Walks of Italy Tours

We loved our tour of the Vatican with Gigi! We learned SO much and laughed way more than expected thanks to Gigi's efficient but fun narrative. He gave us all the basics and plenty of "palace intruige" and "gossip". The early start was helpful for both the temperature and the crowds, although because it was Jubilee and the Vatican was setting up for a big ceremony the next day, there was still a big bottleneck at the entrance to the basilica. Totally worth the wait and the extra cash to have such a fantastic guide and experience!

This was a great tour of the museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. Even though we booked the 7:15 am tour it was still extremely crowded by the time we reached St. Peter's; I can't imagine going any later in the day. It was great being able to use the direct walkway to get to St. Peter's so we didn't have to go through security again. Our guide was very knowledgeable and she did a good job of covering all the main sites and she was good at keeping our group all together

The walking tour was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Claudia was very well prepared and made the tour very memorable. I recommend the walking tour, especially during Rome 2025 Jubilee celebration….

My husband and I booked the Complete Vatican Tour to celebrate my birthday while our Mediterranean cruise was docked in Civitavecchia (Rome). This was a bucket list tour for us, as we were able to see the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica in a few short hours. Beautiful artwork surrounds you throughout the entire tour- we just kept saying “wow” as we went down a new hallway or turned a new corner! We were able to walk through the Holy Doors for the 2025 Jubilee (however this is not a guaranteed part of the tour). There is a “short cut” passageway only accessible to certain tour groups that leads directly from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s Basilica. It is not always open and is not a guarantee, but it was a welcomed time-saver, as lines were long in July and we had a lot we wanted to see in the short period of time we were in port. Vita was our tour guide and she was extremely knowledgeable! She pointed out minuet details in the artwork that I would have never noticed. I recommend this tour to anyone prioritizing the Vatican City during your time in Rome!

We booked two tours with Walks of Italy for our recent Rome trip, the Gladiators Gate tour (with Sev) and the Pristine Sistine Early Start (with Julia). Both tours were absolutely incredible. The knowledge Sev and Julia had, using every moment of the tours to share the history of Rome even waiting in line to enter the Vatican or walking from the meeting place to the destination. We were some of the first people to enter the Vatican Museums and got to experience such beautiful art without being squished in with hundreds of others. Despite it being the Jubilee we really didn't feel like we were ever waiting in any lines or feeling crowded. We will definitely be using Walks for any future tours!

Rome in a Day Tour (including Vatican, Colosseum & Historic Centre) is a MUST no matter how long you plan to spend in Rome. The tour covers all highlights of Rome including the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. There is no way you could do all of the places on your own using Google Maps. The tour guide knows his way around and also we ‘skipped the line’ in a number of places because we were a tour group. Our tour guide Nicola (Nick) was amazing. He was so a pleasure to listen to as he was very knowledgeable and passionate about the history of Rome.

Walks’ Pristine Sistine is a phenomenal tour. My wife & I have now done this tour 3 times w different family members. Each guide was fantastically knowledgeable, including Francesca on our latest trip! (Jeb is equally amazing) You get a slightly different perspective & experience each time. Francesca is truly an expert that gives a remarkable level of insight & structure to your Vatican visit. She was able to seamlessly shift gears between history, art & religion. No way to replicate the experience of having a small group guide. I always feel like we’ve squeezed days of research & wandering into 1/2 a day - invaluable on a vacation. The museums, sculptures, maps, paintings, Raphael rooms, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s & more.Walks is professional, organized, & thorough. Another true 5 star experience w Walks of Italy. No need to look anywhere else, book it.

Lea was our tour guide for Pristine Sistine small group tour. There were just 10 people in our tour - much bigger would have been problematic given the size of the crowds. Checked in at 7:15 AM for 7:30 tour. The tour lasted a little over 3 hours. This tour meets at Antica Caffe Candida, which is nice on a cool early morning. Coffee and cornettos were a good purchase. The tour starts out walking to Vatican entrance and queuing to go in around 8:00 AM. After security and restrooms, you enter on a terrace with beautiful view of St. Peter’s dome. The tour consists of the museum (est. 2 hours) the Sistine Chapel (20 mins), then St. Peter’s Basilica (30 mins with Lea, plus unlimited time on your own after that). Lea was an exceptional guide - knowledgeable, informative, great personality, good English, passionate, enthusiastic. Best things about the tour - the starting point at a caffe, Lea, small group. Worst things about the tour - the crowds. Massive during Jubilee year; but we managed and had a fantastic experience. Even saw Pope Leo XIV returning after meeting with the Italian President.

We did the Rome in a Day Tour with Vatican, Colosseum & Historic Center with Walks and it was phenomenal. With an early start we were able to see several of the key sites including the colosseum and Vatican City. Our guides were amazing and so knowledgeable.

I booked my first tour with Walks in 2018 and they were my first choice whenever I came to Italy. After today, I would think hard before I did it again. They cut a 4 hour-tour short by an hour because the Pope closed St Peter's for a service. Not their fault but there was no notice from them. Tonight, they confiscated $268 because of poor customer support. I was stuck in a taxi, trying to get to a tour. The ride had lasted 40 minutes and I was still 25 minutes away - for a trip that was supposed to take 20 minutes. There is no easy way to reach a human being - the only option online is to cancel. Calls to the 800-number were cut off and the number to the Italian office was not easy to find. What type of company expects understanding for unexpected events from their customers without extending the same courtesy the other way around?

