If you’re planning on heading to Rome, you have to visit the Colosseum. And what better way than to buy tickets for a guided tour? But finding the best tour can be tricky, so we’ve come up with the following list of the best Colosseum tours.
To create this list, we had to ask ourselves what makes a good Colosseum tour in Rome. Well, the best Colosseum tours show you as much as possible, have educated guides who answer any questions, and (maybe most importantly) offer skip-the-line tickets to avoid waiting in line for hours to get tickets.
With all that in mind, we’ve created the following list. Here’s a quick look at the tours. We’ll go into more detail below to make your decision-making process as easy as possible. The best Colosseum Tours are:
- Ancient Rome Colosseum Underground — Best Comprehensive Tour
- Skip the Line: Colosseum Official Guided Tour — Express Tour
- Colosseum VIP Early Morning Small Group Tour— Small-Group Tour
- Ancient Rome Colosseum Private Tour — Private Tour
- Ancient Rome and Colosseum Half-Day Walking Tour — History Tour
- Colosseum Under the Moonlight— Night Tour
- Skip the Line: Colosseum and Roman Forum for Kids — Tour for Kids
- Rome Sightseeing Pass: Vatican & Ancient Rome — Self-Guided Tour
- Rome Super Saver: Colosseum and Ancient Rome — Combo Tour
Best Colosseum Tours And Tickets
Best Comprehensive Tour: Ancient Rome Colosseum Underground & Roman Forum
When in Rome, one of the things that you just have to do at least once is touring the Colosseum and surrounding landmarks of Ancient Rome. You’ve read about them at school and seen them on TV, and now it’s time to check them out up close and personal with your own two eyes.
There are endless tour options for this while you’re there, but let’s cut to the chase. The best comprehensive tour around is the Ancient Rome Colosseum Underground Tour. This VIP access tour is a 3 ½ to 4-hour journey through the heart of Rome, granting unprecedented access to the Colosseum and the complex labyrinth underneath it that few have seen before.
It also includes admission to and a guided tour of Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum as a bonus, but the VIP Colosseum access is the real treat here. The tour prices vary based on when you book it and how many people are in your party, but expect to pay around $120 per person. But with the access it gives you, in conjunction with skipping all the lines, it’s worth every penny.
Head straight to the iconic Colosseum and meet up with your tour guide. They’ll take you right past those multiple-hour lines and up through a quick security check before you head into the Colosseum tour in one of the most iconic landmarks in the world. With this tour, you will be afforded VIP access to the arena floor and the entire underground area under the arena floor.
You can really dive into the fascinating history and get a feel for what the Ancient Roman games were all about and what participants went through before they began. After finishing up at the Colosseum, you and your group will be directed to Palatine Hill and the nearby Roman Forum to truly take in all of Rome’s major landmarks.
Palatine Hill was once the home of many of the most important political figures of the Roman Empire, and the remaining ruins give you a glimpse of their lifestyle all these years later. You’ll be shown the Roman Forum at the base of the hill, with its impressive columns and beams towering overhead. All-encompassing, this tour truly has it all.
Book your tour with GetYourGuide here.
Best Colosseum Express Tour: Skip the Line: Colosseum Official Guided Tour
Some people don’t enjoy the multiple hours that many tour guides spend walking you through every aspect of an attraction. And when it’s something like Ancient Rome, sometimes you just want to learn what you can and then be able to look around on your own. That’s where express tours come in, and the best one to book in Rome is the Colosseum Official Guided Tour offered by the Rome Museum.
This Colosseum express tour costs less than $70 per person (making it the cheapest tour on this list) and includes a 45-minute guided tour of the Colosseum with skip-the-line access. It also grants you access to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, all with skip-the-line entry. There is also the option to purchase a guided tour of the additional two attractions.
For the Colosseum Official Guided Tour, your guide will take you on a quick journey through the Colosseum, showing you the full arena in under an hour. But don’t let that worry you—these tour operators are trained to give express tours, and you’ll still get the full experience!
Once the guided portion is over, you can head to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum and experience them at your own pace. This tour is the best of both worlds, giving you a guided experience while also letting you explore on your own. Book the express tour here today.
