Bypass the crowds with skip-the-line access to the Vatican Museums, and Sistine Chapel. Then, visit the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill (seasonal). You'll get to see all the Roman essential attractions in a single day and traveling with a tour guide means you get to skip the long entry lines at each attraction. Your experience includes pick up and lunch at a local restaurant.

Full-day tour to see Roman highlights: Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, and ancient Rome
Skip-the-line access to all attractions lets you bypass the crowds
Includes pickup and lunch at a local restaurant
See Rome's most important highlights in single tour

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

With this tour, see Capitoline Hill from November through March and Palatine Hill the rest of the year.

What's Included

Professional guide
Wireless audio headset
Lunch in a typical Italian restaurant (3 courses)
Hotel pickup (only for centrally located hotels in Rome)

Optional gratuities
Hotel drop-off
Transport between one site and the other

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:30 AM

Pickup details

Hotel Pickup Details: * For hotel transport, contact us at least 24 hours before your tour for confirmed pick-up timing. * Be prepared in the hotel lobby 10 minutes prior to the scheduled pick-up. Self-Arrival Option: * If your accommodation isn't within our pickup service area, please come directly to the tour's starting point. * Arrive at Piazza del Risorgimento, central to the square, adjacent to Bar l'Ottagono, 20 minutes before the tour begins. * Spot our team wearing the 'I love Rome' logo in pink. Nearest metro: A-Line, Ottaviano stop.

What To Expect

Begin your full day of visiting Rome's highlights with a morning pick up from select hotels.

Head for the Vatican Museums, where you'll skip the long entry lines and the crowds to follow your tour guide directly inside. Explore the 54 galleries, including the Museo Gregoriano Egiziano, the Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, the Museo Chiaramonti, and the Museo Pio-Clementino, among others.

Enter the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo's famous ceiling fresco and learn about the events that still take place there, such as the Papal conclave.

Stop to visit a local restaurant for lunch before continuing to the afternoon portion of your tour.

Again, skip the line for the Colosseum and explore the massive amphitheater with your guide, learning about its history as a source of entertainment for ancient Roman citizens.

Discover the Capitol Hill, the actual site of the Mayor of Rome, and offering the most beautiful view on the Roman Forum.

Then, you'll have the opportunity to visit Palatine Hill, the place of foundation of Rome and the Roman Forum from the inside, where your tour concludes.

Piazza Del Risorgimento

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Vatican Museums

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

St. Peter's Basilica

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Arch of Constantine

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Colosseum

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Roman Forum

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Due to heightened security measures, you may experience delays at security checks when entering the Colosseum
This tour visits religious sites, and a dress code will be enforced. Visitors must be dressed appropriately: no sleeveless blouses, no miniskirts, no shorts, and no hats allowed
Please note from 1st April 2024 to the 26th October 2024 the Colosseum tour starts at 2:30 PM. Meeting point at 2:15 PM
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Please note from the 29th of October 2023 to 31st March 2024 and from the 27th October 2024 to 31st October 2024 the Colosseum tour starts at 1:30 PM. Meeting point at 1:15 PM

Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
By purchasing this tour, the customer agrees to follow only the guide assigned to him/her. It is not permitted to add external guides to the group after the tour has been purchased. We inform our customers that, in such circumstances, access to the Vatican Museums will be granted only if escorted by the assigned guide and respective group. If one chooses to opt out, they will forfeit all rights to the tour and ticket, with no possibility of a refund.
If you have a pacemaker you will need to show a certificate, otherwise you will not be admitted without being screened
Not recommended for individuals with impaired mobility
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

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 canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

Has nothing to do with age, but if you are not fit, don't do this in summer.

Make sure you are aware of the time allotted to see all of the attractions.

It's definitely worth it to skip the line - it looked like it was about 2 hours long at the Vatican Museum.

Reviews

4.5

195 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 195 reviews

History

Anonymous, Sep 2023

I was so very impressed with the knowledge of each guide. I highly recommend this tour. It was very enjoyable.

