Eleanor was amazing! The amount of knowledge she shared while bringing in humor and fun made for the perfect tour guide. Highlight of our trip! We were able to see all the major Roman attractions accompanied with so much information from Eleanor. Thank you for such a great memory. read more

Grazie Eleanor for a wonderful tour! You hold immense knowledge of Rome's history. You made a memorable day for our family!

Martina was informative and interesting, we loved the tour. She explained the history of the neighborhood and showed us lots of interesting sites along the way. read more

"Rome. By all means. Rome!" - Audrey Hepburn Ciao! No, I'm not The Roman Guy! When I spontaneously booked an overnight trip, squeezed between London and Paris, my time became very limited to the Holy See. Not to mention all I craved to touch and smell in Roma! The Roman Guy to the rescue! My main reason for my visit was the Sistine Chapel and saying Ciao to Pope Francis! So after a full afternoon and evening of walking the wonders of Rome is when I met The Roman Guy! A shout out to friends Jennifer D. of New Jersey and Knicole of San Jose who helped steer me here. Grazi! Make sure to read their "When in Rome" reviews too! I made reservations with The Roman Guy months in advance, since it's apparent they are one of the best! After perusing several packages... I decide to do the early morning skip-the-line tour of the Vatican Museum. It was pricier than the tours during opening, but I wanted the full access and get as intimate I could with Michelangelo! In email I was instructed to meet at a nearby café where our group would gather and be introduced to The Roman Guy. It's funny tho because I was in the English speaking group... half the ladies thought I was The Roman Guy lol. The Roman Guy, I soon found out lol, was not just one guy per se, but rather a smoothly run private tour group. They are very savvy on the online market with YouTube videos that first caught my attention. Like I said I really thought I'd be chatting with Marco in the YouTube video haha, but instead I was led to a lovely Roman lady who would be my guide. Our group ended up about 8 total. In the end, I highly recommended The Roman Guy, especially if your time is limited. They have all sorts of packages out there and are led by true Italian natives. So not only do they know the history of Roma but the pride of showing us their backyard.. priceless! I really enjoyed my time in this private tour.. the early morning Musei Vaticani and ending at the stunning Saint Peter's Basilica. I can't promise you a rose garden or a date with Fabio, but certainly I can promise you a good time.. Ti Amo.. read more

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We had such a great time on this tour! We were visiting from the states and this was our first time visiting Italy. It was nice to be able to learn so much but also get the opportunity to take pictures and ask any questions we may have had. This is a great tour. I highly recommend read more

Ilaria our tour guide is the best. Highly recommend this your. The food are plentiful to share.

Paola Pagan was a fabulous tour guide. She was super knowledgeable and gave us a ton of interesting information. By far the best tour we have taken! read more

VATICAN NIGHT TOUR-NOT WORTH IT! Guide was a young female with a heavy Italian accent,which is fine for general conversation, but terrible for amplified discussion about antiquities. First 30min of 2 1/2 hr tour wasted just to gain entry to facility. There were no lines to avoid by going on the tour as the only line was for group tours! Individuals could walk-in with no line. Another 15min were wasted with showing the group black & white pictures in a laminated notebook (instead of viewing the actual antiquity that was displayed nearby). Entry to the Sistine Chapel, keynote of the tour, was delayed until only 10min remained of the scheduled visit. Recommendation: pay regular admission with an audio guide and save $100 per couple. Mike Brown read more

Paola are awesome!!!! The day went by quickly because of her knowledge and entertainment!