We booked the 'Complete Vatican City Tour' with "Walks of Italy" to avoid the lines and have easy access to the magnificent historical site. The three hours Vatican City tour consisted of: all Vatican city museums, the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica. The company was very thorough in confirming our tour date, through several emails and texts a few days prior to our meeting, the exact location and meeting time. We all gathered 15 minutes before the tour began. We were a group of approximately 15 English speaking tourists from US, UK, Australia, and Denmark. It was a hot day, but our tour guide Emilia was fabulous. Made sure we avoided the hot sun and stayed hydrated. We could tell Emilia was very well versed in her knowledge of Art history, Architecture and spoke perfect English. She kept us well-informed and answered questions. Plus she was pregnant! We graciously tipped her at the finale of the tour. I highly recommend this tour! Grazie mille !

We toured the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica with Hilaria and LOVED it. This was our first guided tour on any vacation--usually I like the freeness to roam as I please, but found that learning from an expert was far more enriching. Hilaria was not only very knowledgeable, she was very fun and entertaining. Highly recommend.

I booked a tour with Walks of Italy (a.k.a. Walks & Devour Tours) for early entrance into the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. The tour was literally called **Pristine Sistine Early Entrance Small Group Vatican Tour**. The time I selected was 7:45 (the Vatican opens to the public at 9am). I was so disappointed. The tour itself was very good - our guide was terrific - but we did not get the experience I thought we would get based on the description on the website (and what I decided to pay a lot of money for). Here is part of it: "Step Into the Sistine Chapel Before the Daytime Rush The highlight of our early morning Sistine Chapel tour is right in the name: the Pristine Sistine™. By the time you reach Michelangelo's masterpiece, your guide will have prepared you with insightful commentary and tips on what to look for. Enter the Sistine Chapel just as it opens, ahead of the daytime tour groups. With fewer distractions and more space, you can fully appreciate some of the most iconic images on Earth--from the "Creation of Adam" to "The Last Judgment." " From the title of the tour and the description on the website, I expected to be led inside at 7:45, but our tour guide talked to our group outside the Vatican for 45 min before he began to lead us inside. That talk was informative and well done, and I believe he was doing what he was supposed to do, but it was confusing to me that we were held outside while the other groups that had collected at the same meeting site were led inside. Maybe they had booked earlier times? I felt led to believe we would have time in the Sistine Chapel before the crowds arrived. I figured this would be the only time in my life I would make it to the Sistine Chapel, so I decided to spend the extra money for that privileged time slot. Unfortunately, by the time we made it into the Chapel, it was absolutely PACKED. Later, I looked again at the website thinking I must have missed something. Looking at it this time, I noticed this blurb about time selections: "6:45 AM, 6:30 PM, or 7:30 PM tours only: Experience what it's like to be alone in the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with exclusive early or after-hours access, seeing these sites like only few people can." So it was my fault. I simply did not notice that one blurb, among many others on a whole webpage, and selected 7:45am. I tried to leave a review on their website to alert other users about that, but there was no way to do that, even though they have over 13,000 reviews! (How?) I called to ask how I could leave a review and the agent was unable to figure it out. I explained my situation and she tried to help me get a partial refund, but ultimately she was told to give me an email address so I could send my complaint in writing. I did that, but the email bounced, address unknown. So I thought I would at least leave the information here. Read the fine print when booking your tours. :)

We booked the Complete Vatican City Tour with Walks of Italy. This was promised as a tour to avoid the long lines entering Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. Initially, they couldn't find our name on the group tour, so we spent some time on the phone to rectify this. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, so the one-star is not for him although he rushed us through the Sistine Chapel Museum and several in our group were constantly trying to catch-up getting lost among the crowds. We were packed like sardines into the museum and chapel. So, while beautiful, I couldn't help but think this is just a huge money-maker for the Vatican. Additionally, the pope supposedly closed the basilica, so we were not even allowed to enter it, thus cutting short our tour by about 1-1/2 hours. At that point we had to walk all the way back to the entrance and then walk completely around the exterior of the Vatican walls to get to St. Peter's square. We were hoping to at least be able to see the magnificent basilica from the square. No chance. There were throngs of people lined up against the wall. Since we didn't know what was happening we went around in the street. When we came to a point to cross with the huge group, a man came out from the other side, nearly clothes-lined me, shouting NO, NO, NO! We were pushed back out to the street where we continued and could not get into the square. We were able to view it from far away beyond the fence. At the start of the trip we were told we could call to get skip-the-line tickets for the next day to enter St. Peter's Basilica. After spending 7-8 minutes on hold, I was told, sorry, no can do. This was perhaps the worst tour company I've ever dealt with and I was completely disappointed in this tour. Again, the Vatican is making a ton of money based on how crowded it was. You could probably get a better experience viewing the whole thing on youtube.

We had a complete Vatican tour booked well in advance for April 28. Sadly the Pope passed. I checked my email every day to see if there was going to be a change. The day before I got a confirmation for our tour so I thought we would get the tour we signed up for. Sadly when we got to the meeting place we were informed the Sistine Chapel was closed due to preparations for the conclave. Thus we would also not go to St Peters also bc the tour enters through the Sistine Chapel and thus skips the queue. This is why we paid for a tour. We were told we would get a more extensive tour of the museums. Such disappointment as this has been a dream of mine to go to the Sistine Chapel. Now of course they could not change a world event. However we were not told ahead of time so we could make a decision as to what we wanted to do. St Peters was open and on our own we could have waited in line to get in, which I would have gladly done. But we were not given a choice. The museums, while beautiful, were packed with thousands of other tours which I suspect also had to improvise. 3 hours of walking with the other thousands made it impossible to go wait for the Basilica and our time in Rome would not allow us to it a different day. Since, I have become very angry that this choice was taken from us and I believe the tour is responsible for lack of communication under difficult circumstances.

