Colosseum with Arena, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Guided Tour
Rome, Italy
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Secure your visit to the Colosseum before you even arrive in Rome with this guided tour, which includes prebooked entry tickets. Even better, it includes access to the reconstructed Arena Floor, usually off-limits to the public. After visiting the ancient gladiatorial arena, head to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, where your guide recounts Rome’s founding story.
- Prefer to explore on your own? Opt for entry and an audioguide
- Enjoy a second perspective of the Colosseum from the Arena Floor
- Hear stories and insights from your guide, something you'd otherwise miss
- Select a morning and afternoon tour time to suit your schedule
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Most tours stick to the stands, but this option takes you onto the usually off-limits Arena Floor.
What's Included
- Entrance to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (if option selected)
- Colosseum entrance ticket (valued at €24 per person)
- Colosseum reservation fee (valued at €2 per person)
- Pre-purchased tickets to skip the ticket's desk line
- Professional Tour Guide (not included for Audioguide Option)
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transportation to/from attractions
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Basilica of Saints Cosmas and DamianVia 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
- ColosseumP.za del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Itinerary
1
Colosseum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
2
Palatine Hill
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
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
- In July and August due to the heat the duration of the visit is 2 hours
- 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.
- If you choose the semi-private option, please note that our tours are designed for up to 12 guests per guide to ensure a personal and immersive experience. Occasionally, to keep families or friends together, the group size may be slightly larger. In other cases, the group may have fewer than 12 participants. This flexibility helps us provide the best possible experience for everyone.
- The Ancient Rome tour involves Steps and a lot of walking on un-even path especially in the Roman Forum . We highly suggest flat confortable shoes. This tour is not suitable for any person with recent surgeries, with disabilities and for people in wheelchairs due to the street level , up street level and steps.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 3 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.4
based on 3,767 reviews
Review summary
Last 12 months
86 reviews
Select a theme to learn more
Travelers praise the tour guides for their extensive knowledge and engaging delivery that enriches the historical experience of ancient Rome. Opinions on value for money are divided, with some finding the price justified while others consider it high for the access provided. Tour planning and communication receive mixed reviews, as smooth coordination and clear pre-tour messages are appreciated, but delays, cancellations, and poor responsiveness cause frustration for several travelers.
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Our tour was amazing from start to finish.
Georgia, our guide, was top notch. She was extremely knowledgeable, and kind.
We appreciated how she took time for each person in the group to answer all questions and share her own personal experiences and knowledge. We were grateful for her clear English language as well. We would highly recommend Viator
Caterina was incredibly knowledgeable and shared so much great information about the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum. I learned a lot, and her explanations made each site feel more meaningful. I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to understand the history behind these famous landmarks.
Great views of colosseum and palatine hill. Guide was good but we had difficulty hearing due to audio issues … loud helicopters over head. But definitely appreciate the guides expertise.
A good, faster paced tour which we appreciated. Far too much to see of course, but this your allowed for a timely experience with all the highlights.
Laura was a fantastic guide. Good knowledge of the history without bring boring. Would recommend going
Great information and background of the colosseum and loved our tour guide who was very attentive and kind. She spoke 7 languages. Even though I was solo on the tour didn’t feel excluded or out of place. Got all the information I wanted and more
Really enjoyed the tour, would’ve loved to have spent longer in the colosseum though as it would’ve been nice to take it in more and look at the exhibitions.
Tour guide was extremely knowledgable and provided so much insight to the buildings and history of the region.
A definite highlight of our time in Rome! Massimo, our guide, was amazing—extremely knowledgeable, informative, and funny. He patiently answered all of our endless questions and even made sure to build in shade breaks because of the heat. He made the entire experience so enjoyable and brought the history of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill to life. We absolutely loved this tour and highly recommend it!
We absolutely loved our time with this tour! Diego, our tour guide, was amazing, informative, and very fun. You could tell he really enjoyed sharing this information with others. He was also very good about giving us plenty of bathroom and water stops. Diego was knowledgeable and made it a priority to make the tour interactive. It really helped us to imagine what life used to be like 2000 years ago. He was patient with our questions and always double checking to make sure we understood what he was saying. I highly recommend a tour with Diego. Only clarification is that the Arena Floor means the main surface level of the Colosseum that the gladiators fought at. The underground tour is the one that takes you to the lower level and is a separate experience. That confused me a bit when I booked the tickets so thought I would clarify here. Meeting location was very easy to find and follow. Overall, an absolutely wonderful experience that my husband and I thought was worth the price. Diego is the best!
