Two in One - Colosseum and Vatican Museums Group Tour

Rome, Italy

5 to 6 hours (approx.)
Offered in: English

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Overview

Exploring Rome’s top landmarks in one day can be difficult to organize on your own. This full-day tour combines the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill with the Vatican Museums. Discover the Sistine Chapel with insightful commentary, and cover both ancient history and Renaissance art in one streamlined itinerary.

Check off multiple attractions without having to handle logistics yourself
Handy audio headsets ensure you hear every word of your guide's commentary
Save precious vacation time with priority entry to the Vatican Musuems
Learn far more than you would exploring on your own

What's Included

3 hours Colosseum Tour and Vatican Tour
Headsets for both tours
Pre- purchased tickets for all attractions with priority reservation
Colosseum entrance ticket (valued at €18 per person, or €24 per person if arena access included)
Colosseum reservation fee (valued at €2 per person)
Please note: Colosseum fees as above. The remaining cost of the experience covers other services.

Tips for the Guide
Meals
Transportation

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

End points

This activity ends in a different location. See details below:

Itinerary

Colosseum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Roman Forum

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Vatican Museums

2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Please note that THE NAMES YOU PROVIDE HAVE TO MATCH THE IDS OR PASSPORTS OF ALL PARTICIPANTS (including children), or the Colosseum will deny entry — and don’t forget to bring valid ID for everyone which is necessary to enter. No nick names nor missing or wrong name and/or last name are admitted by the Coloseum management. Don't hesitate to contact us if you need support with this matter.
For minors, the age must be 17 or younger on the day of the activity
The entrance tickets 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 both tours 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
A dress code is required for the Vatican. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women.
Please note that, for disabled visitors with certified invalidity of more than 74%, the Vatican Museums offers free entry that is extended to a companion for visitors who are not self-sufficient. To benefit from this, make sure you mention it at the time of booking so that our staff may handle your request.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 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

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

4.1

based on 24 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Tour meet point disaster.

Susan_T, Oct 2025

Let me start by saying that the review does not reflect the tour guides. Both guides were excellent. The review is about the tour package. The tour included two visits: the Colosseum and the Vatican Museum, which lasted about 5 to 6 hours. We met the first guide who completed the tour, and to oursurprise, I WAS UNAWARE I WAS SUPPOSED TO ARRIVE AT MY SECOND TOUR ON MY OWN. I'm a tourist in an unfamiliar city. The guide was lovely and walked us to the tour office. We took a taxi and spent 40 euros to reach the second meeting point. After running around to get to the meeting point, the Tour company office does not have a guest restroom. A two-tour booking should start and end with the same guide.

Response from Host, Oct 2025

Dear Customer, we are sorry you had a bad experience, but please let us clarify a couple of things. The transportation between the two sites is not listed in the inclusions of these tour. We are sorry this caused you issues, but it was never indicated that you would've received private transportation between the two sites. Our meeting point for the Colosseum is in a square and, therefore, we can't have a guest bathroom, but you can find plenty inside the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Even if you made a two-tours booking, you still booked two separate group tours. In these cases is highly possible you are assigned two separate guides. In order to always have the same guide, it's necessary to book a private tour. Best regards, Laura.

Not a good experience

Pratik_A, Jul 2025

Way too much time wasted on history lecture, rather than showing us the actual spots and helping with accurate tips Afternoon vesrion was such a torture that we flat out asked the tour person to end it asap and relieve us so we can explore on our own Also English guide means a guide that knows fluent English, not broken and confusing English.

Colosseum Tour

LUCIA_W, Jul 2025

Loved the history. The Colosseum was amazing. I would recommend this tour. Catherina was knowledgeable.

Bad communication

Romona_C, Apr 2025

Cancelled the colosseum 1 day prior to tour. Extremely bad communication between Viator tour and the actual tour company. Bad communication with me as to how to get the Vatican portion tour

Long Day

Tanya_G, Sep 2022

I didn’t realize this excursion was broken up into 2 parts so it made it for a very long day. The 1st tour guide was rude and stand offish in the beginning and the 2nd tour guide was friendly but went an hour over. If I did it again I would break it up over 2 days

Combo Tour

Sanjeev_J, Aug 2022

We did this combo tour. The tour guide Yuri was very knowledgeable. It was a very hot day and I should have planned it a little better. But I recommend it if a.) you are a smaller group and don't have kids younger than 16 years with you. lot of walking but extremely detailed. Definitely try it

Book tours separately!

