Small Group Tour: Colosseum & Roman Forum with Arena Floor Access
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Rome, Italy
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Step back in time and learn about life in ancient Rome with this small-group guided tour of the city’s top archaeological treasures. Visit the Colosseum, with access through the restricted area of the arena floor , and learn about this magnificent amphitheater from your guide. Then continue on to stroll through the ruins of temples and squares in the adjacent Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.
- Visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill on a guided tour
- Visit the arena floor through the Gladiator’s Gate with exclusive access
- Tour with a small group for time to ask your guide questions
- Choice or morning or afternoon tour times to suit your schedule
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
A small group size allows more personal attention and a more relaxed pace than larger tours.
What's Included
- Entry to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
- Expert Certified Guide
- Access to Arena floor
- Headsets for groups when appropriate
- Colosseum entrance ticket with arena access (valued at €24 per person)
- Colosseum reservation fee (valued at €2 per person)
- Please note: Colosseum fees as above. The remaining cost of the experience covers other services.
- Transport to/from meeting point.
- Food and Drink
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Via dei SS. Quattro, 81, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Meet at the Roman Vacations office on Via dei Santi Quattro, 81 Roma RM 00184.. Look for the white Roman Vacations flag with the lion head on it.
End point
- Arch of ConstantineP.za del Colosseo, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Ticket Redemption Point
Roman Vacations, Via dei SS. Quattro, 81, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Itinerary
1
Roman Forum
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Palatine Hill
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Colosseum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers' full names at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
- Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 7 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 869 reviews
John_T, Jun 2026
The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly!
She provided us with details about the building and the overall history which was facilitating to hear and learn about how the Coliseum went through many different changes.
Binoy_W, Jun 2026
The tour was very thorough. Lots of walking but was worth it. Our guide, Lumi was good and had a thorough knowledge of history. Will definitely recommend
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Ciao Binoy! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with Lumi. She is a fantastic guide and one who knows what it takes to deliver a fun and engaging tour time after time.
We hope to see you guys back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
Roger_S, May 2026
The tour guide was amazing, charming and so knowledgable. It would have been a 5+ stars but for the office staff. There was plenty of attitude and bad support (very unlike the overall vibe in Rome). Once we got away from them, this was mind blowing. I would recommend to friends but with a warning.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Roger,
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations.
However, we would like to clarify that the situation did not occur as described in your review. Your tour was confirmed for 1:00 PM in advance, and this information had been communicated before your arrival. When you came to our office in the early morning, we explained that we were unfortunately unable to move you to an earlier departure.
We understand that waiting before a scheduled tour can be frustrating. However, this waiting time was not caused by our service, as the confirmed departure time had been communicated and accepted beforehand.
We would also like to note that there were no incidents in the office that would support the concerns raised in your review. During this time, our staff were focused on assisting guests and completing tour check-ins, while remaining polite and professional throughout your visit.
We always strive to provide a welcoming experience for every guest, which is why we are disappointed to read a review that does not accurately reflect the events of the day or the service provided by our team.
Nevertheless, we appreciate your feedback and wish you all the best in your future travels.
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Matt_B, May 2026
Amazing! We had so much fun and our tour guide had the best personality! We didn’t write down his name, but he is German Italian! He showed us the best spots for photographs and told us so much history at each stop. We highly recommend going with him!!!!
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you so much for your kind review, we are glad that you enjoyed the tour with our tour guide! Safe travels!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Rae_O, May 2026
Angela was an awesome tour guide! Being from the US, and living in Italy, she was able to speak in a way that was funny, enlightening, and interesting. The Colosseum tour was one of our biggest priorities, and this tour definitely delivered.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Rae! Thank you so much for sharing your experience, we are always glad to hear from you after the tours. Hope that you enjoyed the rest of your stay as much as you did with us! Safe travels!
Cynthia_M, May 2026
The Colosseum and Roman Forum tour was an unforgettable experience! Walking through such iconic historical sites was incredible, and our tour guide brought ancient Rome to life with fascinating stories and details, he was super knowledgeable and informative. The tour was well organized and the views throughout the Forum were amazing. A must-do experience for anyone visiting Rome!
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Cynthia,
Thank you so much for your words, we are delighted that you enjoyed the tour with our tour guide! Safe travels and thank you again!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Michael_G, May 2026
We could not have asked for a better guide. M was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and very funny. We enjoyed the path he took us with the Forum first then the Colosseum. He was great company and I recommend him to anyone visiting the Colosseum.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you so much for your kind review, we are glad that you enjoyed the tour with our tour guide! Safe travels!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Katelyn_S, May 2026
This was incredible! Our tour guide was so knowledgeable. He gave us the chance to ask questions and answered all of them thoroughly. The tour takes you through both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum and we got to see where Caesar died. He gave us the chance to stop and take photos and explore on our own. He also gave us the chance to stop and get water which was super helpful on a hot day. I truly could not recommend this tour enough. If you are interested in Roman history, this tour is 100% for you.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with us. We only work with the best guides available who know how to give a memorable tour.
