RomeInLimo questions

[cruisemom42]

As far as what to do in the Coliseum, the drivers are merely that, drivers...they are not licensed guides although they will talk a bit about Italy in general.

 

I think this fact too often gets lost and should be given more prominence by those RIL experts that post in this thread numerous times.

 

Given the sorts of comments one reads over and over again about RIL, I am not surprised that the other poster might have been led to expect more. I just went back and skimmed only about 4 pages of this lengthy thread and found repeated references to drivers that clearly did more than the one vplsh had:

 

"We had wonderful drivers in each port. They gave us such great information on the area we were in and they dropped us off and picked us up at just the right places."

 

"For the Rome tour (Civitavecchia port) I was co-ordinating with two couples from another cruise line which made me just a bit nervous; however, I was met by Enrico and then he gathered the others from the other ship. Enrico filled us in on the history of Rome and the many sights we were visiting."

 

"If only we could have brought Maurizio back with us to the U.S. What a charming man. Another wonderful guide who loves his job and loves to share information about Rome. While some people think history is boring, history came alive with this stories. We asked Maurizio for a place away from the tourist crowds for lunch and Maurizio suggested a restaurant where many locals were dining."

 

"Off to a great start. Mike, having lived in the US spoke excellent English and gave us very nice introduction to Rome. At each stop in Rome, Mike would take a few minutes to explain what we were seeing and the history, then we were off to explore and meet up with Mike at a certain time."

 

"in September, 2014 we booked a day tour [of Rome] with Rome in Limo. We found our driver Nicola to be extremely knowledgeable about the history of the city."

 

"In Rome we had Sergio. He truly loves his Rome and took great pleasure in showing us it. ... He was flexible to our schedule and even made sure we got gelato for our 6-year-old at the end of the day. He was excellent as was our day with him."

 

"He got us into Rome from the port in no time. I asked if we could see an additional church, St John in Lateran, and Enrico took us there first. Then he drove us around to the various sites with commentary about each one and plenty of time at each for exploring and picture taking."

 

"In addition to being very knowledgeable about the city, he was also delightful company and was most responsive to my interests. When I mentioned having seen paintings by Caravaggio on Malta, he asked if I'd like to see two of Rome's Caravaggios - and in just a few minutes, I was at Santa Maria del Popolo, admiring two amazing paintings."

 

 

=====

 

When one reads this sort of comment probably a thousand times here, one would probably be forgiven for thinking that this is what RIL provides to all. In fact, as you rightly say, they contractually are providing you with a driver who may or may not speak good English and may or may not provide you with additional information.

[Gracie115]

I think this fact too often gets lost and should be given more prominence by those RIL experts that post in this thread numerous times.

 

Given the sorts of comments one reads over and over again about RIL, I am not surprised that the other poster might have been led to expect more. I just went back and skimmed only about 4 pages of this lengthy thread and found repeated references to drivers that clearly did more than the one vplsh had:

 

"We had wonderful drivers in each port. They gave us such great information on the area we were in and they dropped us off and picked us up at just the right places."

 

"For the Rome tour (Civitavecchia port) I was co-ordinating with two couples from another cruise line which made me just a bit nervous; however, I was met by Enrico and then he gathered the others from the other ship. Enrico filled us in on the history of Rome and the many sights we were visiting."

 

"If only we could have brought Maurizio back with us to the U.S. What a charming man. Another wonderful guide who loves his job and loves to share information about Rome. While some people think history is boring, history came alive with this stories. We asked Maurizio for a place away from the tourist crowds for lunch and Maurizio suggested a restaurant where many locals were dining."

 

"Off to a great start. Mike, having lived in the US spoke excellent English and gave us very nice introduction to Rome. At each stop in Rome, Mike would take a few minutes to explain what we were seeing and the history, then we were off to explore and meet up with Mike at a certain time."

 

"in September, 2014 we booked a day tour [of Rome] with Rome in Limo. We found our driver Nicola to be extremely knowledgeable about the history of the city."

 

"In Rome we had Sergio. He truly loves his Rome and took great pleasure in showing us it. ... He was flexible to our schedule and even made sure we got gelato for our 6-year-old at the end of the day. He was excellent as was our day with him."

 

"He got us into Rome from the port in no time. I asked if we could see an additional church, St John in Lateran, and Enrico took us there first. Then he drove us around to the various sites with commentary about each one and plenty of time at each for exploring and picture taking."

