Get out of Rome and head to hilltop Tivoli on this fun half-day guided trip. Explore the historic town and visit Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este, two UNESCO World Heritage-listed spots. With an expert guide, tour the town and its historic villas, learning about the history of the area and seeing an exciting swath of the Roman countryside.

Visit the town of Tivoli on a half-day trip from Rome
See two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in one day: Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este
Learn about the lavish Emperor Hadrian on a tour of Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana)
Explore Villa d’Este with your guide and admire its incredible gardens and Bernini-designed fountains
Enjoy round-trip transport by air-conditioned coach from Rome

What's Included

Local guide
Transport by air-conditioned coach (maximum 50 people)

Gratuities
Food and drinks
Pick up and drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Via Giovanni Amendola, 32
Via Giovanni Amendola, 32, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
via Giovanni Amendola 32 10 15 minutes before tour departure

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Begin this half-day tour of Tivoli by getting picked up at your hotel in the center of Rome or opt to meet your guide near Rome's Termini Station. Hop on the comfortable coach for the ride. Learn about the history of Tivoli from your guide while admiring the views of the Roman countryside from the coach window.

The first stop is Villa Adriana, also known as Hadrian's Villa, the erstwhile 2nd-century holiday home of Emperor Hadrian. Stroll among the ruins of the villa, which almost seems like more village than villa, as the place was expansive and ostentatious. See the temples and terrain, the theaters and thermal baths and learn about what daily life was like here 1,800 years ago from your guide.

Hop back on the coach and make the short drive to Tivoli's other main attraction: the incredible Villa d'Este. This Renaissance-era palace, built in the the middle of the 16th century, was home to Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, who at the time was also the governor of Tivoli. Stroll around the palace with your guide learning about its history, lingering in the verdant gardens and gawking at the Baroque fountains designed by none other than the master Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

After the tour, enjoy the relaxing ride back to Rome. The tour concludes where it began – either at your hotel or at Rome's Termini Station. You can also opt for a drop-off at Via Veneto, Piazza Barberini, Piazza Venezia or Piazza della Repubblica.

Villa d'Este

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Villa Adriana

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Green Line Tours - Day Tours (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Please note: This is a Multilingual Tour
Tour is suitable for wheelchair users provided passenger is traveling with a companion who can assist them on and off the bus. Wheelchairs will be stored in the luggage area of the bus.
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund.
Not wheelchair accessible

Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

Both sites are breath taking and visit is suitable for all ages

Reviews

3.5

802 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 802 reviews

Bellisimo!!!

Alisa_P, May 2023

Well worth it, even in the light rain 🌧 The driver was great and the host was fantastic and funny. He single-handedly may have convinced me to drop everything and move there 🇮🇹 Learned alot about the site and enjoyed all of the little nuances and secrets it held. Lots of walking but if the 80+ host could do it, so can you 😉

Response from Host, May 2023

Wow, my compliments !! , Thank you for your appreciation, Kind regards

Wonderful time with a...

Michael_W, Sept 2022

Wonderful time with a knowledgeable and friendly guide. Everything ran on time and as promised. Would recommend.

Response from Host, Sept 2022

Thank you for the positive review ,our goal is your satisfaction! Kind regards Pina GLT

Beautiful history

Lynn_W, May 2022

This was a great exploration of Ancient Rome. Having been to Rome on three separate vacations, I needed to find new adventures. This one did not disappoint. Our guide was informative and cheerful. We learned so much history. Be prepared to do some hiking on both villa sites, well worth the cardio. Beautiful all the way.

Response from Host, May 2022

Good morning! Thank you very much for your precious and kind feedback! Warm regards Pina

Beautiful Gardens

Jeanette_M, Feb 2020

Great experience very beautiful gardens great way to get away from the city. Our guide was very informative we enjoyed the trip.

Don't miss this one

lindajK176UG, Dec 2019

Villa d'Este is a magnificent garden unlike any other I have visited in England, France or Japan. So worth the trip. We visited in November and it took our breath away. Visiting in the summer would be a wonderful respite from Rome's heat. But no matter when you visit you will be struck by the engineering feat of the running water and the indescribable beauty. Hadrian's Villa is amazing in another way. This emperor's structures are all over Europe. Think Hadrian's Wall in England and his arches in Turkey and Greece. But when you visit this place you get a feeling for the scope of his thinking and possibly the underlying unhappiness he may have experienced. It would be difficult to understand this ruin without a guide. Really worth the expense.

Very nice guide, good transport

FarAway765781, Nov 2019

We enjoyed our trip to Hadrians Villa, it was very insightful. We were a bit disappointed when we arrived at Villa D'Este because we could only see parts of the gardens as the rest was blocked off because they were shooting a movie so that was a bit disappointing.

