Traveling to Rome in August (I know it will be hot, but only available to go then) with family, two early teens and husband and I.
What do you suggest for tours, do Roman Pass and book your own or do a paid tour like Best Tour of Italy or Walks of Italy, any suggestions will be great.
Also looking for restaurants (more local than tourist) and good shopping tips.

Thanks to all.

I am assuming you are talking about tours like Sistine Chapel and Colosseum?
Lat May we were first timers to Rome and chose to spend the extra money on guided tours by Walks of Italy. There were a couple of reasons we chose this more expensive route. First their reviews are very good and their guides are excellent. The groups are small with a maximum of 12 people so there was no heard mentality. Primarily though we chose them because they had access to the underground area of the Colosseum as well as the upper levels. For the Sistine chapel they had a tour that started an hour before the general public. That is wort every cent. We had about 40 minutes in the chapel with about 100 people. I brought small binoculars and was able to sit on a bench and study every panel up close. After the gate opens to the public it is so crowded you can barley move.
We walked everywhere so did not have a use for the transportation aspect of the Roma pass.
Here are images of our time in Rome. In a week we just managed to visit most of the major sites.
Rome http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7634677664021/

Thank you stanbr. Makes sense. Beautiful Pictures. I need to buy me a decent camera.

Suggest you post where you are staying for restaurant tips and what you are shopping for.

Thanks suec1. For restaurants anything in the center of Rome will work.
Shopping for clothes for the whole family. Shoes a must. Thanks

By 'center of Rome' do you mean the historic center? Near Trevi, Campo or Colosseum? Unless you're on the other side of the river, Rome is relatively compact (relative meaning just that). Restaurants we recently enjoyed were La Fortunata, Marios on Grilla near Colosseum, Temp Perso. The other places we liked were in the Borghese/Via Veneto area which may not work for you.

We used a wonderful tour guide named Guia. She has a flat hourly fee for up to 5 people so it can be very cost effective. We did a Christmas Walk, Vatican Museum/sistine Chapel and Gallery Borghese with her. Well worth the time and personal touches. She works for a tour company as well and I can put you in touch with her if you like.

You can also download tours from Rick Steves' website onto your android or apple phone. They are free; use headsets and you're good to go.

We used Walks of Italy for the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel and we were very pleased. We used a private guide for the 5 us for the Colosseum and the Forum. She was Fantastic - so full of energy and enthusiasm for her subject and we had her complete attention. We emailed back and forth before the trip and she wanted to know what we were interested in. Marta Marsili is her name. Her email is her name in all lower case at hotmail. We all came away from this tour and said that we wished we had splurged a little more for more time with her for other guided tours - she was that good! I was afraid to do this ahead of time and I could smack myself now.
We scheduled several months ahead of time a tour of the Necropolis at the Vatican and had a fantastic guide there as well. I have heard this tour can be hit or miss depending on the guide but we thought it was one of the highlights of our trip.

Thank you everyone for all the tips. Will try to contact Marta.

Great post! I just got a quote for a tour with my husband and my 3 girls for 6 hours and it was €700...not going to happen lol! Can anyone share what they have paid for a tour? I'm okay with a small group. My youngest is 7 (oldest will be 13)

Bookmarking

That is a high price; we did a four-hour tour with a guide for 4 persons for €200. Now this was Rome in 2011, and did not include admissions. Our guide was Alessandra Mazzaccoli, who was excellent. At the time, she could be reached at [email protected]. Her web site is Romeandabout.com

Good luck and enjoy th trip; Rome is spectacular!

We used ww.enjoy Rome.com for tours and thought they were great

We are going to Rome at the end of May and would like to do a Vatican Tour and an Ancient Rome tour. Would love to do those two tours if we can afford it.

A couple of friends recommended "A Friend in Rome" tours by Silvia. I went on the web site but the only price they have is 50 euros per hour for walking tours.

Although my friend told me she was like 30% less than most other tours, I am still concerned about the cost since I have to pay for 5 people. I sent her an email so I am hoping I find out the price soon.

Has anyone had any experience with Silvia and A-Friend-in-rome tours? Any info on their prices in comparison with others?

What's a reasonable amount to pay for the Vatican tour and the Ancient Rome tour per person or for a group of 5?

On our first trip to Rome, we picked up a freebie tour at the Forum and then just booked a tour via them for the Vatican/Sistine Chapel because their price was right. This was years ago, so I have no company recs, but my point is that you can shop on the spot if you need to.

Our guide ended up being really good.

On our last trip to Rome (4th?), I booked a Taste of Testaccio walking tour with Eating Italy:
http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/...cio-food-tour/

They also have food tours of other areas in Rome, which come to think of it, is an excuse to go back.

hi. Was wondering if you could send me the information for Marta? Thank you.

Did you notice the thread is eight years old?

If you want info it would probably be better to start a new thread of your own. (these posts may disappear because the thread is so old)

no worries. I found her on the internet. thanks