 

"In addition to being very knowledgeable about the city, he was also delightful company and was most responsive to my interests. When I mentioned having seen paintings by Caravaggio on Malta, he asked if I'd like to see two of Rome's Caravaggios - and in just a few minutes, I was at Santa Maria del Popolo, admiring two amazing paintings."

 

 

=====

 

When one reads this sort of comment probably a thousand times here, one would probably be forgiven for thinking that this is what RIL provides to all. In fact, as you rightly say, they contractually are providing you with a driver who may or may not speak good English and may or may not provide you with additional information.

 

I think you make good points but I and anyone else who has used them can only speak to the drivers we have had from RIL and the ones we have had ALL spoke excellent English, some were more verbose than others, but all were friendly and helpful. I knew WHEN I reserved the tours that the driver was a driver. RIL is upfront about that on their website and in their emails to potential clients. I didn't expect a driver/guide in any scenario, but we wound up with very well informed drivers....and from the 1000's of posts here I gather that most others have also. But, YES, they are drivers and RIL doesn't try to disguise them as anything else, and a potential client would know that if they are doing their research before booking. I'm sorry the OP wasn't happy and I'm glad they contacted RIL about it....since it seems somewhat of an aberration based on everything you read here about the company and on Trip Advisor and other travel review sites, I can only assume the powers that be at the company would want to know if someone was unhappy with their service.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Gracie115

[vplsh]

I think you make good points but I and anyone else who has used them can only speak to the drivers we have had from RIL and the ones we have had ALL spoke excellent English, some were more verbose than others, but all were friendly and helpful. I knew WHEN I reserved the tours that the driver was a driver. RIL is upfront about that on their website and in their emails to potential clients. I didn't expect a driver/guide in any scenario, but we wound up with very well informed drivers....and from the 1000's of posts here I gather that most others have also. But, YES, they are drivers and RIL doesn't try to disguise them as anything else, and a potential client would know that if they are doing their research before booking. I'm sorry the OP wasn't happy and I'm glad they contacted RIL about it....since it seems somewhat of an aberration based on everything you read here about the company and on Trip Advisor and other travel review sites, I can only assume the powers that be at the company would want to know if someone was unhappy with their service.

 

 

I did contact Jany and shared my post from this thread with her. She responded to me quickly with concern. She said she spoke with our driver and her response, after speaking to the driver was:

"I am glad you enjoy your time with Azzura Blue :) and i am so sorry about Carlo. Until now people are very pleased with him, so i had to find out what was problem, unfortunately even though it sounds absurd he had an accident with a police horse that day that throw him off, but of course that is not an excuse and honestly i am not sure why the mic was not on."

 

I reread the description of the tour on the website and do not see where it says that all the driver does is drive. In fact, in rereading the description of the tour, I see we did even less than we were promised. We never went to the Pantheon or the Trevi fountain (it was under construction so Carlo said it wasn't worth going). And there is nowhere in the description that suggests a guide at the Colosseum is worthwhile. We knew about the Vatican guide, and booked one, which was definitely the right way to go. If there was info about the Colosseum in this thread, then we all missed it, because the 8 of us were disappointed.

 

Like on so many threads on Cruise Critic when you have a different opinion of someplace or some company, I was unsure about posting because of others' responses. The ones I received didn't surprise me, but I hope that my posts gave others coming after me some more information.

[Gracie115]

I did contact Jany and shared my post from this thread with her. She responded to me quickly with concern. She said she spoke with our driver and her response, after speaking to the driver was:

"I am glad you enjoy your time with Azzura Blue :) and i am so sorry about Carlo. Until now people are very pleased with him, so i had to find out what was problem, unfortunately even though it sounds absurd he had an accident with a police horse that day that throw him off, but of course that is not an excuse and honestly i am not sure why the mic was not on."

 

I reread the description of the tour on the website and do not see where it says that all the driver does is drive. In fact, in rereading the description of the tour, I see we did even less than we were promised. We never went to the Pantheon or the Trevi fountain (it was under construction so Carlo said it wasn't worth going). And there is nowhere in the description that suggests a guide at the Colosseum is worthwhile. We knew about the Vatican guide, and booked one, which was definitely the right way to go. If there was info about the Colosseum in this thread, then we all missed it, because the 8 of us were disappointed.

 

Like on so many threads on Cruise Critic when you have a different opinion of someplace or some company, I was unsure about posting because of others' responses. The ones I received didn't surprise me, but I hope that my posts gave others coming after me some more information.

