nice job….but they separated us in 2 vans with the guide in one van and most of us in the other. Most of the tour was in the vehicles and the headset did not catch most of it, like we caught one out of 3 words! The vehicle was also very hot and stuffy. Also not that depending on traffic it will take 30-60 min longer. Also meeting place was unclear. FYI - You want to be by the bus stop near metro even though the once across the street matches what they must.

Response from Host, May 2023

Dear Customer, thank you for sharing your feedback regarding your recent tour experience. We are pleased to hear that the tour itself was good, and the tour guide did a nice job. However, we apologize for the inconveniences you encountered during the tour. We apologize for the separation of the group into two vans and the limited audio quality from the headset. We understand that this impacted your ability to fully enjoy and understand the tour commentary. We will address this issue to ensure an improved experience for future tours. Thank you!

Great tour

Gita_V, Apr 2023

Excellent guide and very interesting tour. Highly recommend it especially for teens. Also the aqueduct and Appian way was very interesting. It was raining but we still loved the tour.

Enlighting

Andrew_W, Sep 2021

If you are looking to see one of the area catacombs and one of the aquaducts (built in 312), this is the tour for you. It is a nice half day excursion to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

Fantastic

Traveler314855, Sep 2019

Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. He kidded with the group and made it very pleasurable. Be prepared to walk about 4 hours in the sun.

Loved!

Sandra R, Aug 2019

Our guide, Marcello, was excellent! He had a sense of humor and was very knowlegeable about thehistory of the sights. The Catacombs were amazing and it was helpful to see the drawings before we went down. We also enjoyed seeing the aquaducts and the Appian Way.

Catacombs and Appian way

Brenda_V, Jun 2019

Marcelo our guide was very informative and entertaining. Great sense of humor and made us feel very comfortable while answering all of our questions.

Marcello fantastic.

Julie_C, May 2019

The first part of the tour to the catacombs was great, the appian way and the Aquaducts were ok nothing to write home about. However we will give Marcello five stars he was informative, and fun.

Lovely day

time_for_a_trip77, Sep 2018

This was a great way to the see the Catacombs and Appian Way. We thought of doing it ourselves but were glad we did a tour. It was a big area and without a tour, I could see us wandering about not knowing where we were supposed to go (like we saw others doing). Our guide, Marcelo, was great. He gave us tips about Rome and we sort of wished we had done this within our first few days there rather than towards the end.

Wonderful walking along the Roman...

Roderick C, Apr 2018

Wonderful walking along the Roman road and viewing the countryside. Very informative excellent guide

This tour was well worth the money I...

Janet W, Mar 2018

This tour was well worth the money I would definitely do it again and the tour guide was brilliant

This tour started with a bus trip to...

Paul R, Jan 2018

This tour started with a bus trip to the Catacombs. The trip was interesting to see other parts of Rome besides the central tourist bits. The Catacombs were interesting but not top level exciting. Still worth a look. Probably was expecting a lot of bones but none there. Then had a look at a bit of the Appian Way then to a section of aqueduct. All interesting and well presented and described. Not to much walking, about the right amount. Nice to sit in the bus for short trips as well. Big bus, only a dozen people on it so tons of room. A nice morning.

Office staff not friendly, but tour...

Gaye D, Nov 2017

Office staff not friendly, but tour guide good. Arrived at catacombs early before crowds. Walked part and bussed part. Aqueducts amazing'

Mariah was a superb tour guide. She...

blueboro, Nov 2017

Mariah was a superb tour guide. She speaks several different languages and the tour was both informative and entertaining. She spoke individually to all the tour guests and even helped us find restaurants after the tour was finished. Would definitely recommend this tour and especially Mariah.

Tatia was amazing!!!! She was a...

Jaimini A, Oct 2017

Tatia was amazing!!!! She was a history major and really knew her information. Patient, provided a great narration to all of us. What I liked most was the small group we were with...it kept things on track and we felt as though we had personal attention. I would recommend this as one of the best tours of Rome!!

Excellent! Lots of interesting...

John S, Oct 2017

Excellent! Lots of interesting information from the tour guide, and beautifully organised. Lovely to be doing in Rome what Romans love to do!

Wonderful tour. Glad we booked. We...

John S, Oct 2017

Wonderful tour. Glad we booked. We visited the catacombs, Appian Way and the Aquaducts. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining well. We enjoyed the tour and recommend it to everyone. Not a lot of waking.

Our guide provided a lot of history...

Sandra P, Oct 2017

Our guide provided a lot of history and detail about the catacombs and this made our tour very interesting. A great tour for those people interested in history.

Just wow!! Fascinating history...

Tomme F, Oct 2017

Just wow!! Fascinating history brought to life by our excellent guide. Highly recommend this tour!

The tour with about 25 people...

Adam P, Oct 2017

The tour with about 25 people started with a tour of Catacombs of San Callisto. There are no bones there anymore. The tour provided interesting commentary on these very old early Christian catecombs. We then drove to and walked on the Appian Way and then to the aqueducts, which we walked right up to

The day was great. The coach was...

Donald W, Oct 2017

The day was great. The coach was clean and comfortable and the driver made us feel safe. Our guide was informative and made my wife feel secure about going underground as she has problems with claustrophobia. We both really enjoyed the day.

Enjoyed it very much. Great way to...

Stephen C, Oct 2017

Enjoyed it very much. Great way to see Rome!! Viator never lets me down. Our guide was awesome!

This is a wonderful tour. Our group...

Lori C, Sep 2017

This is a wonderful tour. Our group enjoyed everything about it.

Anna was an excellent guide, very...

Karen K, Sep 2017

Anna was an excellent guide, very informative about the history of the San Callisto Catacombs, the Appian Way, and the aquaducts, and the symbolism used in the catacombs. Also nice to get out of the city and see a little of the countryside.

This was really good....altho the...

Carolyn S, Jun 2017

This was really good....altho the Catacombs and area were so crowded it was sometimes difficult to hear...not sure anything could be done about that as it was near Easter season. The walk in the viaduct area was a nice break...nice to see, nothing spectacular, but interesting if one has never seen viaducts....but is amazing to think of how long they have been there and how constructed. It was a lovely day with a few flowers in the open areas for a country feel.