Colosseum & Roman Forum with Regular, Arena or Underground Entry
Description
Enjoy a premium tour of Ancient Rome, combining a guided visit of the Roman Forum & Palatine Hill with one of two ways to visit the Colosseum: Guided or Independent entry. 1. Choose the "Arena" or "Underground" options if you want to enter the Colosseum with your guide following a guided-group itinerary, with either Arena or Underground access depending on the option selected at booking. 2. Choose the more flexible "Freedom Experience" if you prefer to explore the Colosseum at your own pace without being tied to a group itinerary. Your guide will explain it in depth from selected outside viewpoints, then you will enter independently with your included Roma Pass (no Arena/Underground access). This option includes 48-hours unlimited public transport within Rome. In both versions, your guide will bring Ancient Rome and the world of gladiators to life, explaining how the Colosseum was built, how the games worked, where gladiators trained, and why it became the symbol of Imperial Rome.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Guided Interior Visit: Begin your journey inside the Roman Forum, the political, religious, and commercial heart of Ancient Rome. Walking among temples, basilicas, triumphal arches, and ancient streets, your guide will help you imagine the Forum as it once was: a vibrant centre of power, public life, ceremonies, speeches, and imperial ambition. This is where Rome’s history becomes tangible. Hear about the Vestal Virgins and see their gardens and the pagan temple of the Goddess Vesta they served. Learn about the Basilica Julia and the penal system of Ancient Rome and its effects on Christianity. See the temple of Castor and Pollux and the Arch of Titus and learn about the sacking of Jerusalem. Discover the Senate House, where senators met to decide the fate of the Roman Republic and how that climaxed with the murder and cremation of Julius Caesar.
Guided Interior Visit: Continue to the Palatine Hill, the legendary birthplace of Rome and later the most exclusive address of the ancient world. Here, emperors built their palaces above the city, surrounded by gardens, courtyards, and spectacular views. Your guide will reveal the myths, power struggles, and imperial lifestyles connected to this extraordinary hill. From the heights of the Hill, enjoy a bird's eye view over the Roman Forum and what is considered to have been the largest structure for public games ever built by mankind, the Circus Maximus.
Exterior Stop: Start the second part of your tour by pausing at the Arch of Constantine, one of Rome’s most impressive triumphal monuments. Standing between the Colosseum and the ancient city, this richly decorated arch tells a story of victory, propaganda, and transformation. Your guide will explain why it was built, what its sculptures reveal, and how it marks a key turning point in Roman history.
Choose Your Preferred Option at booking: For the Colosseum part of the tour, choose the experience that best fits your style. Select the "Arena" or "Underground" options if you want to enter the Colosseum with your guide and follow a guided itinerary inside the monument, with Arena or Underground access depending on the option selected. Select the "Colosseum Freedom Experience" option if you prefer a more flexible formula: your guide will explain the Colosseum in depth from selected exterior viewpoints, then you will enter independently with your included Roma Pass (with 2-day public transport included) The exterior option gives you both the context of a premium guided tour and the freedom to explore independently (guests on an interior tour are not allowed to leave the guided group and visit freely). You can move at your own pace, pause where you want, take photos, and enjoy the monument without being tied to a group itinerary or rushed through timed sections.
Only with option "Colosseum Freedom Experience". See the remains of the Ludus Magnus, the ancient gladiator training school located just steps from the Colosseum. This fascinating site reveals the hidden world behind the games: where gladiators lived, trained, prepared, and waited before entering the arena. It adds a more human and dramatic perspective to the story of the Colosseum and the people who fought there.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- IMPORTANT: Please provide the full names of all travellers (specifying who is younger than 18). Missing/wrong information may result in denied entry.
- Please make sure to provide the names exactly as they appear on the ID or passport.
- Each participant will be asked to present a valid passport or ID card, at the entrance of Roman Forum / Colosseum, that matches the name provided at the time of booking.
- You will pass through strict security checks both at the Colosseum and at the Roman Forum entrance. Please be aware that security check lines are not skippable.
- A moderate amount of walking and steps are involved; wear comfortable walking shoes
- Please be at the meeting point 30 minutes before the tour starts in order to complete the signup. We might not be able to accommodate, refund or reschedule late arrivals
- This tour is subject to favorable weather conditions. If canceled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund
- Flying drones and knives of any kind are strictly forbidden. Neither trolleys and big backpacks nor animals are allowed into the Colosseum. Glass/metal containers and sprays of any kind are also not allowed.
