7 Best Tours in Rome (2026)

Walking tours: the Colosseum and the Vatican

Walks of Italy's Premium Colosseum and Roman Forum Tour is the sensible first tour in Rome: three hours, a maximum of 16 with headsets, a guide through the first and second levels of the Colosseum, then the Forum (the Arch of Titus, the Via Sacra, the Temple of Julius Caesar) and up the Palatine. Walks says it is an official Parco archeologico del Colosseo operator, so entry is pre-booked. It's from €63 a person on its own site, and you meet at the gated entrance to Colle Oppio Park across from Oppio Caffè.

Who it suits: first-timers who want the stories without the planning. The trade-off: the standard route doesn't go onto the arena floor or underground; Walks' Arena Floor tour (from €109, also three hours, maximum 16) adds the arena floor through the Gladiator's Gate. Names must be submitted in advance and checked against ID at the gate. For doing it without a guide, our Colosseum guide has every official ticket.

Walks of Italy's Pristine Sistine tour gets you into the Vatican Museums early and to the Sistine Chapel as it opens, ahead of the crowds, with an art-historian guide through the Gallery of Maps, the Belvedere Courtyard and the four Raphael Rooms, ending in St Peter's Basilica. It lasts four hours, with a maximum of 18, from €87 a person. You meet at Antico Caffè Candia on Via Candia, by the museums.

Who it suits: anyone who has read about the Sistine Chapel crush and wants to avoid it. The trade-off: the 6.30am version, which gives two hours inside before the museums open, costs more and doesn't include St Peter's. To go on your own instead, the Vatican Museums' own ticket is €25 online; see our Vatican Museums guide.

The Roman Guy's Catacombs and Capuchin Crypts Tour pairs the two creepiest things in Rome: the Capuchin Crypt on Via Veneto, whose chapels are decorated with the bones of friars, and a guided visit to one of the Christian catacombs on the Appian Way (Callixtus, Sebastian or Domitilla). A van takes you out along the old road and back, so you don't have to work out the buses. It's 3.5 hours, a maximum of 23, from about US$64 to US$67 on its own site depending on the date (it prices in dollars), meeting at the Triton Fountain in Piazza Barberini.

Who it suits: a half-day of underground Rome without the logistics. The trade-off: it's not wheelchair accessible, and you only drive past the Appian Way. To do it yourself, see our catacombs and Appian Way guide.

Golf cart tours: the most ground in the least time

LivTours' Semi-Private Golf Cart Tour covers in three hours what would take two days on foot: from Piazza della Repubblica down Via Cavour to the Colosseum (from outside), the Circus Maximus, the Mouth of Truth, the Capitoline Hill, the Pantheon (outside), the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Janiculum Hill and the Spanish Steps, with photo stops along the way. Groups are a maximum of six, from €129 a person, meeting in Piazza della Repubblica.

Who it suits: older travellers, families and anyone with sore feet. The trade-off: it's an overview, not a visit; you don't go inside anything, and some guests ride on rear-facing seats.

The Roman Guy's Small-Group Golf Cart Tour runs a longer loop in three hours (2.5 hours from 1 November to 31 March), including the Aventine keyhole, the Orange Garden and the Janiculum terrace for the views, Villa Borghese, Piazza del Popolo and St Peter's Square, finishing at Piazza Venezia. Groups are up to 14, split across seven-seater carts, from about US$105 to US$116 a person on its own site depending on the date. The Roman Guy says this tour is run by one of its vetted partners. You meet on Via di San Giovanni in Laterano, near the Basilica of San Giovanni.

Who it suits: a first afternoon in Rome, to get your bearings. The trade-off: no entry to sights, and it ends across the centre from where it starts. Rome has been tightening the rules on tourist golf carts in the historic centre; Roma Capitale hadn't published final new rules by 3 November 2026, so book an established operator.

Vespa and bike tours

Bici & Baci's Vespa Grand Tour of Rome is three hours and about 36 km on the back of a Vespa, or at the handlebars: along the Aurelian Walls and the Tiber, up the Aventine to the keyhole and the Orange Garden, out to the Appian Way and the Baths of Caracalla, then past the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, St Peter's and up the Janiculum, with an espresso or gelato stop. It's €170 a person if you ride alone, with a driver or driving yourself, or €270 for two on one Vespa. Departures are daily at 10am, 2pm and 6pm from the shop at Via del Viminale 5, by Termini.

Who it suits: the Roman Holiday fantasy, safely; the driver keeps it under 30 km/h. The trade-off: driving yourself in Rome traffic is only for experienced riders, and you're liable for damage. For a private Vespa tour with hotel pickup, Scooteroma runs three- and four-hour tours (rider or passenger, automatic 125cc Vespas) but doesn't publish prices; you ask for a quote.

Bici & Baci's Appian Way Bike Tour is the cheapest guided tour on this page: three hours and about 15 km, from the Colosseum past the Baths of Trajan and the Celian Hill to the city stretch of the Appian Way at Porta San Sebastiano and the catacombs area, for €42.50 a person including the bike and insurance. It leaves daily (Bici & Baci's site gives both 2pm and 3pm, so confirm when you book) from the shop at Via Cavour 302, five minutes from the Colosseum.

Who it suits: active travellers who'd rather pedal than ride a bus. The trade-off: there's traffic and rough paving on the way out of the centre, and it isn't recommended for children under 12.