Colosseum Arena Floor Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Tour
Rome, Italy
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Many travelers head to the Colosseum, but few are lucky enough to stand in the same spot where gladiators once fought. With this self-guided, special-access experience, walk on the Arena Floor while an audio guide gives you insight into the history of the amphitheater. Round out the experience by joining a live guide to explore the nearby Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.
- See the Colosseum from a unique perspective on the Arena Floor
- Audio guide provides context you'd otherwise miss out on
- Explore at your own pace, then join a live guide at two more locations
- Prebooking your visit guarantees your access to the popular attraction
What's Included
- Professional Licensed Tour Guide for Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
- Colosseum Entrance with Audio Guide
- Entrance Fees
- 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.
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Santi Cosma e DamianoVia dei Fori Imperiali, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Meet in front of the Basilica San Cosma and Damiano. Look for tour greeters in red Show Me Italy jackets/shirts. They will be waiting next to the large red pillar just in front of the church on the Via dei Fori Imperiali.
End point
- Piazza del ColosseoP.za del Colosseo, 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
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- The names provided at the time of the booking cannot be changed.
- 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.
- The meeting time is subject to change. In this case, you will be contacted in advance via email
- Tours will run rain or shine (unless the monument is closed by the officials for safety reasons)
- There are mandatory security checks at all entry points to the sites. The wait time for the security check can be considerable during peak times/seasons and has nothing to do with the ticket line
- Toilets are limited, use the toilet before arriving for the tour. (Breaks made when possible)
- No weapons (pocket knives), glass bottles or large backpacks
- Refunds will not be provided for no-shows or late arrivals. If you are late to the meeting point, you will not be able to join your tour.
- 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.
- The itinerary may vary, the tour may start at either the Colosseum or the Roman Forum.
- Audio Guide Option (if selected): Please ensure each traveler brings their own device and headphones.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 3 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.0
based on 496 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Caroline_C, Jul 2026
The Collesseum is fantastic, BUT...
I thought I'd booked a 09:00 entrance, turns out my entrance was at 11:00 as the audio takes you round the forum first, WELL, that's if you get the audio!
The digital tickets say that you don't need any further tickets, but you have to go find a 3rd party ticket office who just tells you to wait under a tree so they can email Viator to validate your tickets.
We then waited over an hour to gain access to the audio guide. When I finally got the email for the guide, the link opened a link for "Rebecca". Now, I'm sure she's lovely, but Rebecca had used her link on May 31st, and as it's a single use link, this did nothing for me! So, I contacted Viator and waited a further 30 mins to finally get the audio link for my group, however, nobody I shared it to could download as there was no WiFi. Having access to the audio earlier would have meant my kids and parents could have downloaded it, but no, we still haven't listened to it, waste of time, should have just got tickets on the day, such a faff.
I'd booked 9am as it gets so hot, however, we ended up in there at the hottest time of day after sitting around doing nothing for a few hours waiting for the audio and feeling a bit lost.
Still haven't seen the forum as we were all too hot and fed up by the time we managed to access the collesseum.
Save your money, buy tickets from the site, this was a total pain in my backside!
Mary_N, Jul 2026
Our tour time was changed and when we got there, it was one guy trying to check in 50 people. He nor anyone else had a clue what was going on. They ended up sending us to look at the coliseum on our own with now guide. Told us to come back to that point after we were done. When we got back they put us with a random groups and guide(she did a splendid job) afterwards that group got to go to the coliseum with an actual guide and we were told we were done. It was a little disappointing. We had also booked hop on/off bus in London but waited 45 minutes and bus never came so we switched to a different company.
Maria_C, Jul 2026
Basically, this is just a huge overcharge for you to be able to access the Colosseum. Unfortunately, I don’t know of another way to gain entrance into the Colosseum. The tickets open 30 days prior and they’re sold out within minutes. There was absolutely no tour included with this. The ticket link came via WhatsApp. So if you’re not familiar with that app, you should get it. Additionally, it was not easy to figure out where any audio guide was. So we downloaded the free audio guide in the Colosseum once we got in. There were no instructions on how to get a guided tour to the Forum or the Palatine Hill. We basically waited around to meet a guide who told us that we could just go to the Colosseum and we were on our own.