Reviews(5,297)
A misleading tour. Basically it was walking tour of the ruins and then access to the entrance of the arena with no full tour of the Coliseum and very restricted access - if you want to go the upper levels or underground you need to purchase a separate ticket and go yourself. I did a night walking tour of Rome that was more informative and better value for money. If you want to see the Coliseum properly avoid this tour.
So much to take in on this tour. Our guide was great. He took good care of our group and was very knowledgeable.
Thank you! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our guided tour.
Excellent guide. So knowledgeable. Explained everything and made sure to point out the most important things in the Vatican.
Thank you, we are delighted to hear that you enjoyed our tour!
Dona was fantastic. Recommend booking in the morning if in the summer because it was very hot. Great tour
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our guided tour with Dona!
Me and my husband had a wonderful day on our tour! Our guide Filippo was extremely knowledgeable and made our experience unforgettable! I would highly recommend him and when we come back we would try to request him again! He truly made our tour so enjoyable and we learned so much about the Roman history it was great.
Thank you! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our guided tour with Filippo!!
While our actual tour guide, Donnatella, was fabulous, unfortunately the experience was not what I booked. A week before the tour, I was contacted by touriks to inform of a change to itinerary beyond their control for colosseum entrance. I appreciated the communication and the small discount offered to compensate. Then the day before the tour, I was contacted again, asking if I wanted to change to a free upgraded tour in exchange for touring later in the day. I declined due to plans and hot weather, noting we’d like to stick to our original morning tour time of 8:45. They confirmed and advised to now meet at 9:10. The tour did not head out until 9:20 and included 2 hours in the forum before allowing us to tour the colosseum on our own (the change they had first informed me of). Again, our tour guide was great but the logistics and multiple changes did not leave me with what I had planned and paid for
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re glad to hear that Donatella was fabulous and that you enjoyed having her as your guide. We’re sorry that the tour started a bit later than scheduled, and we understand that this was frustrating, particularly given your plans for the morning. We do appreciate your feedback regarding the logistics and the delay. Regarding the itinerary, we understand your disappointment with the changes. The tour you ultimately took was still the 3-hour guided experience you had booked, beginning with a guided visit to the Roman Forum and continuing with the Colosseum. We also appreciate your understanding when we initially informed you of the changes to the Colosseum entrance, and we provided a partial refund as an additional gesture to compensate for the inconvenience. We’re sorry that the experience did not fully meet your expectations, and we genuinely appreciate your feedback. We will certainly take it into consideration as we continue working to improve the organization and communication of our tours.
we had a wonderful guide, very informative
Thank you! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our tour :)
Pros: Tour guide was good, and the changed MEETING location was well-communicated and was easy to find (for us, the others in our tour were unaware of the changed location, though) Cons: Listing and what we purchased was very misleading. What we had selected said “Underground” but our guide said we only had “Arena”. This ONLY included the Arena, NOT the entire Colosseum (going around and onto the other floors where we saw all of the other tourists with other tickets accessing). Very disappointing considering the amount of money we spent. Note that after booking, our voucher stated “Underground, Arena, OR Regular entry”
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're glad to hear you enjoyed your guide and that the updated meeting point was easy for you to find. We're sorry to hear you were disappointed by the ticket access. After reviewing your booking, we can confirm that the option selected at the time of purchase was the Arena ticket, which includes access to the Arena floor but not the Underground or other areas. We appreciate your feedback about the listing and voucher wording, and we'll review how this information is presented to help make the distinctions between ticket options clearer for future guests. Thank you again for your comments, and we hope you enjoyed the rest of your visit to Rome.
The contact persons from Tripadvisor / TOURIKS were absolutely reliable, very friendly, and competent. They took care of every detail in a highly professional manner. Our city guide, "Super" Mario, was great: knowledgeable, humorous, he spoke excellent English at the right pace. We learned a lot and really enjoyed the tour.
Thank you for your review, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our tour with Mario!
Get a guide! There is so much history here and if you travel all this way to see it and learn about it, spend the extra to get a guided tour. Our guide was so knowledgeable and friendly! Gave us such a great picture of ancient Roman life. We had direct access to the sites. Incredible tour!
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Colosseum and Forum guided tour!
