Rome: Colosseum, Forum & Palatine with Arena Access + Audio Guide
Rome, Italy
+8
- 1 to 3 hours (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Don’t miss the big Rome attraction—the mighty Colosseum—because of budget constraints. Book this visit with an audio guide in advance, and gain access to the three main sites of the Colosseum—including the arena floor—Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill on your Rome vacation. Just remember to bring your headphones for the audio guide, switch on your Wi-Fi, and arrive in plenty of time to give the sites your full attention.
- Receive an instant booking confirmation for quick peace of mind
- Meet a host for entry assistance at Rome’s most popular attractions
- Listen to an audio guide to hear tales of the emperors and gladiators
- Admire ruined temples and basilicas at the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
This self-guided Colosseum package includes arena access, an audio guide app—and a host to ensure entry.
What's Included
- Entry to the Colosseum with Arena access
- Entry to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
- Colosseum entrance ticket with Arena access (valued at €24 per person)
- Local assistance from a representative
- Audio guide app for Colosseum only (requires an internet connection)
- Transportation to/from the attraction
- Headphones (please bring your own)
- Live tour guide
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- VFQR+W7, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Italy
Please proceed to the Arch of Constantine, located directly in front of the Colosseum.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Colosseum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Roman Forum (Pass By)
Palatine Hill (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- You must follow the queue for security check although you have bought the priority access.
- Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers' full names at the box office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the colosseum and roman forum.
- A valid photo ID is required for all guests at the entrance gate.
- Arrive at the entrance of colosseum 15 minutes before time. The entry pass will be invalid after 15 minutes of travel time.
- 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 24 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 10 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.0
based on 459 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Deborah_S, Jul 2026
The audio from the app did not work despite is trying to contact the your operator multiple times. Furthermore, I believe that the app is free for anyone who purchases tickets to the colosseum. Therefore, we simply overpaid for tickets to enter. I tried to contact the your operator afterwards to express my dismay and no response. Book elsewhere!
Tricia_H, Jul 2026
It was nice to have the freedom to do our own thing but the APP provided didn't work very well. The communication by email and text messaging was great.
Robert_K, Jul 2026
Poor experience on this tour. Details and instructons for meeting point and entry not sufficient to navigate theough hundreds of people. Once in the self guided aidio tour did not work properly as the app’s audio did not work. Could have had the same experience had I just bought an entry ticket (cheaper) at the venue. Would not recommend this particular tour. If you want a more thorough experience I would recommend getting a actual guided tour
fiona_C, Jul 2026
We couldn't find our tour guide. No logo or sign around where they were standing. Not once were we told we needed to download apps until there and no WiFi provided. The audio wouldn't work properly. With us then inside and the guide outside the colossus he was of no help and the site staff didn't help either. Very disappointing activity.
AnneThrecia_L, Jul 2026
The experience was amazing, and I truly enjoyed the tour. I would definitely recommend the attraction because it was well worth it.
Unfortunately, my experience with the tour guide was disappointing. I believe his name was Shakil based on our WhatsApp conversation. He was very rude in the way he communicated. He rarely said "thank you," often sounded angry, and his tone was unprofessional and unfriendly. Good customer service is just as important as the tour itself, and his attitude took away from an otherwise wonderful experience.
I would absolutely recommend the tour and the experience, but I would not recommend this particular tour guide.
Deandra_W, Jul 2026
Paula was an AWESOME tour guide! She was friendly, incredibly knowledgeable, and shared fascinating information about the Vatican Museums and the artwork throughout the tour. Despite the extreme heat, she was thoughtful and attentive, making sure everyone stayed together and was as comfortable as possible.
One important thing future travelers should know is that the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica Guided Tour does not actually include entry to St. Peter's Basilica, at least under certain circumstances. We weren't informed that the Basilica would not be included until the morning of our tour, which was very disappointing since it was one of the main reasons we booked this experience. While that was frustrating, it was not Paula's fault. she handled the situation professionally and still gave us an excellent tour of the museums. If visiting St. Peter's Basilica is a priority, be sure to confirm exactly what is included before booking.
