Despite my research, I am still confused about the best way to visit the Collosseum

There is a wide variety of tours available to the Colosseum. We would like a guided tour of the Colloseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

We don't want to buy tickets from a professional tour company only to find out they aren't providing any real value --- like a really good escorted tour of all three locations.

1. How do you find a truly good tour?

2. Is there any way to ensure that the tour company you hire provides a quality guide and doesn't just drop you at the Colosseum to take a guided tour provided by the Colosseum and then have you wonder over to Roman Forum and Palatine Hill to explore on your own?

3. I understand if you take a professional tour (or you simply buy your ticket nearby) you can "skip the line". I assume this refers to the ticket line, but you still have to get through security. Any other benefit?

4. Is the basic tour the best value or is it worth paying extra to access to the arena floor, the underground, and the newly opened higher tiers?

Thank you in advance.

I think you're already on the right track to finding what you want, doing a lot of research. I read a lot of reviews and reach out for advice from travelers I know/respect.

It sounds like you need a private tour to get exactly what you want, which comes at a price. Context Tours are known for this kind of in-depth tour, you might take a look at their offerings: https://www.contexttravel.com/

I do read recommendations on this board from people who I am familiar with their other posts so I have a sense of their knowledge.

I do use Trip Advisor the sister site of Cruise Critic. I am careful though. I will not select a tour guide with very few reviews. I want to find one with a lot of reviews.

I then try to come up with two to three possibilities and then I engage each one in e-mails and I do ask for a commitment on who the tour guide will be when that is possible.

Keith

From this and your other post, I gather you are staying in Rome, not just planning this as a port day from Civitavecchia. (Otherwise, I'd probably advise that you cannot really plan to do both the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill AND the Vatican spots of St. Peter's and Vatican museum in one day. At least, not in depth, which is what I think you want.)

Security is definitely tighter at the Colosseum than it was even a couple of years ago. The security line is the real pain point and I don't believe there's currently any tour that can circumvent it. (If so, it would defeat the purpose.) Just remember not to bring any large bags or backpacks with you.

If having a small group tour and a good guide are important to you, I can echo the recommendation for Context Travel in Rome. They offer small group tours (limited to 6 or 8 people) and generally provide excellent guides -- e.g., they don't stick to a script but tailor the tours based on specific interests of the participants. I've taken two of their more general "ancient Rome" tours and was very impressed, as well as a number of their more specific tours (e.g., of the Mithraeum under the Circus Maximus).

Regarding access to the lower and upper areas of the Colosseum, I personally don't think they are a big deal in terms of your overall understanding of the building and its function -- and I don't say this lightly, as someone with a huge interest in Roman sites. The tour companies have done a great job of touting this as the "latest and greatest" so everyone wants to say that they did the special tour. But IMO it's better to get an overall understanding of the entire grouping of the Colosseum and Forum and Palatine Hill than to view every little nook and cranny of the Colosseum. However, if the Colosseum is your be-all and end-all tourist moment in Rome, then perhaps you will feel differently. That's why it's sometimes so difficult to answer these questions. I know that if I ever had the opportunity to view the crypt of the Pantheon (or climb onto its roof) I'd do it in a nanosecond!

Ensuring that you get a good guide and that the guide stays with you -- best suggestions I have are to read reviews and especially to correspond with any agency that you're considering for tours. You can get a good idea of their understanding, their ability to be flexible if desired, and their responsiveness by a few exchanged emails.

Yes, we have 3 full days in Rome before the cruise. I should have mentioned that.

Nothing in Rome is my end-all, be-all, have-to-do-it-all, but we do not want to hurry through the Colosseum or Vatican either and that why we're trying to get a better handle on what's available and the best way of doing each --- without being stupid about it.

Thank you. These are all good suggestions.

Following along...we are also going to be in Rome for three days pre-cruise in April. I️ have been doing so much research my eyes are going crossed!

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We just returned from our trip. We used ItalyTours.eu.

We did the "Best of Rome" (no Vatican /closed due to All Saints Day).

We were met at the pier and on our way by 7:30am - and arrived by 9am.

We had skip the line tickets for the Colloseum and Forum (and we did skip a very long line).

The Vatican was closed but we did stop and walk around.

Other sites we saw was Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and stopped at other sites to take pictures.

We had a very nice Italian lunch near the steps (on our own).

We were dropped off at the pier around 5pm.

Cristina at Italy tours answered all our questions before via emails and after sent us an email to make sure we had a good time. Very professional.

I hope this helps.

We did the Colosseum and Forum without a guide and had a brilliant time. The entrance ticket covers both sites. We spent half a day there, probably spent about 90% of the time in The Forum. You'll have a great time.

Thank you for the information. It's all a help.