My wife and I honeymooned in Italy in July 2018. For our stay in Rome, my wife thought it would fun to enroll in a pasta-making class. Rome is very well-known for its pastas. My wife ending up booking an experience through "Walks of Italy". All attendees were asked to meet at Campo de' Fiori (a public square that literally translates to "field of flowers") at a specific time. A guide met us and led us to a flat with a large kitchen and a large balcony. It was here where we were introduced to our teachers for the event: Chef Luca and Chef Stefano. These friendly gentlemen taught me so much about true Italian cooking; they were both a wealth of culinary knowledge. Just like with pizza, if you don't have a good dough then you won't have a good pasta. With our simple dough made of flour and eggs, we first made Ravioli stuffed with Ricotta and Spinach followed by Fettuccine. For dinner, the Ravioli was served with a delicious Cream Sauce while the Fettuccine was served with a red sauce, sliced pork belly and Pecorino Romano cheese. To drink, we had a delicious local red wine. For dessert, we were served a pastry with chocolate and powdered sugar. The chefs described it as similar to a donut. To end the meal, we had glasses of limoncello. This was a night to remember! Not only was all of the food delicious but I also learned a lot about authentic Italian cooking. My wife and I highly recommend booking a tour with "Walks of Italy"!

Bon giorno, We had the pleasure of using "Walks of Italy" thru "Viator" and let me tell you it was the best tour group we have encountered in our many trips to Rome Italy so far. We did a tour of St Peters Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel with our tour guide "Kylie". She was incredible, Her team was so organized and she was so knowledgable and passionate making our experience nothing but top shelf. Incredible understanding of the different eras related to the history of the Vatican. We have done several tours of Vatican City and this one was so far the best we have experienced. The next day we also did another tour with "Walks of Italy" at the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum with our guide "Angela" and once again "Angela" did not disappoint, full of knowledge and extremely energetic ensuring that all on the tour experienced the knowledge she shared. I learned so much more thru Angela more so then previous tours we have taken to the Colosseum and Forum. Bravissima Ladies, you both should receive an award for Tours your passion and knowledge is first rate. If in Rome and you would like to do a group walking tour you need to book it Walks of Italy, you will not be disappointed. Grazia ladies and Grazie Walks of Italy. Ciao

They gave me a $650 voucher with no expiration date. When I tried to use it they would not honor it. They are not reputable.

I took two tours with WOI in the fall of 19'. Both skip the line tours of the Vatican and the colosseum, Palatine Hill & the Roman Forum. I'm sorry I don't remember the names of the two incredible women tour guides. Both were very knowledgeable and entertaining. It was the in low season, so there was no rush and we were allowed a casual pace. The Vatican tour met a very short distance to to entrance...where we skipped the long ticket line. My guide was a nice woman(name?) who was an archeologist and so full of knowledge. We took a small stroll through the square then skipped the line into the main building! The guide gave us ample time in each hall, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's basilica. Each room was accompanied by expert narration from the guide and she was very helpful and answered all questions. Also, the tour ended inside the Vatican, so I was able to cruise around on my own and then hit the gift shop. Awesome. The Colosseum, PH & the Forum tour met next to the site. Forgot the young lady's name again, but she has Woodstock from Peanuts as her guidon. We skipped the lines at all three attractions. The guide was super friendly, funny and knowledgeable with plenty of time to explore each location. She let a little girl carry her guidon for a while and it made her day. Kudos. Again, I took my tours in late November, it was super chill. Both skip the line tours saved time, but the Vatican is worth it for sure. Big lines there....like hours. Definitely will use them again. Hey, go there for thanksgiving. Rome is not crowded then and the weather is mild. Thank you Tours of Italy

My husband and I joined 11 other people on a tour of "Rome in a Day". That's of course a tough proposition given all of the historical sites in the city. But, throughout the 6 hour tour, we definitely hit the highlights. We started at the Colosseum, followed by the historic center with Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. The morning included a stop for gelato at Don Nino, a place that we'd actually been to the night prior and left unimpressed. I wouldn't recommend that gelato spot by the Pantheon in a very touristy area. At the conclusion of the morning tour, we were taken on a bus to the Vatican in preparation for the afternoon. After an hour lunch on-your-own break, we toured the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, and we were left to explore St. Peter's Basilica independently. It was interesting to see the setup for weekly mass and to hear the backstory of how the cardinals vote on new popes in the Sistine Chapel and the process of informing the crowd that is waiting in the square. The tour was expensive but the value was fairly good. It was great to see the highlights of the city and to get expert insight about the historic sites from our guide all in a day. This left us time to enjoy other aspects of the city during our remaining time in Rome.

My boyfriend and I did the "Small Group Pasta-Making with a Local Chef in Rome" experience provided by Walks of Italy. It was the HIGHLIGHT of our Italy trip!!!!! You meet your group in a central location in Rome and are led to a private terrace on a rooftop, where you will drink unlimited wine (white and red), eat hor d'oeuvres, and learn how to make pasta from scratch, while enjoying the incredible views and sunset. Our two local chefs were Laura and Elena- both personable, passionate about food, and downright funny. I loved both of them!! You are at a table with a small group of others, as you learn to make pasta dough (for two types of pasta- ravioli and spaghetti) and two types of sauces (red and white). The chefs were very hands on, involved everyone in the audience, and entertained the entire night. The only rule of the night was no empty glasses!! After you spend a couple hours talking and cooking everything, you move to a candle lit table on the rooftop and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Both pastas turned out AMAZING!!!! So so so good!!! (Not just saying that because I made it!) Actually ended up being some of the most mouth-watering pasta we had on our trip to Italy. The best part? They give you all 4 recipes to take home- we cannot wait to make them again as a family (all easy and straight-forward; definitely think we will be able to recreate them). After dinner they surprised us with a shot of limoncello and tiramisu for dessert. Not only were the chefs great, the food was exquisite, and the entire group was very sociable; it was fun to meet new people! This experience was one of the best we had in Italy, it really was a highlight for us. We recommended it to several other couples we met along the way in Italy- all of which booked the class as well, and also really loved it. Really fun and memorable experience- I would recommend to anyone and everyone!!

