actravelgirl

Planning our itinerary for our five day trip to Rome in April. Our children are 9, 12 & 16. We have already booked a Testaccio food tour through Eating Italy but would like to splurge on one more guided tour. I am leaning towards a tour of the Colosseum/Forum/Palantine Hill & possibly the Underground add-on option, but am now wondering if the kids would appreciate a Vatican tour instead. My husband and I have been to Rome and visited both sites and our gut is that they will get more out of the Colosseum. Regardless of which one we choose, we'd like it to have a family focus to keep our 9 year old engaged.

I am also overwhelmed by the number of tour companies and options. Considering family tours through Context Travel, Overome, Pinocchio Tours, Rome Private Guides and Viator (although I am a little skeptical of them).

Would love your opinions and suggestions/recommendations. Thanks in advance!

europhile

I have just done this same research and booked for our trip in July. My kids are younger (5, 7 and 9), but we are visiting the same sites. I ended up booking the Colosseum and Underground Rome tour with Rome Private Guides, and the Vatican Treasure Hunt tour with Walks Inside Rome. The Vatican tour we booked is said to be geared for 5-10 year olds, but Rome Private Guides had a version which was geared for older kids because it involved reading and interpreting symbols. If I had to pick one, I'd think about what else we are seeing on the trip. If you are viewing lots of art (say, in Florence) they might enjoy the contrast of the ruins. Also, if they are interested in gladiators (which my 2 boys are), that's another plus for ancient Rome. Either way they'll see amazing things, but one is opulent and art focused and the other is more about the stories behind the buildings. I hope that helps!

actravelgirl

Very helpful, thank you. The Walks Inside Rome tour for teens looks perfect for our crew as my 9 year old thinks he's a teenager.

I also just found Rome4Kids that came highly recommended by a family friend. So many options! I may wind up doing both (maybe a private tour for one and then a small group for the other).

Happy Planning and have a great trip!

justineparis

First, Viatour is not a tour company, they are simply a middleman agency that sells other peoples tours , so its best to book direct most times.

I took my 11 yr old daughter to both Vatican and Colesuem and Forum, hands down she found the Vatican too crowded and boring compared to the Coliseum.. she could feel the history more at those places then the Vatican.

I will say she did love visiting St Peters.. its so huge,, she had already been to Notre Dame in Paris and her comment was.. "wow.. this is way better"..

Margaretlb

Rome is so fabulous! I'd agree that the ancient Roman areas would be more interesting for your kids. Although I no longer have little ones, I found Through Eternity Tours to be excellent and have been on tours with young children who the guide has kept engaged. Recently, there was a fantastic documentary about the Colosseum - Secrets of the Colosseum - and I found this link on you tube. If you decide to do an under the Colosseum tour, it would be great if your kids (and you) watched the documentary before going - I believe it would add immensely to the experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXlmMX62tV0

annhig

Here's another vote for spending your money on getting a guide for the kids for the Colosseum etc.; I'm nearly 60 and despite 3 trips, I still can't make head or tail of the Forum. But we loved this area of Rome nonetheless, especially DS who was captivated by the colosseum. The other thing he loved was going out by himself in the mornings to buy our cornetti, which is something your 16 year old might like if you are in an apartment.

annhig

The Vatican museums used to be a real route march but when I was there a couple of years ago they have changed things so it's possible to do the highlights in about 2 hours. This makes things a lot easier if you have kids [or a limited attention span like me] and if you are lucky, you can exit from the Sistine Chapel [which is the last bit of the museums that you come to] through the "group" exit at the back of the Chapel on the right, and after descending some stairs and going through a door on your right, you find yourselves on some steps at the side of St Peter's.

annhig

From there you can just walk down on the front of the Basilica, rather than having to walk all the way back round the walls of the Vatican again, and you don't have to do security again, either.

Very doable by yourselves with a guidebook in hand, IMO.

[NB the group exit doesn't work if you have the audio guide which has to be returned to the desk near the entrance where you got it from so that's something to consider].

annhig

[sorry about the multiple posts, it was the only way I could get it to post!]

actravelgirl

Margaret, that video is terrific. Thanks for passing it along.

Annhig, my daughter is super independent and loves cities. I think she'll love the idea of exploring the area around our apartment (staying near Spanish Steps).

After spending way too much time researching this, I think we are going to wind up doing both tours. Leaning towards Rome4Kids for the Vatican and still deciding who to use for the Colosseum. Will be sure to report back.

Thanks All!

annhig

Annhig, my daughter is super independent and loves cities. I think she'll love the idea of exploring the area around our apartment (staying near Spanish Steps). >>

that's brilliant, actravelgirl. going out be himself to get the breakfast was a definite highlight of our DS's trip and when we went into the pasticceria where he got the cornetti every morning, they all knew him by name! He knew no Italian at all apart from grazie, but your DD might benefit from learning a little Italian, as so might you all, come to that.

denisea

We used Walks of Italy for the Colisseum. It was a great tour and would be fun for kids. It included the lower part of the Colisseum and descriptions of how the animals were lifted to the main floor by "elevator". We were also allowed to walk onto the floor of the Colisseum (and the guide played the theme from gladiator on his iPhone). The top tier of the Colisseum was part of the tour that ended at the Forum.

We used Walks of Italy for the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, as well. It was also a terrific, well done tour. Walks of Italy only takes pretty small groups...may 12 or so in the group.