Rome

Skip the Line: Premium Colosseum, Palatine Hill & Roman Forum Private Tour

Name: Skip the Line: Premium Colosseum, Palatine Hill & Roman Forum Private Tour
Brand: Anno Domini Tours
SKU: 8343P2
Price: 307.38 USD
Rating: 4.5 (43 reviews)

Rome, Italy

Skip the Line Colosseum and Ancient Rome Private Tour

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Go back 2,000 years to the time when Rome ruled a huge swath of the planet and the center of entertainment was the Colosseum. This guided walking tour not only offers entertaining and intriguing historical tales and details while strolling around the Colosseum and Roman Forum but also gets you skip-the-line-access. That's right: breeze right past that long line and explore the awe-inspiring Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill.

Private guided walking tour of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum
Get skip-the-line access at the Colosseum and Palatine Hill
Learn about how the Colosseum was constructed and about daily life at the Roman Forum
Private tour means you'll get plenty of personalized attention from the guide

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Navigating and understanding the large and very crowded Colosseum is much easier with a private guide.

What's Included

Professional guide
Guaranteed to skip the long lines
Private tour

Gratuities
Transportation to/from meeting point
Hotel pickup
Hotel drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via del Tempio della Pace, 1, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Meet your guide outside the Tourist Info Point on Via dei Fori Imperiali corner with Via del Tempio della Pace. Your guide will be holding a sign saying "ANNO DOMINI" Closest Metro - B Line - COLOSSEO.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Colosseum

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Arch of Constantine

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Roman Forum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Palatine Hill

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers' full names at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

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

Reviews

4.5

43 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 43 reviews

A complete and total disaster

PETER_D, Oct 2023

The experience never happened. We showed up at the designated meeting spot on time at 2pm on October 17. Our guide was nowhere to be found. We paced up and down the street and asked at least four other tour guides where we might be missing our guide, but to no avail. After searching for our guide for 45 minutes we decided to leave and find a place to eat lunch while we tried to figure out how to salvage our first afternoon in Rome. A complete disaster! Now I need to figure out how to get a refund since the operators made it clear no refunds are allowed. I wonder if that includes when the guide does not show?!?

Waste of time small group is not 15 people. The people were dumb and ruined it for the guide

peter_a, Jun 2023

Well we had some dumb people in group. Wandered off did not listen. 10 mins long time latter they turn up. Guide was frustrated and said 10 miss to look at floor of Colosseum...blazing sun...but yet people just wandered off. Had to wait for them. Grrrrrr. Poor guide. Honestly people in group Shut Up and listen and follow guide. Left before tour finished. Grrrrrrr what debacle

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We are happy you thought the tour guide was good, and are sorry about the other tourists who were not attentive. Certainly, this was beyond our control.

Can’t rate it higher!

Judith_W, Mar 2023

Worth every penny! The tour guide was so friendly and knowledgeable. Had tickets on phone ready to show at each entrance so we had no queuing. Showed us round colosseum, Palentine Hill and an overview of the forum. Such detailed knowledge and really engaging and funny. Can’t recommend this enough. I hope this company book her more in future, absolute asset to the company.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Dear Judith! Thank you so much for writing these comments. I am sincerely thankful that you loved our tour with Pia! There's nothing more satisfying than such rewarding words! Thank you :-)

Thank you Maria!

Kelly_V, Mar 2023

Our guide, Maria, was fantastic !!!!! She made The tour fun and connected with my two daughters. A wonderful memory.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Dear Kelly, Thank you so much for your kind review! We are thrilled that you enjoyed our tour with Maria! Thank you!

Our Guide was Wonderful!

Lisa_K, Mar 2023

Anna was an Amazing Guide! If you have her as your Guide you won’t be disappointed! She’s extremely knowledgeable and has a great personality!!! She made the experience truly worthwhile!

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Dear Lisa, Thank you for these kind comments! We are truly happy you enjoyed your tour with Anna! Safe travels!

book it!

maraptilen, Dec 2022

Loved loved loved everything about this. Our guide was super knowledgeable and answered all our questions. Loved spending time on Palatine Hill and Roman Forum as it gave us a better overview of the history.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Thank you! We are so glad you enjoyed the tour and appreciate very much your kind review!

Excellent!

Andreas_H, Aug 2022

Super friendly, very knowledgeable and made the history come alive. Paid great attention to the kids and made sure they picked up on the details. Found shadow and water during the hot day. Great guide.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Dear Andrea! Thank you for these kind comments! I am very happy you all enjoyed your tour with Anno Domini. We hope to see you again on one of our tours!

