My grandson and I will be spending two weeks in Italy. I have made all our plans EXCEPT for Rome. I would be interested in hearing if anyone took any "kid focused" tours of the Coliseum (day or night?) or the Vatican. Any other suggestions?
Thank you. so much!

Although we hired a guide for both the Coliseum and the Vatican, they were not "kid focused" tours, so I can't help you there, but I have a recommendation for you. Last June, my husband and 12-year-old son did the Gladiator School (through Viator)in Rome, and they LOVED it!! It was two hours of hands-on action. We had selected the 5:00p-7:00 timeslot, and we ended up being the only ones there...so there was a lot of one-on-one instruction, from basic drills to sword fighting techniques--perfect for a boy (and his dad!). (We also took a mystery ghost tour at night through Viator, but I would not recommend it...it was boring.)

Thank you for your suggestion...I wonder if the gladiator would be fun if it was with a 71 year old grandmother?

I suggest you take the archeobus-it's fun for everyone on/off around 14 sites, good for all day. It even takes you out to the catacombs.We found one enough! The bus finishes at an aqueduct,great place for a picnic then back on the bus again!
Make sure it's the archeobus not the other on/off bus.

Just back from Rome with my 3 children. Girl aged 9 and 2 boys ages 7 and 4.
They all loved it although it was awfully hot. We didn't do any tours though - a bit restricted by the 4 year old. My son and husband attended Gladiator School, while the rest of us were spectators. That was my sons favorite site. Luckily there were other kids there at the same time for him to get excited with and fight against. As spectators we weren't bored either and learnt a lot in their museum. Highly recommend.
Another must-do is the Domus Romane under the Palazzo Valentini. Kids loved all the fountains and drinking spouts everywhere, colosseum, Tivoli, Bocca Della Verita.
We tried unsucessfully to get the basement and upper deck of the Coloseum tour. Sounds fantastic.

Be sure to take him to the Capuchin Crypt.
http://www.turismoroma.it/cosa-fare/...uccini?lang=en

The Vatican has educational tours for school groups, but not individuals. You might check with the Vatican to see if these activities can be booked for an individual child or groups only.

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...ca_03_lab.html

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...4_animate.html

rickyloo, as starofthesea reported, I think the Gladiator School experience would be fun for your grandson, even if you were just a spectator, not that I am saying you would not be able to do it; I just know that it would not be my cup of tea...I much preferred it as a spectator sport! That being said, if you wanted to participate, perhaps they would tailor the experience to suit you and him. There was a lot of physical activity involved...bobbing and weaving, dodging sandbags, handling wooden swords and heavy metal swords, wearing cumbersome helmets and shields...my guys were definitely tired (but happy) after their experience!
I've also read of many guides who are very kid-oriented/friendly in their tours, tailoring their tours to make it really interesting for the kids. I don't recall their names (I know one was a lady)...perhaps you could do a search for Rome tour guides and find one to suit your needs.
I hope your trip with your grandson is everything you hope it to be!