City Wonders or Rome in Limo tour post cruise

Our family will be traveling to Rome post cruise in June of this year. We will have 2 full days of sightseeing in Rome. I am debating which type of sightseeing company should I hire for our trip. My plan is to book one day of Rome sightseeing and the second day for a 3 hr Vatican tour. Based on my research it seems that Rome in Limo offers private chauffeur service to most of the major sights but you are on your own at the sights. As for City Wonder tour, there will be tour guide with you at the sights, however you are with a group of no more than 25 people.

On the second day of Vatican 3 hrs tour, Rome in Limo will have an advantage of a private guide, but City Wonder tour will be in a group of 20 people. But on the other hand Rome in Limo offers only 6 hrs tour on the first day and City Wonders offers 8 hr. I did a little of calculation since we are staying at a hotel near most of the major sights so when I factor in the Taxi Cost because City Wonder tour does not pick you up at the hotel and noticed that the tour price offered by both tour companies will be about the same.

Both companies are reputable and have excellent review. Please help and provide me some suggestions. Our family just want to cover as much major sights as possible in 2 full days in Rome and take many photos with a brief explanation at these sights.

Another big advantage to using RIL is when you visit the sights around Rome is you are in a car and can park a lot closer to the sights than a bus carrying 20-25 people can. And getting tickets is a whole lot easier. The tour of the Vatican is truly memorable and again being in a small group means seeing more and spending more time at each stop than a bigger group. We've used RIL several times and can't say enough about them.

OK, let me start by saying that I am very frugal. This may not be information of any interest to you at all. But I understand using a company like Rome in Limo for a port day, where you need transportation from the ship and a whirlwind tour to see as much as possible in one day. However if you are staying in Rome, I really don't see the need for a tour. All of the major sites are easily walkable, and the walk itself is very interesting. You can purchase entrance tickets to sites like the Colosseum and Forum that include a guided tour, and if you don't feel like walking, a cab from the hotel would be very inexpensive. The same holds true for the Vatican, they have a variety of tours on their website that you can choose from. All you would need is a cab ride to and from. Other sites, such as the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps etc. are open to the public and a nice stroll. Food for thought anyway

I agree with CathyCruises. The local public transport is also very easy to use in Rome. Alternatively, you could do one of the free walking tours which operate in many cities these days.

So many places have audio guides these days. If you just want to see as many sights as possible, then you are not going to have much time in each place, so, may as well just do it under your own steam.

Personally, I would choose three or four things that would be my priority and have a more detailed visit. I have visited Rome more times than I can remember, but have only scratched the surface as what there is to see.

The Sistine Chapel is always very crowded, so unless you are very interested in seeing the paintings I would just go inside St Peter's. Make a list of what you really want to see and take it from there.

You say you are staying at a hotel near most of the sights -- I wonder if you really need a tour at all, especially on the first day. Do you have someone in your group with mobility issues? If not, Rome is best seen on foot and with exception of the Vatican most sites in the central area are very walkable.

Take a look at the Rick Steves guidebook for Rome. He gives very good information on doing things without a tour and even has several "walking tours" all laid out with just enough information for a first visit in most cases. He also has free podcasts for certain sites that give more detail -- check it out.

For the Vatican, you may want to book a tour. It's up to you whether you want a private guide or whether a good group tour is enough for you. If you want something in between, I can highly recommend the semi-private tours by Context Rome -- they do not have more than 6 people generally and I've found the quality of the guides to be excellent. (Just FYI, they have several different tours of the Vatican and also various Rome tours, in case you weren't persuaded by my suggestion above. :D)

RIL really seems to excel on a port day, but I question whether they are really needed when you have several days and aren't in need of transport to and from the ship.

I'll agree with the other posters. If you are in Rome only on a port day and you have an overwhelming need to stop at "all the sites" for 30 seconds so you can tick off a "I saw this" box, RIL or a tour may be OK. If you are staying for a few days in Rome at a hotel in the Centro Storico, there really isn't a need to hire a service. Walking between what most consider the important sites is pretty easy and if you get tired, taxis abound (and if convenient to your location, the Metro). The tour at the Vatican Museums is a personal choice if it is a necessity.

As much as I abhor Rick Steves (I've had some favorite places overrun by his Stevaholics), he does have good walking tours in his book for Rome.

We've used RIL on all three of our trips to Italy. While it's true, the drivers are not 'licensed tour guides," they love their country and are very knowledgeable about the sites you'll be visiting. My opinion is that if you have a good tour book, or have downloaded a Rick Steves walking tours into your phone, you can do quite well without a formal guide. That said, when we visited the Vatican we did want a guide to take us through. RIL arranged the guide for us and our driver met her on a corner rights] outside the Vatican entry. RIL had told us to purchase our tickets online before we arrived. Then, with our guide, we whisked right past the long lines and into the Vatican. The guide was fabulous! Rome in Limo also knows the secrets of obtaining tickets to places, like the Coliseum, at a location around the corner so that, here again, you bypass the long lines and go right into the venue. It's awesome to walk right past hundreds of people waiting in line! I wouldn't hesitate a moment in booking RIL the next time we visit Italy. As a matter of fact, we just returned from a Panama Canal cruise and were "singing the praises" of RIL on the ship to a couple that was asking us about traveling in Italy.