Heather_W, Jul 2026
This tour says it comes with arena floor access, but the tickets I was provided did not come with this access. I specifically booked this tour over others because of this access, and my kids were really excited about it. They were heartbroken when we found out that we showed up and found out we were given the incorrect tickets. But that wasn’t the worst part. I called twice, messaged via the Viator app and the WhatsApp communication, and sent an email. None of these forms of communication have been met with an answer. I feel that this was a complete bait and switch and I want to make sure others are aware so they don’t suffer any disappointment.
Robert_C, Jun 2026
I didn't receive my tickets electronically. I had to wait over 45 minutes for the staff to print them manually so we missed our start time. We had to speak with the manager to let us in since it was well past our start time.
AMIT_K, Jun 2026
Not a great experience with tour provider
We bought the guided tour and he did not acknowledge it and just gave us tickets on WhatsApp to tour by ourself
Wendy_E, Jun 2026
I paid and received confirmation for the Colosseum floor and audio tour at 15:30pm the day of my trip. What I received were tickets for general admission access to the Colosseum with a 17:30 time. No one at Viator nor the third party tour company would respond to my repeated inquiries about the ticketing mistake.
Beware when purchasing through Viator, they ignore you if there are problems with the tours they advertise.
Lou_Z, Jun 2026
It was Very crowded & hot. Hard to see everything easily. They should limit the number of people in at one given time.
ClareLouise_F, Jun 2026
Do not buy tickets for colloseum total scam! Paid £31 and couldn’t get in as my name was on the ticket for my dads ticket and they refused to correct it or refund me so ended up going upto colloseum and buying a ticket at the gate which btw only costs £18!!! So do not buy from here! They were so rude it was 38degrees and my dad is in his 60s and they refused to help. States nowhere on the site it has to be the person entering name on ticket as they check this going in!
Cynthia_S, Jun 2026
When I booked this tour it was supposed to be with a guide. I assumed the audio tour was the headsets and was included with the tour. I chose the headset because we are traveling with a hearing impaired individual.
I was sent the links to download the audio tour and thinking they were working headed to the Colosseum. No one told us we needed to add an additional app. It took about an hour and a half with assistance to get the app working in just two phones.
The Tour of Italy people went to check us in and told us there was no guide. They had no tickets to provide us. They told us to stand to the side and someone would call us. No one called. The other person with the Tour of Italy was much more helpful and tried to figure out what was going on.
It took several phone calls, texts and emails and a mad dash across the meeting place to get to the Colosseum. We almost missed the time period we could enter due to the advise from the Tour of Italy personnel.
If you go to book this tour don’t choose the audio tour. You are completely on your own.
Meshgeen_P, Jun 2026
Our experience with Viator was extremely disappointing and cost us hundreds of dollars.
We booked Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill, and Arena tickets months in advance, only to have them canceled days before our visit. Finding replacement tickets at the last minute was difficult and significantly more expensive. When we contacted Viator for an explanation, we received no meaningful response.
After managing to purchase a second set of tickets for higher price, we were notified the day before our visit that the Arena portion had been canceled again. This meant the Arena access (which we specifically wanted) was now canceled. We were promised a partial refund for the canceled Arena portion, but never received it.
To make matters worse, we specifically booked an 8:45 AM entry time to accommodate a non-refundable cooking experience later that day. Viator changed our entry time to 11:00 AM without our approval. Despite contacting customer service immediately, no assistance was provided. As a result, we missed our cooking experience and lost hundreds of dollars.
Between the repeated cancellations, poor communication, missing refund, and unauthorized schedule changes, this was one of the worst travel booking experiences we have had. We have deleted the Viator app and will never book through them again.
