Navigating the Colosseum & Roman Forum with Baby Twins and a Kindergartener #TheRomanGuy

My husband Daniel and I recently decided to take a family trip abroad to Europe with our 6-year-old daughter Ava, and her little sisters, 1-year-old twins Rose and Ella.  This was our first family trip with all three of the girls since I gave birth to the twin. I was determined to make this a trip of a life time, so I put a lot of planning into our two-month long vacation to Europe. One thing I did was plan our activities before leaving. One of my favorite bookings I made was a tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum with The Roman Guy. It helped make our stay in Rome a success!

Rome was our last stop on a two-month-long vacation in Europe. We arrived from Palermo, Sicily and quickly made our way to our apartment near Campo dei Fiori. It was super hot, and we were super tired from getting up early to take the plane, so we spent most of the day relaxing. We also knew we need to save our energy because I had booked a tour with The Roman Guy for the following day.

I scheduled our family-friendly Colosseum & Roman Forum Private Tour for 9:30 am, hoping to beat the Roman heat. Since getting anywhere on time is a challenge for us, we took a taxi directly to the Colosseum subway station. It was a short walk down a flight of stairs to our guide who was waiting near a newsstand.  She kicked off the tour by surprising Ava with her very own treasure map, bracelet and a book about the Colosseum. From there, we made our way to the line, which was longer than usual that day. Luckily, we got past the majority of the lines because we were a private tour. The tour guide tried her best to entertain our twins while we waited. 

Once we entered, the place was packed! Our guide did her best to avoid the crowds and held our daughter’s hand. Daniel and I followed Ava and her new BFF from The Roman Guy around the Colosseum while she searched for clues on her map, like ancient symbols and graffiti that have withstood the tests of time.

Ava giddily gobbled up all the knowledge our guide had to offer, and she was engrossed in all of the ancient Roman history and legends surrounding the gladiators. Our guide managed to keep Ava engaged while sharing a ton of interesting information with us.  While touring the Colosseum we learned how the Romans spent an average day in the city during the gladiator days. Imagining how people used to live long ago sparked our daughter’s imagination.

With the help of our friendly guide and Ava’s treasure map, we made our way to the Arch of Titus, which is truly a breathtaking piece of Roman architecture.  The Arch of Titus was constructed c. AD. 82, and is believed to have inspired the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. By this time it had gotten extremely hot, and our guide took this into account and tried to keep us in the shade as much as possible. I appreciated this with three young children. She was also willing to take breaks and mold the tour to suit the needs of our family. In all the tour lasted three hours and I think that was just about right for our family. 

The grand finale of our private tour was visiting the resting place of Julius Caesar in the Roman Forum. Ava had a million questions about the burial place of Caesar, and our guide answered them all! Ava has not stopped rambling about Julius Caesar and the gladiators since we got home! 

I enjoy taking tours when I travel, so I’m glad The Roman Guy has thought about families who travel with children and created a tour crafted especially for families like us. After doing this tour and seeing countless group tours walking around Rome, I know I made the right decision when booking a private tour with The Roman Guy. Booking a group tour would have been a nightmare for our family. Taking a private tour alleviated any stress that would have been felt by taking a group tour. If the babies cried, we could stop, and Ava could take a break when her feet were hurting. 

When I planned our trip to Rome, the one thing I wanted was to make some magical moments with my whole family and some memories to last a life time.  And, it was a total success. How many  6-year-olds can say that they have walked the same streets as Julius Caesar? 

Taking a family vacation abroad can be daunting, and I’m not going to say it was easy, but it was all worth it!  If you are planning a trip in the near future to Italy, I highly recommend booking some tours with The Roman Guy.  They have tours to every Roman landmark imaginable, and some you may not have even known existed, and the guides are wonderful with kids!

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