Our tour guide was thorough and very detail oriented despite it being the busiest time due to the Jubilee year. I highly recommend this tour. read more

Paola was a wealth of knowledge. I learned so much from her and this tour. She also made it very fun. I would love to take another tour with her and highly recommend this company as they are professional and organized. read more

5 out of 5 Our trip to Rome is my Christmas gift to my mom, and this is definitely the cherry on top of our trip if not the ice cream itself! This tour is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED especially for first timers in Rome. We availed the 7-hour ROME IN A DAY tour which also has the skip-the-line tickets to The Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, and the Colosseum. Take lots of photos in here because it's impossible to go back inside with the crowd. The tour was led by our amazing tour guide, Marco. We loved his energy, his humor, his vast knowledge of the Roman history, and that he's caring to every single one of us. Aside from the details that we saw during the tour, he showed us photos that allowed us to understand the Roman history even more. He explained small details extensively, and these are little details that you'll most likely miss if you went on your own. Moreover, since majority of the tour involves a lot of walking, Marco encouraged us to have a seat when given the chance. He also offers and reminds us to take photos during the tour which is really great because you'll find yourself over stimulated by the beauty of Rome that you may forget to take souvenir photos for yourself. Our tour group consisted of only 6 people (probably by luck and timing), and it seemed like a semi-private tour! It was definitely worth every penny! I recommend that you read the e-mail that they'll send you for full details and itinerary of the tour. I don't want to spoil the details so definitely see it for yourselves! :) MUSTS: - walking shoes - COVER UP - shoulders and knees - small bag only (they may ask you to leave your belongings in the Vatican Museums) - water bottle (if you're okay with still water, Rome has water faucets everywhere) - Comfortable attire - be aware of your surroundings. There's a lot of people from different parts of the world, and it's important to be street smart! read more

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Aliseo was a great tour guide- informative, engaging and very knowledgeable. We had fun and learned a lot. We would go back to the Coliseum with her any day and I am sure we would learn more every time. read more

My tour guide Davide was wonderful and made this experience exceptional! The restaurants we went to were delicious and we enjoyed every part of our tour. read more

We just completed a Rome in a Day tour. Our guide Paula Pagan did an excellent job. She explained everything clearly, patiently, had a great sense of humor. She was very knowledgeable and passionate about the history, architecture and people if this ancient civilization. Awesome! read more

Poala Pagan was fantastic and very knowledgeable. She made the day fly by. I would definitely do this again

Tour was amazing. We were shown all the local food spots and how the Roman cuisine is experienced. Lots of knowledge along the way.

Spectacular tour! Eleanor was great! She was very informative and was great at guiding us through all the sights

Our guide was exceptional, she shared great history of the places we went to, kept us engaged and went at a great pace! Food was delicious and experience was definitely worth it. read more

I don't have an account on Trip Advisor but would like to leave a review because we really enjoyed our tours. I was traveling with my Mom and it was a last minute decision. I booked the tours easily online and thank goodness I did as post covid, many things book up fast! Our first tour was for the guided tour with skip the line tickets of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. We booked a 9:45am tour and we arrived early to our meeting point which was not difficult to find and quick to reach with Metro. We stayed near the Barberini stop so it was quick. Many other tours were meeting there and the staff were easily visible and professional. Our guide was Enza Broccoli. She was fantastic. She was professional, energetic, humble and unassuming. Also conducted herself very diplomatically around other guides who were taking a little too long at certain stops. We covered all the must see things within the 2 hour window and it went by fast!! Skip the line was a must as I remember being in that long hot line years ago when I came as a college student. She was even able to get us into a "hidden" room that was by permission only. Thank goodness for Enza cuz I'd be lost in this endless treasure trove. Affordable and time-saving esp if you are planning a short trip. If I would do anything differently in the future, I'd probably book an early morning tour (one of those breakfast ones before opening) with the company so there is less of the crowds around me. Thank you Roman Guy! I'll cover the other tour in a separate review. read more

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This review is for Rome in a Day Small Group Tour with Vatican and Colosseum. Prepare to do a lot of walking, over 10 miles, which we knew was going to happen. One complaint we had was that there is way too much to take in on this all-day tour. You are constantly RUSHING with little time to stop at most of the sites. You need to spend at least 2 days seeing the many different locations on this excursion to enjoy it. The Vatican Museum part was a disappointing fast-paced walk through it. We had no time to stop and look at anything. The tour guide was knowledgeable with interesting facts about the different sites we saw. read more

