After booking the VIP Rome and Vatican private shore excursion for July 25 for a party of four, with the most kind, helpful, efficient Giulia and Julia of Discovery Guided tours, I was extremely happy to have Silvia as our tour guide (I initially requested her), she being the best, most kind, highly informed, pleasant tour guide for Rome and the Vatican. She effortlessly gave us a full, guided, walking tour complete with full, relevant descriptions, associated history of all the important, various sights in Rome. Her time management was fantastic, even slipping in visits to an Italian coffee shop, a Gelato ice cream parlor that was visited by the Pope and for a local, a tasty lunch at a family bakery and a short shopping experience afterwards. Our driver Alex was on time for pick up at the Civitavecchia cruise port, provided safe driving in a Mercedes town car to Rome and then pick up after the tour to transport us back to the cruise port in ample time for the ship's departure.

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.

Our driver, Gilberto, was very informative and friendly. He picked us up at the cruise port and took Bracciano Lake and it was beautiful and peaceful. We felt like we stepped back in time. Later, he drove us to our hotel in Roma. Highly Recommend!

We travelled with our boys (16 & 13) from the cruise ship for a day with Gilberto in Rome. The advice and support we received from Gilberto and Julia from his team beforehand was excellent. We agreed in advance when to book which sightseeing tours so that the programme could be worked through well. The day with Gilberto was wonderful and we learnt a lot about Rome. Gilberto explained everything important about the city and its history in the best German during the trip. Thanks to his licence, we were able to drive right through the narrowest streets to the sights. Thanks to the free water provided in the car, we were able to withstand the 38 degree temperatures. We visited many of the city's important sights in 7 hours: Victorianum (at the top on the viewing terrace), Colloseum, Forum Romanum, Pantheon (all from the inside), Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, St Peter's Basilica from the inside and the Pope's tombs. In between, Gilberto recommended a great restaurant for a Roman lunch. On the way back to the ship we were tired but super happy! Thank you dear Gilberto for a wonderful day :)

We went on this tour as an excursion from Civitavecchia port on our Mediterranean cruise. We chose the private tour due to mobility concerns and wanting to be able to experience things at our own pace and I'm so glad we made that choice! Our driver was incredibly kind and gave us cold water all throughout the day. Our guide wad incredibly knowledgeable and made all the history interesting and gave us a great lunch recommendation. We fully enjoyed our short time in Rome Thanks to this tour and can't wait to go back to see and experience even more!

Despite the very hot weather, the sights were amazing and it was fascinating to learn about the rich history. Our tour guide Marco made us comfortable and made sure we got the best experience in Toscana, Pompei, and Herculean.

What can I say about our driver Marco and guides Chiara and Sylvia. We spent 2 days touring the Vatican, colosseum, and lake Bracciano. They were so friendly and kept our teenage kids involved and having fun. They are great people with a passion for Italy and its history. I would highly recommend them to anyone visiting Rome.

Our driver Gilberto was AMAZING! He spoke EXCELLENT English and was a very safe driver. He gave us lots of tidbits of interesting info as we drove to Rome. Sylvi was our guide once we got to Rome. She also spoke very good English. She navigated us through the massive crowds and ensured we got fantastic photos at each stop. She also gave us excellent tidbits of interesting history in between our stops. She has a masters in art history so I can’t imagine having a guide who knows more about the art we saw at the Vatican. This tour was a big splurge for our family but it was 100% worth it to learn so much about the massive amount of images we were seeing. This was by far our favorite day of our trip.

As always top notch service! I've used this company for 10 years for multiple tours and they have always been professional, fun, knowledgeable, and we've had some surprises along the way!!

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.

Everything about our experience was A+! I would first like to thank our tour guide and driver Marco for the best possible experience for our group of 8. He was so kind and patient while he toured us through the busy streets of Rome and was so knowledgeable about all the attractions. Marco is a genuinely nice guy who loves what he does! And a huge thanks to Julia for answering my many many emails and questions. She always helped me figure out all the details to make the tour perfect for our group! If you are looking for an alternative to the pricey cruise ship excursions, this is the way to go. I highly recommend Discovery Tours and will definitely use them for future travels.

Very professional and friendly service and great service after 30+ hours of travelling. Will use Discivery again! There was a slight delay with our driver’s arrival but I think this was due to us disembarking and clearing customs very quickly!

Have used this service in the past. They are prompt, professional, knowledgeable, and personable. Highly recommend!

Discovery Tours provided tour and transportation services for me and my wife for several excursions during our trip to Italy. Great communication, quality vehicles, and on time service. We want to specifically thank Gilberto Stanzioni for his hospitality.

We had a wonderful experience riding with Gilberto for a private transfer between Rome and the Port of Civitavecchia. Gilberto arrived on-time and was very friendly, helpful and fun to drive with. We had arrived right before the Spring time change in Europe. We received a nice message reminding us of the time change as well. Would highly recommend this company! Thank you for the great service!