Rome: Colosseum with Arena and Ancient Rome Tour

Experience the Colosseum like never before with VIP access and a small group tour. Explore the history of gladiators and ancient Rome, and discover the secrets of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 10 days learn more
Highlights
  • Colosseum - This 2.5-hour guided tour with fast track access to the Colosseum through the Gladiators’ Gate; our storytelling guide will take ancient history back to life. You will depart from our meeting point and you will receive personal headsets for a better listening to the guide. With this entrance you will access in the center of the Arena, have your camera ready to discover the Colosseum where Gladiators and wild beast did their combats. Access through the special Gladiator’s Gate and take the chance to step into Arena stage where Gladiators used to join the fights!
  • Roman Forum - From this stage you will visit the ring that overlooks the underground areas of the Colosseum. While you take in the amazing view, your guides will share their knowledge about the history of Ancient Rome and of the Colosseum in particular. The guides are all licensed and have a degree either in Art History or Archaeology, and enrich their explanation adding amazing anecdotes about the Colosseum, its spectators, the fights between wild beasts and gladiators, and the lives of the powerful Emperors and politicians of the time.
  • Palatine Hill - Your tour of Ancient Rome will continue to the Palatine Hill, one of Rome’s seven hills. Here, emperors and wealthy families used to have their houses built, to enjoy the stunning view over the Roman Forum and Circus Maximum. Your group will then walk down the Palatine Hill and stroll among the ruins of the Roman Forum, an archaeological area that the guide will bring alive sharing more history and anecdotes about Ancient Rome. Our guides use overlay books and 3D pictures to show you how each column, temple and building used to look like at that time. You will understand what those ruins used to represent, linking them to the main characters and events of Ancient Rome’s history.

At the end of the tour, you will return back to the starting point and from there can proceed with the rest of your day.

What's Included
  • Entrance to Palatine Hill
  • Colosseum reservation fee (€2 per person)
  • Tour guide and headphones
  • Colosseum entrance ticket with arena access (€24 per person)
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Transportation to/from attractions
  • Food and drinks
Additional Information

VIP Colosseum sharing tour with access through the Gladiator’ Arch and to the Arena floor. Follow the footsteps of the Gladiators by accessing the Colosseum through the Gladiators’ Gate known as the Gate of the Deaths because the death gladiators were brought out after their combats in the roman times! Enjoy a great view of the Colosseum and the below dungeons from the restricted area of the Arena Floor. Your guide will guide you through the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum and share with you many stories and secrets of the roman gladiators. emperors and senators. Your storytelling guide will use during the tour many visual aids to bring past Rome back to life! This tour includes the Colosseum with the restricted area of the Arena Floor, as well as the archaeological sites of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill! Its is a sharing tour in a small group with a dedicated friendly professional guide.

