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The Eco City Tour of Rome has got to be one of the best ways to view the major tourist attractions of Rome when you are travelling with kids. This October my husband and I travelled with our three kids (age 2, 3 and nearly 6) to the Italian capital (staying at Camping Fabulous with Eurocamp) to spend a week immersed in culture, history and food, indulging ourselves as much as our children.
We booked the Eco City Tour for the day after we arrived, giving us time to settle into our accommodation and find our way around first. The tour began at 2pm at their usual meeting point at the top of Via Vittorio which was helpfully photographed and emailed to us in advance, along with a map and written directions. We were greeted warmly by Tasha who was holding a yellow-ish (more of a peach colour) umbrella with angels on it and she introduced us to Valentina who was our driver for the tour. We had decided to take a baby carrier for our 2 year old and a cheap little pram for the three year old and we were able to fit these on board the golf buggy, along with our bags, relatively easily. Tip: I don’t think it would be easy to achieve with a large pram.
We clipped ourselves in and we were ready to go! Now for tourists of a nervous disposition you may find the prospect of traveling on the main roads around the city on a golf buggy completely bonkers, however the benefits soon became apparent. We were able to duck down side streets and away from the traffic then park up in the tiniest of spaces to walk our Mini Travellers minimum distances to see spectacles like the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the President’s house, Circo Massimo, etc, etc, etc! There really are too many places to list.
Tasha took the time at the start of the tour to find out exactly what we wanted to see. We said, “Everything!” And we really feel we did see everything that we could think of and so many more that we hadn’t considered. Plus we enjoyed being able to visit different areas of town and find out which was the best shopping area, which is the most popular area to eat out, which was the historical city centre, etc. It helped to give us ideas about where to focus our time for the remainder of the week. Tasha was so knowledgable about every area we visited, we felt by the end of it we really understood Rome and the Italian culture a lot more. I am completely sure we could not have replicated this tour ourselves – bus tours can’t get to the attractions down little side streets, they don’t present in a child friendly way or repeat themselves when you can’t hear them! They don’t help you find a loo when your little one is bursting (lack of public facilities is an issue in Rome), or recommend the best ice cream shops!
We also couldn’t have possibly seen this much on foot in such a short space of time – Rome is a big place and the metro/bus doesn’t necessarily take you to close to where you want to be (it only covers the right hand side and top of the city so you can end up walking many miles to see things).
Prices for the tour are €85 an adult and €40 for children over 6. As all our kids are under 6 this tour would’ve only cost us €170 for 3 hours and in our opinion it is money well spent. Thank you Angel Tours!
NB. I do feel it is important to discuss the issue of car seats and seat belts – our children sat on the golf buggy seats without car seats but with seat belts on. The tour does involve travelling on busy main roads and this was a risk with the 2 and 3 year old but we drove past many police officers who did not have an issue with it – they did tell our 3 year old to tuck his foot in so they definitely saw us! If you are considering this tour and are travelling with a baby/young child I would definitely recommend using a car seat with an adult sat next to the child as the journey can be bumpy along the cobbled streets. Our nearly 6 year old was absolutely fine with wearing the seat belt and was sensible enough not to mess about, this meant that we could each sit next to the 2 and 3 year old and hold on to them. This is important to do as there are no sides on the golf buggy. Please consider how you will ensure your kids are safe on the buggy and I would also check your options with the company at the time of booking to make sure you are completely happy with it before you spend your money.
Emma and Ian received this tour in exchange for this review, but all opinions are their own.
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This sounds like an absolutely amazing trip to do. Rome can be very tiring on foot so a golf buggy sounds a fabulous idea.
Looks like a fabulous time was had – such a great idea. And gorgeous photos xXx
Looks like a fab tour – love the gelato photo! #mondayescapes
Rome is definitely on our bucketlist. This tour sounds awesome! I love the idea of it being eco friendly. Will have to keep it in mind! #MondayEscapes.
