Choosing The Best Colosseum Tour in Rome, Italy

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

During our recent trip to France and Italy, we spent five amazing days in Rome. We saw several iconic historical sites, including the Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Colosseum. We learned a lot about the process of visiting the Colosseum first-hand. I thought I would share some helpful ideas about choosing the best Colosseum tour for your group. That way, when you travel to Rome, you’ll be fully prepared for this bucket list experience!

READ: 10 Things We Learned While Visiting The Colosseum

What Is The Best Colosseum Tour in Rome?

Choosing the best Colosseum tour can be a little tricky because there are so many different tour options. So, I want to cover some helpful topics so you have all the information you need to choose the best Colosseum tour for your specific group’s wants and needs.

In this travel blog post, I’ll cover some things like:

Deciding if you want a guided tour
The Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill tickets
Tour scheduling, language, and group size
Special access tickets for Floor and Underground
Top-rated Colosseum tours I recommend

Should You Take A Colosseum Guided Tour?

First, you need to determine if a guided tour is right for your group. You can certainly purchase a ticket for yourself to visit the Colosseum without being in a group. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you can also book a tour with only an audio guide.

I’ll go over a few reasons why you probably want to take a guided tour, especially if it’s your first visit to Rome and you are traveling with kids.

Reasons to Book a Colosseum Guided Tour

In my opinion, the best Colosseum tour is one that matches your interests, budget, and time. It should make navigating the Colosseum and Roman Forum easy and provide a great overview of both sites’ fascinating histories. What does this look like?

#1 The Best Colosseum Tour Helps You Navigate

Like most famous destinations in Rome, the scope and scale of the place can be overwhelming. The Colosseum is busy, and during peak summer season, like when we visited, navigating the crowds can be daunting. To be honest, it was significantly more overwhelming than the other sites we visited. So, if you want to pick one guided tour, this may be it!

To access the Colosseum, you’ll need to find certain entry lines and pass through security. While inside the Roman Colosseum, you’ll need to locate stairwells in order to move between the two floors. Having a guide can eliminate these problems as you are following a leader who is an expert in getting around in this busy environment. They will get you into the correct line, help you find bathrooms and water fountains, and get you to the places you need to see.

I want to talk briefly about “Skip the Line” Colosseum tour tickets. You’ll see this term listed on most of the guided tour descriptions. “Skip the Line” means you won’t have to wait in the general admission line at a Colosseum entrance. However, you will still have to wait in a line designated for the guided tour groups. This line will probably be shorter, but there will still be a line. On our tour, we waited in line about 10 minutes.

#2 The Best Colosseum Tours Make History Come Alive

An important reason to book a Colosseum guided tour is because of the facts and information a guide will present to you.

As you can imagine, the Colosseum is a history buff’s dream, and its millennia-long timeline is filled with amazing facts and stories. A good guide will weave these stories together with fascinating details to make your tour engaging and fun. They also give a lot of information on the structure, its design and architecture, partial destruction, and revival over the centuries.

Our guide brought the visit to life by sharing a lot of details about the gladiators who fought in the arena and the amazing shows that took place in the arena before a cheering crowd of Roman citizens.

Why We Booked A Guided Colosseum Tour

We felt we needed to take a guided tour because we didn’t have a good understanding of the Colosseum or Roman Forum. It was our first visit to Rome! We wouldn’t be able to maximize our experience unless we had someone pointing out the important historical details and context. Matt and I also wanted to make the experience fun, engaging, and rewarding for our teenagers.

For us, spending the extra money on a guide was well worth it, as it helped us get the most out of our time in this iconic place.

The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Are Included With Colosseum Tickets

The Colosseum tickets include entry to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill is a large archeological park situated directly west of the Colosseum.

It’s a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations. It contains many important buildings, palaces, temples, and public spaces that were at the heart of ancient Rome. Just west of the Colosseum, there are two entrances to the Roman Forum: Via della Salara Vecchia and Via di San Gregorio.

Colosseum tickets will give you access to both the Colosseum and Roman Forum for a 24-hour period. Although you need to select a Colosseum time slot when buying tickets, your ticket doesn’t require you to visit both of them, nor do most tickets mandate you visit the sites in a certain order.

However, I believe almost all Colosseum guided tours will start at the Colosseum and then take the group through the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill afterward. That is how ours worked! Then, once the tour “ends,” you can still enjoy exploring these areas on your own. And yes, there is a snack bar there (read where here).

We visited the Roman Forum with our tour and really enjoyed it. We love open-air archeological ruins, and this one is certainly massive! It reminded us a lot of visiting the agora of ancient Athens.

Factors To Consider When Selecting The Best Colosseum Tour For You

When choosing the best colosseum tour, you’ll want to take into consideration all the factors that are relevant to your group. Here, I’ll go over these different factors and give you some insight into making the best decision.

After this, I am going to include specific links to the best Colosseum Tour that I recommend for each section!

#1 Colosseum Tour Scheduling

Book your Colosseum tour as far in advance as you can. Peak times like summer and some holidays will book up fast. In July and August, many tours are limited to around 2 hours (down from the normal 2.5 -3 hours) because of the summer heat.

Most tours will start sometime between 8:30 AM and 3:00 PM, depending upon availability. We recommend a morning time start to try to beat the heat, as you will be doing a lot of walking.