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking.
  • Most travelers can participate. Not wheelchair accessible. Please note that due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not suitable for any persons with disabilities.
  • Please Note: to access the Colosseum you need to add in your reservation the exact name and last name of all participants in your group and children need to be specified. In case of mistake in writing your name and last name in your reservation, if the Colosseum tickets controllers deny the access due to the wrong name and last name we decline any responsibility and NO REFUND will be provided.
  • The entrance tickets to the Colosseum cannot be changed nor refunded. 
  • ID mandatory. Each traveler must present a valid ID card or document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Guests who show up without ID cannot be guaranteed entrance.
  • Please note: by purchasing this tour you accept our Terms and Conditions and you are aware that in case of late arrival you will lose your tour and no refund will be given for no show or for late arrival.
  • Meeting time is subject to change; if this occurs, you will receive a call or message from the activity provider. Please provide your correct phone number and country code.
  • Please show up at least 15 minutes before the tour to do the check in.
  • There might be a change in order of the itinerary due to security and ticket availability.
  • Please be aware that to enter the Colosseum it is necessary to pass a metal detector security check. No visitor can avoid these checks.
  • Please make sure you bring comfortable shoes and a refillable plastic water bottle especially during hot weather! In summer time due to the heat the tour might last about 2 hours.
  • Near public transportation.
  • Normal sized backpacks are permitted, huge backpacks will not be admitted. Not allowed: Pets, weapons or sharp objects, oversized luggage, smoking, alcohol or drugs, sprays or aerosols, glassware, unaccompanied minors, electric wheelchairs.
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers.
Location
Santi Cosma e Damiano
Via dei Fori Imperiali
The meeting point is in the square in front, OUTSIDE, of the Basilica of Santi Cosma and Damiano, the church is located on Via dei Fori Imperiali (half way) & is close the entrance of the Roman Forum. You will see our staff in front of the Basilica wearing a uniform with the logos of the company.
Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 10 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 10 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(4194 Ratings)
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Wendy_k
Jul 15, 2024
Coliseum tour - We loved our tour! Marco was a great guide! Very passionate and full of information. We would definitely recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Kylie_c
Jul 15, 2024
Colloseum Experience - Tour guide Marcos was amazing! An amazing tour guide for visitors to Rome. He has a world of knowledge and is very passionate about what he does. Thank you
Review provided by Viator
Christine_e
Jul 14, 2024
Great tour! Paula was an amazing tour guide! - Paula was an amazing tour guide. Tons of great information and was so pleasant to talk with. Highly recommend, what a great tour!
Review provided by Viator
Carl_g
Jul 11, 2024
Colloseum tour with Marcus - Marcus the tour guide was brilliant. Very informative, kept the group entertained with facts, and clearly had a true passion for history. The booking process was simple and the getting point was easy to find, with zero queuing at the colloseum. All round great experience.
Review provided by Viator
315anikap
Jul 8, 2024
Amazing Guide Immersed us in the Life of the Ancient Romans - Our tour with Marcius was absolutely the highlight of our time in Rome! He was incredibly knowledgeable, able to answer every question thrown his way, and really tried to get us to imagine what life was like in Ancient Rome. His passion for his work shines through every story he tells, and I would recommend this tour to anyone!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emma_s
Jul 5, 2024
Excellent - Our guide was fantastic. Marcius. He was knowledgeable, gave us time to absorb the experience and he was so passionate about the history.
Review provided by Viator
Vicki_m
Jul 6, 2024
Colosseum Tour - The colosseum tour was great however we didn't get to go into the arena even though it was supposed to be part of the tour. Our guide Marcus was very knowledgeable and made the tour fun.
Review provided by Viator
Andrea_s
Jul 5, 2024
Not what we expected - This tour was not what we expected. Our time was pushed back by an hour, which was fine. We also got a message that the arena part of our tour was canceled, also not a big deal. The issue was that this tour was supposed to be 2.5 hours but we spent the first 2 hours walking around the sites next to the Colosseum which in my opinion was too long. When we finally got to the Colosseum entrance, our tour guide told us it would be another hour waiting in line before we would get in. It was 100 degrees outside and we couldn't bear another hour of the heat so we ended up backing out of the rest of the tour. Disappointed. This tour would have probably ended up being close to 4 hours or more if we had continued, which is not what we expected.
Review provided by Viator
Brandy_l
Jul 11, 2024
Viator and Vivicostravel FAILED - Would leave zero stars if I could. Worst experience as we didn’t even get to use our tickets. The wrong meeting point was listed (either by Viator or VivicosTravel )… had us across the street and 50 yards away. After trying to locate the correct meeting point for many minutes we just happened to find “a guy on the side of the road (not in the indicated meeting spot)” who told us we were late and couldn’t meet the rest of the group. He said he would send us a pdf of our tickets and we could enter at “the right side”. Again, loose instructions… not sure the right side of what. We get up to scan our tickets and they would not allow us in. $504 wasted and zero compensation from Viator or this tour operator. Total scam and total disappointment as we have over $2000 in tours booked with Viator. Never again.
Review provided by Viator
Ryan_c
Jul 8, 2024
Got a call the day before... - Got a call the day before to say it was not available a shame so went to Rome and missed out on the coliseum
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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