We booked the "Private Borghese Gallery Tour with Hotel Pick-up and Drop-off" from Eyes of Rome on…read moreOctober 21, before the Omicron variant placed our present trip to Rome very much up in the air. Happily we were able to make it to Rome and to experience this wonderful, personalized tour of what I think is the greatest collection of treasures in Rome on December 26. We were picked up on-time at our hotel by the tour's driver who was well-informed and effective with regard to the current COVID protocols, helping us to ensure we had the appropriate type of mask required and our physical vaccination proof (we had assumed digital versions would suffice, but this is not currently the case in Rome or at least not for the Villa Borghese). Another tour operator probably wouldn't have checked for these items and we would have missed the entire experience. We were dropped off at the Villa Borghese and met immediately by our personal guide, Silvia, who greeted us warmly and immediately started setting the context of what we were about to see with the history of the Aurelian wall, Roman life in the 1600s, and the concept of the "villa suburbana," all of which is quite necessary for a full appreciation of the wonder that is the Galleria Borghese. She explained to us the relation of the Galleria's founder Cardinal Scipione Borghese and his position as the Cardinal Nephew to Pope Paul V, which gave him political power over the Papal States. Silvia told us of the original plan of the gardens and the vivarium, which housed species from all over the world- plants and birds respectively, which was foundational to understanding the art collection to come. For context, I have twice visited the Galleria Borghese in 1996 and 2010, but it was my husband's first visit to the Galleria and, in fact, to Rome. Our tour impressed, entertained, and satiated the curiosity of both of us equally- not an easy feat, for sure. We appreciated that Silvia structured the tour as much as possible as the Galleria was meant to be experienced (unwinding, if philosophically, the changes to the sequence of rooms necessitated by current COVID protocols). Silvia was knowledgeable, personable, funny, and very well-versed in the history of the Borghese family, the Papacy as related to it, and the artists (Bernini, Carvaggio, etc.) and their works featured in the museum. Among the highlights for us: *A very informative but also witty and humorous study comparing the depiction (and by extrapolation the characterization) of Venus painted with Cupid by two artists- Cranachi (il vecchio) and Brescianino, an eye-opening discussion about the differing regional attitudes toward women at the time *Revealing the technique but also the humanity of Caravaggio with a thorough education on the 'Madonna dei Palafrenieri.' Some of why the painting would have been a shocking portrayal of Mary, Jesus, and St. Anne may be obvious, but understanding all the details- Mary's plainly visible underskirt- contemporary of the artist's time, the wrinkled, withered portrayal of St. Anne (the Vatican chapel bearing her name being the intended destination for this work, where it was ultimately rejected), and the still-astounding use of light in darkness was extremely interesting and enriching to our experience *A 360-degree analysis of Bernini's Baroque masterpiece Apollo and Daphne (starting with Silvia ensuring we averted our eyes to view the sculpture first from the right-hand side, as intended by the artist himself prior to the statue being moved) gave us a complete understanding of this work. Viewing the sculpture- which I had seen before but never from the vantage point encouraged by our guide- this way gives the complete story of Daphne's encapsulation into the tree depicted here and Apollo's (non-)reaction. When the delicately carved, paper-thin tree bark was pointed out to us, you could almost feel the heartbeat that Apollo would have felt as his hand grasped it. I appreciated the details of the windswept hair turning into leaves, which also stemmed from her hands, and the roots emanating from her foot, details I had not really fully appreciated before. I would highly recommend Eyes of Rome and specifically our guide Silvia. I cannot enumerate with words how much more I appreciated the Galleria Borghese with her expert and naturally flowing guidance and historical context. We had a fantastic time that we will not soon forget.

Alessandro is a fantastic guide! So knowledgeable and fun. I can't recommend him and and this tour…read morecompany enough for a hypogeum tour of the Colosseum.

Such a great tour! I contacted Alessandra with only 3 weeks before our trip (I should not have…read morewaited so long-I was very lucky she was available). But she was very accommodating and lovely to work with. We were able to personalize a 3-hour tour that took us from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum and finished at the Pantheon. Alessandra also helped me with purchasing tickets for the sites (as well as other sites that were not part of our tour), which can be tricky. Native to Rome, her insight and knowledge were amazing. She knew the ins and outs, best times and prime viewing spots that only come with native experience. Alessandra was absolutely great, and I would definitely recommend her for any tour you may want to take in Rome.