My husband and I arrived in Rome mid February 2020, at the beginning of Covid. Despite our hesitance to make our trip, we took our chances. We booked a private tour with an Angel, Faby. Her stories of history transcended us into time. Her joyful spirit and patience with our questions was outstanding. My family of seven will be arriving in June and would LOVE to reunite with her for another memorable tour. Can you please have her message me. Thank you read more

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Carolina is the best tour guide I've had in Rome! Extremely knowledgeable and and super friendly

Review for Skip the line Vatican Tour: Buyer beware, that this tour is extremely crowded. Even at 7:30 in the morning the Vatican museum was mobbed with people going through security. They say that between 28,000-30,000 people tour the Vatican every day. So if you are going to visit the Vatican it's best to have a skip the line tour set up.... but keep in mind you'll still have lines to wait in. We did the 7:30am tour. Met our guide at the top of the stairs. Made our way over to the entry line around 7:45-8am. We didn't go through security until 8:30am and probably made it up up to the first room around 9am. Tour ended around 10:15. Tour guide: We weren't really able to understand our tour guide, so it could have been a better experience with one of the other ones. Dress Code: Having your shoulders covered seemed to be the main priority. I saw many females in open toed shoes, but they were still allowed entry. I recommend wearing tennis shoes and light clothing. Most of the buildings do not have AC (another reason to go in the AM). You will be waking a ton and going up and down stairs. You can buy scarfs right outside the Vatican if you need to cover up. Tips: Go early! Bring a snack. Wear walking shoes & light clothing. Cover your shoulders. read more

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Our tour guide's love for Rome permeated her wonderful and knowledgeable presentations, even as we moved from place to place. In addition to providing information, our guide was personable. This particular tour was a great "first day" to see many places and to get a feel for getting around the city in future days on our own. Excellent all around! read more

Bought the Vatican and Sistine Chapel tour. Got zero instruction before going and it isn't clear how to get to the Chapel when inside. We asked security how to get to the church and they thought we were asking about St. Peter's and directed us to the exit. I called the tour operator and they did nothing to help. The only thing that salvaged the experience is that I was able to talk our way back into the exit door. The Tour Guide people should have offered to help us do that or provided a partial refund. They didn't and so I don't recommend you use them - there are many more tour providers here. read more

Wonderful experience! Highly recommend for anyone wanting to visit a new place and enjoy good food/company.

August 16, 2023 - LOOK BEFORE YOU BOOK The reason for this email is to alert both you and fellow travelers about using extreme caution doing business with The Tour Guy AKA The Roman Guy. There are many good companies out there such as Viator for example, that are up front and follow good business practices. We booked a tour of the Coliseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum in Rome, Italy online through The Tour Guy website on May 29th, 2023 at 3:00 pm for a tour on September 12th, 2023. This tour required payment up front, which we paid $699.00 at that time. Saturday, August 5th, 2023 we received a text from "The Tour Guy" advising the tour we had paid for months before was cancelled and a new time slot was available for that morning at 11:00am. We were asked, do you accept or reject the new time. We advised we reject, as we had another tour booked already for the Vatican at that time. We were then told we are sorry, but there are no refunds for this tour!! We went back and forth, but they said our policy is no refunds or changes. THEY MADE THE CHANGE, NOT US! We then rushed to book another tour of the Coliseum with Viator; which was not available for the time we wanted months earlier and that was the reason we went with the Tour Guy. Since we are leaving in less than three weeks and have read others reviews that if you did not book well in advance, you would not be able to get the tour. The next day Sunday, August 6th, the Tour Guy sent us a text saying a one time offer for the same time that our original tour which was booked and then cancelled, was available and asked if we wanted to book it? NOOOOOO! We rushed, booked and paid for another tour elsewhere. There are plenty of tour companies out there that practice transparent and safe business practices and are truly there to provide the customer with the best experience possible, in addition to the tour itself. The Tour Guy communicated primarily with us via text. I called and called and each time the automated service tells you to email them. We did and same response via text. Finally they answered their phone, but was the same person sending the text. So needless to say, same answer. Look before you book!! read more

