The VIP Colosseum Underground & Ancient Rome Small Group Tour

We arrived 15-20 earlier to the printed time of the tour starting to be told we’d missed it! They want you to arrive 30 minutes before the tour starts and put that in the small print. We paid over €300 and asked if we made our own way to the group could we join… told no. Said they’re already within the colosseum and it’s impossible for us to get to them. Told to return at 12.45 for a basic visit tour. Arrived at 12.15 (to be on the safe side) tour didn’t leave till 12.55, there was no issue getting into the colosseum and we would have been able to meet our earlier tour if we were given instructions. THIS IS A SCAM! They had obviously sold our tickets on to someone else and took our money also. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID. Feel heartbroken that we were scammed but hope the review helps someone else. We book a tour via our hotel to Vatican. That group started at 12.45 and waited for everyone that had paid for their tickets to be there before they left in fact we got late just so we didn’t leave behind anyone! That’s service and what I would expect. These guys make over €1000-2000 per tour group and are so greedy they can’t make sure everyone who’s paid gets what they’ve paid for… terrible experience and would NEVER RECOMMEND

The actual tour itself is great and our guide GiGi is the BEST! He was funny, personable, informative and so inclusive of our group. The 4 stars is for him and him ALONE. Our problem was with the tour operator representing Viator at 24 Via del Colosseo in Rome, where we had to check in. We booked the 10:45 a.m. tour but you REALLY must be there 30 minutes before (which is printed in small letters somewhere on page 3 of your voucher - VERY EASY TO MISS) or they will not allow you to check in and you miss the tour. We arrived in time but it is a small place and it had a long line out the door and they have only one person checking you in. The man at the desk snapped at us to back out of the place as he argued with the people in front of us because they were 5 minutes late checking in, because the line was long and the place small! Even though it was only 10:20 a.m., they were told their 10:45 a.m. tour had already left (it hadn't, it was still outside). When we got up there finally, we were told the same thing, even though our tour had not left by that point either! He told us that he would put us on the tour leaving an hour later and handed us a sticker to put on our shirts. When I argued about the fact that we weren't really late, the group was still there, and that if they were that unable to handle customers checking in at 10:20 a.m. for a 10:45 a.m. tour, then it really shouldn't be called a 10:45 a.m. tour, he told us that it was our fault, not theirs, that we were lucky he was doing anything for us at all, that he really should charge us all over again, and physically came at me telling me that he should take my sticker off my chest and tell us to leave! I warned him that he better not try to physically touch me in any way, and my male companion diffused the situation. It was absolutely shocking and appalling, the behaviour was absolutely terrible and that man should not be representing the tour company in any way. If it hadn't been for the fact that our friends had never visited the Colosseum before, I would have walked away and taken it up with Viator. As it is, this review is mixed not because of the tour itself or our wonderful tour guide (who almost made up for the clerk's shameful behaviour) but because of our treatment at the hands of the tour representative. TAKE NOTE VIATOR!! It is private guides for me at this point going forward, I will never book a large tour again!

I’ve been to the colosseum before but never seen the underground. It was fascinating. We had an excellent guide, Paulo. He was experienced and knowledgeable and open for questions. We loved the whole experience!

Serena was by far - the best tour guide we had in all of the tours we took during our three week stay in Europe. She had genuine interest in what she was showing us and an excellent communicator. She had interesting facts to share, funny moments, a concern and care for all in her tour. We had different generations on the tour and we all enjoyed it so much.

The Colosseum and Roman Forum is truly a must-see. Our tour guide, Simona, was amazing! She was very knowledgable and personable. Simona gave us time to see everything, take pictures, and also just take in the moment. The underground portion was so worth it - highly recommended. And the Roman Forum was incredible. This tour is a must-see for Rome!

Tour started 45 minutes late and ended past advertised finish time. My son was therefore unable to join another planned/paid for Viator tour of the Vatican due to time restraints.

Excellent way to see the the Colosseum and do a tour of the underground passages and dungeons. Our guide was so dynamic, engaging, and a wealth of information! Definitely recommend to anyone who wants a QUALITY and informational tour of the Colosseum!

Our guide was incredible and had the best attitude! I was so impressed with her knowledge, patience and cheerfulness! She said her name right at the beginning of the tour and it was either Rena or Rita! I was I knew for sure because she deserves a raise, a promotion and a pony! By no fault of hers the weather was so very hot, but she made sure everyone got water and really prioritized health and safety. Her incredible knowledge of everything we saw was incredible. Be prepared for a lot of walking. If you have concerns about too many steps you might still consider the VIP tour of the Colosseum that includes the underground, but select a tour that only does the Colosseum rather than continuing to the Forum and Palestine Hill, as this added portion proved to be a bit much for some of our tour mates, particularly in the heat. In the name of all that is good and holy please bring water with you and wear comfortable shoes with non-slip soles! I believe our small tour must have been combined with another one as our time changed and our ten person reservation placed us in a group of 22, but since the time changed to over an hour earlier we were grateful to escape the worst of the heat by getting in and out before it got too hot. If you can manage an early tour I would certainly recommend it! Also, I know your guides do not require tips, but I always give them what I can spare (20 euros in this case). How would you be at staying on your feet for three hours, talking continuously, staying cheerful without fail, solving problems and shepherding over 20 people? It’s not for the faint of heart!

The instructions were poorly given and should have been more clearly stated. As this was my first day in Rome, I was a little lost, asking everyone for directions. Google maps was good but not perfect as I needed to go up and didn’t realize. I arrived 10 minutes late for the 30 minutes early check in. My tour started at 1:10pm and when I arrived 20 minutes prior the guy told me “you are late, your tour is already inside the colosseum” i paid $250for this tour including underground. I was so dissapointed and he was rude about it too. The instructions should have called for more than a 5min window for check in. Also it clearly should have states that although tour time is 1:10, they leave tour office to start tour at 1:45pm- huge disappointment and loss of money. He put us on a lesser tour as compensation but barely made up for what I missed out on.

Staff were friendly and prompt. Tour guide was knowledgeable and engaging. Took lots of questions from the children on tour. The subterranean tour was impressive. We enjoyed this tour very much!