Charles_C, Jul 2026
I was quite dissatisfied with this organization. I was sent a meeting point to pick up my tickets for a self guided tour of the colosseum. I was at the directed spot 1/2 hour early and waited until 15 minutes after my tour was supposed to begin. At this point I was starting to panic, and nobody knew anything about this booking. The original meeting place was just a spot on the side of a road with no specific landmark to identify the exact location. I was not informed as to how I was to identify the contact person either. I then sent a message to the booking company and informed them the contact person was not there. I was then given another meeting place quite a distance from the first one. I was still not informed as to how I was supposed to recognize him. By luck we saw someone with a very small flag and went to him. It was the correct person but still had no identifying feature. I would have recommending this organization.
Shx_C, Jul 2026
It was just like I imagined. The experience was great even though the weather was brutal since. Honestly, get ready to walk a whole light
Claire_F, Jul 2026
Absolutely amazing trip! The Coloseum was incredible and wandering through palatine hill and all the gardens and exploring the Roman forum was incredible! The 3 of us had the best time and the gentleman we met at the meeting point who gave us our tickets I cannot praise enough! He was so helpful and kind and told us exactly what we needed to do to enter the coloseum and then told us to come back to him when we were ready and he would explain how to do palatine hill and the forum. He took any stress we had about finding our way away and we just had the best day. He deserves a lot of praise! Thankyou so much!
Ibone_S, Jul 2026
A week before the actual date of the activity, my email address was used to sign up for 347 newsletters and random subscriptions (in French, Italian, Hungarian, German, etc). They just added periods to my username, and had to block and unsubscribe manually from all of them. My credit card was also hacked, and I had to cancel two orders (at 2am) on the same date. My guess is that the local company that received the information from Viator 7 days prior to the activity typically takes advantage of non-EU email addresses and cards that book these activities.
Khalid_M, Jul 2026
Great activity with family, it is a very historic place, Rome is a great city to visit, I would recommend it 😊
Graham_C, Jul 2026
Make sure you have headphones for your phone so you can use audio app. Awesome views inside the venue.
Paris_H, Jul 2026
We had a great experience with our Colosseum tour. The directions to the meeting point were very clear, making it easy to find, and the check-in process was smooth and well organized. Having everything clearly explained ahead of time made the experience stress-free.
The only downside was that the tour was audio-guided, but headphones were not provided, so you’ll want to bring your own if possible. Other than that, everything went very well, and we really enjoyed exploring the Colosseum at our own pace.
Overall, it was a great experience, and I’d definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Rome.
Veronica_L, Jul 2026
Meeting our guide was easy and he was helpful. You go off in your own which is great with kids because they can’t do a 3 hour tour and you can go as fast as you would like. They reason for 4 stars is the app you need to use to get the information was slow to load and not accurate but you can figure it out also it on your phone and you should bring earphones.
Abbey_C, Jul 2026
Audio guide was helpful but not worth the price. A regular ticket is 18 Euros without the guide. The colosseum has information through out that is very similar if not the same to the audio guide so I didn’t think it was needed. Was more helpful for Palatine Hull and the Roman Forum. Areas in the Forum have bad cell services so the audio guide doesn’t always work. We had a full access pass which was great and the 3pm slot was enough time to do everything before the Roman Forum closed.
David_A, Jul 2026
Met the representative easily and he was very nice. The tour had good information, however it was difficult to figure out where we were inside the Coliseum and the Forum compared with the audio guide.
Lisa_S, Jul 2026
Audio guide was lame, not worth paying for. You can get that info in 20 seconds on Google. Definitely pay for a human guide rather than the audio.
Oliver_J, Jul 2026
The purchase process was simple and straightforward. The problem arose because, 15 minutes before entry, none of your staff were at the agreed-upon location. Several people were looking for assistance, as we didn't know whether what we held were actual tickets or not, nor did we know which line to join. As a result, we waited unnecessarily for over an hour.
dana_j, Jul 2026
We skipped the line and we were given an app to download which allowed us to walk independently at our own pace! It was a great experience.
Nikol_T, Jul 2026
It was great but on the other hand would have lined to have a physical guide as the audio wasn’t working but In all we ere supposed to have audio version but coulnh
Jennifer_F, Jul 2026
It was simple and easy. The tickets were sent on the app and were easy to access. If you don't want a guide, this is the easy solution.
