1.5 Hour Colosseum Express Tour with Arena Stage Visit

Great tour, very informative and our guide Peter Paul was so knowledgeable. Plenty of time to take it all in.

OK, this was likely my favorite tour of the whole Mediterranean. Our travel agent turned us onto Viator tours, and we booked several tours through them both while in Barcelona and during our cruise. We had originally booked 2 tickets with Royal Caribbean for a tour in Rome that would take us inside the coliseum, but we needed a 3rd ticket for our son, but one never came available. FYI - laws limits the # of people who can enter the Colosseum daily, so tickets are limited. So we are literally on the balcony of our cruise ship booking this tour the night before as we sail out of cell tower range. Luckily it went through because this was a highlight of our trip. We cancelled our other tickets and booked the train to get us to Rome in time for this tour. We met at the tour center, got our earphones and we were off to the Colosseum. Dennis was our tour guide and she was fantastic and engaging. He seemed to never stop talking because he knew so much. We walked in via the same entrance gladiators used. We spent some time on the ground floor, then stopped at several different vantage points to discuss the significance of the architecture, the design or to vividly hear about the many uses of the Colosseum. After our tour ended we were still able to walk around the site, we didn't have to leave. This was nice and we visited the gift shop. It was fantastic. Bucket list (check!) It is worth getting to go inside. I cannot have imagined only seeing the outside! Travelers Notes: I highly recommend booking the express train to get you to Rome from the port if you are traveling by cruise ship. It is about a 35 minute ride, runs often and is smooth and you get to see some nice country side and NO traffic fume filled buses. The train is modern, clean and quiet. Going by bus to Rome is closer to 2 hrs. You do have to factor in getting to the train station, the train schedule and getting from the train station at the the square to the Colosseum - it too far to walk. We choose the 11 am tour of the Colosseum. We arrived by train in Rome at 10:15, and caught an uber to take us right to the tour company right near the Colosseum. We arrived at 10:30, Uber cost $20. Some fellow travelers said a cab was about $10, so not much at all. From the Colosseum area, you can walk you way back by foot and see other major sites like the Forum and Fountain Trevi along the way back to the train station at Vatican Square. Its a hefty walk back so wear good shoes.

Paulo gave us a fantastic tour - would highly recommend. Lots of information, andd knowledge very interesting

Rosa did a wonderful job of educating us on the history of the Colosseum. She was well informed and interesting.

Our tour guide, Francesca, was incredible. She was an archeologist and really had a passion for the tour she was giving us. It was a breath of fresh air to have someone who was so excited to be giving the tour. We learned a lot, saw a lot, and was one of my favorite tours in Italy