We did VIP Secret Itineraries Doges Palace Tour with St. Marks Basilica. Time was moved up to 8:15, which was for the best because almost no one was out and about in the piazza, which was a nice break from the crowds. Our guide, Elaina?, was excellent. Very knowledgeable, very clear and very aware of each participant (maybe 14?). So much to take in! It was worth every penny and ever painful step (getting old is no fun). I highly recommend this tour

Do not believe the many positive reviews on here and TripAdvisor. Many of the 5 star reviews were posted after COVID locked down Italy. Very suspicious. Walks of Italy did not honor their cancellation/refund policy and will use "force majeure" as the reason. Luckily, my Citi credit card was able to refund me by disputing the charges. I cancelled my tour on March 6th scheduled for March 27th. After over 2 months of waiting and multiple emails, I disputed on May 12th. Finally, Citi won on July 31st, 2020. However, as you can see, Walks of Italy dragged their feet the entire process. Rumor has it that they laid off over half their staff and are not looking good. Do not book with this company. All of the larger tours like Viator refunded immediately. Definitely read the fine print hidden in the terms and conditions.

I had a Florence in a day tour with my girlfriend. We showed up to the meeting point 3 minutes late and absolutely no sign of the tour group anywhere. I gave the group benefit of the benefit of the doubt as some tours state a meeting time but actually start 15-30 min after. 15 minutes post meeting time, I decided to call the Walks and Devour tour office and they had told me the tour group had left, with them waiting 10 minutes max. That was impossible since my girlfriend and I were frantically pacing around the meeting point with no green flag in site. They told me to meet them outside the Galleria Academia as the group had an assigned time there and that I would just be missing that first portion of the tour. I waited for two hours there with my girlfriend asking every tour group with Walks of Italy stickers if they were my group, to no avail. I called back and the office offered me to reschedule the next day, at the expense of $35 per person... said they couldn't do anything about the rescheduling fee since I called outside the 10 minute grace period. There were also numerous times lots available later that day but for only one spot - to which, they could not accommodate an additional person. I was able to squeeze the tour in first thing in the morning the next day. Turns out, we got there well ahead of schedule, found the tour guide, checked in, and saw the tour group actually left 15 min prior to the tour time. They had a check list of all the people in the group - didn't bother to call missing tourists. I wasted a lot of time in Florence scared my vacation would be wasted time. Please book with a different company. I've done many tour groups and none have ever left with an incomplete group without checking in with them - Walks and Devour tours will!

We took the Colosseo Gladiator entrance and Ancient Rome tour today. Our guide Francesca was fantastic. She had a sense of humor and was very friendly. Her knowledge and description of the Colosseo, Palatine Hill and the Forum was excellent. To try to do this on your own or with self guides is not a good way to spend your time. There's just too much to see and do in an efficient manner. She kept a good pace for our group, took our pictures for everyone in the group, answered any question we had and was a lot of fun. You will see a lot of positive reviews for Walks of Italy and for at least this tour, it deserves a 5-star rating.

Pristine Sistine tour started off ok, but we ended up getting to the chapel at peak time packed with people. They probably put us in the wrong group day of, and usually this would be no big deal worth posting about, but figure give them 1 star since this was a year after they did us dirty with whole 'no refund for COVID cancellation 60 days prior to event even though their policy stated 72 hour cancellation window it at the time of booking'. Every single other vendor refunded our money except Take Walks for that cancelled trip.

We took the Pristine Sistine and the evening Colosseum tour. We had one day in Rome and these two tours in combination allowed us to see a lot, skip the lines/crowds, and still have several hours to explore more easily accessed sights on our own. Overall, I think this was a good strategy. I think it's important to understand that these tours are jam packed. You should be fit enough & comfortable to walk for 3-4 hours without a break and navigate up and down stairs and over uneven surfaces at a fast walking pace, with no resting, sitting, and few bathroom breaks. We had people on both our tours who were not prepared for this. The tours themselves were staffed by knowledgeable guides. The vatican tour felt a bit rushed through the museum and you couldn't wander back through on your own. On the other hand, we had 30 minutes in the sistine chapel, which was more than adequate. Side note: walks of Italy has a great blog with tons of helpful tips.