Best Small-Group Tour: Colo
If you’re traveling to Rome with a small group of friends or family, the Colosseum VIP Early Morning Small Group Tour is a great option. This semi-private tour (or private if you have 7 people) is the best colosseum tour to hear stories about the gladiatorial games. And you get exclusive access early in the morning to beat the crowd before all the other Colosseum tours begin.
If this sounds like your type, you need to check out the Colosseum VIP Early Morning Small Group Tour. The 75-minute Colosseum VIP Early Morning Small Group Tour starts at the Colosseum and, best yet, includes skip-the-line tickets with direct access to the Colosseum with your purchase. So, no waiting in lines!
This small-group tour begins at the Colosseum and grants you and your group much of the same access to the Colosseum Underground as the best comprehensive tour listed above. Very few tours in Rome will give you the VIP access these two options offer, and you’ll experience something few have.
After leaving the Colosseum, you and your group can visit the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill to learn about ancient Roman history. Don’t wait; book your Colosseum VIP Early Morning Small Group Tour today!
Best Private Tour: Ancient Rome and Colosseum Private Tour
Vera / stock.adobe.com
One of the best ways to tackle any experience, especially something as rich with history and excitement as a Colosseum tour and Ancient Rome, is to do so privately. And with all the different tour options in Rome, there is no shortage of private tours. Our recommendation for the best private tour of the area is the Ancient Rome and Colosseum Private Tour.
Ancient Rome and Colosseum Private Tour is a 3 ½ tour through Rome’s most famous attractions. Your private group will see the Colosseum, the Forum, and Palatine Hill with your private tour guide on this Colosseum tour. Offered from GetYourGuide, the tour costs around $140 per person and includes coveted skip-the-line access and fast-track entry, so you aren’t wasting half your day waiting in lines!
Once on the tour, your guide will direct you through the Colosseum, explaining the rich history of the largest amphitheater. Then, the tour will take you to the Colosseum’s underground and the gladiator’s entrance. You’ll likely spend around two hours here just to take it all in. After the Colosseum tour, the guide will lead you to the Forum and Palatine Hill.
For the last hour or so, you’ll learn all about Rome’s history and get a chance to explore these ancient ruins with just your private guide. It is a wonderful way to tour the archaeological area of the Colosseum in Rome without all the fuss.
Book your Ancient Rome and Colosseum Private Tour before it sells out.
Best History Tour: Ancient Rome and Colosseum Half-Day Walking Tour (also Private)
If you want to learn all the history of the important sites on a Colosseum tour, then the Ancient Rome and Colosseum Half-Day Walking Tour is for you. This skip-the-line Ancient Rome and Colosseum half-day walking tour is one of the best ways to experience the city.
If you have trouble spending three hours walking, you might want to consider one of the other Colosseum tours. But for those who don’t mind, you’re in for a treat! A private guide will take you through Rome’s most famous attractions and landmarks. You’ll see the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Piazza Venezia, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona all in one visit.
This is one of the best Colosseum tours in Rome because it covers many great things to see and do in Rome. Having a guide explain each historic site and ancient monument, including the Colosseum Roman Forum, is a real treat!
The prices vary for this tour, but you can expect to pay about $250-$300 per tour for your group. So it is not cheap, but no other tour in Rome will let you see anything close to this many things. Especially not with the expert guidance of a professional tour.
Although it’s expensive and involves a lot of walking, we highly recommend booking this tour if you can afford it! It’ll be well worth it.
Best Night Tour: Colosseum Under the Moonlight
Of all the Colosseum tours, this is one of the most unique. Here, you get to experience the Rome Colosseum tour under the moonlight without crowds. There’s just something special about seeing these impressive places and learning the fascinating history under the light of the stars and the moon.
The Colosseum Under the Moonlight tour takes you through the Colosseum arena floor, Gladiator’s gate, and teaches you about the ancient Romans. As a bonus, all tickets purchased for this tour allow you to skip the line! As of 2023, this tour costs about $90 per ticket on GetYourGuide.
Colosseum Under the Moonlight starts at Cafe Roma near the Colosseum, where you’ll meet up with your private guide. You’ll head to the Colosseum Gladiator’s gate, where your priority access gives you skip-line access to the Colosseum. Your guide will then teach you all about the historic sites.
If you’ve ever toured it before during the day, you’ll have a completely different experience doing so at night. The quiet. The looming size. The stars are in the background. It’s a surreal experience.