Do not book this tour! The tour guide was Andrea and she was rude, they separated our group and she…read morewas not willing to answer. She told me to stop talking as I was talking about the rest of our group. They told us tour was at 9:45 and it didn't start until 10:45 am. The tour guide also wasn't explaining much and wasn't tech savvy. Took forever to even get our tickets on her phone. She got mad I was trying o take a photo and told me I could come back later but she stopped to answer a personal phone call. Book through someone else!

Only tour in my life where we had to look up Wikipedia DURING the tour…read more My Italian friend recommended this agency because we are Catholic, coming for the Jubilee and wanted a religion-centered tour - Jubilee/Early Christianity. The other people on our tour were also devout Catholic. I believe the tour was done by Maria Lazara. We do not know her name because she did not bother to introduce herself, nor did she ask our names (aside from checking our family name off). We met at the statue and then without any introduction to our tour, nor introduction to the St John of Laterna Church, she marched off in front of us to the Church's portico. It was a bad start. That's the main complaint: she gave no introduction to the tour or any site, she gave no church or historic context on how things came to be or how they evolved. She gave no Catholic perspective. A tour guide needs to be a storyteller! And I expected a guide well-versed in church history, both religious and urban! Instead, it was a bunch of random historic facts. She primarily spent her time pointing out symbolism in the paintings and mosaics. Clearly, she majored in art history, and the history of Christianity was a boring sideline to her. She liked pointing out that Laterna was populated early, while most of Rome was countryside - but why? How did that change? Where did Catholics live and why did they move? Why were these churches chosen for their Holy Doors? Why only 4 doors? She told us the Laterna Holy Door was an original bronze and a couple more facts and then we marched through as it were nothing. Nothing about why it is special that they are open, how Catholics view this moment, etc. IT IS SPECIAL. In speaking about the Jubilee, the only thing she said was that the Pope first started it once every 100 years, and since the Roman townspeople made money on tourism from the incoming pilgrims, they moved it to every 33 years or when they wanted. That's it - Jubilees were about making tourism dollars. End of her story. None of our group of 3 heard that the Sacred Steps were brought from Jerusalem and why, and where they were placed originally. All she did was say "it is not a hard job to move stairs." THEY ARE SPECIAL. She just said: you can up if you want, I'll wait here on my phone. Again, her specialty seemed to be art history not Catholic traditions or history, and 75% of the time, she spoke about symbolism. The blue and yellow of Mary, the keys of St. Peter. That's fine but there was no narrative, no church history. The tour ended exactly at 12 p.m. Clearly, she was glad to be out of there. Another note - yes, her English vocabulary was good, but she spoke sing-song Italian style and it was hard to follow her. She does not have the cadence of an English speaker. Very disappointed in Eternity Tours' guide. Aside: I really enjoyed Eternity Tours newsletter mailings.

Chiara was our guide in Vatican City. We climbed the cathedral dome, went through some of the…read moreVaticombs and then went to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. I appreciated the depth of her knowledge especially in art history. I found it true in this and other tours in Rome, that our guides were not just college kids needing a side job to make money or expats looking for something to keep them busy. These people have spent years studying and have a true passion for the things they are telling us about.

We went on the Entire Vatican & Vatacombs: Treasures of the Sistine Chapel Tour. Our tour guide…read morewas really great and made the most of what there was. Basically this was two and a half hour moving line to see the Sistine Chapel. She did her best to provide really excellent narration but it was still a bumper to bumper crowdathon. I understand the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica are a Rome must and this is probably the best way to see them but it is still a huge wait for 10 minutes and no pictures.

My mother, brother, and I were in Rome for 4 days and booked a private driving tour of Rome with…read moreEasitalty Tours. Our driver, Antonello, was absolutely amazing and I highly recommend him if you are thinking about this type of tour. He was so personable, had a lot of great knowledge to share, and fit in all the sights we wanted to see in the 5-hour tour. He knew the places to get out and take pictures and he made the experience in Rome a great one! Julia was our private tour guide at the Vatican. She was absolutely wonderful. She was so animated and shared with us the rooms and pieces she felt were the most important to see with only one day to explore the Vatican. We had such a wonderful time with her. She is one tour guide I will not forget! If you want an above-and-beyond experience at the Vatican, book with Easitalytours and request Julia. You will not be disappointed! This is the best Tour company out there. They are reasonably priced and the tour guides are absolutely top-notch!