It's been almost one year since my trip to Rome and I can't BELIEVE I forgot to leave this fabulous company a 5 star review. I visited Rome in May of 2107 and booked two tours with Walks of Italy. I am not generally a "tour" type of girl. I like to wander alone exploring at my own pace and generally find tours embarrassing and annoying. In the case of Rome I wanted to make sure to see as much as possible and have the knowledge of what I was seeing so based on reviews I booked these tours. Pricing was what I considered to be very reasonable (well under $100 each) and both tours were for up to 15 people in order to keep it intimate . I took the VIP Colosseum at Night Tour with Underground & Arena Floor first. It was so cool to be in that place with only one other small tour group. The tours were sinked up so that we were always on opposite ends of the colosseum. The tour guide was funny, friendly and knowledgeable. Now, the tour I was waiting desperately for was the Complete Vatican Tour with Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St.Peter's Basilica. OH MY GOODNESS! LIFE CHANGING! #1, we skipped the line. It's a LOOONG line, think 3 hours in line...Our tour guide for this was the most amazing, beautiful woman. An art historian who went in to such micro detail about everything. She was PERFECT. I really am at a loss for words. The love and attention she gave to our small group, holding us back for just the perfect moments when the crowd was clearing so that we could get a better view etc. Upon entering the Sistine Chapel I broke down into tears. I was unable to stop crying because it was so overwhelming. Another girl was having the same reaction. Our guide hugged us after the tour and told us that seeing our reactions are what inspires her to do her job and fight these hoards of tourists every day! It was very touching. I will absolutely take this tour again and again.

During my trip to Rome I knew that I wanted to see the catacombs and the Capuchin bone crypt, so I did some research and decided to sign up for Walks of Italy Crypts, Bones & Catacombs: An Underground Tour of Rome. I'm so glad that I picked this tour! First of all, our tour guide Michael was fantastic! Not only did he know everything there was to know about the history of the churches and crypts we were seeing, but he delivered the information in a funny and charming way. The benefits of doing this tour are numerous: firstly, many of the locations are not normally accessible by tourists, but the company is allowed to bring their groups in so you aren't shoulder to shoulder with a crowded mass of people (cough Vatican cough cough). In fact, we were the only people in the Capuchin bone crypt (Bone art! Google it!), which definitely made for a memorable experience. Also, the tour provides you with transportation between the three stops, so you don't have to worry about coordinating your own ride. If you're a weird secret goth kid like me and enjoy creepy stuff like tombs and artfully arranged bones (and bonus frescoes, including what's possibly the first every painted interpretation of the Madonna and Child), I highly recommend checking this tour out. In fact, if I had more time in Italy I probably would have taken another one of the Walks of Italy tours, that's how much I enjoyed the experience!

We only had a few days in Rome, so we booked Rome-in-a-Day to see as many sights as we could. Our guide, Gigi, was DELIGHTFUL. Very knowledgeable, warm, engaging, and very funny. He made the historical sights come alive with his descriptions of significant historical events along the way. I highly recommend this tour to any who want to see as much of Rome as possible in a day! Tips: bring a refillable water bottle. The ladies must have shoulders and knees covered to enter the Vatican, but they seemed to have no problem with men wearing knee length shorts (it was a very hot day). Comfy shoes are a must!

We decided to do a tour with Walks of Italy through the Colosseum & Roman Forum, and I must say it was awesome. Unfortunately the name of our tour guide escapes me right now, but she was absolutely great!!! Her knowledge of Rome & archeology was first class. She went into the history of the area, the power struggles of the time and was generally a powerhouse of knowledge. I really could not recommend this tour high enough. Just make sure you get the tour that goes through the lower levels & it will be 3.5 hours of knowledge well earned with photos that will last a lifetime.

I know many tourists forego tour guides when seeing the must-see sights in an effort to save money, but the information placards can only tell you so much and it's difficult to remain in the moment when trying to read through Wikipedia. After my experiences with Walks of Italy, I firmly believe tour guides are essential to rich, worthwhile sightseeing and I recommend this company anywhere it is available. My mom, my brother and I selected Walks of Italy for their "Premium Colosseum Tour with Roman Forum & Palatine Hill." The tour covered about three miles at a moderate pace. Our group was made up of all ages and everyone seemed fine with the activity level, and with so much to stop and take in, there were plenty of natural breaks. For the tour, we were each given a small radio receiver and earpiece, which allowed us to hear the guides clearly and without the need for the group to pack around them to listen. Nonetheless, Walks of Italy stuck to their promise of 15 or fewer members for the tour group, which was an exception among most of the larger groups I saw touring with other companies. Both guides were extremely knowledgeable, providing all the essential information for everything we saw (and then some!). I feel obligated, however, to give a special shout-out to Michele, who led our tour of the Colosseum, Roman forum, and the Palatine Hill. Michele went above and beyond by frequently pulling supplementary information, mostly illuminating pictures, from a binder he carried. They all did a great job! My time in Italy would have been incomplete without the fantastic services of Walks of Italy!