Simon_W, Jun 2026
Do not book with this company and if you do not believe your booking time!!!! I booked an 8.30am colosseum tour weeks ago and subsequently booked other events throughout the city that day too, one of which we had to miss because the time I was given on my ticket I received the night before the tour was actually 9.45am!!
amolive1, Jun 2026
The guide seemed knowledgeable, but we were very disappointed that she did not join us in the Colosseum. She talked about the Colosseum before we entered, so we didn’t get the same feel as being told while we were inside, as it’s hard to envision. We paid extra to have only 12 in the party and to go to the arena, but what we got wasn’t worth the extra money in my opinion.
ryan_j, Jun 2026
Was very easy and we did not have to wait in the long lines for tickets.
Just double check the time on your ticket to the coliseum as it was later than our reservation “start time”
Susan_A, Jun 2026
The tickets we were sent were not what we ordered or what our Viator emails said. The day before our tour Show me Italy sent us Colosseum self guided tickets as described but also self guided palatine hill and Roman forum tickets instead of this part being guided. Our ‘tour’ was for 8.30 according to out booking and subsequent emails but the colosseum tickets we were sent were for 9.15, with strict entry times - after arguing our case and many phone calls later we were told to go to the colosseum then come back ready for a 10.45 Roman forum tour -this meant we had to race around the colosseum without having time to go the arena, the colosseum should have been second and done at our leisure according to what we booked. When we returned well in advance of the 10.45 tour we were again told we could not go on it and had to argue our case for a second time. We were eventually allowed on a Roman Forum tour with an exasperated guide. Note - we were not the only people having this problem and all problem tickets seemed to have been booked via Viator. By doing the events in this order we were in the hot sun much later than we anticipated. The stress of being told we could not attend a guided tour despite what our booking said and witnessing other distressed customers tainted this day. Please be very careful who you book through and be prepared to argue your case - had we not had print outs of the emails to read to Show me Italy on the phone this situation would not have been resolved.
Pauline_B, Jun 2026
Purchased tickets for a guided tour, but a portion of the guided part was canceled (and partially refunded) as the guide wasn’t allowed into the Colosseum. They also pushed our starting time back an hour, then started another half hour late. So, our morning plan/tour didn’t start until late morning and the heat was miserable (we knew it would be hot, so we specifically booked early morning tickets). Our guide was nice but nothing special. The sites were amazing, but I would not purchase this tour again. What we got was not what we were sold. And the change was too late to rebook with anything else.
Rochelle_D, Jun 2026
Though we booked guide led tour for both Forum and Coliseum, we were told when we arrived that the guide would not lead us in the Colliseum. I’m not sure why since I saw quite a few tour groups with guides.
Our guide was okay. I think he may have been a smoker since he cleared his throat a lot while the microphone was on and we were walking from place to place.
Jessica_M, Jun 2026
This is a self guided audio tour. Make sure you give yourself enough time to do all 3 locations at once, or break apart the Colusseum from the other 2 sites. The guide was very informative about the history of the ruins.
Sarah_W, Jun 2026
This tour is NOT advertised correctly. It is strictly an audio tour, which must be downloaded on your phone, as well as entrance into the attractions. We did not receive an email until an hour AFTER our reservation to describe what we needed to do. When trying to check in, we just kept being put off to the side as he could not find our reservation. We finally got in over an hour past our expected time. It is a terribly disorganized organization. You would be better off choosing a different tour!
Ryan_S, Jun 2026
Terrible experience, very disappointed. Guide was supposed to be English speaking and was not. Was very rude, unprepared. Guides yelling at each other. Told one meeting point and then directed to go stand in another line. I do not recommend Show Me Italy tours.
Dion_M, Jun 2026
Total chaos. Viator sends a voucher, not the actual tickets. You have to meet a separate local vendor nearby to get them. The meeting point was a complete mess with dozens of stranded travelers and only a few confused workers. They forced us to use WhatsApp to get our actual tickets sent over. Luckily I already had WhatsApp downloaded but if you do not cell service would make it extremely difficult to download the app on the spot which would add another layer of difficulty. By the time we received our tickets, we were an hour past our entry time and were locked out of the Colosseum. A manager named Zack promised a refund, but now they are completely ignoring my messages. Save yourself the stress. If you don't need a tour guide, just buy tickets directly at the official entry points.