Enzo Broccoli was an amazing tour guide- she was not only a tour guide but she has a phd in archaeology and is a highschool teacher as well. . She took us for 7 hours through the complete Roman tour. She was extremely knowledgeable and could give us information we couldn't have gotten just going on our own. Thank you!! read more

August 16, 2023 - LOOK BEFORE YOU BOOK - SOMETHING ROTTEN IN ROMA! The reason for this email is to alert both you and your readers about using extreme caution doing business with The Tour Guy AKA The Roman Guy. There are many good companies out there such as Viators for example that are up front and follow good business practices. We booked a tour of the Coliseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum in Rome, Italy online through The Tour Guy website on May 29th, 2023 at 3:00 pm for a tour on September 12th, 2023. This tour required payment up front, which we paid $699.00 at that time. Saturday, August 5th, 2023 we received a text from "The Tour Guy" advising the tour we had paid for months before was cancelled and a new time slot was available for that morning at 11:00am. We were asked, do you accept or reject the new time. We advised we reject, as we had another tour booked already for the Vatican at that time. We were then told we are sorry; but there are no refunds for this tour!! We went back and forth, but they said our policy is no refunds or changes. THEY MADE THE CHANGE, NOT US! We then rushed to book another tour of the Coliseum with Viator; which was not available for the time we wanted months earlier and that was the reason we went with the Tour Guy. Since we are leaving in less than three weeks and have read others reviews that if you did not book well in advance, you would not be able to get the tour. The next day Sunday, August 6th, the Tour Guy sent us a text saying a one time offer for the same time that our original tour which was booked and then cancelled, was available and asked if we wanted to book it? NOOOOOO! We rushed, booked and paid for another tour elsewhere. There are plenty of tour companies out there that practice transparent and safe business practices and are truly there to provide the customer with the best experience possible, in addition to the tour itself. The Tour Guy communicated primarily with us via text. I called and called and each time the automated service tells you to email them. We did and same response via text. Finally they answered their phone, but was the same person sending the text. So needless to say, same answer. They said no refunds because we book and pay for tickets with the Coliseum in advance. If that was really true, then our tickets for 5 people would have been solidified; but instead they were cancelled by this company! The tour would not be cancellable if tickets were in hand by this company, especially since we booked the tour months before! LOOK BEFORE YOU BOOK Thanks and good luck! read more

ALBA!!! She was an amazing tour guide. We did the full day Rome tour and it was unbelievable, much more than we expected. I can't imagine a more interesting tour. We used this company for our intro to Rome, very good choice. Alba is an archeologist and knew the answers to every question. She made history come to life and made everything interesting. We did more that day than the rest of our week in Rome. The tour was well planned and very professional. My feet did hurt that night but it was worth it. For the rest of the week we made plans and restaurant choices based on the information she gave us from our day, the best tiramisu, the best fried artichoke, great restaurants, we visited sites she suggested like the Jewish ghetto, a bohemian area... we will remember that day when we think of Rome. Thank you Alba for being so amazing! read more

The Roman Guy - Trevi Fountain - Food Tours Near Me

I've had the pleasure of traveling the world and have always wanted to visit Rome. Lia provided me and my buddy Kyle with one of the absolute best tours I've ever experienced. Her knowledge is unmatched as well as her love for the culture and history. She provided us with the best tour of my life. Im so immensely grateful that we had her as our guide. We had an incredible time for start to finish. We actually didn't want the tour to end because of the information we received but also to just hang out with her more. There is no tour guide I would recommend more than Lia Caso. Thank you so much for one of the best tours and experiences of my life. Visiting the colosseum has been a dream of mine since I was a child and she exceed all expectations I had about stepping onto the arena sand. We absolutely loved her and wished we could have done every tour possible with her. Thank Lia for memories I'll never forget and for having the passion you present during the tour. I hope so badly that we cross paths again. Grazie mille. If you have an opportunity to visit any part of Rome, request Lia: you will be surprised and will finish with a brain full of knowledge and the biggest smile possible. Liacaso@blu.it read more

