Colosseum & Ancient Rome - Private Tour

Recommended by 100% of travelers

Rome, Italy

3 hours (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Experience the glory of ancient Rome with this in-depth tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. Follow your guide inside the Colosseum to marvel at this magnificent amphitheater. Learn about its history and architecture before moving on to the forum ruins. End your visit on Palatine Hill, where you can snap photos of modern Rome from above.

See Rome's top ancient sites in one day: Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill
Visit the Roman Forum with a guide to better understand the complex ruins
See where Rome was founded and enjoy bird's-eye views atop Palatine Hill

What's Included

Entry Tickets
Private Guided Tour
Colosseum entrance ticket (valued at €18 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.

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Fontana del Colosseo, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
In front of the Colosseum Metro Stop right by the newsstand and the water fountain, on the street level of the Colosseum (not above). The guide will have a sign with your name on it. Please note that the tickets are timed-entry and non-refundable (if you arrive late it is not possible to enter).

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Colosseum

1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Foro Romano

1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present ID documents 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 ID card or document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

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

5.0

based on 59 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Exceptional Guide, Exceptional Tour

Sargis_G, Jan 2026

Our tour was absolutely outstanding. Our guide was incredible, extremely knowledgeable, passionate about Roman history, and engaging from start to finish. Every explanation was clear and fascinating, and all of our questions were answered patiently with enthusiasm and depth. The guide’s love for the subject truly brought Ancient Rome to life and made the experience unforgettable. Highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants a meaningful and memorable visit to Rome’s most iconic sites.

tour Coliseum & Roman Forum

mary_g, Oct 2025

The tour was incredibly interesting and informative. Our tour guide was extremely educated on the Coliseum & Roman Forum. I would recommend this tour!

Serena is the best!

Megan_F, Aug 2025

Serena was absolutely incredible to tour the colosseum and forum with. She was very thoughtful about our experience, answered all of our questions and was extremely knowledgeable. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience (except that we wish we booked more time and places!). Thank you Serena.

Helpful guide, smooth process.

Chandan_J, Jul 2025

Smoother experience with a guide. Colosseum was quite crowded and hot, unfortunately. Still, it is a must-do in Rome.

Splendid Ancient Rome tour

Gail_B, Jun 2025

Extremely informative! Serena was so well versed and was able to answer all of our questions! We learned so much about Ancient Rome and their traditions! Definitely recommend for anyone looking for an informative intimate tour!

Our guide Christina was...

Benedict_W, May 2025

Our guide Christina was great. She gave a lot of information and was very friendly and easy to understand.

Highly Recommend!! Excellent and Knowledgeable Guide!

JillMarie_W, Mar 2025

My 18 year old son and I are visiting Rome for spring break and enjoyed the best tour with our guide, Serena Paolini! Serena was so incredibly knowledgeable and gave us so much insight to history on the tour. I highly recommend this tour!!!!

Excellent experience. ...

Salvatore_T, Mar 2025

Excellent experience. Serena was very information and a fantastic guide. Would recommend this tour to everyone.

Fantastic tour, highly recommend!

Paula_L, Dec 2024

Serena is a very passionate tour guide and with an archeological background, she was not only extremely knowledgeable with facts, she also had lots of great stories. We learnt so much in just over 3 hours. Thanks Serena!

Worth it!!

wpxb74vp56, Dec 2024

This experience was well worth the money. Serena of Blue Cat Tours was knowledgeable and engaging. There is so much to see in Rome that it can be overwhelming. Having a guide really allowed us to know what we were seeing and to appreciate the history. She was fantastic!

Great Experience with Great Guide

Lisa_P, Oct 2024

We had a private tour, just us and our guide, Serena. She was extremely knowledgable. She was able to answer all our questions.

Colosseum & Ancient Rome - Private Tour with Sarina September 2024

PaulandMaxine_S, Oct 2024

Sarina was a great tour guide Very knowledgeable about the Colosseum and the Forum. Took her time to show us around.

Amazing experience

Anthony_L, Sep 2024

When we booked our tour, we thought it was going to be a small group and did not realize it was just us and our tour guide Serena from Blue Cat Tours. With that said, I think it made all the word of a difference to have the one on one experience. Not only were we able to skip the line (big plus), but Serena has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the Coloseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We unfortunately didn’t get to finish our tour as we were getting terribly hungry, but it did not take away from everything she showed us. It was completely worth the money to better understand and appreciate the history that stood before us. This has been an unforgettable experience. Serena, grazie mille per l'esperienza.