Ahh, Rome is my fave city! Where we went for our honeymoon. Like you say the roads are bonkers so I think you are very brave for seeing Rome the way you did! However, what a great way of getting round the city and seeing everything and no little weary legs either. Win! #MondayEscapes
Tours are such a great way to see a city – you can miss out on so much otherwise. Good point about hte seatbelts/car seats though. Other countries do things very differently to us, don’t they? I’ve had some very hairy rides in the past! #MondayEscapes
looks like a fun tour! #mondayescapes
I absolutely love this idea. Perfect for getting close to the key sites without wearing out little legs. Will bookmark.
#mondayescapes
We’ve done the golf buggy drive around Rome many many years ago but I didn’t realise you could go to so many places. It really is huge isn’t it? And is so tiring to do on foot. Love the place though (and the food!)
This sounds like a great way to see the city. You can see so much more when you’re touring a city with a local than you can on your own. I’ve never been able to do a city tour but I would love to look into them more. #mondayescapes
What a great idea, fun, keeps everyone together and handy #MondayEscapes
I love the idea of travelling round on a golf buggy! It looks so much fun – definitely a great way to see the city. #mondayescapes
This sounds great. I remember the last time I went clocking up quite a few miles on my feet. Perfect when you’re with your mini-me’s.
This sounds a great way to see the city ! I love Rome but haven’t been since we have had children-time for another visit! #Mondayescapes
I love this idea! I will have to check this out when we finally make our way to Rome.
I’ve been to Rome twice already and I never knew about travelling in a Golf Buggy! What an interesting idea! Thanks for the tips! #mondayescapes
This does seem like a great way to cut down on walking without using public transport. I have heath issues that limit my walking ability, so this is music to my ears. And what a great city to utilize this kind of service in! #MondayEscapes
Looks like a great tour and a fantastic way to get around Rome – we walked for miles in the summer! #mondayescapes
Certainly saves the feet!
Oh I do love Rome, we would love this so much x
Looks like a lot of fun! Definitely something to think about when we go to Rome in the future.
We’ve never been to Rome. Looks like such good fun! Really useful info thank you, laura
This is fantastic! We drove a golf cart around in Rome but just in the main park, nothing like this with a full on tour. Seems like a great way to see the city especially since there are so many small streets. Saving this for our next visit! #mondayescapes
Oh wow! That sounds like so much fun (full envy mode after seeing you guys devouring the ice cream). Agree that is is better to see the sights this way when traveling with kids. Rome is big indeed! #MondayEscapes
Sound like a great way to get around with little ones. They don’t get as tired from having to walk around so much and you get to see everything too! #mondayescapes
We loved Rome but just could not see everything in a day. The tour sounds like a great way to see what you can with someone who knows what not to miss #MondayEscapes
This seems like a great way to see the city – a great way of making sightseeing more exciting for kids! My 8yo is doing the Romans at school and asked me yesterday if we could visit Rome – he would love this tour. #mondayescapes
This tour looks like a great way to cover some ground in Rome, especially with kids. A good tour guide can make a world of difference so it sounds like it was well worth it. Rome has so many attractions to see that doing this early on probably meant you didn’t feel as rushed later on. Nice review. #MondayEscapes
What a great idea! I love that it can go onto the smaller streets. I love doing something like this when first visiting a new city because it is a great way to get an overview.
Kimberly
#MondayEscapes
What a great way to orientate yourself at the start of a trip to Rome. This sounds like a greta way to sightsee as a family to make sure you get the most out of your guide and the city. That’s such a useful point to make about the car seats. I think most people would assume if it was a family tour that the buggy would be fully equipped for young kids. #MondayEscapes
We’ve been to Italy so many times (I literally returned from my latest trip there last night) but are yet to find our way to Rome. We really must rectify this soon. I love the idea of these buggies being able to dive down side streets etc. Great idea! Sorry my comment is late.
#MondayEscapes