Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Guided Tour or AudioGuide Option

Rome, Italy

Trending

Booked 5+ times in 12 hours.

2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.6

· Robert_P ·

Mar 2026

Knowledgeable and fun, lots of interesting information, organized and friendly. Highly recommend this tour.

· Matthew_L ·

Feb 2026

We stayed 1 minute from the Colosseum and could see it from our window, so I wasn’t sure the tour would be worth it… but 10/10 would do again. Everything was so beautiful and in such great shape considering. We also loved the hill & the forums!

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Overview

No one should leave Rome without visiting the Colosseum, Roman Forum, or Palatine Hill, where the city began—yet understanding the history behind the ruins can be a challenge when visiting independently. Enrich your visit with crucial context on this guided tour which also includes admission. Prefer the freedom of visiting alone? Then opt for entry combined with an audioguide, and listen to recorded insights while you wander.

Stroll around Palatine Hill and learn about the palaces of the Roman emperors
Visit the Roman Forum to see temples, arches, and religious monuments
Choose from a variety of departure times to suit your schedule
Audio guide tour option available for independent travelers

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

A few different morning tour times offer options for beating the afternoon heat.

What's Included

Entrance to the Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
Colosseum entrance ticket (valued at €18 per person)
Colosseum reservation fee (valued at €2 per person)

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Transportation to/from attractions

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Santi Cosma e Damiano
Via dei Fori Imperiali, 1, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
The meeting point is in the square in front of the Santi Cosma and Damiano Basilica in Via dei Fori Imperiali 1. You will find our staff wearing a light blue vest with our logos. Please arrive 15 minutes early. The tour cannot be joined in case of delays.

End point

Colosseum
P.za del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Roma RM, Italy

Itinerary

Choose from one of several start times through the morning and afternoon when you book. Then on the day, head to the meeting point on Via Frangipane, near the entrance to the Roman Forum.

Once the site of brutal gladiatorial battle, the amphitheater was the go-to place for the ancient Romans’ entertainment. Hear about the gladiators, wild animals, emperors, and senators as you explore, and imagine the roar of the crowds, centuries ago.

From the Colosseum, you’ll continue to Palatine Hill to see where the emperors built their lavish palaces. Gaze at the view over Circus Maximus where chariot races were held, and look down at the ruined temples of the Roman Forum. Then, get a close-up view as you head inside the forum itself to learn about daily life in Ancient Rome.

After three hours, your tour ends outside the Roman Forum.

Colosseum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Roman Forum

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Please make sure that the names provided EXACTLY MATCH THE NAMES on the passports or ID cards of all participants (children included), otherwise entry to the Colosseum will be denied. A valid ID is required for everyone to enter. Nicknames, missing names, or incorrect first or last names are not accepted by Colosseum guards. Feel free to contact us if you need any assistance with this.
For minors, the age must be 17 or younger on the day of the activity
The entrance tickets to the Colosseum cannot be changed or refunded
Each traveler must show a valid ID matching the booking name for entry. Without ID, entry is not guaranteed

Please show up at least 15 minutes before the tour to do the check in
Meeting time is subject to change; if this occurs, you will receive a call or message from the activity provider. Please provide your correct phone number and country code
Late arrivals will not be refunded
All visitors must pass through a metal detector to enter the Colosseum. No exceptions
Not Allowed: Big backpacks, pets, weapons, sharp items, large bags, alcohol, drugs, sprays, glass.
By purchasing this tour, you agree to our Terms and Conditions
If you booked the audio guide option, please download the app in advance using Wi-Fi. Once downloaded, it works offline. Earphones are not provided – please bring your own, compatible with your smartphones. Note that older phones may not support the app properly. For bookings after 4:00 PM, you may not have enough time to visit the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. You can either arrive earlier or visit the Roman Forum the next day.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 3 days 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

4.6

based on 651 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Fun and informative

Robert_P, Mar 2026

Knowledgeable and fun, lots of interesting information, organized and friendly. Highly recommend this tour.

Think very carefully about using this agency. The tour was good but almost didn't happen due to their poor management.