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They are censoring information on their Facebook page and Trip Advisor will not allow certain things, but luckily there are sites where I can still give my true and honest opinion and hopefully it will keep others from making the same mistake. We were booked to be in Europe this week being June of 2020. Naturally, we all know what happened there...Covid blew everything from travel to weddings. I booked two tours with The Roman Guy....one for Rome and one for Venice. One of the reasons I went with them is that they offered a cancellation policy of a return of cash.....lol, well I see how that's working for me now! Several requests, unreturned calls and I can now see this company is in panic mode just by various reviews I'm seeing others leaving. Well WHO isn't having issues? One site I go to actually suggests I should support this company during this....well lol, who's supporting me? I cancelled our trip when my husband, who was told by his company that he would NOT be allowed to leave our country due to the pandemic. That was in February. By the beginning of March, I was cancelling our dream trip to Europe to see places we didn't get to when we lived there 30 odd years ago. So far, not pleased....I expected a refund...what I'm being offered is the chance to use this (if they are still in business) or put it toward classes they are offering via the internet....sorry, not what I signed up for. Below, you will see some of the correspondence that I have received from The Tour Guy. "Your refund request is in our queue to be processed. Given the current situation with cancellations, it will take our accounting department a minimum of 30-90 days (maximum) to process your refund of $468.68. Thank you in advance for your continued patience. Feel free to check back after 30 days via telephone, for an update on your position in the queue. Please use reference number #XXXXX when you call in. If you decide to reschedule your trip before the refund is processed, please let us know. With any rebooking, we are offering a 20% credit, to be applied towards an additional tour or upgrade, without expiration. Booking Details Rome in a Day Tour with Colosseum Arena Floor and Vatican Museums Friday, June 26, 2020 7:30 AM (2 x Adults) Venice Highlights Tour with Gondola Ride Monday, June 22, 2020 9:30 AM (2 x Adults) To be refunded $468.68" So I ended up calling the number due to the wording of the email. I left a message, never receiving a call back because I assume they weren't answering phones. I then emailed and reiterated that I wanted a refund and after a week or so, I received the following....I have quoted their responses to me. "I hope you are doing well. Thank you for reaching out to us. I can confirm that your booking was cancelled. Due to the high volume of cancellations and now reduced staff, we have adapted the way in which we are processing cancelled bookings. We understand how important it is to have a fixed timeline. We are now prioritizing cancelled bookings by departure date. We will send you a notification between 7 to 5 days prior to your originally scheduled departure date. We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding during this unprecedented time. Like all businesses, we are doing our best to navigate the rough waters." So I wait it out, because I want to believe them....the other day I received this- "Ciao, Thank you for your booking with The Tour Guy. We have completed your cancellation for booking #XXXXX. As we all now understand, the effects of the pandemic are much greater today than they were months ago -- especially for the tourism industry. As such, we have issued you a credit for the total paid, plus a complimentary 25 %. This email serves as your voucher for your credit of $585.85, which is 25 % more than what you paid ($468.68). You are now able to log into our site with this email address to view your credit." I say at this point BUYER BEWARE! They keep saying that they are great at tours and poor at pandemics....like any of us poor saps have had experience with them!!!!! Companies should have to hold cash paid in advance in their reserves for booked trips.....I find this unacceptable, especially since I paid them with faith in 11/19, never expecting anything like this. You also should not be able to back out on return of cash if that's what was promised in the first place. At this point in time, almost every refund has been received back.....they seem to be under some illusion that other companies are operating as they are, which is simply untrue. As optimistic of a person that I am, I really don't hold out a lot of hope on going abroad until there is a proven vaccine for Covid. Doesn't seem to be a time frame for that. I just want to add that other posters that are talking about the refund policy are accurate in their remarks. read more