 

Again, I am so sorry you had a bad experience. This is direct from the Rome In Limo website:

 

Before booking, please read our important notes and information about our services

• The rate is including an English speaking driver with a luxury vehicle that would be able to explain all the sites to you but cannot accompany you in the historical or walk around with you. Upon request at an additional fee we can arrange a private guide for you during the day or part of the day.

• We do highly recommend a private guide if you visiting the Vatican (Vatican museums, Sistine chapel and St peter's basilica), please ask for the rate which changes depending on the size of the group

 

Never the less, we were never advised by anyone to have a guide for the Colisseum. We were advised to buy our tickets in advance, which we did and that helped with the lines. The second time we went to Rome we reserved the "underground tour" of the Colisseum on line at the Colisseum site, that has nothing to do with RIL. It was very interesting, but we had to do the leg work for that.

 

I'm glad you posted your experience, because there is no perfect company out there. Sounds like your driver was not up to par, and I'm sure you were disappointed.

[BlueEyesMI]

We used Rome In Limo for 3 days in Rome, a day in Florence and a day in Amalfi coast. LOVED LOVED LOVED it! We actually had ship tours afterwards, and were so sad that we had booked ship tours and not more private ones.

 

In Rome, we had Alberto (and Frederica for Vatican tour). He showed us out of the way things that we would not have seen and gave us tons of info. We felt so spoiled having our own driver and had the best time with him!

 

Until we got to Alex for Amalfi... he was just as wonderful too! And Max for Florence. really, we ran out of words to tell our friends how amazing our experiences with Rome In Limo was. In fact, a flight attendant on the way home was going on vacation to Rome the next week, so I gave him the business cards I had collected from our drivers.

 

One day I hope to be back, and they will be the first call (after I book my plane ticket)!

[myverycreativescreenname]

We just used Rome in Limo for 3 days also: Amalfi, Rome and Florence/Pisa.

 

We had Alex for Amalfi and he did a solid job. He was knowledgeable and friendly. His accent was a bit hard to understand at times and he didn't really "connect" with the kids. But he did an excellent job of helping us to avoid the crowds and we learned a lot on the tour. His lunch suggestion was great, our first meal off the ship in Italy, and it was large quantities of great food at a good price.

 

We also had Lucia for Pompeii, booked through RIL. She was a Pompeii expert, invaluable really as we would have wandered around lost without her. Pompeii is definitely a location where it is worth having a guide! It was so hot, but Lucia did a good job of connecting with the kids and we all learned a lot. She was flexible to our needs for extra stops, urgent bathroom break for my daughter, etc, along the way.

 

In Rome, we hit the jackpot. Our driver was Rolando, and he was perfect for our family. He made great suggestions for sights to see and the order to see them. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. He treated my kids like they were his own grandkids, chatting with them about the city and picking up on what would interest them. His lunch suggestion was a wonderful fixed price place that everyone enjoyed. I cannot imagine a better tour of Rome, truly. We were very happy with his suggestion to replace the under-renovation Trevi with one of the city's catacombs. It was a very unique tour and a great escape from the heat!

 

We then had Katherine for the Vatican, and she also blew us away. She may be the smartest person I have ever met. She went out of her way to chat with each member of our family and customized her lessons and discussions to each. She talked with my 7yo son about gross and weird stuff that made him giggle, pointed out beautiful details to my 9yo daughter, and impressed the teen boys with amazing fact tidbits all while delivering an overview of this huge collection of art and history and answering every question we asked. I was amazed that there seemed to be no single piece of art there that she didn't know all about in detail! It was insanely hot, and it was an insane amount of walking, and I think having her as a guide probably kept us from having a meltdown from one of the two younger kids. Her perfectly timed "Oh, come look at this, it's very neat!" saved the day.

 

We were spoiled at this point, and that is probably why we were a little disappointed with our last tour. Elizabeth was very chatty and upbeat. I would not have actually thought a guide could be too chatty, but it was difficult to get a question out at times and the questions she was posing and then answering were not always on the mark. She did not connect with the kids at all, and they were confused by her constantly posing questions as though we had asked and then answering them. We enjoyed Pisa and Florence, and she did a good job of getting us to all of the sights and avoiding the crowds. One real disappointment in Florence was that we had come to rely on our driver for good lunch suggestions. Elizabeth absolutely refused to suggest a place, even with repeated requests from us. She let us off for a walk through the touristy part of Florence to meet her 3 hours later. She gave us great instructions with a map for what to see and how to get to the meetup point...but then just suggested we wander away from the tourist area and find a random place to eat. We could not even find a way to do that! This day, we ended up eating at a tourist trap that was overpriced and not particularly good. We were frustrated and sad about that. We did really enjoy the subsequent drive through the Tuscan countryside to see the beauty, which was not originally planned but added because we had extra time.