Jennifer_L, Jun 2026
A complete disappointment from the start. We were standing as a group waiting for our tour guide who was talking to another group for quite some time and she finally cae over and said she was looking for us and couldn't find us yet we saw her talking for over 15 minutes to another group close by. The Roman Forum which had so much to offer felt like it was off limits to us. We stood in 3 main places without the ability to explore some the ruins. It was hot and she was only interested in staying in the shaded areas. Our group of 5 really wanted to leave the tour and head to colloseum but didn't want to invalidate our ticket. Her commentary was dull and boring. Once we finished the Forum we headed to Colloseum which was a self entry ticket anyway so we could have romed without her except that we had the ear pieces to hear her talking. Not worth the money. We wish we had just bought skip the line tickets and did a self guided tour. We felt robbed of what should have been a interesting experience at the Forum. We were able to roam at Colloseum.
Robert_S, Jun 2026
Horrible experience and pretty much robbery. This company was banned from giving tours and had to get tickets from a different company. We ended up starting almost 3 hours late in the middle instead of at the Colosseum. We had to be at the Colosseum about 2 hours after we entered the area, so ended up missing out on over half the sites. Partial refund request was denied and Viator did not a d@mn thing to help. So a nice $400 dollar robbery.
Leanne_C, Jun 2026
Don’t not book with show me Italy…. they sent a message to cancel my tour 2 days before which had booked months in advance for a special birthday…they offered a refund or to change the date after multiple attempts of messaging and calling to change the date I got response…thank you for ruining my daughters 30th birthday suprise!
Jan_R, Jun 2026
Gave cab driver drop off instructions provided by tour company, was unable to locate tour guide. Called number provided by company three times, and texted twice. Phone calls were not answered and there's no response to text messages.. We arrived one hour and 45 minutes early for this reason! After two hours of trying to locate the meeting place in the rain and connecting to the tour company, we gave up and return to our hotel.
Nancy_O, Jun 2026
Do not waste your money on this tour. I have used Viator for tours all over the world and always been really happy with them. However, this was awful. You had to download your audio guide, which everybody was having trouble doing and then once you had that done you did not have anybody taking you around to show you what path to take. Once you got in, you had no idea where to go or what you were looking at. A total waste of money. You would be much better off to go there on your own, purchase a ticket and pick up a local local guide to walk you through. I would give this a rating of a minus one star if possible.
Diane_C, Jun 2026
This excursion was canceled by Viator without prior notice to start time. We were there 30 minutes prior to tour start time and checked in but no warning that tour was canceled. We asked what the delayed was but were assured everything was okay and just a little delayed. We waited for over an hour before someone came and told us it was canceled. Waiting for a refund for 8 people.
Penny_K, Jun 2026
When there is an event going on nearby that will alter the directions to the redemption area. Took us many walks in circles to find it.
Janice_L, May 2026
We had a horrible experience with this booking. We met up with a person who checked our booking info. The booking was 8:30 am but he told us that the Colloseum entry time is 10:45am. Without explaining anything else, he asked us to enter the area and we were on our own. Being tourists, we didn’t even know where to find him for the 10:44 am Colloseum tour. We just went to the Colloseum at that time. The booking was like a scam. Find something else. Pls don’t waste your money with this group.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
We are truly sorry to hear about the confusion and frustration you experienced during your visit. We understand how important clear instructions and proper coordination are, especially for guests visiting the Colosseum for the first time.
We sincerely regret that the experience did not meet your expectations and appreciate you bringing these concerns to our attention. Your comments will be carefully reviewed internally as we continue working to improve our organization and communication standards.
We value your feedback and regret the inconvenience caused during your experience.
Anshul_S, May 2026
Audio guide shared in an email link. No proper guidance as to entry times as there were two different tickets. Which we understood later.
Very basic support given.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your feedback.
We are sorry to hear that the instructions and entry process were not clear and that the support provided felt insufficient. We understand how confusing it can be when multiple ticket types and access steps are involved.
Your comments are appreciated and will be reviewed to improve clarity and guest communication in the future.
Thank you again for sharing your experience.
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