Jacklyn_J, Jul 2022

Overall this was way too much to do in one day. Definitely would book tours/tickets for these two sites separately, it was super hot and way too much stuff and walking to get done in one day. We had a great time on our first tour (the colosseum). The tour guide was great and the tour was well paced with lots of breaks and time to absorb everything. The Vatican tour, however, started around 40 minutes late and we were rushed through the entire thing. Our tour guide was constantly yelling at the group to stay close and hurry up so we wouldn’t miss the Sistine chapel which closed at 5pm. We were able to make it (however we only spent a couple minutes in the room before being rushed to the exit) but I don’t know why the tour wouldn’t start at a more appropriate time to give enough time to see all of the museum and the Sistine chapel without being rushed. Overall it felt like we completely missed out on the museum because we were so rushed and at the end we were taken through the exit so we couldn’t go back in ourselves. Our guide also made uncomfortable remarks to women in our group (plenty of people have teasing personalities but all of his comments were aimed at the women of the group and never the men). He also made some uncomfortable comments to poc in the group as well. At the end of the tour he refused to give certain members of the group his review card (including my group so we don’t remember his name).

Interesting and insightful!

Liana_C, Jul 2022

Alice was an amazing tour guide through the colosseum, she provided us with an abundance of interesting information while also throwing in a few jokes to make us laugh and enjoy the day. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting rome. For the vatican we had Patrick as a tour guide who was a wealth of knowledge and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. He provided us with many interesting facts and was a fantastic tour guide!

Good combo tour if pressed for time.

Courtney_H, Jul 2022

We had a great tour! The morning was the Colosseum part of the tour and our guide Francesca (who is an actual archaeologist) was amazing! After the morning, you are on your own for transportation to the Vatican (ride the Metro - super easy and cheap) and lunch. We did the Vatican in the afternoon and it is more of a tour of the art in the museums. You do get to tour the Sistine Chapel. Apparently some tours in the early morning can take you from the Sistine to St. Peter's Basilica but the afternoon tours don't do this. I will say it is a little much to do in 1 day. If you can, I would split them up. Overall a great tour if you are limited on time and want to see some highlights of Rome.

Great intro to Rome of old

Barend_B, Jun 2022

Our guide was knowledgeable and could talk about areas of interest in an understandable way. We did not rush through the tour and had enough time to spend at particular spots. All and all a very good tour.

Our guide was very...

Jackeline_O, Jun 2022

Our guide was very knowledgeable and had a lot of history to share. It was hot and there’s a lot of walking involved and stairs to climb at the coliseum so keep that in mind if you visit during the summer months. The Vatican was mostly indoors which was better but seemed very unorganized during the Entrance. It took close to an hour to finally get it. Also notice that you need to get your own transportation from one place to the other as it is not provided.

Illuminating and uplifting!

Caroline_M, Aug 2019

It was a delight being guided through the Colosseum and the Vatican - the guides were both extremely informative and pleasant. Not having to queue in ghe heat was also a great advantage. The Vatican is quite simply sublime - and this is an excellent way to visit. Being filled in on the history of the Colosseum was fascinating. Many thanks for this excellent experience!

Response from Host, Aug 2019

Many thanks from us from this beautifully uplifting review!

Well worth the value....

Lyle_D, May 2019

Both the Colosseum and Vatican tours were above expectations. Both guides were personable and well knowledged in their areas. They tailored the information and conversations to meet the personalities of the group. My family and I couldn't imagine seeing these attractions with these guides.

Response from Host, Jun 2019

We always adapt to ensure a personalized experience so we are glad to learn you enjoyed your tailored insights and especially that you had a great time with our guides!

Belles découvertes

JeanLouis_D, May 2022

Qualité des 2 guides, différents dans leur style, mais tous deux très professionnels et qualifiés. Une mention spéciale pour l’humour de Paolo qui anime l’histoire et la rend très vivante et passionnante