returntoyourseat

We, a group of four, will arrive in Rome on Monday and check into Hotel = 1/2 day
Tuesday = full day of touring
Wednesday = 3/4 day of touring - 2 leave in late afternoon for airport hotel for early flight out on Thursday.
My husband and I stay in the city and our flight does not leave until Thursday late.

So do you have advice for a tour company that is not so terribly over priced. Do we just rely on taxi....we want to Vatican, and all it offers, Forum, etc? What would you do for this little of time and get the best taste of Rome. I know it takes days to see Rome but this is what we have since we made the choice to spend most of our two weeks in Tuscany.

kybourbon

>>>2 leave in late afternoon for airport hotel for early flight out on Thursday.<<<

I don't get the point of this. You can book a car service to take you to the airport instead of changing hotels.

Without listing what you are touring on Tues/Wed, I don't think anyone can give you suggestions.

nytraveler

I don;t understand the question.

The Scavi tour is run by the Vatican - not by a tour operator. The price is what it is and you need to get your tickets from the Vatican office that sells them.

For other part of Vatican city (museum or St Peter's) and other sights - you can do it yourself if you're willing to do the work and get some good guidebooks. And there are tours in all price ranges - but IMHO the least expensive ones are not worth the time - since they don't even tell you as much as in a decent guidebook. The better tours (Context Rome etc) are more expensive - but, as with most other things, you get what you pay for.

judyjayp

I second NYtraveler's advice about Context Rome Tours. We took their tour a couple of years ago and were blown away by their knowledge and professionalism. They also knew exactly when to get to the different museums, St. Peter's, etc. so as to miss the majority of the crowds. This way you will be spending more time seeing and less time waiting in the lines.

There's also a new tour you can book online through a tour group that includes viewing of the underground colosseum, it's dungeons and it's third level.

http://www.tickitaly.com/tours/colos...level-tour.php

returntoyourseat

Thank you - sorry for confusion. My friends are choosing to go to airport Marriott because flight is so early, so that is their deal. Myself I would rather stay in city and take car for sure, not a fan of airport hotels. I am going to check out Context, I saw something about them on a couple of blogs. I have concentrated on our Tuscany part of the holiday, I just wanted a suggestion for an afternoon on the day we arrive. Perhaps just seeing the Spanish Steps near where we are staying and a nice dinner for the first day.

SeattleMichael

Your topic title is what's confusing things. Apparently your question is unrelated to the Scavi Tour, correct?

returntoyourseat

Well actually on this day I should not be multi tasking...you are correct duh.........the Scavi tour is full - we cannot get in and so I am trying to arrange something so we are not running around on our only full day in Rome. Context is expensive but may be worth it because of our limited time.

denisea

Do take a look at Context or Walks of Italy...we chose Walks of Italy because they go straight to the Sistine chapel on their 8am tours; Context stated that it is up to the individual docent. The other reason we chose Walks of Italy was regarding late attendees..Context stated that they will wait 10-15 minutes for late arrivals, while Walks stated they do not wait for late comers. If the point is to see the SC with as few people/crowds as possible, we liked Walks of Italy better. I definitely don't want to wait on the late comers on my vacation and my time.

Walks of Italy does take 8 or 10 per group while Context only takes 6. We may use them for another tour, as they do come with great reviews. I just preferred WofI better for the Sistine tour.

Glad you got your Scavi tour!