Caroline_E, Mar 2026

We booked with Vivicos tours and initially all contact with them was great, very helpful and responsive. We'd booked a tour for 10am on the Sunday. On the Saturday, I messaged them to confirm the ID requirements of the tour and they resent the booking details along with a second message with details of the ID. Only at midnight on the Saturday when I was rechecking the meeting point and specifics about the tickets did I notice they'd changed the booking time to 9am. They had not specifically told me the time had been changed at any point. When they confirmed the time change wasn't a typo (at 00:20h, so that was good) it was simply due to 'operational reasons'. I then had to rearrange meeting times with my friends so that we didn't miss the tour. We had to get a taxi to ensure we got there for 8:45. We got there on time but there was no sign of the guides in the blue tops we were promised. We had to ask a different company who we were looking for, (two people not in any sort of uniform) so another 10mins of panic - I saw two guys turn up in blue tops at 9am, so 15mins late. What we got of the tour was very good, thanks 100% to the guide, Fabrizio. Very informative and great to skip queues for tickets (there's no escaping security queues). He was also helpful when a couple in the group lost their ticket and was able to contact the agency to reach a solution. Fabrizio, if you read this, change agency, they don't do you any favours. We were told the tour was 2 1/2 hours but at 11am, before we'd even got to the Palantine Hill, Fabrizio said it was the end of the tour and he'd got another tour to do immediately afterwards. When I said we'd paid for 3 sites and an extra 30mins (as had a significant number of our tour group) he was confused as he didn't know this but graciously took us to the Palantine Hill with a bit of explanation along the way. We were then left to our own devices to tour ourselves. I knew from the reviews about this agency that people have had issues with being messed around with timings before but because of the high overall review score, I assumed that they were only a tiny majority and that it wouldn't happen to us. Haha!! I guess I should consider myself lucky I spotted the time change myself, with enough notice to change my plans. Two people were no-shows for the tour and I wonder if they hadn't been so lucky. So to conclude, the tour was good but if you're still keen to use this agency, keep checking your messages, reconfirm the details of your booking at a time when you've still got flexibility to change the rest of your schedule if need be and confirm at the start of your tour what your guide thinks you've paid for (if there's confusion at the start, the guide can contact the agency). Even then, I still wouldn't like to guarantee that your tour would go without a hitch. I have to say whether I'd recommend this experience to a friend...having a guide for the Coliseum and Forum was well worth it, I just wouldn't recommend this agency.

Guide was very...

Maddy_C, Mar 2026

Guide was very knowledgeable and clearly enthusiastic about the history and the culture of ancient Rome. We were given headsets which work very well so that we could always hear him.

Excellent tour guide.

Stephen_R, Mar 2026

Definitely comfortable shoes and a bottle of water. The guide (Diego) was extremely knowledgeable and brought the experience to life.

Fun!!!

Matthew_L, Feb 2026

Self guided audio

Suzanne_M, Oct 2025

We enjoyed the self guided tour. We were able to see a lot. Having the audio guide was helpful and allowed us to focus on the things we wanted to spend our time.

George was an exceptional...

Sharon_R, Sep 2025

George was an exceptional guide - very knowledgeable, friendly and outgoing with all of the participants. We are so glad to have signed up for the tour. What a wonderful experience.

Our tour guide was...

Rachel_B, Aug 2025

Our tour guide was excellent and very knowledgeable. We skipped all the queues and it was a really enjoyable tour. Would recommend.

Don’t use thistour

Kimberly_R, Aug 2025

There are so many other tour options—do yourself a favor and use any other tour! They change the time of the reservation once it’s past the cancellation window and then tell you that they can’t accommodate you despite having had this reservation for months. Was able to book our desired time with a different tour immediately after- they’re running a scam with this one hoping people just pay and don’t care about the start time.

US traveler

Tammy_G, Aug 2025

Bring a small plastic bag to hold things for metal detectors. No trays for your belongings went everywhere. Good tour. Guide was great.

Buy tickets direct

Derek_A, Jul 2025

Paid over €100 to go to a meeting point with a pre download app to be given €36 worth of tickets and be told to be on your way… go look after yourself

Coliseum with Francesca top notch!

GLENDA_B, Jul 2025

Francesca was absolutely amazing! So organized, friendly, funny and informative. Here hand made photo book was so helpful! Best tour guide we had on our 10 trip!

Wonderful guide

Bob_M, Jul 2025

Guide shared so most info and had a wonderful personality. Weather was hot but we all enjoyed the tour.