Walks of Italy is a well-established company that focuses on group tours in the major Italian cities. Their signature product is the Pristine Sistine tour - a 4 hour tour offered at around 7am that takes you inside the Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel/St Peter's Basilica complex so you can enjoy the museum when it is less crowded. As the Vatican Museum officially opens at 9am theoretically there should be less people but in reality more people are going for the earlier time so technically it's not quite as pristine. Unfortunately I did not take that tour (though in retrospective I should've done so). At the time of booking I already had a Vatican Museums complex tour booked through City Wonders. The following review is of a now-defunct tour that was offered through Walks: Ostia Antica Tour, Castel Gandolfo & Vineyard Lunch Day Trip from Rome. From a logistical standpoint Castel Gandolfo and Ostia Antica are easy daytrips out of Rome using public transportation but the use of private transportation allows someone to link these two sites together in a full day. And to add a lunch stop in an agriturismo featuring wine tasting just sweetens the deal. This was offered at €139 - which also included my very own private guide, Marta. Turns out that all Walks tours depart as scheduled so if I was the sole booker then that person got lucky. Marta was an experienced tour guide. She was one of the people involved in the creation of this particular tour, which was quite unique out of the numerous Rome tours offered. She knew that I wasn't versed in Italian history so she gave me plenty of context so that I can enjoy my day. She also presented it in a way that I was never bored. She also gave me a few surprises during my tour such as snacks in between Castel Gandolfo and the wine visit, a tour of the more unique parts of Ostia Antica and one particular restaurant reservation that ended up being my favorite restaurant of the trip. She's one of my top 10 most favorite tour guides. 1. Castel Gandolfo (https://www.yelp.com/biz/castel-gandolfo-castel-gandolfo?hrid=URrZRXxwjhfXJZQp7M1mPQ). This has historically been the pope's summer palace but with Pope Francis forgoing privilege this in lieu of more modest accommodation he decided to open this to the public so that the grounds can still maintain itself. I was originally going to just do Ostia Antica independently but with Castel Gandolfo being open to the public I opted for this tour. As whoever is the next pope can reinstate its exclusivity going here when I was in Italy was an opportunity in itself. 2. Tenuta di Pietra Porzia (https://www.yelp.com/biz/tenuta-di-pietra-porzia-frascati?hrid=UKsxxU4lZjCKwI-X3zeUlg). The Lazio region is also a DOC region. This agriturismo was the lunch stop but I also got the opportunity to go wine tasting. Their focus is on Frascati, a white wine made using Malvasia grapes. 3. Ostia Antica (https://www.yelp.com/biz/scavi-di-ostia-ostia-antica?hrid=xRZVDevwykNEZFd1o1nPfQ). Rome's first colonia after establishing itself as the predominant empire of the Mediterranean. Once a naval base, its focus switched to a more commercial one as it served as the primary port of Rome for several centuries. It was once situated on the mouth of the Tiber River leading to the Mediterranean Sea but due to its decline after the establishment of a bigger port and the effects of silting over a couple centuries the ruins lie two miles from the sea. But it is precisely due to silting that the ruins were pretty well-preserved. Thanks to Marta and Walks of Italy for a very informative tour. It sucks that this tour had to be discontinued probably due to lack of interest (yeah I have weird travel interests...) but I'm sure that your other tours are just as informative and thoughtful yet cater more to visitors' preferences. *** PS: As a sidenote, I wish your VIP Colosseum tour would offer visiting the third through fifth rings (also known as the "belvedere"). The official Colosseum site offers this tour together with the underground but booking through coopculture.it is notoriously difficult. Had your Colosseum tour offer the complete package that includes the arena, underground, belvedere plus the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill I would've booked your tour over the tour company I actually booked when I was in Rome.

I took three tours with Walks of Italy, and they were all amazing. 1. Tour of Cappuccin bone crypt and St. Sebastian catacombs with Yanira. Wow. The tour by itself would be fantastic, but the tour with Yanira was phenomenal! She was witty and knowledgeable. She answered all our questions and was patient with our group. 2. Night tour of the Colosseum. I don't remember our tour guide's name, but she was very sweet and had a lot of knowledge. It was nice to see the Col. at night--much less crowded. 3. Vatican tour with ??--all I remember is his father was Italian and his mother was German, and he was HILARIOUS. We had to wait in the entrance line and he regaled is with information and funny stories. He knew so much about the art and the Vatican and St. Peter's. He was great about making sure we were altogether and being respectful of our surroundings. All three tours capped at about 12-15 people, which was a perfect size. I would use this company again.

Absolutely awful! No one showed up for our tour, no one answered their "emergency" line, no one had even heard of them at the ticketing office for the Doge's Palace/St Mark's, and no one responded to their online messaging on their website. After the trip, we tried once again to get ahold of them to at least refund our money, but no one answers emails, the phone, or texts. Absolute fraud company. I have had to work with my credit card company to get the $300+ money they stole from us, back. Awful customer service, FRAUD company!

We booked a Rome catacombs tour for May 28, 2023, which unbeknownst to us, was the day of a huge bike race Giro d'Italia and there were road closures throughout Rome. This was a known event which the Walks should have communicated with us prior to our tour as to options - rescheduling or itinerary change. They did not. We met our tour guide and she told us that we would not be able to visit the catacombs or the aqueduct outside the city but would substitute the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, & a small aqueduct ruin within walking distance (and that Walks would issue a partial refund). We had already seen the Spanish Steps & Trevi so we only stayed with tour during aqueduct & bone chapel portions. I've texted, messaged & called the company many times for our partial refund - NO RESPONSE AT ALL. So be aware, if no issues, tours with this company may be good, but if there are any problems, they will not respond to you or issue any promised refunds. I will update this review if I ever hear back from them.

I will preface by saying that I'm one of those DIY tourists who likes to plan my own things, go at my own pace and see sights independently. I usually don't like the idea of spending money on a tour when I could see the same attraction on my own without a guide. When I hear "guided tour," I usually turn up my nose. ... My experience with Walks of Italy COMPLETELY changed that. Because so many friends as well as fellow travelers in online forums encouraged me to schedule a guided tour of the Vatican, I scheduled the Pristine Sistine tour with Walks of Italy. It was worth every penny. Our tour guide Hutta (ooh-tah) was extremely knowledgeable and thorough in her tour. She was of German and Italian decent but was fluent in English. We could tell she was passionate about history and knowing the ins and outs of the Vatican. (And she said she was giving a Colosseum tour later that afternoon!) She was a fantastic tour guide. The four-hour tour, though, barely felt like it scratched the surface of the Vatican. This is not Hutta's or Walks of Italy's fault -- the Vatican is just so huge that you could spend days there! Seeing the Sistine Chapel and also the rest of the Vatican early before the hordes of tourists arrived midday was really nice. While we weren't the only 10-person tour group there during the morning, the crowd was still very small compared to later in the day. Because Hutta made the tour so informative and insightful, I regretted visiting the Colosseum the day before on my own. I wish I would have scheduled a Walks of Italy tour for the Colosseum as well. I would absolutely recommend Walks of Italy for a guided tour of an attraction in Italy. This company knows what it's doing, and it does it well. You will be extremely impressed.