A View from the Inside

Stephen_C, Aug 2022

This experience is fantastic. We were looking for a way to wrap up our visit to Rome and decided to splurge and book a private excursion. It was worth every penny. We met our guide Alla just outside the exit to the Forum and took the quick walk to the Colosseum. She stopped along the way to explain the history of Rome and update us on the metro expansion happening in front of the Colosseum. Once we arrived there was no wait as she had tickets already and we simply walked in. Despite the heat she catered to our pace, stopped in shady spots to explain things. She even got us the lift to the third floor to start the tour. She let me take as many pictures as I desired and kept us informed the entire hour and a half in the Colosseum. She had a book to show us different images of how things looked in the past. We then took in Palatine Hill and the views were amazing from the top. Once again we were able to go at our own pace and stop for water and washrooms along the way. The tour ended with time in the Forum with more excellent photo opportunities and insight. Alla even explained we could stay a wander on our own if we wished when the tour ended. Allia’s English was excellent and she engaged my wife in casual conversation whenever I took time to wander for pictures. Would definitely do this again as there is so much more to learn about these three sights.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Dear Stephen, thank you so much for these comments! I am so glad you enjoyed in of our best guides, Alla! It makes me happy to know we did a good job and you had a great time. Looking forward to seeing you again soon!

We’d have paid double!

Abigail_N, Jul 2022

This tour was the highlight of our Rome trip. Not only was Anna extremely personable and professional, she was just simply wonderful. While there are large groups being brought around and requiring headsets/microphones to hear everything. Anna rewards you with a 1on1 experience that feels like you’re the Emperor of Rome being toured around. It was extremely hot, she knows where to get water and shade and make you feel extremely comfortable at all times. Her knowledge of the history kept our ears glued to whatever she was saying and showing. We asked for a picture with her after because we are never going to forget this. You won’t regret it. Thank you Anna!!

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Dear Abigail! Thank you very much for these comments. We are so happy that you enjoyed your tour with Anna! Thank you! We look forward to seeing you or your family and friends again in Rome! Safe travels!

We had a great tour with...

Emily_W, Jul 2022

We had a great tour with a really fun guide! He kept us entertained and shared fun facts. Highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for a no stress experience

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you for your kind comments! We are so glad you enjoyed your tour :-)

Disappointment at the Colosseum

Joseph_E, Jul 2022

The tour was very disappointing. We booked a private tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum. My 13 year old is studying Latin and ancient Roman history in school. I had hoped that this would bring the era to life for her. Instead, it was a dry tour where more time was spent on the various types of building material rather than the stories of intrigue, empire and culture that I had hoped for. I found myself wishing that we had been on a group tour or a self guided audio tour than this private tour. Not only did it seem (from overheating other tour guides around us) that it would have been more entertaining, we would have saved *hundreds* of dollars. One final point, our guide’s English was difficult to understand. She was not a native speaker and had a thick accent that made it difficult to understand. Rather than a tour that inspired my daughter to want to learn more about this fascinating chapter of human history, we all were waiting for the tour to be finished.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you for taking your time to share your opinion. We strive to make sure that our tours are indeed both interesting and entertaining. We are very sorry and also disappointed that you were unable to appreciate the tour. Obtaining a tour guide license in Rome is very hard. One must satisfactorily pass a series of state examinations both written and oral. Statistically less than 1% of applicants pass and receive a license. Furthermore, your tour guide not only holds an official license, but also a PhD in Ancient Roman History. I find it hard to believe that she was as bad as you claim. In fact, your tour guide has achieved only 5 star reviews in the past 6 years. Our tours are tailored to be the best experience possible, and we are truly sorry you were unable to appreciate your tour experience. It is comprehensible given that instead of listening to your tour guide, you were listening to other tours. We hope next time you book a tour with us, you will listen in a more attentive way and appreciate the tour better.

Wonderful!

Ryan_B, Jun 2022

Elena was fantastic. She was very knowledgeable and fun. The tour was well paced and we got to see all the highlights with great historical context.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Thank you very much for your kind comments! We are truly happy you enjoyed the tour! We hope to see you again on one of our tours!