We hope to see you back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
Eileen_B, May 2026
Tons of walking on unlevel pavement. I would recommend doing this tour in the morning as the afternoon can be extremely hot.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you for your review, we truly aprreciate that you shared your experience with us! Safe travels!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Cheri_B, May 2026
Our tour guide was exceptional!! He explained the sites in a way that gave us a good understanding of what we were seeing. This tour is highly recommended!
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you so much for your kind review, we are glad that you enjoyed the tour with our tour guide! Safe travels!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Chelle_M, May 2026
Our tour of the Colosseum in Rome was one of the highlights of our trip. The guide brought the history of ancient Rome to life with fascinating stories and details that made the experience unforgettable. Walking through the Colosseum and learning about the gladiators, architecture, and events that once took place there was incredible. The tour was well organized, easy to follow, and perfectly paced. We also appreciated the guide’s passion, humor, and ability to answer questions thoughtfully. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Rome.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you so much for your kind words, we are delighted to read that you liked the tour with our tour guide so much! Hope to see you soon in the future! Safe travels!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Marouane_B, May 2026
Amazing and knowledgeable tour guide! He made the tour fun and enjoyable. I highly recommend this tour if you are interested in beautiful sights and deep historical context
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you so much for your kind review, we are glad that you enjoyed the tour with our tour guide! Safe travels!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Shekhar_B, May 2026
1. Your web page is not user friendly at all. Suffice to communicate with your team.
2. Prices are inflated.
The front office girl was impolite, bordering on rude.
3. Only the Colosseum guide was good.
Overall not a good experience at all.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
We are constantly working to make our website as user-friendly and clear as possible. In fact, we have not previously received complaints regarding the usability of the site, and during your booking process no issues were communicated to us either. Nevertheless, we always appreciate constructive feedback and will continue improving wherever possible.
Regarding the pricing, we are honestly a bit surprised by the comment that the prices are “inflated,” as we always strive to keep our rates fair and customer-friendly while maintaining high-quality service and licensed guides.
We are also sorry to hear that you felt our front office staff was impolite. Our team always aims to treat every guest with kindness and professionalism to provide the best possible experience. However, we would also like to clarify that upon arrival there was a discussion regarding the tour starting time, even after our staff showed the confirmed schedule. The tour departure time had been clearly communicated at the beginning of the booking process as well. Despite this, our staff still tried to assist politely and helpfully throughout the interaction.
We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the Colosseum guide, and we truly regret that the overall experience did not meet your expectations.
We wish you all the best and thank you again for your feedback.
Jakob_N, May 2026
Mike was amazing! This was the second tour of the colosseum I have been on and my family's first -- and I can say that this truly has been one of, if not the best guided tour I've been on anywhere. Mike was knowledgeable, answered my father's barrage of questions with ease, and so funny that our four hours together went by so fast.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Jakob! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with us. Your guide is easily one of the best in the entire city and it really shows on his tours.
We hope to see you guys back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
John_J, May 2026
My daughter and I took this tour May 17, 2026 and I would highly recommend it! Most regrettably, I can’t recall the name of our Tour Guide, but he was excellent! A local Italian, who spoke excellent English, he really “knew his stuff”. The tour was scheduled for 2.5 hours but was completed in 3 hours. The time was filled with a continuous provision of information pertaining to the centuries pertaining to the structures/area we were touring. He interjected appropriate humour throughout the afternoon along the tremendous amount of information provided making the experience very enjoyable, entertaining and educational. He took time to point out specifics in the architecture to clarify a number of points being made. He was continuously open to any questions and he addressed those directed to him in a clear and concise manner. At the end of the tour, I most certainly did not come away with the knowledge of our Guide, but, I most certainly have a better understanding of the history of the Roman Colosseum, Roman Forum and Arena Floor.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao John! Many thanks for your kind words. The guide you had was named Mircea, and it's not a stretch to say he is easily one of the best guides in the city. His knowledge and humour make all his tours enjoyable and memorable.
We hope to see you guys back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
Jerry_K, May 2026
Our guide was fantastic . Extremely knowledgeable and easy to understand. He had a wonderful personality and was extremely helpful!
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Jerry! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with us. We only work with the best guides available who know what they're talking about and how to give a memorable tour.
We hope to see you back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
Dayna_M, May 2026
Fast paced! There are a lot of steep steps but there is an elevator as an option. We didn’t want to inconvenience the group and take the elevator and we didn’t know how steep the steps were ahead of time.
Our guide stayed on point and was full of interesting information. With her being from New York, she talked a lot faster than we do in the south and it was a little difficult to understand her for that reason.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao! Many thanks for your kind words. We are very glad you enjoyed the tour with us.
We hope to see you back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
Weston_H, May 2026
This was a very informative and amazing experience. We had previously done a tour that took us below the floor and that was amazing but it sort of cut short a lot of the Palatine Hill area, this felt like a more rounded tour of both areas.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Weston! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with us. We only work with the best guides available and they all know how to give a well rouded tour, as it can be quite a challenge to fit nearly 3000 years of history into a 3 hour tour whislt going from place to place.