I wish words could describe the unaccountability of this company, had to leave one star or I would leave 0.... After my family flew to Italy for the pure purpose of seeing the Vatican and doing their Vatican tour we were met with the tour guide never showing up! Not only this but they do not answer their phone. Come to find out our tour that we booked had been cancelled without notification! Whatever you do, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! They have offered us a refund but sometimes that is not enough. We missed the entire Vatican due to waiting around , I'm not normally one to review anything but this is repulsive!

We actually did two separate tours with them. The first day we did a tour that was of the Jewish Ghetto area and included the Aquaducts, Ancient Appian Way and some other areas. The second day was the all day tour of the Vatican, Forum, Colosseum etc. both tour guides were exceptional and both tours were great. I would never come to Rome and not see all the "biggies" but honestly I have to say I preferred the smaller off the beaten path tour with our guide Georgia. It was a slow paced tour and she was fabulous. But like I said both tours were exceptional and so were the guides.

Our family of five (kids ages 16, 14, 9) took a nighttime tour of the Colosseum. Wow! One of the best tours I've taken in my life. Our tour guide, Maria, was like an historian. Her knowledge was incredible. When she explained what we were seeing she added a richness that had our kids mesmerized and taught my wife and I new things even though we've taken courses in Roman history. The tour was billed as the Colosseum, but it started at the Roman Forum and included an hour of walking, looking, and learning about the Roman, Catholic/Pope era, and more modern history of the archaeological center of Ancient Rome. We loved that part. The Colosseum at night with very few people was the highlight though. The building was grander and more magnificent than I imagined. Maria's description gave us a feel of what it would have been like to watch the games 2000 years ago. I was blown away and am thinking about it still two days later. Well worth the money!

We did three tours with Walks of Italy; Colosseum Underground and Forum with Stephanie on 3/22, Vatican Pre-opening with Tungi on 3/23, and Catacombs with Yamira on 3/24. I did the Colosseum and Vatican tour with The Roman Guy last year. In comparison to TRG, I found the Walks Of Italy tours poorly managed and executed. This was primarily due to the agenda of each tour and the guides. The only exception was the tour of the Catacombs with Yamira. She was excellent. Not only did she know the subject, but she was very considerate, providing adequate restroom breaks and time to buy souvenirs. I felt like she gave adequate attention to everyone in the group. Even though it was a large group, no one was left out. Cons: General: -Each tour started at least 5-10 minutes walking distance away from the attraction. When you have groups with young kids, please try to meet at places closer to the point of interest, especially since each tour is at least 3 hours of walking. Tour Specific: Colosseum Tour: The tour started by the Colosseum, but we were told we would be walking to the other end of the forum first because our appointment at the Colosseum was not until later. Fine, I understand that schedules are controlled by the state. But then, why start the tour by the the Colosseum. Why not start it by the Forum? Our tour guide was Stephanie. She is an American expat. She seemed knowledgeable but, there is a huge difference in knowing and in loving what you do. During the 10 minute walk from Colosseum to Forum, she ranted on about the corruption in Italy. She pointed to the balcony from which Mussolini would give his speeches and used the words, "He would go blah blah blah from that balcony". She used the same words describing the Orators at the forum. A bit more enthusiasm and love for the rich history would have improved the experience. I understand she was catering to an American audience but not all of us aspire to be the "ugly American". Vatican- This tour had the strangest agenda ever. Our guide was Tungi. We walked through the hall of tapestries without explanation because "the sistine would be crowded"- which it already was- and then we walked back through it, when the crowds made it impossible to observe the tapestries. He gave us ZERO breaks in a 3.5 hour tour. The young kids in the group were frustrated. He gave no breaks for souvenirs. This is the Vatican. We have friends who are suffering from cancer and had requested rosaries. We couldnt stop because Tungi had places to be. When I did the same tour with TRG, the guide asked everyone if they had special interests. I mentioned the statue of Augustus from Prima Porta. The guide took that in to account. When I told Tungi, he told me he had no idea what I was talking about. The guy has been doing the tour for 7 years and doesnt know about the most famous statue of the most famous Roman Emperor. Frustrating after spending all that money. Catacombs: I enjoyed this tour and I enjoyed it because of Yamira.

The confirmation email never came they until you spend two days calling and then it all of a sudden shows up. Hard to track down and talk to someone. Save money and just do a tour thru Vatican City.

This tour would be so much better if they fixed their customer service line. It was virtually impossible to get a hold of anyone via email or phone. Wanted to change the date of our tour well before 48 hours of the tour & never got a hold of anyone even after emailing & waiting on the phone for 30+ minutes. However, the tour itself was wonderful. The guides were so organized & informative & helpful.

This company canceled our tour 2 visits in a row. The second time being two days before it was happening. They then refused to refund our money and would only give a gift card. Why would I ruin a vacation for a third time in a row with them? They canceled not us so why would I not be able to get a refund in the original form of payment? Stay away and use someone reputable!

We did the Gladiator's Gate Colosseum tour today with GiGi- best 3 hours of our trip so far! We loved his excitement and wealth of knowledge! Just wonderful!