Claire_H, Jul 2026
Little confusing on meeting point and how to claim your ticket ect , be sure to bring your own head phones as the audio self guided tour is a app you download to your phone and listen with your own headphones
Narges_B, Jul 2026
First time in Italy and also visiting Colosseum. It was a fantastic experience! I highly recommend this to others to experience. Shakil was great tour guide answering our questions and advising on best options to take during tour.
Jennifer_N, Jul 2026
Booking was the easy part, but getting the actual tickets was difficult. I was sent a voucher but never sent the tickets like they said I was. I had to end up calling the booking agent/was not the nicest to deal with. He kept telling me I had the tickets, but the only text/email I received was the voucher. After trying to explain to him he finally sent me the link to the tickets.
Rutger_H, Jul 2026
Very bad customer service, that they charge a extra fee is don’t mind. But if I then have some
Questions I need correct answeres. I emailed, make phone calls they really don’t care and threat you bad. Always giving incorrect information and when you ask again they get irritated. Help customer, inform customers and don’t make it so difficult. The coliseum
Is beautiful 100% go do it. Just not with this provider. One of the worse staff ever!
Divya_P, Jul 2026
We did not receive any audio guide or assistance from Viator for this tour. We saw the Colosseum and others on our own.
Grace_F, Jul 2026
We had a wonderful experience. Our guides were super professional and the bonus was gelato at the end of the tour. They were extremely knowledgeable about the area. Very organized and safe. We booked the night time tour and it was great because there were less people in the populated areas and the sites were lit in a way that made it look magical.
Ann_A, Jul 2026
We couldn’t ever access our tickets so didn’t go in. We didn’t have clear instructions and I never received them via email. This is the first tour we’ve done where I’ve had this experience.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Dear Ann,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are genuinely sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations.
According to our records, your tickets and all required entry instructions were sent through the Viator booking platform before your scheduled visit, as we do for every booking. In most cases, tickets are delivered 3–7 days before the travel date, while last-minute bookings are processed as soon as possible. The message includes your tickets, detailed instructions on how to access and use them, the meeting information (if applicable), and our host's contact details for immediate assistance.
We understand that travel preparations can be busy and that messages or attachments may sometimes be missed or overlooked. However, our support team is available to assist travelers before and during their visit. Had you contacted us through Viator or using the contact details provided, we would have been happy to help you access your tickets and ensure you were able to enter the Colosseum.
We are sorry that we were not given the opportunity to assist you on the day of your visit. Your feedback is important to us, and we will continue working to make our communication as clear and accessible as possible for all travelers.
We appreciate your feedback and wish you a wonderful continuation of your travels.
Kind regards,
Dream Tourism
Nicole_Q, Jul 2026
Our visit totheColloseum was easy and well organised, it ran very smootjly. Thank you to our tour organiser Shakil
Sarah_B, Jul 2026
The colosseum was an amazing experience and the full tour with arena access is well worth it. It would be even better to also add the underground tour to your trip too. From a Viatour perspective though I wouldn’t bother booking through this site, we didn’t get any added value from doing this, you can just book directly via the colosseum and head straight there. We went on a Friday morning and it was busy but there wasn’t really a queue, we didn’t even see a guide and the audio tour is literally just a free app that you can also download yourself.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Dear Sarah,
Thank you for sharing your feedback and for your kind words about your visit to the Colosseum. We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed the experience and found the Arena Access worthwhile.
We would, however, like to clarify a few points for future travelers. Our product is clearly described as a **self-guided experience with an audio guide**, not a guided tour. Travelers who book this option receive pre-booked timed entry tickets, Arena Access, detailed instructions, and customer support before and during their visit. If someone is looking for a live guided experience, we always recommend choosing one of our guided tour options instead.
Regarding the audio guide, the app itself is free to download, but access to our curated self-guided tour content is provided as part of your booking. It is not simply the standard free content available to everyone.
As for our host, assistance is available throughout the experience whenever needed. Since this is not a hosted entry product requiring travelers to meet a guide, you may not have needed to interact with our team, which is a positive indication that everything was ready for your visit.
We understand that some travelers prefer booking directly with the attraction, while others appreciate the convenience of securing tickets in advance, especially during periods of high demand, along with dedicated customer support if any issues arise. We respect your opinion and appreciate you taking the time to share it.
Thank you again for your review, and we hope you enjoyed the rest of your time in Rome.
Kind regards,
Dream Tourism
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