Colosseum Underground Tour With Arena Floor: Vip Experience
Description
Explore the world's most famous amphitheater with an official guide and journey back to the days of the Roman Empire at the monumental Colosseum. Get access to areas not available to regular ticket holders, including the underground level where the wild animals were kept before they went into battle with the gladiators. Learn about the innovative techniques the engineers used to build the monument and hear how it has survived for hundreds of years. Be amazed as history is brought to life as you discuss the political and social reasons for the games and events. Enjoy a short break and then enter the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Tour Options
Itinerary
Colosseum's underground tunnels and the arena floor!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please provide the full names of all travelers when booking. Failure to present a voucher with all travelers' full names at the ticket office prior to entry may result in denied entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
- Each traveler must present a valid passport or ID document that matches the name provided at the time of booking for successful entry to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
- Due to the Jubilee, some monuments may be under restoration. Please pay attention to any messages we may send regarding potential changes.
Reviews(157)
Tour was great and our tour guide was so friendly and nice. He had lots of great information. Highly recommend
Dear WalterAlan_O, Thank you for your great review! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the Underground & Arena VIP tour and that your guide was friendly, nice, and full of great information. We truly appreciate the recommendation – thank you for choosing us! Best regards, Discover Rome Tours Team
Aphrodite was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed learning about the history. Great tour and not too long. I would encourage you to do the underground tour. Well worth the money spent
Dear Cheryl_H, Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're delighted to hear that Aphrodite made your Underground & Arena VIP experience both informative and enjoyable. The underground tour truly adds a special layer to understanding the Colosseum – we're glad you found it well worth the money. Thank you for encouraging others to book it! We hope to welcome you on another tour in the future. Best regards, Discover Rome Tours Team
Going underground shows so much more of course. It was worth doing. Very interesting. Sandro was a good tour guide & very organized. The majority of the tourists were stuck above on the top floors watching us on the bottom floor moving thru the underground.
Thank you, Tonia_Y. Glad you found the underground experience worth it. Sandro will be happy to hear your kind words. It's a unique perspective—thank you for sharing!
I thought that the tour was good but it was a little overpriced for the amount of time. At a couple of points, the tour guide shut down questions by the group, saying we had to keep moving. This was partly due to the site management, so not totally on the tour guide/tour provider but when you pay the amount paid for this tour, I would expect more flexibility and attention to detail. Getting to see underground was very cool though. And we did enjoy what we got to see. Our guide (sorry I can't remember her name) was engaging and seemed to know her stuff. WARNING: this tour is non-refundable/non-exchangeable. This IS listed in the description but I never saw it and every other Viator tour I booked was able to be cancelled/changed up to 24 hours in advance. I mistakenly booked our tour for the wrong day (the day we left Rome) and was initially told nothing could be done. It wasn't until I threatened to void the credit card transaction that I was told someone would contact me later to see if something could be done. I refused to wait, thinking they may try to finalize the credit card payment or something, so I insisted that the matter be resolved in-the-moment or I would cancel the credit card charge. Then, they did place me on hold and came back to say they could book it for another day. I could have understood if I was asking for my money back but there were openings for the day prior to when I had booked that we're available and I just wanted to switch to that day. In the end, they accommodated my request but I had to strong arm them a fair bit. Just wanted to warn others so they don't face the same problem.
Thank you, Jerry. Glad you enjoyed the Underground and your guide, but sorry the tour felt overpriced and rushed. Site management does restrict timing, but we’ll work with our guides on handling Q&A better. We also apologize for the difficulty you had changing your booking date. While the non-refundable policy is stated, we should have been more flexible and helpful from the start—not after pushback. We appreciate the warning to other guests and will improve our customer support training. Thank you for the honest feedback.
So interesting to go underground, and much less crowded. Great, informative tour guide too. Thank you!
Thank you, Shaina_M! The Underground is truly a hidden gem, and we're so happy you found it interesting and less crowded. So glad your guide made the experience even better. Grazie and come back anytime!