Overall a very...

Ricky_Y, Sep 2023

Overall a very interesting and fascinating tour. However, it was extremely crowded in the venues and the earphones were not of very good quality. It was very difficult to hear the Tour Guide speak throughout the tour.

great tour

Mary_M, Aug 2023

the guide was very informative and was able to get our ticket s we didn't gave to wait in line. xxxxxx

Enjoyed both the Vatican...

harry_s, Aug 2023

Enjoyed both the Vatican and Colosseum tours, especially the latter. The Vatican Tour was three and a half hours of walking in the heat without access to water and no one advised us that we needed to bring our own water so were exhausted half way through. Also, it is false to state in advance that the Vatican and Sistine Chapel do not allow men to wear shorts. I suffered in hot blue jeans but noticed that about 20% of the men in the buildings wore shorts with impunity so in the future do not tell men they cannot wear shorts in 90 degrees when they can.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Dear Harry, We sincerely appreciate your feedback and thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We apologize that your overall experience was not entirely positive. With the extreme heat currently being experienced in Rome, we highly recommend bringing a refillable water bottle, as there are many free water fountains available throughout the city. If you don't have a bottle, you can also purchase water from vending machines at the entrance or during the break at the Vatican Museums' bar. Regarding the dress code, we understand your frustration but it's our responsibility to convey the rules communicated to us by the Vatican Museums' management. You should consider that the Sistine Chapel is indeed a church, which requires appropriate attire, we also understand the discomfort caused by the heat. We recommend wearing lighter fabrics such as cotton or linen instead of jeans. We apologize for any inconvenience you experienced. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the Colosseum tour. We value your feedback, as it helps us improve our services for future visitors. We will take your comments into consideration and continue to strive for the best possible experience for all our guests. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. Thank you again for choosing our tours, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future for an improved experience.

Very organised and well...

Leianne_W, Jun 2023

Very organised and well thought out day trip! Dani and gloria the guides were brilliant, the company was fantastic. To everything in a day and lunch included in a ni e restaurant was 👌. I would definitely recommend the hotel puck up aswell.

Do NOT recommend.

Sherry_K, Jun 2023

This tour was chaos. They were very unorganized. We were picked up by a taxi, taken to a central drop off where we stood in the hot sun for an hour before the tour even started. The tour guide in the Vatican was great though. He dropped us off for the meal and it was terrible food! I couldn't even eat it. We were then picked up by another driver, taken to another drop off point and again had to wait in the hot sun for the colosseum, forum, Pakentine hill portion. That tour guide was not impressive at all. It was too long of a day and a lot of wasted time. I think you should tour all these sites, just not with this group and not in one day. it is too much.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Dear customer, thank you for sharing your feedback about your recent Vatican Museums and Colosseum guided tour. We apologize for the disorganization and the inconveniences you experienced during the tour. We understand that waiting in the hot sun for an extended period of time before the tour started was uncomfortable and frustrating. We apologize for the delay and any discomfort it caused you. Your feedback regarding the meal provided is duly noted, and we will work on improving the quality and selection of food offered during our tours. We appreciate your positive comment about the tour guide in the Vatican. Our guides strive to provide an informative and engaging experience, and we are glad to hear that this aspect of the tour met your expectations. However, we regret that the guide for the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill portion did not impress you. We will review the guide's performance to ensure consistency and quality across all our tours. We understand that the combination of all these sites in one day may have made the tour feel rushed and overwhelming. Of course, this is a combo tour we offer to people who are in Rome for a few days and want to optimize their time. Goes without saying that it is ideal to stay in Rome for several days and visit each sight thoroughly in separate days - there is so much to see in Rome! If there's anything else we can assist you with or if you have any additional comments, please don't hesitate to let us know. We appreciate your feedback and hope to have the opportunity to serve you better in the future. Best regards, Gray Line Rome

Guide fabulous

Richard_G, Jun 2023

Short lady with the hip replacement was fabulous at the Colosseum and roman forum. Really provided a lot of information. Sorry I am bad with names.

