audreyleigh99

My DH and I are going to Italy for the first time in just over two weeks. We will be in Rome for three days and are on a bit of a budget, so price is a factor. We are not normally tour people but think we would like to do just one tour while we're there. The problem is there are so many that look interesting I just can't decide...any advice? (And yes, I know things might already be booked and I should have made this reservation months ago, but I just finished taking the bar exam and haven't had time!!) Thanks in advance.

Lina

A private tour guide can really make the difference. We booked a guide (Johnny)via Through Eternity and were so happy. He knew everything about Rome and the Vatican Museums, yet paced the tour so as not to overwhelm us. This was 2 years ago, so he may not be there, but Through Eternity and Scala Reale are always recommended on this forum.

jgg

Basically, the two most popular tours are for either the Vatican, (which often includes the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's, and even Castle St. Angelo for a longer tour), and Ancient Rome (which can include Forum, Colesseum, Domus Aurea, and Palatine Hill) depending on your time allotment.

We did both of these tours with Scala Reale and found them very informative and extremely enjoyable. If you only want to pick one tour to do, I would just think about which interests you the most. i.e. which one would you like to hear the most information about. If I had to choose I would probably say Ancient Rome, as the Forum can really come to life with a guide.

Try to watch or rewatch the "Gladiator" with Russell Crowe before you go!

Davy333

Another good tour (because it's hard to get to on public transportation) is one that takes you to the old Appian Way and Catacombs. And a great tour for a day out of the city is any tour that goes to the city of TIVOLI, where you can see Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este. These tours thru a place like American Express should be reasonable. Buon viaggio!

crefloors

Hadrian's Villa is awsome. It was one of my favorite places in Rome. There is enough lrft of it to really get a feel for the splender of the place it once was, and when we were there, pretty late in the day, not many people around and it was so quiet and peacful and just a nice break from the craziness of the city. My brother kept walking around going "it's GOOD to be the king". And from the looks of the villa, it must have been VERY good.

massagediva

If I were only signing up for one tour and the budget was tight, I'd book Context Rome's(used to be called Scala Reale,as recommended above) Quirinale Ramble,which is one of the 2 hour orientation walks.It covers a superb cross- section of Ancient,Renaissance and Baroque Rome.I love that walk!

audreyleigh99

Thanks so much for all of the replies. It looks like many of the Scala Reale/Context Rome tours are already booked (not a lot are coming up when I search for availability on their website). There is one of the Vatican available but not until Saturday afternoon at 3 (I had hoped to do the tour Friday, or at the latest Saturday morning) and it doesn't say who the guide is (the Vatican tour with the named guide is filled up that day). Massagediva I do not see the Quirinale Ramble tour either.....oh well, guess I should have booked earlier.

The Tivoli tour also looks interesting but it takes a long time, is expensive, and with only three days in Rome and never having been there before I am kind of feeling like we should see the classic highlights this time around. Right now I'm leaning toward the Through Eternity Ancient Rome....any thoughts on this? I'm thinking it would be better than the Vatican tour b/c that one is so long (5 hours + break for lunch) and we have limited time, and also because several people have mentioned the audio headset tour is so good there.

RandyK

We were in Rome last fall and although we are not Roman Catholic, we found the Vatican fascinating if a bit overwhelming. You could spend days there. IF you can manage this, try to get a private tour guide and request a tour of the Vatican Mosaic Studio. It's not part of the tours than most people get to see, but the work they do is amazing. My wife and I were so enchanted by this that we bought one of the secular pieces----the eccumenical items are only available for the Pope's use, primarily as gifts to foreign heads of state.

This studio makes the glass, blends colors and does all other steps to create modern day masterpieces. Try to get to it if you can. The studio is just off Vatican Square (to you left if you are facing St. Peter's). Good luck and congrats! You should have a great time in Rome!

travelphile

We only did one tour on our HM three years ago and it was the Vatican tour through the American Express office (base of the Spanish steps, try to book a few days in advance).

I'm sure some tours are more personal, but this one sufficed, guide was witty and full of information, access was easy etc.

I must say if I went to Rome again (someday) the Catacombs would be high on my list. Trav

jill_h

We will be in Rome in late September and plan to use a private guide -- Francesca Caruso @ [email protected]
She comes recommended from this site as well as Rick Steves. I think she's charging us 40 euro/hour. She may have more flexibility in what she can offer you since your time is short and you're on a budget. Give it a try!

dwzemens

We used Francesca Caruso for a Vatican tour in 2004. It was the best money we spent. You get so much value from her. She is a wealth of information and delightful on top of that!

DeborahAnn

Audrey, I wonder if the Contextrome reservation site is working properly.

After reading this thread I checked dates we would be considering in November and last week there were all sorts of availability, today nothing. I even put in all days between September and January 2006 and again it showed nothing available.

I wouldn't rule them out until you send an email directly and check tour availability.

They do sound like the right tour company for us so I hope I haven't waited too long for early November. Good luck, Deborah

massagediva

I would suggest sending an e-mail to [email protected] with the specific tours and dates you'd like.They may be able to arrange something for you.Tell her Margo from Maryland sent you!

loislane17

We were recently studying some of the "Underground ROma" tours--they had some that did the catacombs and Appian Way, but I've never used a company before.

If you decide to bargain up a bit, I'd rec. pulling out the DK book on Rome or the series of books on walking tours in Rome. We did one in DK that was the Bernini walk. It was terrific because it took you all around the city--great art and wonderful orientation!

worldinabag

Buongiorno

This one looks good value and provides you with a "taste" of Rome - http://www.bestofrome.it/tour1.htm.

Ciao

audreyleigh99

Ack, so many choices! I should have figured people would have all different opinions on this question. Deborah, I double checked but I think the ContextRome site is working...several tours are coming up now, but again not the ones recommended and/or not at times/dates that will work for us. Maybe you can't book as far in advance as you are trying to do? Or maybe they add more tours when the date gets closer?

Massagediva, that is so nice of you to give me the ContextRome email and let me use your name, but I think I will probably just go with the Through Eternity tour that lists availability - I'm sure it will be fine for us given all the positive reviews here, it is more in our budget than others recommended here, and I'm afraid ContextRome might be out of our price range for this trip, especially if they were to set up a private tour for us b/c the others are full.

Thanks again to everyone and I promise to report on how the tour was when we get back!

DeborahAnn

Audrey for whatever reason I was having a problem accessing their site yesterday. They did respond to my email and gave me a different site which showed many open tours for my dates in November.

I admit I was very disappointed when I thought we wouldn't be able to take one of their tours, they are so highly regarded.

Have you emailed Context Rome to see if you could get the tour you wanted even if it doesn't seem available? Context Rome answered my email within 12 hours.

Have a great trip. Deborah

missypie

Ah, the post-bar trip to Europe! That's what I was doing exactly 20 yeas ago! (Fortunatley, the US dollar was VERY strong back then...otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to go.) Have a great time.

DeborahAnn

Audrey, sorry I now see you are concerned about tours costs which is a very important consideration. Context Rome is more expensive as I will have to justify to my always cost consious husband . I am sure you will be able to find the best tour for your time and money from all the helpful information here. I know it certainly was a help to me, thanks for posting the question. Deborah

context_rome

Audrey,

Many apologies. Our database went down yesterday (August 17) for about two hours. The problem has been fixed, so you should now be able to see our schedule of itineraries through December 2005.

I plan to craft our Spring 2006 schedule at some point in the next week. Sorry for our slowness in doing this also.

Best Regards,
Paul, Context