 

All in all, we would recommend Rome in Limo, and would use them again in a heartbeat. If we return to Rome, we will try to seek out Rolando and Katherine. If we return to Florence/Pisa, we will request a different driver.

[laryco]

We had Elizibetta and at first we were unsure about her but she grew on us...same thing with the lunch thing but we picked a good place...she earned our praise when she got around a huge traffic jam on the way back to the boat...for a few minutes we thought we might miss departure but she got us back with time to spare

[myverycreativescreenname]

Yeah, it wasn't enough to ruin the experience or anything. This service is the way to go. We loved that we could hurry along if we had little interest in something, linger a bit if we had more interest. With 4 kids, the ability to stop at a market for a bottle of water/find a restroom for an emergency stop/pause to look more closely at something was extremely valuable. Then when we were done, there was no waiting for the rest of the busload. And the drivers dropped us off steps from the major attractions, saving us long marches through the heat because a bus can't GET close to the attractions on these narrow streets.

 

We did one tour with the ship in Monaco, and it really highlighted how much better the RIL experience is! My 2 teens had a blast in Monaco, but they commented repeatedly that the RIL experience is definitely the way to go whenever possible.

[LEtue]

we were never advised by anyone to have a guide for the Colisseum. We were advised to buy our tickets in advance, which we did and that helped with the lines. The second time we went to Rome we reserved the "underground tour" of the Colisseum on line at the Colisseum site, that has nothing to do with RIL. It was very interesting, but we had to do the leg work for that.

 

Just to add for the benefit of others visiting Europe. It is always a good idea to do your own research and not rely on the description/recommendations of companies that provide a driver only. Then based on that decide what is best for you and what you want to get from the experience.

 

If you posed a question on Cruise Critic and I saw it I would definitely recommend a guide for the Colosseum or any other major site in Rome - especially for a first time visit. There is so much to be gained by using a guide especially since it may be a once in a lifetime trip. I still use them on every trip and still get something new from each one :)

Edited July 25, 2015 by LEtue

[Terpnut]

I have used Romeinlimo on three different visits to Italy and have had personal experience with 9 different drivers and multiple guides for either tours or transfers. I just had Mike (again) for a transfer to Civitavecchia just last week! All I can say is that every driver has been punctual, attentive, interesting and reliable. And through it all, Jany has been there to answer questions and take care of any and all customer service matters - fast with responses and always following through. While comments or reviews must all be taken together to form one's opinion of a company or service, my own broad range of good personal experiences has shown this company to offer consistently great service at a good value.

[mickeysgal]

I have used Romeinlimo on three different visits to Italy and have had personal experience with 9 different drivers and multiple guides for either tours or transfers. I just had Mike (again) for a transfer to Civitavecchia just last week! All I can say is that every driver has been punctual, attentive, interesting and reliable. And through it all, Jany has been there to answer questions and take care of any and all customer service matters - fast with responses and always following through. While comments or reviews must all be taken together to form one's opinion of a company or service, my own broad range of good personal experiences has shown this company to offer consistently great service at a good value.

 

We've been on 5 of their tours with them...and I couldn't agree more.

[Grandpaul]

I'll tell you how good RIL is. A while ago on a cruise to Florence I had booked tour for two cars for 16 people on our cruise. The morning we docked my wife wasn't feeling well but I found another couple to take our place. I mentioned that to the driver and off the two cars went. Later that morning RIL sent another car to see if my wife and I wanted to go on our own cruise of my wife was feeling better. She wasn't so we didn't go. I call that GREAT service. We've used them at the Coliseum and they did at least what we expected. Including getting our tickets and we bypassed the line. We knew we wouldn't have a tour guide as was explained to us. And the driver was excellent at the other shops we had in Rome. One of our greatest days ever. We've used RIL a few times and have never felt shortchanged.

[CruiserBruce]

I'll tell you how good RIL is. A while ago on a cruise to Florence I had booked tour for two cars for 16 people on our cruise. The morning we docked my wife wasn't feeling well but I found another couple to take our place. I mentioned that to the driver and off the two cars went. Later that morning RIL sent another car to see if my wife and I wanted to go on our own cruise of my wife was feeling better. She wasn't so we didn't go. I call that GREAT service. We've used them at the Coliseum and they did at least what we expected. Including getting our tickets and we bypassed the line. We knew we wouldn't have a tour guide as was explained to us. And the driver was excellent at the other shops we had in Rome. One of our greatest days ever. We've used RIL a few times and have never felt shortchanged.