We've used RIL on all three of our trips to Italy. While it's true, the drivers are not 'licensed tour guides," they love their country and are very knowledgeable about the sites you'll be visiting. My opinion is that if you have a good tour book, or have downloaded a Rick Steves walking tours into your phone, you can do quite well without a formal guide. That said, when we visited the Vatican we did want a guide to take us through. RIL arranged the guide for us and our driver met her on a corner rights] outside the Vatican entry. RIL had told us to purchase our tickets online before we arrived. Then, with our guide, we whisked right past the long lines and into the Vatican. The guide was fabulous! Rome in Limo also knows the secrets of obtaining tickets to places, like the Coliseum, at a location around the corner so that, here again, you bypass the long lines and go right into the venue. It's awesome to walk right past hundreds of people waiting in line! I wouldn't hesitate a moment in booking RIL the next time we visit Italy. As a matter of fact, we just returned from a Panama Canal cruise and were "singing the praises" of RIL on the ship to a couple that was asking us about traveling in Italy.

Yeah, the 'secret' about purchasing the tickets to the Forum and Colosseum is to buy them at the Palatine hill entrance. One of the beauties of Cruise critic is that you learn secrets like that! We bought our entrance tickets to the Vatican museums online before we left, walked right in past the long lines and met up with our tour guide inside.

We have 3 full days in Rome pre our harmony cruise this summer. We are planning to do all the sights ourselves with the exception of the Vatican where we splurged and hired a private guide for a 3 hour tour . The company seem highly recommended and the tickets are included in the price . They also offer the option of a car to pick you up from the hotel which we took them up on . We felt the Vatican warranted a private knowledgeable guide but that the other major sights we could easily do ourselves.

Another vote for ROMEINLIMO. This will be the third trip we are using them. Excellent service and knowledgeable drivers . :). Amazingly quick response .

Wouldn't consider anyone else.

Part of walking around Rome is immersing yourself in the Roman experience. Stop, get some water from the communal water faucets *yes - REALLY good water*, walking and looking at all the store displays and little architectural features of the buildings, see something/smell something good and you walk in and buy a pastry, a panini, a cornetto. You're out in the sunshine, getting that Vitamin D. You get tired, you see a table open at one of the piazza-side cafes and you sit down, get a glass of wine and just relax and watch the World go by. If you do Rome all day long by car, you are isolating yourself from all the good things that are Rome. You are at the mercy of the driver on where and when you stop - you don't have that tactile connection that you have when you are outside.

As an aside, I HATE those private tour cars and vans. They are gobbling up precious real estate around town by parking as close as legally (sometimes illegally) possible to sites. I've had to jump out of the way of a few of the cars when they stop suddenly at a corner and their clients mindlessly open the car door without looking for pedestrians. All the cars parked around the Pantheon while their clients get the photo shot just clog up the pathway between the Bascilia di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva *my favorite spot in Rome* and the Pantheon (also a major pathway over to Campo di Fiori). Sorry, but I've seen the change over the years with the proliferation of these private cars and it's effects on the city.

And, we can save you money here on this site: many of us have been around enough times that we "know the secrets" and will tell them to you for free ;)

slidergirl

I agree Rome is best seen on foot as long as you don't have mobility issues.

As well as the things you have mentioned, I also love the street markets.

I am going to chime in with the others who say you can do this on your own. You will be less insulated from experiencing this wonderful city. You can stop when you want and move fast when you want.

And stop for a coffee in Caffe Il Greco in Via Condotti. Expensive, touristy , but fun and you step back into the 19th century.

Part of walking around Rome is immersing yourself in the Roman experience. Stop, get some water from the communal water faucets *yes - REALLY good water*, walking and looking at all the store displays and little architectural features of the buildings, see something/smell something good and you walk in and buy a pastry, a panini, a cornetto. You're out in the sunshine, getting that Vitamin D. You get tired, you see a table open at one of the piazza-side cafes and you sit down, get a glass of wine and just relax and watch the World go by. If you do Rome all day long by car, you are isolating yourself from all the good things that are Rome. You are at the mercy of the driver on where and when you stop - you don't have that tactile connection that you have when you are outside.

Thanks for reminding me just why I enjoy walking around a city like Rome.

On any given day while I'm walking from point A to point B, I might stroll past a pasticceria and smell a divine smell -- then have to go in and try a new type of biscotti. Or maybe I'll pass a bit of Roman ruin, too insignificant to be written up in most guidebooks but just hanging out in the midst of the city block after 2,000 years. Then it's a quick detour into a bar for an energizing espresso before I finally reach my destination.

That just doesn't happen when you're traveling by car....