Small-group Tour Of Hadrian's Villa And Villa D'este From Rome

First, I want to say that our tour guide Lucy was excellent. She did a great job of communicating and keeping our group on track. The problem was with all the other aspects of the trip. I booked a small group tour with a maximum of 14 people. I paid extra for this. There were 25 people in just our group and another group of 25 traveling with us. My group of 4 were picked up at our hotel. I was expecting to be driven to the tour location. Instead we were dropped off at a metro stop and told to wait for our guide. We were dropped off at the wrong location. Luckily someone from another group noticed that we were supposed to be across the street. We were then loaded into a motor coach with about 50 people. Nothing about this situation was a small group experience. The tour itself was amazing and I was very satisfied. Upon our return we were dropped off at the metro station and there was not a car waiting to take us back to our hotel. We had to pay extra for an Uber. The tour details stated that we would be picked up at our hotel and returned to the original departure point. I assumed that was our hotel. There was no indication that I would be expected to arrange my own transport to the hotel. I felt that there was very poor communication about the details of this trip. I feel that I was sold a small group tour, but that is not what I received. I have been using Viator for years, and I am extremely disappointed with the level of service I received. I will consider this experience when booking in the future.

Great trip and so interesting! Our tour guide changed the order of the tour to maximize the cool weather and minimize the crowds. The entire trip was amazing. Just be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes. Driver was great as well!

We had no idea that Villa d'Este would be so outstanding-Our tour guide was great and very informative and we spent most of our time there; a moderately strenuous walking experience after an overnight flight from the US. Hadrian's Villa was outstanding as well and our tour guide again showed us ALL of the site with excellent descriptions. Our driver was very careful and considerate and promptly arrived at our hotel 15 minutes early with our most excellent tour guide

While the villa was beautiful, the tour was not enjoyable. At the last minute they asked if we would be able to change the time to afternoon but we replied we had another tour. They said it was either that time or not at all and changed the time of the tour from morning to late afternoon..we had cancel another tour to make the new time...The guide was not engaging and seemed disinterested in being there. At the beginning of the tour we were informed that Hadrians villa was closed to the public for renovations so the tour would only be of the Villa d"este and possibly a medieval castle instead of Hadrian's villa.. We boarded the transportation...which arrived late and was very unprofessional .. and were then rushed at breakneck speed (over twice the posted speed limit) to the site with not a word from the guide along the way. However the driver and the guide must have been great friends as their loud conversation in Italian was nonstop the entire ride. Any questions we asked seemed to be an interruption and was answered with one or two word replies On arrival the guide proceeded to rush through the Villa d'Este with us struggling to keep up and when she got ahead she proceeded to wait impatiently intently staring at her cell phone. She then dumped us off in the city center for an hour to "shop" even though most of the shops were closed (either due to the lateness of the hour or boarded up permanently). The Medieval castle they promised is occupied and not ever available to the public...But if we wanted we could "walk over" to the fence that surrounded and blocked the view of it. We were rushed back to town and were dropped off a couple of blocks from the hotel. We completed the five hour tour in just under 3 hours. We would not have booked the tour had we known in advance that Hadrians Villa would not be available and they were not forthcoming on this point until she arrived to pick us up and it was too late to make alternate plans.

This tour was one of the absolute highlights of our two weeks in Europe. Our guide and her driver were wonderful, incredibly knowledgeable and just plain fun, nice people. This was a top choice for our history major college freshman and we loved it. I knew little about the history and was overwhelmed with knowledge and appreciation at the end of the day. There were five us ages 50,45, 22, 22, 18. Perfect day - worth every dime.

Laura was a wonderful tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and explained the history of Villa D’Este and Rome in an engaging way. I would have given five stars for this tour; however, when we arrived at Hadrian’s Villa the staff there unfortunately did not let us enter. Otherwise, I would have given five stars. I definitely recommend Laura as a tour guide!

The pick-up was on time and the travel was fine. However, the guide, while nice, knew shockingly little about the sites we visited. I had read the small section in my tour book and done a tiny bit of reading online, and she knew even less than I did. I feel like we would have been better off traveling on our own and reading the published plaques than we were spending $200 per person for a guide who could not even simple questions on the sites and who actively got us lost within them more than once, causing us to double back and walk through areas we had already seen in the rain, and missing other areas entirely. She rushed us through some areas we wanted to stop and take photos, making us trot behind her to catch up. In one area, she stopped to speak to another couple in Italian for nearly 10 minutes while we waited for her to continue while standing in the cold rain. The actual sites we visited were lovely. but, especially having paid a premium rate for the tour, I was very disappointed with the quality of the guide and the tour as experienced.

I cant recall our guides name but she was fantastic. This place is full of history and considering its age is very well preserved.

My 2 adult children and I had a wonderful experience walking the grounds of both estates. Our tour guide, Julia, was wonderful, and made the experience fun and enjoyable for us.

We were driven very comfortably in a private sedan to the most beautiful and historic settings in Tivoli, Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este. Our guide, Julia, was amazing with sharing her most extensive knowledge, taking photos, and accommodating the pace to suit my seniorness. It was a most memorable day, Our driver, Leonardo, was also wonderful, which made for a great tour.

I LOVED this tour. This trip was the highlight of our vacation. I would describe this tour as “essential.” Outstanding enthusiastic knowledgeable tour guide and careful driver. Our guide’s commentary brought everything to life. Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este are absolutely gorgeous. Photos were magnificent. Our tour guide kindly took many photos of us so that we will always have nice memories of the trip. The van we rode in was spacious, new and comfortable.

loved seeing such a well-preserved and restored treasure. our guide was so informative and very pleasant, loved her!