Response from Host, Nov 2019

Hello CUSTOMER, I'm sorry that you were disappointed with your experience. If you could let us know how we could improve, we would appreciate the opportunity to make it right. Thank you

Well worth it!

Extraordinary33293, Oct 2019

We really enjoyed this 1/2 day tour so close to the city but, yet, worlds away! Our guide was attentive and so knowledgeable. The gardens at Villa D’Este are amazing and not to be missed!

A must to see and enjoy!

Bruce S, Oct 2019

This was our last tour of a 2 week vacation to Italy. It was peaceful, historical and breath taking!. We had a terrific guide, Max. It was a most enjoyable day to end our vacation, less hustle and bustle. This tour topped the whole experience of the full spectrum of Italy.

Terrific Tour

Edward_B, Oct 2019

There are many great tourist attractions in Rome, but Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este Half-day Trip from Rome is definitely a tour you should not miss. These to two villias are located outside of Rome in the hills of Tivoli. Each villa has it's own special character and charm. Villa d'Este is amazing with it's water features, beautiful gardens and architecture. Hadrian's Villa provides the 2nd century ruins of a once massive estate. It is hard to imagine how this magnificent estate could be erected without the aid of machinery. You will not be disappointed in taking this tour.

Amazing

Gary_N, Oct 2019

David 'our guide' was most informative, friendly and made our visit one to remember. Our booking was at 9am and we found that no other tour was there so we had the Villa all to ourselves which meant we could appreciate the surroundings that little bit more than it would as if was busy. Our visit to the estate in Tivoli also amazing. The whole visit was magical. Highly recommend.

Happytraveller

Mary_B, Oct 2019

A lot of information was provided and two very interesting and different sites were visited on this afternoon tour. We enjoyed Villa d'Este more than Hadrian's Villa, but both sites were certainly worthwhile. We liked the fact that at the end of each tour we had time to wander on our own.

Hadrian’s Villa & Villa d’Este 1/2 day tour from Rome

Sam B, Aug 2019

Our tour guide ‘s knowledge regarding these two very different historical sites was most valuable to our tour of these two villas. In a short time he gave us valuable insight into the history of these two important historical sites and the person/ family that resided here whether in ancient or in a more recent time .

Great tour

Michele_E, Aug 2019

Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. The bus was very nice, and the air conditioning was welcome during the hot Roman summer!!

Worth the visit!

Antonia_Y, Aug 2019

David was a great tour guide providing information and facts well beyond just the tour! Worth the time to visit if you have a free aftrenoon in Rome

Good Tour for Villa D'este but Not so good for Hadrian's Villa

Varun_S, Aug 2019

Hadrian's Villa was not worth it at all as there is nothing to see. On the other hand the Villa D'este was worth every minute. The Fountains are amazing and would recommend for sure. The tour guides were good and polite. I would recommend that if possible to skip the Hadrian's Villa and do only the Villa D'este. You will like it for sure.

Amazing!!!!

Ricardo_L, Aug 2019

Beautiful, easy to get there !! Excellent guide and place to know!!! Unforgettable !!!! Beautiful scape !

Tivoli Tour

Cruiser29831586234, July 2019

Great tour. Great air conditioned bus. Great guide. Highly recommend to all to do this tour in Tivoli

Great 1/2 Day Tour

judith433, June 2019

This is a great way to escape the Rome crowds and see something beautiful. We went first to the Villa D'Este. Our guide was excellent. The gardens of the villa are breathtaking. We then went to Hadrian's Villa. Completely different experience. It is a ruin, unlike Villa D'Este, and aomewhat of a let down. Perhaps it would be better to go to Hadrian's Villa first . It would probably be more interesting in that order.

Such a surprise

Roderick_D, May 2019

Villa d'Este. Wow, what a palace. Such opulence. This villa has been well preserved and and the work that has been undertaken to restore the once magnificent gardens is superb. The bus trip was worth it just for this. Hadrain's Villa. More like Adriano's palace. You need an imagination to envisage what this HUGE ruin would have been like, with marble everywhere, multi-story buildings, spas, etc. This place is huge. It housed 1000 people just to look after one person, and he was hardly ever there! Then when he finally got to enjoy his ediface, he died. Such is life! Yeah, the tour is worth it.

Don’t Do It

Passport58087154610, May 2019

Wow what a nightmare. Tour delayed about 30 minutes because someone staying 2 blocks away was late and they wouldn’t leave without everyone. Tour guide rushed us to one thing at gardens and one thing at Villa and spent so long spewing useless info, I learned nothing and spent the day mad I wasted my time and money. I would’ve been better off booking a trip to Tivoli and exploring myself. Tour guide would often yell at us if we had no comment to his ramblings. I will never use this company again and I advise everyone to search elsewhere.

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