Rome: Colosseum, Forum & Palatine Hill Tour – Best Value

Definitely need to go back some day. We didn’t get the chance to walk on the lower levels but our guide was filled with rich knowledge that made us want to follow with him the whole time rather than going off on our own. palatine hill was also interesting. We went over the 3 hours! :)

The Colosseum is NOT included. You have to purchase and pay for a separate ticket to access the Colosseum and the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, which effectively means paying twice. There is also no actual guide. What is described as a “guided tour” is simply an application that you are required to download onto your own phone. In the extreme summer heat, using the application continuously caused our phones to overheat, making the experience even more impractical. Overall, this was a very disappointing experience. The title and description of the activity do not correspond to the service actually provided. A downloadable application cannot reasonably be presented as a guided tour, particularly when the advertised attraction itself is not included in the ticket. In my view, the presentation of this activity is clearly misleading to consumers. Had the service been accurately described — namely, an app-based self-guided experience requiring separate entrance tickets — I would never have purchased it.

Travellers should know that this is not the best option, though it is labelled “best value”. We followed all of the instructions and downloaded the app before leaving the hotel, but could not log on to the app using the QR code/passwords provided. We just kept getting a message that we needed to be on wifi (we had data of course, but the coliseum does not have wifi). We would have gone back to the tour company, but once you leave the coliseum, you cannot re-enter. We wasted money on an audio app we could not use. My advice: either pay for a live tour guide or just buy your ticket directly from the venue. It will save you a lot of money and/or frustration.

Very thorough. You need a guide to fully understand everything you see, otherwise it is just ruins. Nothing great, just a good tour.

No contact on the help phone. We got in very late after 24 hours on plane. Could not make our reservation and help line was no help. Guess I'm out of over 100 dollars

This tour can move slowly depending on crowds and breaks. Looksouts can be full of people slowing down tour. Our tour guide, love that he is an archeologist with direct experience and stories. Valerio was charming and funny. If you have some patience with crowds, a must do.

ı gave double payment to have a good enterance for collesium without waiting in ticket lines . in my ticket information was first collesium than palentine /roman forum . but they changed my root without asking me . so ı had to limit my visit for roman forum only in 1 hour . also in the meeting point they gave me wrong information about the entrance so ı waited in collesium entrance than 1 km run to catch the time. ı will not choose again this tour agency . just go and take your ticket from the collesium no line in the ticket office.

The guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and patient. He provided a great explanation during the tour

Once I found the meeting place for the ticket all was good ! The app ultimately didn’t load on my phone , so I missed learning many details that day , amd it poured rain but didn’t take away from the amazing structure and history!

Excellent knowledgeable tour guide. We fully enjoyed this tour and the history behind it. Highly recommend.

Tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history. He kept us engaged throughout the tour. Just be aware if you have any mobility issues, there are steep stairs involved.

Tour guide was excellent. He really added to the tour with his knowledge of the area. The coliseum has a rich history beyond being a Fighting Arena.

Its absolutely amazing. You should book this tour if you want to do a cooking class in Rome. Gain was the best chef and we had so much fun with her. 100% the best experience we could have hoped for!

We went and picked up the ticket, very easy direction. It was very easy to download material. Loved the map on the app.

A lot of walking and going up and down stairs but we expected that. It was a great experience. The tour guide was very informative.

Overall a great tour and experience. The start was unorganized as probably a thousand people all met at a tiny office and there was little direction. There was a long line that no one knew if we actually had to wait in. Eventually we where told to find a certain color sticker and after our tour guide started it was great.

Alessandro was an excellent guide. Learned much about Ancient Rome. Beautiful views and lots of stairs to climb

Communication of your inclusion is not clear at all. Make sure to know if audio guided will not work.You could not hear

I booked a morning excursion through Viator that was to start at 830 and last 2 hours.. I then booked this Coliseum tour, also through Viator, starting at 11. When we arrived at the morning tour, we were delayed an hour by the line for entry, and then the tour was actually 3 hours more. When I realized the initial delay, I contacted both Viator and the tour provider to try and push this Coliseum tour back. Viator did answer, the provider did not. Viator said there was availability at 130 and would try to confirm the change with the provider and asked me to check back later to confirm. After an hour, I connected with Viator again who told me it was too close to the original tour time and they hadn't heard back from the provider. Neither had I. We missed the tour entirely because the first tour ran so far over. No refund offered from Viator who sold me both tours. No return contact from the tour provider at all. Just multiple requests from Viator asking me how the experience we'd paid for but didn't get to take was.

This was a great purchase. Our tour guide Amir was wonderful, he had so much good history and information to share. You truly had more time than needed to see everything. Highly recommend

The tour meeting point was easy to find, which was great. However, at the start of the tour, the agency handed out tickets with our names on them and asked for photo ID. We weren’t aware this would be required, but luckily we had photos of our passports on our phones. Unfortunately, the ticket for my boyfriend had the wrong name, and the staff said they couldn’t fix it. I don’t even remember providing our names during the booking process, so that part was a bit confusing. Important tip: Make sure to bring proper identification or at least a photo of your passport as this wasn’t mentioned beforehand, but it’s clearly required. I went in August and it was hot and involved a lot of walking, so come prepared. Despite the hiccups, the experience was worth it!

Waste of money. Not as advertised. Downloaded app and it did not work. Wandered around in heat without directions. Refund.

We booked this Colosseum tour through TripAdvisor and it was absolutely worth it. Skipping the long lines saved us so much time (and energy under the Roman sun!). Our guide, Luca, was fantastic — super knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate about history. The highlight for us was exploring the underground section. Standing there, imagining the gladiators and wild animals getting ready to enter the arena, truly gave us goosebumps. Highly recommend this tour if you want to experience the Colosseum beyond just snapping photos.

It is well filled with history; I found that too many people does not make one want to return there……………….

Very beautiful visit, the guide was very kind and very interesting. She had great knowledge of her subject.

Audioguide is only as an app on the phone, you should bring your own headphones. The whole thing took much longer than 3 hours. General, great experience, recommended!