Vatican and Colosseum Combo Tour: Don’t Wait in Line to See the Best of Rome
Overview
- Full-day Rome combo with skip-the-line walking tours of the Vatican Museums, St Peter's Basilica and Colosseum
- Combine two best-selling Rome tours in one memorable day, led by expert guides
- Enter the Vatican Museums through a reserved entranceway with a guarantee you will not wait in any long lines
- View the Vatican’s art treasures, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and visit St Peter’s Basilica
- Avoid the lines at the Colosseum and explore its first and second tiers
- Tour the fascinating ruins at the Roman Forum and visit Palatine Hill
- Enjoy free time between the Vatican and Colosseum visits
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Once inside, you and your small group will enjoy all the highlights of the Vatican with an expert guide by your side. The tour takes in a treasure trove of artistic wonders, from masterworks such as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescos and La Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica to the precious relics, paintings, and tapestries adorning the museums’ gilded galleries. Throughout the tour, your expert, English-speaking guide will share fascinating insights only a local could know.
After your Vatican tour, enjoy free time to sample some authentic Italian cuisine (own expense) before meeting your next expert guide for a tour of the historical heart of Ancient Rome. You’ll begin by skipping yet another line to enter the Colosseum immediately. Dominating the center of the Eternal City, this ancient arena puts modern stadiums to shame.
Then your tour continues to the Palatine Hill, where Rome originated in a battle between two brothers. You’ll then be taken from the origin of ancient Rome to its hub: The Forum, that bustling marketplace where business, politics, and religion mixed. No other tour takes you so close to so much of the history, significance, and fabulous riches of Rome.
Please note: During the low season, the itinerary described operates in reverse. You’ll tour the Colosseum and Roman Forum in the morning, followed by the Vatican Museums and St Peter’s Basilica in the afternoon.
Reviews
Viator Traveler's Reviews
The morning tour started at the Colosseum. Allesia was our guide. She was absolutely outstanding. She was extremely knowledgeable, courteous, punctual, and pleasant. Everything you would want from a tour guide. The weather was great for January and the crowds were small which allowed to see everything at a nice pace. The headsets worked well and allowed us to wander but still hear her commentary. She was fantastic.It was a beautiful day so I walked from the Colosseum tour to the Vatican. Grabbed a snack along the way and met the group for the Vatican tour. Allesandro was our afternoon tour guide and he also was excellent. He was still learning English, but spoke very well and was able to provide commentary and answer questions with minimal difficulty. As an archeologist, he was very knowledgeable and thorough. The lines were short and the museum and Sistine chapel were not crowded, which allowed for an amazing visit. St. Peter's basilica was incredible. I have already recommended this tour to others. It made for a long day of walking with a lot of information, but it was so worth it. Thank you for a memorable and rewarding experience!
Wonderful and complete at a brisk but not too fast pace. VERY knowledgeable, entertaining and personable guides (Fabrizio and Pauola) who spoke very good English. We would like to have had transportation included as we ended up being robbed by a Taxi driver inbetween the Colosseum and the Vatican.
Due to shuttle issues at the airport in Rome, I made it to my tour literally 10mins late. I spoke to a City Wonders employee who was extremely rude and unhelpful. I explained to him (younger male blond/brown hair) I was a little late and if it would be possible to meet with my group given that the tour is 2+ hours. He smugly told my wife and I no and that we would have to wait til 2pm until our next tour began (we booked the 3 site package). It made no sense why we couldnt meet up with our tour just 10mins late. I paid close to $300 dollars for this package and they couldnt even accomidate 10mins. City Wonders is a terrible touring company. I would hope in the near future Viator would vette there tour companys they use more closely because this was a terrible experience.
Once we found out where to meet our guides, the tours were excellent! Our guides were very knowledgeable, so much so that sometimes we had to turn off the headset to take a break. I know that sounds horrible, but someone needs to suggest to these tour guides to jazz it up a little with some punch lines, movie references or anything humorous to keep it interesting.All in all, it was a once in a lifetime day that was packed with marvelous sites. We even saw the Pope at St. Peters Basilica the day we went. I will never forget it.
These tours were well worth the money. We were able to clearly find and meet the guides in both locations. We skipped ahead in both major attractions. The lines in both places were huge, so this was easily a good value. Unfortunately, it's a bit like Disney world. The Vatican has about 30,000-40,000 visitors per day and the rooms are not large. Take pictures when possible, so you can look at details later. The experience is crowded and hot until you get to the Basilica. The Colosseum was more accessible as was the Forum and Palantine hill. The biggest challenge to this was the fact both tours are on the same day. That was a ton of walking and we were exhausted about halfway through, so I suggest a hop on/hop off bus or something a bit more relaxing for the following day.
The two tours were not the same guide or group from morning to afternoon. Both of our guides were very good. We enjoyed both guides and they gave plenty of information with out seeming rushed. There is obviously much that was missed in the Vatican Museum. I can see spending a few days walking around the exhibits there. The colosseum and forum were about the right amount of time. It was nice that the guide had pictures of what the sites look like now and then renderings of what it would like like complete. Truly an amazing place to visit. The skip the line aspect saved us so much time. Highly recommend this tour.
We had a great morning with Paulo a our guide and he kept us moving and interested. The break between the Vatican and Colosseum was welcomed as the 3 hours of Colosseum + Palatine was exhausting. Our guide was very informative and the experience was well worth it but nevertheless it was not for the tired or weak of heart. The meeting of guides was easy and both were very professional and knowledgeable.
this is a great way to see the major sights of Rome without needing to fall in those endless lines. time is gold and theres a beautiful city waiting for you. I gifted this trip for my parents during their travel to Italy. due to some health restrictions the tour guide accommodated my parents to their best ability and made sure that they still got the most out of the tour. this i appreciated very much since my parents were going on their dream trip to Italy. the tour guide also guided them on the best transportation onto the next location. appreciate very much that you guys took care of my family. they enjoyed your tour and have great memories.