Rome Private Guides

A Rome-based guiding company with tours across Italy, Barcelona and Paris

Rome Private Guides runs private, semi-private and small-group guided tours from an office at Via Vespasiano 28 in Rome. Its destination menu covers Rome, the Vatican and the Colosseum, Florence, Venice and Naples in Italy, plus Barcelona and Paris. The About page says the company was "founded by Vivianna, drawing on her over 22 years of dedicated experience in the tourism industry, initially as a tour guide across Italy and Spain and later becoming a licensed guide in Rome and the Vatican Museums." It describes "guided tours led exclusively by fully-licensed professionals" and says "We are fully accredited at all major monuments and sites in our destinations." The homepage headline is "Luxury Private guides in Rome."

The site does not show prices on any of the tour listing pages; each tour card gives a title, a short description and a duration.

Private tours

The private tours list is long. In Rome it includes the Colosseum and Ancient Rome Private Tour, which the site calls "our bestselling private tour," covering the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill in 3 hours "with pre-booked access and a top private guide," a Gladiators' Entrance Colosseum tour with arena access, the Best of the Vatican Private Guided Tour (3 hours, "skip the line tickets"), an Early Entrance Vatican Private Tour "at the opening hour," and a 5-hour Vatican Extended Tour with "special access to the Niccoline Chapel and Bramante Staircase." There are themed walks (Caravaggio and Bernini, Christian relics, St. Paul, Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto, a ghost tour, Rome Underground), a market food tour, a golf cart tour, driving tours and a Rome in a Day tour of 7 hours "with an English-speaking private guide."

Day trips from Rome go to Tivoli (6 hours), Ostia Antica (4 hours), Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio (10 hours) and Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast (12 hours), and there is a 9-hour Rome and Vatican shore trip from Civitavecchia. In Florence the menu lists a 3-hour highlights tour with access to Michelangelo's David, a 2-hour Uffizi tour, the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, a 6-hour Florence in a Day, and day trips to Pisa and Lucca (8 hours) and to Siena, San Gimignano and Chianti (9 hours). Naples has a 4-hour walking tour, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and a VIP shore excursion. Venice has a 2-hour walking tour and a 2-hour Jewish Ghetto tour, Barcelona a 2-hour Sagrada Família tour, and Paris a 1.5-hour Eiffel Tower tour with second floor or summit access. Not every day trip is fully guided: the Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio trip is "accompanied by a friendly, private driver," and "History lovers can even choose to add a private guide in Orvieto," while the Pompeii and Amalfi Coast day from Rome pairs a private driver with a private guided tour inside Pompeii. There is also a 1.5-hour Rome Airport Transfer with Tour with a driver-guide.

The homepage sells the Vatican visit hardest, promising "Michelangelo's Last Judgment and Raphael's paintings," "the Apollo of Belvedere and the Laocoon," and a Basilica option to see Michelangelo's Pietà. Its Venice section describes the Murano glass furnaces, the Jewish Ghetto "established in 1516," and the Doge's Palace with art by Tintoretto and Veronese.

Small groups and families

The small-group list shows its caps in the titles. The Colosseum Roman Forum Palatine Tour is "Semi-Private (Max 6)," the Colosseum Arena Semi Private Tour is "up to 6," and the Early Vatican Tour with Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's is a "semi private tour up to 6 people." The standard Colosseum Group Tour is larger, "max. 24 people," with 2.5 hours and pre-booked access to the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine. Other small-group options include the Best of the Vatican (2.5 hours), catacomb tours with a transfer, a Colosseum and Vatican combo, an express Uffizi tour of 90 minutes, Venice's Doge's Palace and gondola tours, and Eiffel Tower and Sagrada Família group tours.

The family list includes Vatican for Kids with Treasure Hunt, a Best of the Vatican Private Tour for Families, Colosseum for Kids with Gladiators' Gate entry, a Colosseum Scavenger Hunt, Rome for Families, a Rome Driving Tour for Kids, a Florence Private Tour for Families, a Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens tour for families, and a Private Pizza Class for Families where the family learns to make pizza "like a real Italian 'pizzaiolo'" and eats it at the end. The About page says the company has an "extensive team of top child-friendly guides."

How booking works

Booking starts with a tour request form, WhatsApp or email to info@romeprivateguides.com, and the phone number is +393520674066. The About page says the booking staff "customize itineraries and services to perfectly suit your wishes" using "great on-the-ground contacts," and lists the languages they speak: English, Spanish, German and French. It names team members including Viviana as founder and guide, Gloria in bookings, and Mary and Mark as guides. The footer links to Terms and Conditions and a Cancellation Policy page, and the site links out to its Tripadvisor profile.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The tour listings show no prices, so every tour needs a quote. The tour cards do not give meeting points or say what is included beyond the tickets mentioned in some descriptions, and the site does not describe accessibility for visitors with limited mobility. The languages listed on the About page are those of the booking staff; tour descriptions mention English-speaking guides, and the site does not say which other languages its guides work in.

The strengths are breadth and small groups. The company offers a deep Rome and Vatican menu with early-access and special-access options, semi-private tours capped at 6, a large family program, and day trips and shore excursions into Tuscany, Umbria and the Naples area. It suits travelers who want a private or very small guided visit to the Vatican or the Colosseum, families who want a child-friendly guide, and cruise passengers docking at Civitavecchia or Naples. Travelers who want to compare prices online before making contact will have to ask.