The guide that we were lucky to have, was extraordinary in her knowledge and her presentation. Her charm and sensitivity allowed us to meet our expectations and limitations. We are senior citizens, 65+ and she adapted the tour for us to satisfy all our curiosities and interests. She was terrific.!

My wife and I had a wonderful, scenic 3-hour tour with guide Julia and driver Leonardo. So much fun, too. All four of us enjoyed our time together, while exploring two awesome estates near Tivoli. We would highly recommend it. Julia is outstanding with her knowledge of the estates and was genuinely happy to share it with us.

There were only 4 of us on this tour and it was great. Marco the guide was friendly and knowledgeable and went at a pace that was acceptable to all four of us. They asked me to change the day of the tour as they thought that it would be very busy on the day i originally booked. This was really good advice and both venues were relatively quiet.

Highly recommend activity. Well paced and a great day from the busy City Centre. Our group of 6 all only had high praise : from booking to completion.

We had a great time with our guide Debora and driver Giovanni! They picked us up on time at our hotel in Rome. They were very friendly and knowledgeable. We got to spend almost couple of hours in Villa Adriana exploring the ruins of the palace. You really get a sense of the incredible scale and opulence of the complex. Debora dis a great job explaining the various features and buildings. This was my favorite part of the tour. My wife's favorite part of the tour was the Villa d'Este portion which is absolutely beautiful! This tour is a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of Rome for a few hours and enjoy the gorgeous countryside outside the city!

An amazing afternoon spent visiting Tivoli's Hadrian Villa and Villa D'Este with an informative tour guide who allowed you time to view both Villas and take photos and not be rushed

Two adults had to sit in the front seat of the van with a console so there was no leg room. The other passengers had comfortable seating in the passenger seats in the van. We did not get a discount for having to be crammed in. The tour should provide comfortable seating for all!

There were 8 people on our tour. We were contacted twice asking us to agree to change the time of our tour - the other groups had been asked 2 times and three times respectively. None of us could change and the calls were a bit tiresome. The tour was great - the best we did in Europe. The guide was great and the location exceptional.

The trip itself was wonderful and very much enhanced by having a guide explaining details we would have missed if self guided. Got rather fed up with the admin staff from the local company Viator contracted for this tour who kept ringing and emailing, leaving messages trying to encourage us to change the day and then the time of our visit. This trip was booked several months in advance to fit in with my travel plans.

Worth the money. The guide was great and her English very good. The sites were no where near as populated as Rome.

Our guide (Mauro - I hope I spelled that correctly) was excellent. He was very passionate and a wealth of knowledge. Hadrian’s Villa was a wonderful look back into how life was almost 2000 years ago. The ruins are in good condition for their age. Villa d’Este was also great. It shows the oppulance of the Renaissance era. The gardens are fantastic. I would recommend this tour and the size of the group (6 of us) meant very personalised attention.

Victoria our guide was very knowledgeable and thorough and was very good about answering our questions. I would recommend the tour and the guide to my friends.

<p>We loved Hadrians Villa and Villa dEste, but our tour of maximim 7 people was overbooked for 9. Our tour guide was in the 2nd vehicle, and our driver did not speak English. Our tour guide was too focused on her phone.</p>

<p>The tour of Hadrian's Villa was excellent as was the enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide. The tour of the Villa d'Este did not take place because the site was closed. We were disappointed. We were given to understand that this was not an unusual event and wonder why we were not given the option of changeing the date in advance rather than being confronted on the day. The guide assured us that a refund would be made. Nothing happened so I had to chase it myself directly with Viator. It refunded what I consider a miserly amount considering that the Villa d'Este was a substantial proportion of the trip. I wonder if they would have refunded anything at all if I had not struggled through their system.</p>

<p>Very informative, however when she wasnt providing tour information guide seemed to be on her mobile phone more than was necessary in my opinion.</p>

<p>If you are a history or architectural buff, this is an absolute must. As close to Ephesus as you can get without going to Turkey. Wear your walking shoes and bring your own water</p>

<p>Loved the tour and our guide was really interesting. Hadn't realised Hadrains villa was so large and the gardens and fountains were amazing at the Villa d'Este. The only issue was that we had booked for a morning tour and it got changed the day before to an afternoon. This did end up better for us as we missed the worst of the days heat however it was lucky that we had not planned anything for the afternoon.</p>

<p>Very enjoyable but a little abbreviated Both places were worthy of the visit picked up at our hotel in a comfortable vehicle. I felt the guide rushed thru and was a bit short on explanations.</p>

<p>Our guide was knowledgeable and able to answer all questions we had. Direct pick up from our accommodation and great driver <br/> The tour was able to be tailored to our needs and pace.<br/> Villa dEste is spectacular a must see in any tour of Rome.</p>

<p>Vittoria was an exceptional guide - by far the best we experienced during our Rome trip. She was highly informed, enthusiastic and friendly. Couldn't improve on the trip.</p>

<p>Small size offered a personalized feeling. Our guide was knowledgeable and really enjoyed sharing these sights with us. The small size was perfect and allowed us to set the pace and cover more than a large group would. This tour was well worth the cost, I highly recommend this tour.</p>

<p>We really enjoyed our trip to Tivoli to see Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este. The driver and the guide were very professional. The guide spoke great English and she was a wealth of information about each site. Without her we wouldn't really know what we were seeing and it would have been disappointing. She brought the two sites to life. Villa d'Este is something to see. All those fountains!! Unbelievable!! Definitely worth the trip to explore.</p>

No contraten esta empresa. Lamentablemente los coches son muy viejos y se descomponen. Nos dejaron en Tivoli y no querían hacerse cargo del regreso. El guia en su auto personal nos regreso a Roma. La villa adriana no vale la pena. La villa del este es de lo mejor que he visto. Contraten otra empresa