krillrobin

Has anyone had experience with Enjoy Rome tours? How do they compare with Scale Reale? Thanks.

adrienne

I've taken the Vatican tour with both Enjoy Rome and Scale Reale. I compared the 2 tour groups in my trip report so I'll copy and paste the section here for you:

ENJOY ROME vs. SCALA REALE:
A comparison of Enjoy Rome's Vatican tour with Scala Reale's which I took three and a half years ago. It's so true that you get what you pay for and Scala Reale wins my vote. They are quite a bit more expensive than Enjoy Rome and their tour is only an hour longer; 4 hours vs. 3 hours for Enjoy Rome. Scala Reale places a limit on the number in the group - we were seven, rather than the 19 with ER. However, the Scala Reale Vatican tour with Liz Lev was one of the two tours I've taken that have left me awe struck (the other was a Ste-Chappelle tour given by an art history master's student). The SR tour covered the history of St. Peter and the Vatican then focused more on the art, especially sculpture and the influences on Michelangelo. Liz's energy level and knowledge was incredible and she packed so much information into that four hours. If you have four hours for the Vatican and are willing to pay Scala Reale's prices, then please use this tour group as you will have an experience you won't easily forget.

Nikki

I have taken two Enjoy Rome tours and enjoyed them very much. I can't compare them to Scala Reale because I haven't taken any Scale Reale tours. Everything I have read makes me want to try them some time, but there is a huge price difference.

dln

We've done an enjoyrome tour and were perfectly happy with it. We haven't done the other tour, but from what I can gather, enjoyrome is far less scholarly in its approach. You'll see all sights but you won't get an in-depth review as you would with Scala Reale. However, our tour guide was more than willing to answer any and all questions while we were walking, so we got a lot of extra info on things that interested us just for the asking. It was our enjoyrome tour guide (bless her heart on this one!) who showed us how to cross the streets in Rome. Anyone who's ever been to Rome will know that this is a very, very useful thing to know. We didn't have any trouble with Rome traffic and weren't the least intimidated after we got our enjoyrome pedestrian lesson. That little tidbit alone was worth the price of admission to the tour!

adrienne

dln - your comment on crossing Rome streets made me smile. I learned from watching people do it. It stood at Piazza della Republicca for about 5 minutes, wondering how I was going to get across. I watched some older folks crossing and then got the hang of it. For the rest of the time in Rome I kept observing people crossing and it was always the same.

If you cross in the crosswalk the Romans will stop for you. If you cross in other places they'll slow down and go around you but won't stop. The main thing to remember is once you begin crossing do not stop at all - keep going!! If you do stop the drivers will become confused about what you're doing and you might get hit.

Joyful

Cannot comment on Scala Reale. Our Enjoy Rome Ancient/Old Rome walking tour allowed us to see a lot in a short time for a much lower cost than Scala Reale. However, the group was large (20 people?) and coverage superficial. We booked because we had very little time in Rome and wanted to make the most of it. In retrospect, it would have been quite manageable and more enjoyable to do the same route on our own.