Do Not Use

Winter_S, Jul 2025

This tour changed the time of our reservation, lied to us and told us it wouldn’t interrupt our plans we had already booked and paid for and then refused refund. 100% scammers and liars. Would NEVER recommend.

Just buy your own tickets

Desiree_G, Jul 2025

Tour guide changed times and it Was inconvenient for us as we had other bookings. They gave us our vouchers - no direction. Could hardly speak English

We expected a guided tour...

Jennifer_W, Jul 2025

We expected a guided tour and didn’t have this option after purchasing. I would still recommend but ensure you confirm your booking before arrival.

Didn't make the tour. They changed the time we were supposed to Check-in the tour company. Did they notified us the same

Victor_F, Jun 2025

Not a good experience because we We did not know the time had been changed. By the tour company. The person at the site said if there was nothing she could do.

Colosseum Palatine with Massimo

Robert_U, Jun 2025

Massimo was a very good guide. Genuine Italian with a gentle friendly manner, including with lost tourists not part of our group. It was a very hot day, but Massimo found enough shady spots to make tour bearable. Amazing large area of Roman history. If one had more time, there is enough history to see to take separate tours, but the Colosseum fitted quite nicely after the Palatine in our 2.5 hours. Highly recommend tour.

Great experience, a must...

Ryan_H, Jun 2025

Great experience, a must do, my second time in Rome with friends who haven’t been here, fantastic sights to take pics

Falsely advertised. Buyer beware.

Patrick_B, Jun 2025

Misadvertised. The write up explicitely mentions a tour guide, but when I arrived at the company office, an employee told me I had to use an audio app on my phone and then tended to the other dozens of confused customers. The tour includes 44 places of interest, so an audio app is not so practical. I tried it for a few minutes and then just ignored the app. Also note that 'skip the line' is not relevant for an audio tour, despite being advertised that way.

Response from Host, Jun 2025

Dear Customer, thank you for your feedback. We apologize if your experience wasn't pleasant, but please note that every option available in our products has its own description. You chose the option that included an entrance ticket with an audioguide, which was descripted at the moment of reservation. As for the "skip the line" part, it's the same both for audioguides and guided tours. You skip the line to purchase the tickets, since you already have them, but you still have to go through scans and security checks. Best regards, Laura.

Fun, active learning experience

Annette_S, Jun 2025

The guide was friendly and knowledgeable. The ancient ruins got a little long for our 12 year old but we loved the Colloseum tour.

Great Family tour

Miya_R, Jun 2025

We really enjoyed this tour!!! Our guide, Diego, was so knowledgeable and great at getting our smaller group around. Our family of 4 (two kids - 18&15) enjoyed learning about the history of the Colosseum, Roman Forum & more. We also liked meeting at the tour office vs. trying to find a meeting point outside the Colosseum - there seemed to be too many people & tours for that to be an easy way to meet up.

Bad experience

Shiv_P, May 2025

No one met us at the meet point nor did anyone answer our phone call. We had to go to the office to find out what was happening and were told that the meet location had changed. We were never notified and then after waiting 40 min was told that we had 10 min to get to the colosseum or else it was closed. Our package included other activities which we couldn’t get to because we had no time.

Excellent way to see the Colleseum

Kim_W, May 2025

Excellent to cut the lines for the entrance! Georgie was such an excellent guide for our group. His historical information was just enough and kept it interesting!! He was very good at keeping track of our large group and keeping us together.

Extremely enjoyable...

DAMIEN_B, May 2025

Extremely enjoyable guided tour, there was a lot to fit in but the tour guide did a great job and was very knowledgeable.

Definitely recommend!

lucy_c, May 2025

Francesca was an amazing tour guide, very knowledgeable and informative. We didn’t feel rushed at all at any point in the tour, would definitely recommend this tour!

Not enough Colosseum time.

websterweir, May 2025

Our guide Georgia was great. I wish we had more time in the Colosseum. We spent too much time in forum. If you are looking to focus on the Colosseum, this might not be the tour for you.

Ancient Rome

Thomas_K, May 2025

Massimo gave us a great tour of Ancient Rome. He offered a lot of background history which corrected a lot of our American movie misconceptions!

Five Stars

Rhyan_W, Apr 2025

Max was very knowledgeable and toured at a great pace. He was courteous to others, often finding spots out of the way to give explanations. He was friendly with other tour guides waving or saying hi. This was our favorite tour in Rome.