Colosseum Arena & Roman Forum: Small Group Tour (MAX 10 People)
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Rome, Italy
- 2 to 3 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
See beyond the main walkways of the Colosseum and Roman Forum on this small-group tour, designed for travelers who want deeper insight into ancient Rome. Explore the amphitheater's arena floor—usually off-limits—and enter through the Gladiator's gate with a guide who explains how these spaces were used for entertainment, engineering, and public life. With time for questions and a relaxed pace, gain a clearer understanding of the city’s past before continuing through the historic Roman Forum.
- Check off three historic landmarks in just one tour
- Visit an area of the Colosseum that many travelers miss out on
- Choice of morning or afternoon tours to suit your schedule
- Enjoy a more intimate experience with a small group
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Explore restricted Colosseum levels that most visitors never get to see.
What's Included
- Colosseum, Arena, Roman Forum Entrance Fees
- Blue Badge Certified Guide
- Small-Group Tour (max. 10 people)
- Colosseum entrance fees 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.
- Transportation
- Underground Access
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Colosseum
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Roman Forum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- A current valid passport or photo ID document is required on the day of the tour for the entrance at the Colosseum
- 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.
- Closed-toe, non-slip shoes are required for safety. Access to the Colosseum may be denied without proper footwear.
- The meeting point is in front of the Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano - Via dei Fori Imperiali, 1 - Rome, Italy.
- Our tour guide will be waiting at the meeting point, holding an "Eyes of Rome" sign.
- The tour guide will leave 15 minutes after the time you booked. Arriving late to the meeting point, will be considered as a no-show.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 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
Reviews
4.9
based on 258 reviews
Alan_K, May 2026
Make sure you know exactly where to meet. We got a little lost and they were not able to help at all. Missed our tour
Heather_B, May 2026
We had a great time! Our guide was enthusiastic, very knowledgeable, and made the entire experience perfect!
Suzanne_L, May 2026
Hot in the afternoon. Do early! Ask for luigi, very knowledgeable,Best tour I have ever been on and we’ve done a lot
Brynna_O, May 2026
Our guide was tremendous she explained everything and answered all of our questions. She is very knowledgeable and I feel like I know way more about Rome. She had also been doing it for 22 years so we did not wait in a line or anything it was such a smooth process. Overall She was also such a fun guide to have always smiling and made sure we were having a great time. I would 100% recommend this tour it’s really worth it.
Steve_F, May 2026
Pamela our guide did an extraordinary job! She’s incredibly knowledgeable. Fantastic experience. I would highly recommend this tour.
David_P, May 2026
This tour was a massive highlight of our trip. The moment we walked into the Colosseum arena was completely breathtaking—it was everything I hoped it would be and more. Exploring the Roman Forum was equally spectacular and filled with so much incredible history.Having a small group made a huge difference. Our tour guide (on the far left of our photo!) was fantastic: very knowledgeable, deeply passionate, and possessed a great sense of humor that kept the history engaging. He even took beautiful photos for us. We were paired up with a lovely American family, thoroughly enjoyed their company, and wish them the absolute best on their future travels. If you want an intimate, informative, and fun experience, book this tour!
Christopher_G, May 2026
I'm torn as I write this review. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant, but also went a little too in depth with the information.
The tour started off on the wrong foot because we were delayed by 45 minutes due to two people being late. Instead of starting the Roman Forum at 915am, it was nearly 10am by the time we were finally able to enter. It was a hot morning and people were becoming irritable standing in the sun waiting for people who were clearly well past the allotted time. This was disrespectful of those who were on time and prepared.
It appears as though there was an error in communication with the tour company, and the couple was given outdated information. They should have been issued new tickets and moved to a different tour. I understand accidents can happen, but to keep an entire group waiting for almost an hour is an insult to our time and money. Especially since the Colosseum and Forum arr highlights of a trip to Rome, it tainted our experience and memories of it. The experience was cut short and felt limited in the Forum as we were not able to cover the entirety of the area. We were kept just in a pathway from the main entrance without going over any of the other pathways.
He speaks as though he was a professor preparing students for a test with even the smallest of details that have little interest to the common person. One example is when he spent several minutes describing the process of crafting the hundreds of identical square marble blocks, or an in-depth lecture on the numerous layers of the same road and how it was discovered 30 years ago.
The parts that are the most interesting is when he described the events regarding the people involved in their construction, history of the notable persons and events or the day-to-day life. Much of it, however, felt like a boring architecture lecture.
All-in-all, the whole experience seemed unorganized and due to this, I cannot recommend this tour company.
Sharon_B, May 2026
Initially, we had trouble finding our guide as we arrived early. She arrived right at 2:45 amd wasn't holding the sign we were told to look for. We enjoyed the smaller group. Our underground portion was canceled a couple weeks ago and a portion was refunded. It worked out that the view from arena floor was fine, and we didn't feel like we missed out on anything with the underground portion. Only downside was that we didn't have any earpiece to stay connected. Our guide moved very quickly at times and we feared losing her while moving through the crowds at times. There were lots of steps and uneven surfaces throughout many areas, so this tour wouldn't be good for anyone with mobility or stamina issues. Our guide was very knowledgeable. She spoke good English but with her strong Italian accent was sometimes difficult to understand, especially in areas where it was noisy.
Chandini_C, May 2026
Valeria was fantastic. Really appreciated bet attention to details and her engagement with us. Learnt a lot.
Andrea_S, May 2026
Our guide, Francesca, was absolutely amazing! She gave us such in depth history of all the locations we visited. I highly recommend this tour to anyone! Thanks again Francesca!