Book the Colosseum Under the Moonlight for an unforgettable experience! This great tour sells out fast.
Best Tour for Kids: Skip-the-Lines Colosseum and Roman Forum for Kids
Bringing your kids along for a Colosseum tour and seeing other parts of Ancient Rome is a great experience for everyone involved. You get to spend valuable time with your children in some of the most important historical places, and they learn all about it firsthand. But what’s the worst thing that can happen while traveling with kids?
The lines! Thankfully, the Colosseum and Roman Forum for Kids tour includes two-day skip-the-line access for everyone, so do not wait in line with an antsy toddler! And if you need to leave, you can return the next day. This tour is best booked through Viator, where you can expect to pay an average of around $90 per person in your family, but prices will vary depending on age and how many people are in the group.
This roughly 2 ½ tour will take your family on a guided adventure through the Colosseum and the incredible Roman Forum. It also includes a guide specializing in leading tours with families and children, so it won’t just be a monotonous guide spewing history!
You and your family just need to head to the Colosseum to meet up with your guide. They will take you past long lines and right through security before entering one of the most impressive arenas ever, the Colosseum.
The guide will tell you and your kids the enchanted history of the arena, teaching them about its importance and the gladiators who put their lives on the line. You even get to walk on the arena floor. Once you’ve finished the visit to the Colosseum, the tour guide will lead you and your family to the nearby Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.
Here, the guide will teach your family all about the history of Roman society — including the politics, of course — as you walk along the cobblestone streets. The best part of this Rome Colosseum tour? The tickets for this tour are valid for two days, so you and your family could come back to see more later. You just wouldn’t get the guided experience again.
Book the Colosseum and Roman Forum for Kids tour on Viator today!
Best Self-Guided Tour: Rome Sightseeing Pass: Vatican & Ancient Rome
If you don’t want one of the guided Colosseum tours, you can still see the Forum and Palatine Hill sights without all the fuss. A self-guided tour is a great option. The best way to do this is with a Rome Sightseeing Pass.
So what is a Rome Sightseeing Pass, and how does it work? As its name implies, the Rome Sightseeing Pass is an all-inclusive pass to visit some of Rome’s most iconic landmarks without needing separate tickets for each attraction. The all-in-one pass grants the holder skip-the-line access to Rome’s best sites, including the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, the museums at the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica at your own pace.
The price can’t be beaten at around $100 on Viator, especially considering that you get to see a lot of sights around the Eternal City and Vatican Museums! But remember that the Rome Sightseeing Pass is only valid for two days, so you’ll want to make the most of it. We recommend exploring much of Ancient Rome on the first day and then going into the Vatican the next.
So start your tour at the Colosseum before heading to the nearby Palatine Hill and Roman Forum. Spend an hour or two at each to take it all in.
The following day, you should explore the Vatican museums. The Vatican is home to its typical museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.
So you can see why you’ll need a whole day to experience everything it has to offer. But with the Rome Sightseeing Pass, you can take your time and enjoy each of the attractions you visit with free admission included in your ticket.
Best Combo Tour: Rome Super Saver: Colosseum and Ancient Rome
The best way to tour much of Rome is to take advantage of combo deals to save money and see more historic sites. Although touring a few different attractions all on the same day can certainly be tiring, you’ll get the best bang for your buck and also have more things to experience.
Our favorite is the Rome Super Saver: Colosseum and Ancient Rome tour. As the name implies, the Rome Super Saver: Colosseum and Ancient Rome offering combines the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, and the arena floor.
This tour includes skip-the-line access to the Colosseum, the arena floor, Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, and more. Tickets for this deal can be difficult to come by as they aren’t always offered. But when they are, you can score Super Saver tickets for under $100 per person.
Starting at the Colosseum, your expert guide will take you through the arena’s history, showing you its impressive construction and everything the gladiators had to deal with as they prepared to fight for their lives.
Afterward, you and your guide will head to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill to check out its massive size and get an idea of its historical importance while also getting a glimpse into the history of Roman politics. On this hill, you get the best vantage point to see the ruins of the homes and buildings of some of the most influential people in Roman history.
Book the Rome Super Saver: Colosseum and Ancient Rome Colosseum tour today!
Related Resources
