Private Rome Tour - 9 people

[loopyloo33]

There are 9 of us (7 adults, 2 children) arriving on 15th October and we are looking to do a private tour from our ship. Most tours I have found seem to have a maximum number of 8 people which means we would need two vans and makes it way too expensive. Does anyone know of a company with a van that would seat 9 people?

[HeinBloed]

There are 9 of us (7 adults, 2 children) arriving on 15th October and we are looking to do a private tour from our ship. Most tours I have found seem to have a maximum number of 8 people which means we would need two vans and makes it way too expensive. Does anyone know of a company with a van that would seat 9 people?

 

Check them - they offer a mini-bus upto 15 people.

 

http://www.transporteenroma.com/shore_excursions_rome_florence_naples.aspx

 

If you google MINI-BUS and Civitavecchia I am sure you find more.

 

Regards

HeinBloed

[chipmaster]

You could look at tour sharing with another couple or two.

 

Or as another poster suggested find someone that tours with a small bus. The downside is that I think there likely are restrictions on anything larger than a van. Our private van stopped as close as was possible to places like Trevi and Pantheon, a bus even a small one may be relegated to the "bus" parking lot and a hike in. If your group has people of limited mobility worth the consideration. Even 9 people divided by say 1000 euros for two vans isn't so bad and far cheaper then a cruise ship tour.

 

There are 9 of us (7 adults, 2 children) arriving on 15th October and we are looking to do a private tour from our ship. Most tours I have found seem to have a maximum number of 8 people which means we would need two vans and makes it way too expensive. Does anyone know of a company with a van that would seat 9 people?

[hubofhockey]

Nine is a tough number, expecially in Rome. Most ofthe driver guide companies have vans for eight passengers and charge accordingly. As soon as you add more, you're looking at a mini-bus for 15 (maybe 12 if you're lucky) and you pay for 15 slots whether you fill them or not.

 

Another option would be to do a train and set up a couple of private walking tours led by licensed guides in Rome. You get the benefit of licensed guides (as opposed to driver guides) as well as a much lower overall price. However, you do lose that nice limo service all over Rome.

[HeinBloed]

There is a very special reason why mini-bus more than 8 passengers are so expensive:

 

you need a driver with a bus license.

 

A car lincense (B-Class) allows you to ride vans upto 8 passengers without additional qualification.

 

So if you are more than 8 you need a driver with a D-Class-license in Europe and that's why it is so expensive.

 

Regards

HeinBloed

[loopyloo33]

Thanks for replies think we will go on the train and just be more selective on what we see.

[HeinBloed]

Thanks for replies think we will go on the train and just be more selective on what we see.

 

We booked a guide from the Association of the accredited tour guides who meet us at the S. Pietro train station and took us first to the St. Peter's Basilica.

 

She offered us also to use the Metro to get from one point to the next but we prefered to have a van...

 

But there you are fine to book just a guide who walk with you around.

 

Good Luck.

 

http://www.cast-turismo.it

 

There English website does not work properly at the moment. Use the Italian site to get in touch with them to get a quote.

 

Regards

HeinBloed

[dibbitz]

There are 9 of us (7 adults, 2 children) arriving on 15th October and we are looking to do a private tour from our ship. Most tours I have found seem to have a maximum number of 8 people which means we would need two vans and makes it way too expensive. Does anyone know of a company with a van that would seat 9 people?

 

Have you looked at Romeinlimo? I understand they have small bus type vans that should hold your group. We are a group of 9 who will be in Rome next spring and have heard this is a good organization. L

[traveler2772]

There are 9 of us (7 adults, 2 children) arriving on 15th October and we are looking to do a private tour from our ship. Most tours I have found seem to have a maximum number of 8 people which means we would need two vans and makes it way too expensive. Does anyone know of a company with a van that would seat 9 people?

 

I recommend Fabrizio with All Around Italy http://www.allarounditaly.net.

We have toured with him 3 different times. On his website, the form to fill out to book a tour says number of persons and the choice goes up to 9.

[hubofhockey]

Have you looked at Romeinlimo? I understand they have small bus type vans that should hold your group. We are a group of 9 who will be in Rome next spring and have heard this is a good organization. L

 

The problem with driver guide companies like Romeinlimo and the others is that they will charge a lot more for a mini-bus that fits 15 than they do for the 8 person van. I believe it's €800 more for that ninth person. If the post above about a company doing a 9-person tour is correct, that sounds like a decent choice. Also, as OP suggests, the train makes sense. That can be supplemented with a three hour walking tour of Ancient Rome with a licensed guide (as opposed to driver guides that you get with limo companies who are not licensed and cannot walk the sites with you). We are doing one of these tours next summer with our kids. Someone else posted one of the services above. We are using Roman Candle. But there are many highly rated on trip advisor and prices are so much lower than driver guide services. While I love the door to door service of driver guide companies, sometimes the economics is a killer.