David_K, May 2026
Our guide Luigi was very knowledgeable. It was a small group of 5 so we were able to ask questions easily. I highly recommend small group tours over larger groups. We have done both and large groups tend to get very spread out and if you are near the back the guide is sometimes talking about something you can’t even see. My only criticism of this tour is that we booked a colosseum with underground but it was changed from underground to Forum and Palentine. Consequently we didn’t really have enough time to cover everything and went back on our own to explore the Forum and Palentine Hill.
KYLE_C, May 2026
A great way to see and learn about the colosseum and it's history. We learned quite a few things we didn't know about the history of the colosseum.
Gary_S, May 2026
The intimate size of the group and our tour guide Rosalba quickly erased any angst regarding the upfront money spent on this venture. Rosalba was amazing from start to finish. She was prompt with signage — she even aided other non group members to get them to their destination. She brought a flare of story telling from Ceaser’s cremation site to the Forum to the Colosseum. She guided us to the best location to obtain a picture of the Colosseum in the background. 10/10 tell a friend —
Paula_B, May 2026
Wonderful experience. Lots of walking, but well worth it! Guide was terrific. Best visited with a guide and skip-the-line tickets.
Myrna_F, May 2026
Our visit to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill was spectacular, though the experience was unfortunately marred by poor logistics.
Despite having booked months in advance, we were notified shortly before the tour that the underground section had been overbooked. My experience with Viator has always been awesome in the past, but this is now the second tour where I’ve been informed of an overbooking despite having reserved everything months ahead. To make matters worse, when I contacted Viator, the customer service representative was completely lacking in empathy; they acted as if these issues were routine, which was very disappointing.
However, the tour itself was definitely worth it. Being in a small group made all the difference, allowing us to fully engage with our guide and ask detailed questions—which was essential since my family are huge history buffs. The Forum and Palatine Hill were highlights, and the guide’s knowledge was top-notch.
I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5 because the overbooking and the experience with support from Viator really dampened the initial excitement of the day
Eric_R, May 2026
This tour was amazing. Our guide was Alessandro and he was amazing. You could tell from his energy that he loved sharing his knowledge about both the Roman Forums and the Colosseum. His knowledge was immense and depth, which was no surprise since he is also a trained archeologist. He knew the best spots to take pictures and was willing to take pictures of our family. He was engaging with the whole group. I cannot recommend him enough, he was incredible. If you are thinking of touring the Colosseum and the Roman Forums, I recommend this tour and Alessandro specifically.
Kirsty_W, Apr 2026
We had a fabulous morning with our tour guide Elisa. She was extremely knowledgeable and personable. She went out of her way to ensure that we had the best experience possible.
Cindy_B, Apr 2026
Marco our guide knew exactly where to guide us. Our private tour seemed more VIP than if we had booked it that way. He was such a gem. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with him!
Ester_G, Mar 2026
If you want a tour guide who's efficient, knowledgeable, and great with finding photo spots, go with Alessandro. We wasted absolutely no time throughout the tour and learned so much. He's excellent at what he does.
Jackie_H, Mar 2026
Alessandro was an excellent guide bringing to bear his vast knowledge as an archeologist along with personality and humor. The 2-2.5 hours flew by because it was such a fun time learning about the history of the Colosseum…..excuse me, the Flavian Amphitheater. ;)
Always remember to “be Roman”
Omar_M, Mar 2026
This is so worth it and the tour guide i forgot her name was so nice and enthusiastic. Really enjoyed the underground as well.
Michael_L, Mar 2026
This is the way to see the Colosseum! The large groups were lumbering along and didn’t have as much personal interaction. Having a small group of 4 of us with Alessandro, our guide, was a much more intimate way of seeing the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
Alessandro is an archeologist who is part guide, part professor, and part comedian. He’s hilarious and provides information in an informative and entertaining way.
Unfortunately we couldn’t get into the underground portion as we were told prior to our trip that the Colosseum administration had oversold underground entry tickets and were not able to fulfill all those sold. We got a partial refund but that was okay. We still saw and learned plenty!
I would recommend this experience. It was well worth the money to get such a personalized experience instead of one of those large groups with the whisper radios of the guide walking along and talking into everyone’s ear.
Erika_B, Mar 2026
Elisa was wonderful! Highly recommend! We enjoyed the very small group experience. The experience amazing!
Tracy_S, Mar 2026
Gio was fun, knowledgeable, interesting, and accommodating! We were in a group of 4, she shepherded us with care and attention on a busy day! She picked great spots to share unique info and insights. Thanks for a wonderful memory!!
Roxanne_B, Mar 2026
Gio was our guide and she was fantastic! Very passionate about the area and extremely knowledgeable. Also, just a great person
Taylor_S, Mar 2026
Tour guide siriki was amazing! Knowledgeable about all things Roman history definitely made the highlights come to life
Lynda_S, Mar 2026
Amazing experience. Sara was wonderful and very knowledgeable. She taught us so much. I would highly recommend this tour.
MaryBeth_J, Mar 2026
Elisa was a wonderful guide for this 3 hour small group tour of the Coliseum that included the underground. One couple cancelled so there were only 3 in our group which felt like a private tour. I learned so much and the time flew by!
Joseph_V, Mar 2026
Luigi was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Most definitely add the underground experience to your package. The tour with Luigi of the Colosseum is a must do on your visit to Rome.
Carole_B, Mar 2026
Wonderful experience. Rosalba really brought the history to life. Fantastic communication from the tour company.
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