We are going to Rome at the end of May and would love to do a tour of the Vatican sites and a tour of Ancient Rome (Colosseum, Pallatine Hill, Underground, etc.) 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?

I've mentioned my experience here before. On my first trip to Rome several years ago I went to the piazza in front of St. Peter's to think about how I would proceed, no plan in place. I was approached by a young English-speaking person who was gathering a group for a tour given by an American woman who lives in Rome. The tours are free, give what you think it's worth after the tour. Thinking why not, I joined the group, we paid for entry to the museum and had a very good overview of the museum then were cut loose at the point we entered the Sistine Chapel and on from there into St. Peter's. I thought it was a great introduction to the museums at minimal cost, a tip for the guide.

I suspect a good guidebook or app would give you what you need for a self-guided tour of the ancient city.

jmq - firstly there are a lot of guides at all price points in Rome - with 5 of you it might be worth hiring a private guide, but i don't see why they should be charging separately for each of you - after all, they still have to say the same thing whether there are 2 or 5 people don't they. so if Silvia wants €50 per hour, per person, I'd look for someone else.

secondly, as Mme Perdu says, you need to think about whether you want a guide at all. IMO the only place where they are probably worthwhile is the Forum, which can look like a pile of random stones unless you have someone to bring them alive for you. As for the colosseum, you can book a tour through the official website that takes you underground, so you don't need a guide for that.

Thirdly at the Vatican, a good guide book will probably suffice. As with the Colosseum, if you want to do a tour of the excavations under St. Peter's, [the "Scavi" tour] you book through the Vatican website and it includes a guide.

The Rome Tourist Board lists some walking tours you can do on your own. You can also download some on Itunes from Rick Steves (also the map to go with it).

You can take the Vatican or Colosseum's own tours much cheaper than hiring someone. The Colosseum tours are 5.50€ plus the admission ticket of 12€. A Vatican tour (including admission ticket to the museum) is about 32-36€. You can also just buy entrance tickets only and rent their audio guides or download Rick Steves for free.

I agree that tours are not really needed at the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum at all if you have a good guide book and are willing to consult it as you go along. The Colosseum also has excellent signs in Italian and English.

And I agree with Annhig that the Roman Forum (and I would add the Palatine Hill) are the places where a good guide can make a lot of difference. I've used Daniela Hunt, who is excellent:

http://www.rome-tours.com/index.php

Her hourly rate is €90 for four people. She asks you to contact her for the price for more than four people, but since it's €85 for three people, I don't think the extra person would cost more than about €5 per hour. Her minimum tour fee is for three hours, so the total cost for five people would probably be a bit less than 300 euros, which is less than half of what the other guide would charge.

Daniela is a classics scholar, and a registered guide, who assists on archaeological excavations. Her knowledge of ancient Rome is vast and she communicates it well.

If you really want a tour for the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums, get the group tours they offer, and save your money to get a really good guide for the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

You can order tickets or tours online for the Vatican Museums. Some tours include St. Peter's Basilica, but they're not offered every day.
http://mv.vatican.va

You can buy tickets online for the Colosseum, but if you want a tour, you have to call them. The number is at the bottom of the page. Make sure they've got your email address correct. I would spell it out carefully, because they seem to often misunderstand the vowels; what sounds like "a" in English is "e" in most European languages, and so forth. In Italy, people say "A as in Ancona, E as in EMpoli (accent on EM), I as in Imola (Pronounced more or less EE-moh-lah)." Those are the three that cause the most problems. B (Bergamo) and P (Palermo) are also easily confused, as are F (Firenze) and V (Verona). Print, or take a screen shot of, the purchase confirmation page in case your official tickets don't get to your inbox.

Ok. So I have new information. Silvia replied to my email and said she was booked but that she had a colleague named Dino who had a cancellation and could do it. The cost of the tours for 5 adults is 200 euros for the Vatican tour and 150 euros for Ancient Rome (does not include the underground) without entrance tickets. Is this reasonable?

I already bought got the Booking voucher for the Vatican and printed it out.

Sounds like most of you are saying, maybe skip the private guide tour and either do a guide book or do the group tour they offer which is a lot cheaper. And if I have to do a guided tour, it should be the Colosseum tour.

Will doing a private guided tour of the Vatican would allow us to move faster through the crowds? I thought it did but maybe it doesn't make a difference once you buy the ticket voucher ahead of time. Is this correct?