If you are looking for THE BEST tour in Rome, no need to look any further…read more We've been to Rome many times, but the experience we had with Max and the Easitaly team has been amazing. We spent two days touring with Max, the best guide in Italy!!! We discovered Rome from the view of a a real native roman, had the opportunity to taste the best and most authentic roman delicacies... what a great company! We love you guys!!! See you next time in Roma!

I had such a great tour and guide with this operator. My guide was Ms Susanna and I couldn't have…read moreasked for anyone better - she was outstanding. Filled with knowledge and details and was able to answer every single question. I felt like I received a BA in ancient Roman Jewish history by the time my few hours was over. Loved every minute of it and can't wait to return to learn more about other aspects of the gorgeous city which is rich with Jewish history that dates back to 161 BCE, well before the start of Christianity.

Our family recently spent a whirlwind week in Italy - Rome, Florence & Venice. While we enjoyed…read moremany remarkable experiences, the highlight of our trip were the tours we booked with Marco Misano. We took his tours of the Jewish Ghetto, Ancient Rome, and Vatican. Marco's knowledge of these areas is unbelievable. There was no language barrier. He spoke in clear English (with a charming Italian accent). The tours were anything but dry history lectures. Marco brought ancient history alive and kept us, and our 3 sons (a toddler, a tween, and a young adult) fully engaged. Marco was a wonderful resource and offered much appreciated assistance beyond our scheduled tours. He seemed genuinely happy to make our trip run smoothly. Marco helped us save time and money by assisting with advanced ticket purchases to the Vatican, Forum, and Colosseum; He advised us on restaurants (even making recommendations on what to order!); He suggested museums and sites that we should visit; He put us in touch with a driver for airport transfers and even recommended a wonderful guide for a private tour in Florence. Having Marco show us Rome was like touring the city with an old (and extremely knowledgeable!) friend. Our only regret was not booking more tours with this fantastic guide, I cannot recommend Marco highly enough! You will not be disappointed!

Book our tour of the Vatican/Sistine Chapel and St Peters online about 2 months before our trip…read more We printed out all the instructions and met our guide and the designated meeting point. Once we found our guide - many other tour groups meet in the same area, the tour went very smoothly. Our tour guide was a historian and was very knowledgeable and informative throughout the entire tour. She ensured that the group stayed together, got us through security and the ticketing area with ease. We were amazed at the beauty of the Vatican, the apartments and artifacts. We were given 15 minutes in the chapel to look and reflect. It was VERY CROWDED and LOUD. The guards ask multiple times to respect the silence but the tourists did not. Our guides knowledge and expertise made the day incredible. Be prepared for HUGE crowds of tourists.

Bought the 3-hour skip the line tour. The tour lasted 1 hour 51 minute; good chunk of that time was…read morespent in the line that was supposed to be skipped; the guide was super boring and uninterested in the subject matter; when we complained to Maximus, they tried to push back instead of apologizing. Hence, 1 star.

We booked a golf cart tour with Carlotta Ciciotti. She was very intelligent, took her to time with…read moreus, which included 2 kids age 3 and 5. I was surprised at how she was able to keep them engaged. She showed us all around Rome, took amazing pictures, took us to a coffee shop and got the kids gelato. She even took us to an Armenian Church in Rome. That was very special. I HIGHLY recommend her!!! THANK You Carlotta

We had a fantastic time on the Rome on a Golf Cart Semi-Private Tour with LivTours, guided by…read moreChris. He was personable, clear in his explanations, and attentive to our needs throughout the tour. What made it especially memorable was how he connected with our kids--getting them excited about gelato was a fun touch that they still talk about! The golf cart was a lifesaver, making it easy to visit several sites that would have been impossible to reach with a 5-year-old and 2-year-old in tow. We even opted for the cart to pick us up from the hotel so it was seamless from beginning to end. The car seat for our youngest was clutch. Actually the ride was so soothing that our 2 year old fell asleep for part of the trip. Chris also introduced us to the Roman Orange Garden, a peaceful spot we'd never have found on our own. While many sites in Rome are walkable, this tour gave us the freedom to explore comfortably as a family, and we truly appreciated the balance of convenience and insight. If you are someone who love to do all the research ahead of time, then maybe this tour is too surface level for you. I would recommend a more targeted tour for the Coliseum or Vatican City. Otherwise, I'd highly recommend LivTours--and especially Chris--for families looking for an stress-free way to experience Rome.