Touring Rome in Style

Yesterday as hoardes of tired tourists trudged by us in the hot sun of Rome, we were riding in an air-conditioned car enjoying a private tour of Rome provided to us by Miles & Miles, Private Guides and Tours. If you have limited time in Rome or trouble walking long distances or just want a good overview of Rome to start your visit, this is the way to see Rome. Our driver/guide picked us up in our hotel lobby. We then had a delightful four-hour tour of the highlights of Rome.

Normally I stay away from guided tours but this one is different. You are in a small van with just your group instead of in a big bus full of other tourists. You can stay at each stop as long as you want without having to follow the timeline of a large group and the car is waiting for you when you are ready to leave. Your van can get to places in Rome not accessible to a big tourist bus. Your guide can personalize the tour for you and talking with the guide is easy.

In four hours we were able to see most of the major sites of Rome, including all the top ancient Rome sites within the city, although we did not go into all of them. Our guide did an excellent job of explaining what we would see at the places we did go into, then he stayed with the car and we toured at our leisure. He answered any questions we had when we returned. Although I have been in Rome many times, he took us to interesting several places where I had never been.

Following the morning tour, we had a quick sandwich at a cafe near the Vatican where we were met by another guide who gave us a tour of the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and the Church of St. Peter. Although you can visit these places yourself, our visit was much better with the guide. I would have been overwhelmed on my own, but my guide knew the best routes to get around the huge crowds and where to see the highlights. Best of all, our highly knowledgable guide gave us excellent explanations of what we saw making our visit much more valuable.

Rome Travel Resources:: Get to Know Rome | Rome Pictures
A Walk Through Piazza Navona

^{Photo of Piazza Navona in Rome © 2006 by Martha Bakerjian.}