Great experience

Kimberly_G, Jun 2023

Our guides were amazing and the ‘skip the line’ is worth every penny! We walked over 16000 steps so it is important to be somewhat fit if you are going to do this.

Vatican and Colosseum with skip the line

ERIC_B, May 2023

Great tour, we had 2 amazing guides. Both have great knowledge. Lunch which is included was good. We had lasagna to start, second course was pork with prosciutto, potatoes and salad, desert was tiramisus. This tour is a long day, make sure you wear confortable shoes. It took us 9 hrs. Would repeat.

Vatican and Rome

Jose_X, May 2023

The trip is good. The reason why I rate 4 and not 5 is because we do not like that they began late. It is important to consider that the tour is very tired, you have to walk a lot, but what you see is very beautiful.

Excellent long day - skip the line is worth it!

Jaz_F, May 2023

It was a very good tour and highly recommend skip the lines! The lunch restaurant was not that great - basically it’s a restaurant jam packed with tour operators taking prepaid packages. At the end of the Vatican tour they transferred us by small bus to the colosseum to start the second tour. It’s a very long day, tons of walking, wear comfortable shoes. We did 17,000 steps in total at the end of the day. Pick up was at 8am and we were back to hotel around 5:30. They do not transport you back at the end of the tour to your hotel. you must make your own plans to return to hotel.

A great tour.

Paul_F, Apr 2023

Both the Vatican and colleseum tours were excellent. The tour guides were great. The included lunch was disappointing. Highly recommend this tour minus the lunch.

Rome in a day / skip the line tour

Valorie_J, Apr 2023

Vatican City tour was excellent! Coliseum tour was a little rushed but good. Skipping the line was essential to getting through the whole tour!

Unbelievable City

Kim_U, Apr 2023

Tour and guides were great! It is a VERY long day and we were unaware we had to find our way back to our hotel.

Great experience

Jordan_C, Mar 2023

The history given by the tour guides between these two places was fantastic. The paintings in Sistene Chapel were so detailed and colorful, I could stare at them all day. The walk through the coliseum along with the history just seemed unreal.

Excellent, highly recommend

lisa_M, Feb 2023

Fantastic experience, some parts slightly rushed through BUT with seeing SO much and learning so much in a short space of Time was necessary and a brilliant experience! Rita the guide was amazing! And same again at the coliseum. Fabulous guides, helped make the tour unforgettable, highly recommend this tour

Rome in a day!

Cheryl_L, Dec 2022

We did Rome in a day- well two highlights anyway! The Vatican museums and church were beautiful with so much history. We saw the colosseum in the afternoon and it was awesome. If you don’t have much time in Rome, I definitely recommend this tour.

Great experience

Kelly_G, Oct 2022

Both of our guides were very, very knowledgeable. My husband loves the colosseum tour as he is a history buff and I loved the Vatican tour, as art is my interest. Fascinating!!

Nice combination of tours, but use the rest room before you start

stephen_B, Oct 2022

This is a mixed review of our tours. The first one involved the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. The guide knew her history. Unfortunately, she would not let us stop at the rest room even though it was after breakfast (lots of coffee and orange juice). She did not want to stop at the gift shop (several people in my party wanted to bring something home to their family from the Vatican). Instead she had us hold it until she led us all around the Vatican and stopped at some gift shops outside the Vatican where we were dying to find a bathroom. The person wanted to know our tour director so she could get her commission. Lots of uphill climbing. The second half of our tour, the Colosseum was great. Alexandria was fantastic. she was patient while some of us struggled to climb the hill at the Forum.

Perfect one day tour of Vatican and the Coliseum

Don_Y, Sep 2022

The Vatican and St Peters Basilica tour were amazing. Our guide basically added the latter site on the spot, which was a great bonus. The included lunch at a nearby restaurant was tasty and plentiful. The afternoon tour of the Forum and Coliseum was iconic.

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