Pristine Sistine™ Early Entrance Small Group Vatican Tour: Excellent tour, particularly because of our tour guide Gigi. He was very knowledgeable and funny. HIGHLY recommend the early tour which allows you early access to the Sistine Chapel before the general admission ticket holders get in there. Also recommend bringing your own headphones as the ones provided aren't the best. ​

Before you purchase please note....you can and will never receive an exchange or refund. Im sure their tours are nice, my wife and I bought four tours all of which we could not go on due to medical. It would have been nice to receive a voucher or some kind of compensation for a thousand dollars worth of tours, but like most tourist based businesses they were all about the money...no refunds exchanges or postponements.....ever, my wife is pregnant give me a break jeeesh

Walks of Italy was literally a NO SHOW at our scheduled boat tour in Venice! We were there at the meeting point at the scheduled time and no one showed up. We along with the other couple on our tour called and after waiting 15 minutes were told there was "a glitch" and that no tour would be happening. Disappointed in the lack of communication and service! The company never called or followed up with us afterwards to offer any other alternatives. We did receive a refund on our creditcard 5 days later, so there is that. Beware!!

Alessandria was an excellent guide on the tour of the Coliseum and Palestine Hill/forum. The gladiator gate tour, it was called. Really interesting, she's a Rome local so had lots of personal insight. Loved it ! Bring water! Super interesting.

We booked a tour for a group of 8. The instructions specifically stated that we needed to redeem the voucher for tickets and then for to a meeting point. After being sent in circles by the redemption booth at the colosseum and trying to call this company for clarification (btw there was a 32 minute hold time to get to a representative) when we finally located the meeting point which is a park, our tour has left and they basically just told our party too bad and if we wanted to re-schedule we had to pay an additional 120 euros to pay for tickets that they lost money on. Poor customer service, poor instructions and lack of care by any of the guides or even the customer service department. Don't waste your money or your time. You can get a guided tour and front of the line passes right in front of the colosseum on the same day for less money and less aggravation.

We did 3 tours with Walks of Italy and loved all of them. We did the Pristine Cistine, the Gladiator's Gate, and the Florence In A Day with David, Duomo, Uffizi & Walking Tour. All three had great knowledgable guides. They were friendly and open to questions. They were even engaging enough to keep our 11 and 14 year old interested. We loved the headphones which was used so we could hear the guide well at all times as we strolled through all the amazing sites. The groups were small...we stopped for water and rest. I can't saw enough about how well run and thorough these experiences were. We will highly recommend them to all friends going to Italy from now on.

Without a doubt the best tour we had. It is the only Walks Tour we used. It was the Roman Forum/Colosseum Floor entry small group tour. The reason this tour was so great was Francesca! When I got there and realized it was going to be 4 hours I almost skipped out. Her knowledge, humor and efficiency made it fantastic! I would highly recommend!

This tour company is AWESOME!!! I highly recommend booking a tour with them if you travel to Italy. I found Walks online and decided to give it a shot because we only had a few days and wanted to see as much as possible. They offered a Rome in a Day Tour - which also includes tickets, etc. If you try to get tickets yourself, you will be stuck in massive lines and there's no guarantee you'll get in. In fact, if you try to buy your own tickets to enter the Colosseum on your own, they are sold out far in advance. So, we decided to book this. It was amazing!!! You need to be in good condition because you are literally walking all day. But we saw everything - the Colosseum, Sistine Chapel, the Roman Forum, Vatican City, etc. Their instructions are very clear and easy to follow. We just showed our taxi driver the location of the meeting point and he dropped us right off in the front. I loved the historical information and perspective provided by the tour guide as well. The groups are also small so you're not in a mass of 50+ people in your group. I also had to cancel two people on my reservation so I called their number and they helped me immediately and refunded me for the two people (I cancelled within the cancellation time frame of course). Customer service is top notch. Sometimes you worry when booking in a foreign country but it was no problem, my credit is already back on my credit card. We also decided to do the Almafi Coast Tour. We were in Rome so we booked this through them. This was another all day tour and it was AMAZING!!!! So organized and easy. Again, you need to be in good shape to be able to be out and about all day. But this is so worth it. Walks is the way to do Italy!!! Trust me, doing this stuff on your own if you have never been there is pretty tough!

We used Walks of Italy for a tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum and our tour guide was awesome. It definitely made a difference using a guide to explain what everything was.

We did the "Colosseum, Pantheon and Roman Forum Express: Small Group Tour Skip-the-Line Pass" and we had a great time! Our tour guide was Erturk and he was beyond knowledgable, kind and impressive. He went above and beyond to explain every detail, and we truly walked away being better people for knowing all the details. He made sure we were informed and had a good time doing it. Truly - he is brilliant and made our experience THE best! :-)

Unfortunately, unlike other posters, we have had a bad experience with this company. They cancelled our underground/after dark tour of the Colliseum last night by email. I booked this tour- which is hard to get- back in April and now we are two weeks out from our trip. Most tours of the Colliseum are completely full since it's a very busy time of year. They have also been unresponsive so far to the emails we have been sending them to try and resolve this...

We used Walks of Italy for both the Bones, Crypts and Catacombs in Rome and the After Hours Doges Palace and St Marks in Venice. The tour guide, Andrea in Rome, was fantastic. He really made the tour pop. We background was Art History and he really was able to bring out so much more of what we saw. However, the bus ride was incredibly hot, so much so, that I am spending this time reviewing it as it was almost as memorable as our tour guide. The tour guide in Venice was just okay, forgot her name, but the access to St Marks after hours was incredible. We really got to see so much more than what you can see by just buying a ticket to get inside. Both tours were around 10 - 15 people and we had headsets so could definitely hear what was being discussed. We went with two 12 year olds, one found it fascinating and one was bored, so this might be a tour for older kids.