Informative but exhausting

Susan_B, Jun 2022

Our guide was very knowledgeable, but the experience was very exhausting due to our mobility issues impacted our tour. We had to change days so we could take advantage of the handicap entrance, but our guide took us around the entire colosseum, which, adding the heat of the day, just exhausted us. I believe she thought there was an entrance on the side of the colosseum that was closed. She did request entrance from a guard, which allowed us in. She was very informative and did a great job really painting a picture of all the history. Unfortunately, we just got so fatigued, we could not do any more of the tour and had to eliminate Palatine Hill and the Forums. Probably not the best tour option if there's mobility issues.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Dear Susan, Thank you for having taken the time to write a review about your tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum. I am very glad you state that your guide was very knowledgeable, informative, and did a great job at illustrating all the history. I am also very happy to see that your guide indeed tried as best she could to accommodate your needs, and asked the guard to allow your entrance without further delays. Based on what you write about the tour guide, it seems the service we provided and the performance of your tour guide were very good. I therefore do not understand why give her such a bad score? Just three dots, which means average. Touring the Colosseum and Rome's archeological areas is indeed very difficult for people with mobility issues or disabilities. However, we have no control over this factor. It is not something we can change or fix. Your review harms our overall score without a good reason. Your tour guide was very good and did everything in her power to make the tour as accessible as possible. I thank you for your time, but I am disappointed at such an unjust score you gave us for the very good service we provided. We still hope to see you or any of your family and friends on one of our tours in Rome. Kindest regards,

We loved this tour

Sheli_M, Jun 2022

This was one of the most pleasant of the tours we did in Rome. Easy to book, communication is fantastic and the tour was so enjoyable. Our guide, Renata, was everything you’d want from a guide. Passionate, fluent in multiple languages and in the topic. She was kind and knowledgeable, even had iPad/book with before and after photos of what we were looking at. We appreciate the company for partially reimbursing us after our tour didn’t end up being private. They joined us with another family after our original guide got ill. Either way, if you’re looking for a great Colosseum experience, book with them. Actually, any tour because Renata said she does others too!

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Thank you very much for your comments! We look forward to seeing you on one of Renata's other tours in Rome! Best wishes and safe travels!

Great tour

LyndenBrian_W, Jun 2022

It was wonderful to tour the with a small group. The guide was great and it was easy to interact. Highly recommend.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Thank you for your kind review! We hope to see you soon on another one of our tours!

Unbeatable for families

Amit_R, Apr 2022

Our family travel group included two young children (8 and 5) and one grandma. The “skip the line” tickets alone were worth it. We could not have asked for a better guide. Our guide, Sev, kept our kids interested and engaged the entire time. That’s no small feat. He had deep expert knowledge on the history and architecture of the area. (He’s a member of the faculty at a local university.) We felt so lucky! We cannot recommend this enough!

Response from Host, Jun 2022

It was wonderful to lead you back in time! I hope to see you again in Rome! Cheers! Sev

Outstanding Tour Guide

PAUL_W, Apr 2022

Selenia of Anno Domini Tours did an incredible job of educating us throughout the Tour. She was smart, had a good sense of humor and was well organized. Highly recommended that you request her as your Tour Guide while in Rome.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Thank you for your kind review! We hope to see you soon on another one of our tours!

Knowledgeable, clear & pertinent

Iris_M, Apr 2022

Our group composed of my family of 5: husband, 2 children ages 12 & 10 and mother in law, enjoyed our tour very much. Our guide Alla, was very nice, courteous and knowledgeable. She even carried a big, heavy book that illustrated the way the special places we visited looked in the old times vs. now. She answered all our questions, didn’t rush our tour, yet kept a good pace. She provided with plenty of pertinent information that enriched our visit giving us a great glimpse into the history of these monuments. Highly recommended.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Greetings! I would like to thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback, and we are very glad you enjoyed our tour. We look forward to seeing you and your friends on more tours with Anno Domini Tours. Happy Easter and kindest regards!

Incredibly enjoyable and educational experience.

Karine_S, Mar 2022

Sev our tour guide was a super star. He was incredible with the kids who followed every word he explained. We all learned so much. He was easy to meet and we had a lovely afternoon. Avoiding the lines was also so great.

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Dear Karine, Thank you! It was a pleasure to meet you! I hope to see you all again in Rome sometime in the future!

Lovely tour in Rome

Ali_N, Nov 2021

Anna was wonderful - fun, very informative and knowledgeable, and great with our kids. We would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a private tour of Rome’s rich history.

Response from Host, Nov 2021

I wish to personally thank you for these comments. We look forward to seeing you again on one of our private tours in Rome or elsewhere in Italy! Happy Holidays!