We hope to see you again soon.
Safe travels!
Brenda_D, May 2026
We had Joe as our tour guide for this experience. Joe was very knowledgeable about the history of the monuments and tried to keep the group engaged with questions and games. However we felt like we missed out on a large majority of areas in the Forum because we spent so much time listening to Joe lecture about the "story" behind the monuments. For example we spent probably 20 min standing in a cold mostly empty alley while others were touring areas we did not see. We also ran overtime for our 2.5hr tour that was supposed to end at 5:15 but we had to leave early because it was 5:30 and still not over. Our meeting point for this experience was also changed last minute and the address was difficult to find so we had to ask in the metro station for assistance. Overall Joe was a good tour guide but we wish he was less wordy and we were able to see more of the ruins and take more photos given how long the tour was. We probably could have done it ourselves in faster time with more areas covered.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao!
We think you have reviewed the wrong company as we do not have any guides by the name Joe
Daniella_M, May 2026
Angela was a friendly familiar face despite never meeting before who gave us a warm welcome into one of the world’s oldest cities. She guided us through the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill with so much knowledge and expertise while also entertaining with current events and sidebars about local culture. If we could have done anything differently for our trip, it would be to take this tour right off the plane because we felt much more aware of our surroundings after this incredible experience.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you so much for your kind review, it was so delighting to read your words! We really hope to see you again soon in Rome!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Alicia_M, May 2026
Excellent tour with Mike. He was amazing with the history and stories he told. Very considerate of our group. Highly recommend this company. Great from start to finish. He said his mother was a tour guide and learned from a very young age.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Alicia,
Thank you so much for your kind words, we are so happy that you enjoyed the tour with Mircea! Safe travels and hope to see you soon in the future!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Tyler_L, May 2026
Angela killed it!! She was very entertaining. She didn’t hesitate to answer any questions. She is apart of a smaller team of tour guides, but don’t let that fool you, the service was excellent.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Tyler,
Thank you so much for your kind word, we truly appreciate it! Safe travels back home and we hope to see you again soon!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Jay_B, May 2026
This was a great tour overall and our tour guide was fantastic.
She pointed out so many facts we never would have known on our own.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you so much for your kind review, we are glad that you enjoyed the tour with our tour guide! Safe travels!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Thomas_B, May 2026
I’ll start by saying our instructor, Tiberio, was amazing and we would give him an 11/10. He was funny, knowledgeable and you can tell he’s very passionate about what he does. This rating has nothing to do with him. We docked a star because we originally paid for the Arena tour, but right before our trip, the touring company reached out to us to let us know they couldn’t get us access to the Arena. I compared pricing to other tours and we paid a lot more for our tickets (probably because the arena tour was supposed to be included). So, we were pretty disappointed we missed out on that part of the tour. The company did give us the option for a full refund but most of the time slots were already booked since we were supposed to leave for our trip in a few days. Overall the tour was amazing, it was just this little hiccup that was disappointing.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Thomas! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with Tiberio! He really is a excellent guide and is a bit of legend in the guiding circle of Rome.
We are sorry about the lose of the Arena access. We try to minimise this happening as much as possible, but sometimes it is out of our control and is why we give other tour options or a full refund depending on what each customer wants.
We hope to see you back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
Aron_A, May 2026
We absolutely loved the vibe of our tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and very nice. The group size was perfect. I would, however, recommend that with the amount of money we all pay for our tours, that the tour guide wear clean clothes and not look like he rolled out of bed moments before the start of the tour.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Aron! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with us.
That was the guides second tour of the day so he perhaps had to rush from his previous tour to yours. We will however discuss it with him.
Safe travels!
Sarah_K, May 2026
Easy to find meeting spot- our guide was AMAZING and so knowledgeable. Loved the small group setting.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Sarah! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with us.
We hoe to see you back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
Jennifer_R, May 2026
Why not take a tour and learn about the history of what you are seeing. Small group is nice because there is a lot of walking/stairs and bigger groups tend to take more time as some have to “catch up”.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Jennifer! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with us. We agree that smaller groups are better for everyone when on tour.
We hope to see you back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
Michele_J, May 2026
Our Guide, Benjamin was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. The tour was both interesting and entertaining. There were lots of steps so make sure you wear good shoes. Thank you Benjamin for the very enlightening experience!
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Michele! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with Benjamin. He is a awesome guide with such a wide ranging knowledge. His tours are always popular.
We hope to see you back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
CYNTHIA_W, May 2026
Very informative tour. He was patient with everyone and answered all our questions. Seen alot. Would recommend this tour.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao,
Thank you so much for your kind review, we are glad that you enjoyed the tour with our tour guide! Safe travels!
Kind regards,
RomanVacations
Greg_P, May 2026
The tour was fantastic and very informative but it was a little strenuous in some places. The tour guide was very helpful.
Response from Host, May 2026
Ciao Greg! Many thanks for your kind words. We are so glad you enjoyed the tour with us.
We hope to see you back in Rome soon.
Safe travels!
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