We did two tours with this company when we visited Rome. We went to the Coliseum and the Vatican/Sistine Chapel. We had Manola both times as our guide, which she said had never happened to her in her 12 years as a guide! She was extremely knowledgeable about all things Rome, very witty, and just a very nice person. She made the experience very enjoyable. We were SO lucky to have Manola twice. Seek her out as your tour guide if you can! read more

The Roman Guy - Manola!!! - Food Tours Near Me

We took a fantastic tour of the coliseum and the Vatican! The tour guides were very knowledgeable and made it very easy for us across the board. read more

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We did The Appian Way ebike tour. Beautiful, educational,and refreshing. Iman was excellent unhurried guide. Wednesday's are beat day for small group numbers. read more

This is a review averaging two tours - one would be no stars or negative stars if we could give them. The other 4 or 5 stars. The thing about these tour companies is they are hit or miss based on the guide. So you're taking a real chance. On your vacation,. Often on a one time thing. Our Colosseum and forum guide was lousy and incompetent. There was nothing she told us that you wouldn't have gotten with 30 minutes of homework ahead of time. At the Colosseum, she bungled the tour and so, although it was an arena floor tour, we were unable to visit the floor. For those of us looking to have that view of the Colosseum, it was a bummer. For families who had kids who are really excited about the whole gladiator thing it was devastating. And if you are a parent who enticed your kid on a multi hour tour because of the arena floor - Well, you can imagine how that went. Contrary to some reviews, the company was responsive about the problem and offered a prorated refund. But not everyone has either the time or the desire to visit the Colosseum twice. We did the private Vatican tour by contrast, and the guide was exceptional. She (ask for Alessia) is an art historian and really brought the rooms in the Vatican museum to life. She also prepared us for what we would see in the Sistine Chapel. And I think we got things from that experience that we would not have gotten from either research or an app. She made the experience what it was. Everyone says that you should get a guide in Rome. I don't think this is great advice. It totally depends. There are apps you can get for a few bucks online they will help you navigate the Forum or figure out Palentine hill. And the Colosseum is an easy one to learn about ahead of time. The tickets are not a huge mystery. Just go to the OFFICIAL website and you can get squared away, and there are plenty of discounts for kids under 18 and so forth. If all the tickets are sold out, then the guide may be the way to go simply just for access when you need it. If you have the means a private tour can be great, but do some diligence ahead of time . Ideally figure out particular guides or smaller companies that people can refer you to. With these large companies it's not that they don't want you to have a good experience, but they know there won't be a lot of repeat business, and that affects the business model. And know why you want to do the tour. If it's just tickets, you're paying a huge mark up. If you really want to learn the history, make sure you're gonna have a guide who can do that. Otherwise, it is an expensive dice roll. We did hear some great guides at the Colosseum and the forum bringing it to life. If that really matters to you, don't leave it to chance. read more

We had a nice tour of the Coliseum with ALBA. I would recommend her! Communication with the company was easy and details about the meeting point and time was accurate. A lot of walking and standing so be prepared. read more

Fantastic experience on two separate tours: Private tour of the Colosseum and Palatine Hill with Giovanni on day one. He was very engaging and full of interesting historical facts. Day two we had an early start of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel and back door entrance to St. Peter's Basilica with Eleanora. She was so passionate about her Roman history and fun/funny facts. Both were very memorable. The "fast pass" experience saved us so much time waiting in long lines. So worth the money! read more

Had an amazing tour of the colosseum and Roman forum with Michele as our guide. He was the most knowledgeable tour guide I've ever come across. Highly recommend! read more