first time in rome -- should we book a tour??
 

this is our first trip to rome, and i was wondering should we book a tour??
if so, any suggestions??

Absolutely, particularly for the Forum and St. Peter's. Check out Context Rome (which has a website), which used to be called Scala Reale. Others here have also liked Enjoy Rome.

Although Rome is magnificent unguided, I think a guide can add a lot to your understanding and appreciation.

We have been to Rome twice and didn't use a guide either time. While I don't really think its necessary, I believe it would be very beneficial, especially for places such as the forum. There really isn't anything stating what you are looking out. We bought a guidebook with as much detail as we could find but it was still difficult. A guide would have helped tremendously and would have allowed us to better understand what we were experiencing.

I'm sorry...I meant to say that I didn't think a guide was "absolutely necessary" and that should have been "looking at" not "looking out"...next time I must review my post! :)

I always feel that you get much more out of your time if you go to places you want on your own. That way you don't get dragged to see things you are just not interested in seeing. If it is a language barrier that concerns you don't be worried. I would venture to say the majority of Italians have a base knowledge of English (of course, you could always learn a few phrases of Italian to make your trip more enjoyable!!!). I recommend the DK Eyewitness travel books they have alot of minitours and helpful information for the do it yourself traveler.

If you plug in Context Rome or Scala Reale(their former name) you'll find lots of recommendations for my favorite tour company. I've never before been a tour kind of person,but they've converted me.They conduct wonderful walking tours led by scholars and professionals (and professional scholars!) If you have any specific questions about their walks,I'd be happy to answer.

when I wrote plug in,I meant to run a Fodor's search.