We came into Civitaveccia on a cruise ship. I arranged in advance, through the website and then in numerous online conversations with Julie, all the details of our day. Julie was super helpful, excellent with follow up and very knowledgeable about all the offerings. She helped me save money and time when possible and made recommendations based on the needs of my family. We settled on a private all day tour of Rome where we get picked up and dropped off directly at our cruise ship. Discovery arranged all of our tickets (and thank goodness because everything is strictly timed). While you do have to wait in line for some things we got skip the line tickets so we could do as much as we could in the day.
Our driver was Marco, who picked us up in a Mercedes Van at 7:30 AM. I had his phone number just in case. He was a safe driver and played tour guide throughout the 90 minute drive into Rome. He was charming and intelligent. First, we saw some stuff from the van. We got to see the Circus Maximus, Pantheon, aqueduct walls, some smaller monuments, and then went to the Trevi Fountain. There, he parked one block away and directed us to the fountain and some other cool nearby areas. We had some time to walk around and take photos. He gave us a meet back time so we could make our first ticketed site. I suggest getting a map program and just dropping a pin where he will be waiting. It was always easy to find him. Next, tickets to the Colosseum to go inside. Huge crowds but we got inside quickly. Had over an hour to visit the site on our own before meeting back up with Marco. Drive towards the Vatican City and Marco pointed out some smaller sites, pulling over the van to explain about their importance. He got us super close to Vatican City ticket entrance and we already had tickets (super specific and if you’re not there on time the tickets are worthless). He suggested we eat lunch and relax before going in and gave some recommendations. Guides aren’t allowed to park near the museum so 3 hours later when we finished lunch, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel, I just texted him and he picked us up right in front. Then, he drove us back to the ship. Very long day. Left at 7:30 am, back to ship by 4:45 pm. We got to see, or visit, all the places we wanted in a day. Discovery, and Marco, did a great job timing everything out so we weren’t stressed about getting back to the ship late. We felt like the two major stops we had enough time where we could enjoy it. Still, it’s the only way we could have accomplished the goal of doing Major Rome off a cruise ship in a day.
Overall, it’s expensive, but worth it. The customer service and honesty was excellent from both Julie and Marco. Tons of pre-trip communication and updates (we were going to go inside the Pantheon but crowds the week before were creating hour long lines so they gave us the choice of just seeing it from outside or waiting in the line). I felt well taken care of, safe, and informed.
Excellent shore excursion with Discovery Tours. Our driver, Massimo, was exceptional as was Claudio, our guide. Everybody was on time and it was a very informative day. All of us enjoyed ourselves. When we are back in Italy we will certainly book with them again.