 

That is beyond GREAT, and a wonderful example of why there are so many positive reviews here.

 

Was Francesco one of the drivers? He took care of us last June in Florence. Great time!

[cruisemom42]

LEtue, it is of course excellent advice to do one's own research when deciding on a tour, but it strikes me again that one of the only ways that you are able to check the quality of a company is by reading reviews from previous users (as in this lengthy thread). What I am suggesting is that -- by reading all of the glowing reviews here -- a user might be pardoned for thinking one should at least expect a knowledgeable driver, as that is so often reiterated here.

 

And clearly it's not universally recommended that a guide is necessary for the Colosseum (see the post below, from this very thread, from a RIL expert, as an example) -- however, it's really important for travelers to the Med to understand that UNLESS YOU HIRE A PROFESSIONAL GUIDE the onus is on you to be able to understand and put context around what you are seeing. Unfortunately, that part is often left out in all the glowing posts about RIL services, and European 'rookies' lack the contextual understanding of how important this can be.

 

For the Rome highlights tour I don't think you need a separate guide, the driver will be very informative. Not sure about Florence but assume they are same high quality drivers there.

 

You do get history from the driver, they are very informed. They do NOT go into places with you.

 

 

So -- very seasoned RIL users are assuring people asking questions that they can EXPECT history from their driver. Perhaps that should be amended in future to say "in our experience" or "although it isn't guaranteed....."

[Gracie115]

I'll tell you how good RIL is. A while ago on a cruise to Florence I had booked tour for two cars for 16 people on our cruise. The morning we docked my wife wasn't feeling well but I found another couple to take our place. I mentioned that to the driver and off the two cars went. Later that morning RIL sent another car to see if my wife and I wanted to go on our own cruise of my wife was feeling better. She wasn't so we didn't go. I call that GREAT service. We've used them at the Coliseum and they did at least what we expected. Including getting our tickets and we bypassed the line. We knew we wouldn't have a tour guide as was explained to us. And the driver was excellent at the other shops we had in Rome. One of our greatest days ever. We've used RIL a few times and have never felt shortchanged.

 

And THAT kind of service is why this thread is 1000's of posts long with almost all great reviews......we wouldn't think of using anyone else wherever they are available....:)

[whitma]

We just returned from our Mediterranean cruise. Had a great time. We booked Rome in Limo for our one day stop in Rome. Best thing we ever did. There were 4 of us. Our driver, Stephen, was great. Was waiting for us at the dock. Gave us lots of information about Rome. When we got to the Coliseum he told us where to go and were to meet him afterwards. We had pre-purchased our tickets but still had to wait in a line but it wasn't too bad. He drove us to all the other recommended sites. He recommended a great place for lunch. For the Vatican we booked a guide through RIL. She also was great. Met us outside. We had pre-purchased tickets so we got in right away. Very knowledgeable. Stephen got us back to the dock in plenty of time. Very pleased with Rome in Limo. Highly recommend them if you only have one day in Rome. Will use them again if I ever get a chance to go back.

[Dominicancruiser]

We just returned from our Mediterranean cruise. Had a great time. We booked Rome in Limo for our one day stop in Rome. Best thing we ever did. There were 4 of us. Our driver, Stephen, was great. Was waiting for us at the dock. Gave us lots of information about Rome. When we got to the Coliseum he told us where to go and were to meet him afterwards. We had pre-purchased our tickets but still had to wait in a line but it wasn't too bad. He drove us to all the other recommended sites. He recommended a great place for lunch. For the Vatican we booked a guide through RIL. She also was great. Met us outside. We had pre-purchased tickets so we got in right away. Very knowledgeable. Stephen got us back to the dock in plenty of time. Very pleased with Rome in Limo. Highly recommend them if you only have one day in Rome. Will use them again if I ever get a chance to go back.

 

Good to hear you had a good time whitma! We also booked a Rome in Limo tour for Rome. With all the great reviews and comments here, it was a no brainer to book with them. Our tour of 8 is already all booked and I just put in up on a post a couple days ago. That makes it much cheaper too!!

[lhsail]

Several have mentioned they hired their Vatican guide through RIL and it was worth the money. This is different than booking a guided tour through the Vatican, correct? Would someone be willing to share what they paid for the guide through RIL? Thank you.