If your plans change and you need to cancel your booking, most of the tickets sold through sites like Get Your Guide (our preferred site) allow for cancellations and full or partial refunds if needed. Check each tour’s terms out before purchasing.

#2 Colosseum Tour Language

Be sure to select the correct language when booking. Both Viator and Get Your Guide offer tours in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German. Some language selections will impact tour availability.

#3 Colosseum Tour Group Size

The group size you select will greatly affect the tour price. The smaller the group, the more exclusive and expensive the tour will be. Smaller groups also allow for a better tour experience. A smaller group-to-guide ratio means you can ask more questions, stand closer to your guide, and generally experience a more intimate listening and learning environment.

Standard Colosseum Tours

The standard size of most tours is around 25 people. However, it’s pretty common for tours not to book up completely (or have cancellations and no-shows), leading to smaller group sizes. You may get lucky and pay for a regular ticket and get a small group experience (but don’t count on it).

Small Group Tours

If you purchase a small group tour (sometimes called semi-private), the group size will generally be limited to around 12 people. These tours are a great middle ground, giving you many of the upsides of being in a smaller, more intimate group while not being as expensive as a completely private tour.

Private Colosseum Tours

A private tour is the most expensive and most exclusive option. On these tours, the guide works with only your group. It is such a fantastic way to see the Colosseum! I think it would be well worth the cost to experience this amazing place in such a memorable way.

#4 Special Access to Arena Floor or Underground

All Colosseum tours include access to the first (ground) and second (upper) story of the structure. For an extra fee, you can purchase special tickets that give you access to the partly rebuilt “Floor” of the arena.

Similarly, you can buy tickets to the “Underground” (or “Dungeon”) portion of the Colosseum, which is below the arena floor. Some tours package both the Floor and Underground together and call it a “full experience” ticket. I will link a bunch of options in the next section!

Colosseum Floor Tickets

The Colloseum floor is partially restored and covers only a portion of what would have been the full floor when the arena was operational. Two thousand years ago, it was made of wood layered with sand. This is the floor upon which the gladiators battled, chariots rode, and occasionally wild animals fought.

We bought tickets that gave us access to the Colosseum arena floor, and it was so much fun! We stepped out onto the floor where the gladiators fought and got a feel for what it might have been like standing before the cheering crowds in antiquity. And we were able to get so many fantastic pictures!

Colosseum Underground Tickets

Below the arena floor is the “Underground.” The underground was a network of corridors and chambers where people, animals, and supplies were kept for the games. Special access allows you to explore the maze of tunnels, rooms, and cages used to prepare weapons, combatants, and animals before entering the gladiator’s arena.

Colosseum underground tours give you insight into the use of the underground as well as the novel engineering systems built to support these complex theatrical displays.

The Best Colosseum Tour Options

Now, I wanted to provide you with a list of what I think are the best colosseum tours available on large third-party guided tour sites. These Coloseum tours are popular and have predominantly positive guest reviews. They are rated at least 4.0 out of 5.0 stars.

Also, you need to click on each link and go into the tour booking section to select the ticket option you want and the days of your visit to get the most accurate pricing for each.

Colosseum + Roman Forum Palatine Hill

These top-rated Colosseum tours take you to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. This is more or less the basic regular group tour option.

Colosseum + Roman Forum Palatine Hill + Arena Floor

These top Colosseum tours take you to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill and include special access to the Colosseum Floor. This is what our family did while on our family trip to Italy!

Colosseum + Roman Forum Palatine Hill + Floor + Underground

These popular Colosseum tours take you to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill and include special access to the Colosseum Floor and the Underground. This means you get to see it all while visiting the Colosseum!

Small Group Tours Of The Colosseum

Looking for a smaller group experience? These Colosseum tours are small group tours and take you to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.

Private Colosseum Group Tours

If you have a higher budget and would benefit from a more exclusive experience, these Colosseum tours are private and take you to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. The first one also includes access to special areas like the underground.

Audio Tour – Colosseum + Roman Forum + Palatine Hill

If you don’t want to follow an actual guide, an audio tour may be the best for you. This top-rated Colosseum tour is audio-only and includes the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. This is essential an entry ticket to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill with a self guided audio guide.

Entry Tickets: Colosseum with Audio Guide

Selecting The Best Colosseum Tour For You

Should you make time to visit the Colosseum while in Rome? Of course!

It’s incredible to experience the legacy of the Roman Empire as it echoes down the halls of time. As your family wanders among the ruins, you’ll see the once mighty stone facades, arches, and pillars now crumbling under the weight of millennia. Seeing the ruins is a humbling reminder of the immensity of the arc of history and a testament to humankind’s creative ingenuity in undertaking great works and forging content-spanning empires.

If you want to stand on the same dirt ground as gladiators or walk atop the plazas of politicians, a guided tour of the Colosseum can transport you there!

But don’t feel overwhelmed! Finding the best Colosseum tour for your family requires a little preparation, reading, and an understanding of what is important to the members of your group. But, once you understand the different types of Colosseum tours, you can’t go wrong with any of the ones I linked above.

Hopefully, this post gave you some insight into how to select the best Colosseum tour. With this knowledge, I know your trip will be as memorable as ours was.