Oh woooooowww!! AMAZING!! If you want to see the Colosseum, you MUST get this tour. From the underground to the arena, it was superb.. our tour guide, sorry I forgot your name but you are so AMAZING♥️. She is so knowledgeable.
Dear Losihl_M, Thank you so much for your fantastic review! We are absolutely delighted to hear that your Colosseum Underground and Arena Floor VIP Experience left you saying "Woooooowww!!" and that you found it to be superb. It’s wonderful to know that our tour guide made such a positive and knowledgeable impression—we’ll be sure to share your kind words with our entire team. Our guides truly love bringing the history of the Colosseum to life, especially in the unique underground and arena areas. We greatly appreciate your strong recommendation, and we are thrilled that the tour exceeded your expectations. We hope to welcome you back for another amazing experience in the future! Warm regards, The Discover Rome Tours Team
Very expensive. The underground area is not that vast (just 2 underground levels) you can see alot from the top. The cheaper tour for the underground is probably as cool. This tour would have been better with head phones, our guide would be in the front with his back to us talking, could not hear him. Lots of people and noise everywhere, hard to hear everything when not walking, tried so hard to listen I would close my eyes or look at the ground to concentrate missing out on the view. Also our guide was in a rush. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we appreciated that.
Dear CHRISTINA_L, Thank you for your review and for acknowledging our guide's knowledge. At the same time, we are genuinely sorry that aspects of your VIP tour, particularly the audio and the pace, fell short of providing the excellent experience we strive to deliver. We take this feedback seriously. Ensuring all guests can hear their guide clearly is a priority, and we are reviewing our protocols to improve this. We also regret that the tour's value did not meet your expectations. We appreciate you bringing these issues to our attention, as it helps us improve. We hope to have the opportunity to offer you a better experience in the future. Best regards, The Discover Rome Tours Team
Very informative and definitely recommend doing the underground tour! Especially if you enjoy history and gladiators. It's worth it!
Hi Carrie_Z, Thanks for the great feedback! We agree, the Underground access is a game-changer for history lovers. So happy you enjoyed the VIP experience! Cheers, The Discover Rome Tours Team
This was an incredible tour! You are essentially buying the entrance ticket (and tour) from the company. They do not go inside with you. You then go inside with the group to meet with an official Colloseum guide. If you’re trying to figure out which tour to book, I think this is probably as close as you can get to a full Colloseum experience. They only allow 500 underground tickets per day, and when you are in the underground you are there with your group ONLY. They stagger entrance times so you are able to have a semi private experience. Our guide (Paola) was exceptionally knowledgeable about Roman history and the Colloseum (as you would expect). You start under the stage and work your way through the underground. You then go up a (original) staircase to the arena floor where the group accesses a roped off area so you can see the entire interior of the Colloseum free of crowds for pictures and more historical details. The tour ends on the stage, another area where access is limited, where you can sit and enjoy the view. Once you leave the stage area you can access the first and second floors, but they are very crowded. I think the only thing not included in this ticket is the attic. I’m sure there are great views up there, but I did not feel we were missing much. I was very pleased with this purchase and definitely felt like we received VIP access.
Hello, Thank you for this wonderfully detailed and enthusiastic 5-star review! We are delighted that you had such an incredible experience and took the time to outline the tour's unique aspects so clearly for future travelers. It's fantastic to hear that the exclusive access to the underground, arena floor, and stage provided the semi-private, VIP experience we aim for. We especially appreciate your kind words about your guide, Paola; we agree that her knowledge is exceptional and we will be sure to share your compliments with her. We're thrilled you felt the tour was a complete experience and that your purchase was well worth it. Thank you for choosing Viator and for highly recommending this tour. We hope to see you on another adventure soon! Warmly, The Team at Discover Rome Tours
This was a great tour. If you don't take a tour, you won't really understand the whole purpose of the Colosseum
Thank you! We’re so glad you enjoyed the tour—it’s true, having a guide really brings the Colosseum’s history to life!