Our guide was very good. Allow extra time since the tour tended to run over due to the crowds and timed entries. Even in mid September, it was very hot. Be sure to bring a water bottle and a hand held fan if you can. Definitely wear good walking shoes!
it’s about 3 hours long not 2 1/2 . Georgia is wonderful and considerate and fun! i really enjoyed being with her!
We loved the tour. The communication was clear and out tour guide was fantastic!
Great way to see all of the sites!
Guide was very passionate about the history of the site. Tour took longer than it said which would have been great but 35 degrees so we left tour be four last site tour.
The description is 'Colosseum with Arena, Roman Forum, etc', but be careful, the Arena access is not included. When we arrived to get our tickets I asked the staff about Arena access and we were told that wasn't possible as it was Closed. When we got inside it clearly wasn't closed.
Having said that the Audio Guide was good and comprehensive.
Georgia, our guide, was amazing and kept the tour informative the entire time. Would definitely come back.
Wear your best gym shoes the terrain in the coliseum is rough. If you come across n July or August be prepared for the heat, bring a towel you can soak in water along the way and a refillable water bottle. Our guide was amazing, funny, smart and kind!!
Excellent trip and fab energetic guide Georgia very knowledgeable giving you just the right information needed also very good at keeping everyone upbeat and hydrated despite the extreme temperature
The only one thing u woyid say is myself and my teenage daughter works have liked a little longer in the colosseum to explore the upper level
Our family of 6, including 8yr old, truly enjoyed this amazing experience! Our guide, Max or Massimo, was very patient with all participants during a very hot day and provided a great deal of historical information about the Colosseum. We really appreciated him being flexible with us taking breaks and answering our questions as needed. However, it was upsetting to us that when we tried to go up to the 1st & 2nd levels, we were told that we couldn’t use the elevator as we didn’t have the ‘full experience’ with attic access, we only had the arena floor access. The guards pointed it out on our tickets and we were confused as we were told we couldn’t take the stairs either! The ticket we purchased clearly advertised access to these levels and states “full experience”. We were told we could buy an additional ticket if we wanted to go up. Since Max had left at this point, we had no one to speak to about this situation. Other tour participants from our group of 12 also had the same problem. So, although we did have a good time, that last part left us feeling a bit swindled.
Tour company not helpful and only want your money! They don’t try and help you out when circumstances arise out of your control and won’t give you a refund! Do not recommend
Our guide Guiseppe did a fantastic job. It was sweltering hot and he found all the shady spots to help us cool down. He was extremely knowledgeable and explained much of the history of the Roman emporers who built the structures. He spoke English very well and definitely did an A+ job!
On the downside, the company changed our tour time to later than we booked, and the heat was worse as a result. And they deleted the tour segment of the Colosseum arena and could not tell us what amount they might refund for the reduced access.
But Giuseppe's fantastic job made it all worthwhile.
Tour guide was a history teacher. He was fantastic and with lots of information. Our small group (7) were asking questions and our guide encouraged it. I had a much better understnding of the history (time line) and how things were done. Loved the tour
Easy instructions for meeting point text and emails and reminders the day before in an hour before both from the app and the text made it extremely easy to find what I was looking for. True guide was amazing and very knowledgeable.
This tour was really good and a great way to see/experience Rome on our first day. My daughter has been dreaming about visiting the Colosseum and this tour did not disappoint!!
Dropping one star because Arena access was dropped from our booking few days before the tour although we have made reservation a month in advance. We did take the tour and overall it was still a good experience. Our guide was knowledgeable, friendly and covered the historical site details well. We were also provided a partial refund and tour operator communicated well with text to confirm and remind about the time and meeting point.
Paula was fantastic.She was a wealth of knowledge. She spent to e explaining each area and importance inthat era
This tour of the Colosseum and surrounding area was great. Our tour guide was wonderful and provided us with lots of information about the sites. He was very personable and also provided some humor. We appreciated him very much.
Our tour was delayed by an hour and a half and the Floor part of the tour was canceled and a partial refund promised but never given. Being delayed we only had time to see the Colosseum and not the rest of the tour due to a train we needed to catch. So we ended up paying way too much for this tour and only seen the Colosseum. On the other hand the tour guide was excellent!
Our tour was absolutely fantastic! The guide Gisele was knowledgeable, engaging, and brought the history of Ancient Rome to life. Learning about the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the incredible stories behind these iconic landmarks made the experience unforgettable. The tour was well organized, easy to follow, and worth every minute. Highly recommend it to anyone visiting Rome!
Diego was great. Very knowledgeable and had a great attitude. Some great movie references. Prepare to walk fast!
Member Pricing
From
$79.93
per personWas $84.15(-5%)
up to 3 days in advance
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