[Native New Yorker]

150 euros for 2 hours.

[Native New Yorker]

My family and I, including our 2 children ages 22 and 19, recently returned from a week cruise aboard the Celebrity Equinox. We used Rome in Limo for our private tours in Rome as well as the Amalfi Coast, which left out of the port of Naples on July 11th. Our driver/guide in Rome was Fabio. He was extremely personable, knowledgeable, and well spoken. Fabio was very accommodating to our family's requests during our stay in Rome. He spoke perfect English with no accent, which was excellent. He even took us to an amazing restaurant for lunch. My children even said this was by far their favorite tour of the entire trip. For the Almalfi Coast our driver/guide was Tony. He too was very knowledgeable and personable. I highly recommend Rome in Limo and wouldn't hesitate to use them again, especially Fabio and Tony.

[C0untingstars]

Several have mentioned they hired their Vatican guide through RIL and it was worth the money. This is different than booking a guided tour through the Vatican, correct? Would someone be willing to share what they paid for the guide through RIL? Thank you.

 

We will be paying 180€ when we go in Sept

[Gracie115]

LEtue, it is of course excellent advice to do one's own research when deciding on a tour, but it strikes me again that one of the only ways that you are able to check the quality of a company is by reading reviews from previous users (as in this lengthy thread). What I am suggesting is that -- by reading all of the glowing reviews here -- a user might be pardoned for thinking one should at least expect a knowledgeable driver, as that is so often reiterated here.

 

And clearly it's not universally recommended that a guide is necessary for the Colosseum (see the post below, from this very thread, from a RIL expert, as an example) -- however, it's really important for travelers to the Med to understand that UNLESS YOU HIRE A PROFESSIONAL GUIDE the onus is on you to be able to understand and put context around what you are seeing. Unfortunately, that part is often left out in all the glowing posts about RIL services, and European 'rookies' lack the contextual understanding of how important this can be.

 

 

 

 

 

So -- very seasoned RIL users are assuring people asking questions that they can EXPECT history from their driver. Perhaps that should be amended in future to say "in our experience" or "although it isn't guaranteed....."

 

Since you are quoting me in this post I will respond by saying that what you say is true, but also that a few negative comments on this thread of THOUSANDS of post should NOT make others believe they will have the same experience. All of our RIL drivers have been great. Are they required to provide information, of course not, but, ours, and MANY MANY others have found drivers to be informative, friendly and helpful. It appears the vast majority of RIL are indeed that way or I suspect this thread would have many more posts stating otherwise.

 

But, no it is not guaranteed by RIL.

[lhsail]

We will be paying 180€ when we go in Sept

Thank you.

[Grandma7]

I am looking to book some tours also and had some questions. Does RIL have drivers and then separate guides or are there some that are both? And do they also offer just guides? I am leaning toward walking or taking a taxi to the Vatican or Collosium and then meeting up with a quide. Is there much benefit to hiring a driver? Thanks for any help.

[myverycreativescreenname]

I am looking to book some tours also and had some questions. Does RIL have drivers and then separate guides or are there some that are both? And do they also offer just guides? I am leaning toward walking or taking a taxi to the Vatican or Collosium and then meeting up with a quide. Is there much benefit to hiring a driver? Thanks for any help.

 

There are strict laws in the area and licenses for the various kind of tourist support. An unlicenced person is not allowed to tell you anything. A driver can tell you what they know and drive you from place to place, but cannot enter the museums or attractions with you. They can get out at a lookout point and take your picture, answer questions, etc. A guide has a much more expensive license and specialized training and can go with you through the museum or attraction and explain it all. You probably wouldn't want to pay someone who has guide certification to drive you all over Rome, it would be expensive and besides, you can just get a Vatican expert for the Vatican and a Colliseum expert for the Colliseum and meet them there!

 

For us, there was a huge benefit to hiring a driver. We wanted to see as much of the city as possible with someone who was willing to explain it. We wanted a guaranteed vehicle when we wanted to go, ready to go where we wanted to go. We wanted a safe place to leave our stuff. We saved a lot of walking on a very walk-intensive day because the driver met us right at the exits and dropped us right at the entrances. But those things were relevant to our trip. If all you want is a ride to the Vatican and Colliseum for 2 people, a taxi is much more economical to do that.

 

If you book a guide, be sure to also pre-pay your entrance ticket online. The line for buying Colliseum tickets wrapped halfway around the front of the Colliseum The Vatican ticket line was even longer.