Great tour for adults and kids

josephtkowalski, Jul 2024

Sirena (unsure of spelling) with Blue Cat Tours was outstanding. We were touring the Colosseum and Roman Forum on one of the hottest days of the year with 4 and 6 year old children. So, it could have been a rough day. However, she was engaging and very knowledgeable. She also did a great job making sure the kids had rest stops for shade and water. The tour cost is expensive, but we definitely got way more out of the experience than we would have on our own. This option also obviates the need for worrying about purchasing tickets.

Knowledgeable Guide

Michael_C, Jul 2024

This was a wonderful tour. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, respectful of the ages of our group members, and did her best to keep us in the shade. If you are looking to go onto the Colosseum floor, this tour will not get you there (or below).

Great tour of the Coliseum in Rome

Heather_S, Jul 2024

Our tour guide was amazing. She was very knowledgeable and passionate about the history of Rome. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

Go with a private tour - worth it

Erika_P, Jul 2024

Getting a private tour was the way to go. We skipped all the lines, had someone show us exactly where to go and go to learn all the history about what we were experiencing. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and very passionate about the history. Without her guidance we wouldn’t have known what we were looking at.

The best

Jorge_B, Mar 2024

Super great experience. Good information. One of the best tour guides we have met. Extremely recomended.

Excellent tour

Theresa_L, Dec 2023

We had significant difficulty in trying to find a meeting point I am extremely grateful that our guide waited for us and we ended up having a fabulous tour

Great tours of Colosseum and Ancient Rome

Bruce_F, Nov 2023

My mother and I took a private tour of the Colosseum and Ancient Rome with Serena of Blue Cat Tours. She walked us through the entire structure of the Colosseum, sharing her extensive knowledge of the history of Rome and the Colosseum over the past two thousand years. She was extremely patient with my elderly mother and helped make this experience very special. The Colosseum is an impressive place and it’s very existence is hard to imagine. We also visited the Roman Forum area and Palatine Hill. Serena walked us through these areas, telling us about life in Ancient Rome and the significance of many of its buildings and other structures. I was especially fascinated when Serena pointed out to me the location where Rome was actually founded nearly eight centuries before Christ. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience for us both and Serena was an essential part of that.

Private tour is the way to go

Philip_G, Oct 2023

Our private tour of the Colosseum and forum was fantastic. Our tour guide, Serena with Blue Cat Tours, was able to show us so much more than what the small group tours appeared to focus on. Also, if you're like us and like to move and not be stuck in the crowd, the private tour accomplishes just that. We were able to move through the Colosseum at ease with Serena's guidance and have all of our questions answered.

Best Rome experience!!!

Jess_H, Sep 2023

THE MOST INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE EVER!!!!!!! This literally made our whole trip, your guide teaches you SO much about the colloseum and Roman forum in such an engaging way!! This is 1000% worth it and 1000% necessary for your trip to rome, if you don’t go with Serena you will seriously miss out on so much history and knowledge. It was so amazing to have the tour to ourselves and ask a million questions, and she was kind enough to take a thousand pictures for us :) the guide goes at your pace and had an answer for every single question I asked. So so so amazing cannot rave about this tour and tour guide enough!! Shout out to Serena who made it incredible!!

Wonderful experience!

Jay_P, Jul 2023

Serena was great! Informative, and complete! She was on time, flexible and always kept our interests, including my 13 and 19 year old children. Well done!

Absolutely amazing...

Ryan_S, Jun 2023

Absolutely amazing experience and would highly recommend for an informative and interactive tour. Guide was extremely knowledgeable!

McGinley Private tour of Coliseum

Sean_M, May 2023

Using the guide with a small private tour is the way to go. Viator makes it easy and it’s the only way to see the coliseum in Rome. Thanks

Great tour!

Chihyu_C, May 2023

Our guide Serena was very friendly and gave us a lot of interesting details during the tour. Highly recommend! Thank you!

Highly Recommend

Terrance_W, Mar 2023

Very thorough and interesting tour. We received a great deal of information about ancient Rome through touring the Colosseum and Forum areas. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. I don't think we would have got nearly as much out of this if we toured by ourselves.

Great experience in the Colosseum

Robert_R, Jul 2022

This was an excellent tour. What a great tour! Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the Colosseum and Ancient Rome. She used pictures show us what we are seeing now and then overlayed them with what it is thought to look like back then. Just a fantastic experience overall. I highly recommend this tour.

Amazing insight into Ancient Rome

Matthew_R, Jul 2022

Serena was a fantastic guide. She was so knowledgeable and really brought the Colosseum and Roman Forum to life for us. Would definitely recommend! A perfect way to start your holiday in Rome.