Choosing a Rome Bus Tour as opposed to a walking tour can be a difficult decision to make. One of the joys of travel is that it is a very individual matter. Maybe your ideal trip is with a map and a backpack and nothing else. Maybe you need your creature comforts and a luxury hotel room wherever you go. Everyone is different.
Likewise, the way you explore a destination is up to you. Invariably, we travel to see new places and have new experiences, and both bus and foot tours allow us to do that.
Which one is better? Well, that’s up to you. We break it down here for you.
The Benefits of an Organized Rome Bus Tour
The biggest benefit of joining a bus tour has to be the most obvious one. You get to cover a lot more ground in a shorter space of time.
In recent years, an element of snobbery has crept into the idea of traveling like a tourist with influencers, and the travel media, insisting people should travel like a local. While this is a broader argument than can be investigated here, and there is some merit to the idea, it’s satisfying to see that there is some pushback to this attitude happening at a grassroots level.
When you travel to new places, invariably you’ve only got a few days or weeks to get to know your new destination. A bus tour is a perfect way to get to know your holiday spot - plus more!
For example, when in Rome, you can see everything the Eternal City offers and travel to Pompeii to see the remains of an ancient civilization destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius when you tour with us. This experience adds more to your trip, both from an educational and inspirational point of view. Bus tours take you places that you just cannot get to on foot.
Take a bus tour from Rome to Pompeii
The Drawbacks of an Organized Rome Bus Tour
Our bus tours are designed to include your own time for exploration, but the very nature of a bus tour is scheduled. Time limits are enforced. While this is necessary to ensure that everyone on the tour is taken care of and there is enough time to complete the promised tour, you may want to consider a more flexible tour if you don’t want to be limited by an external schedule.
Our guide making sure that everyone is on board
The Benefits of an Organized Rome Walking tour
There’s something about a walk that gets you under the very skin of a destination.
In Rome, the streets tell as much of a story as the monuments you’ll see. Embarking on a tour by foot takes you right to the scene of the action and your tour guide will weave a story as they share anecdotes that bring the city alive for you.
Secondly, whether you’re on a private tour or have bought tickets and joined a group, you’ll find yourself on the same streets as the inhabitants of the destination you’re visiting. Since locations are made up as much by the people as by the buildings and monuments, a walking tour is one of the best ways you can immerse yourself in a new destination while you’re traveling.
Best of Rome Walking Tour
The Drawbacks to an Organized Rome Walking Tour
Make no mistake, you’re still on a schedule when you tour a new location by foot. It’s imperative that your tour guide is strict on time-keeping to ensure you see as much as possible. For tours like the Vatican, where special extras include Skip-the-Line benefits and private access to areas that may often be closed to the public, arriving on time is essential. The aim is not to hurry you but you will be on a schedule once again. This doesn’t suit everyone.
One other aspect to consider when you’re thinking of a walking tour is that you’ll be getting from place to place via busy streets and bustling centers. This is hardly wholly a drawback; for many people, participating in the daily life of the city they’re visiting is part of the fun.
And, as mentioned above, a sense of place is often enhanced by being at ground level with locals. But, for some people, navigating large crowds, on foot, while soaking in what your guide is telling you, and keeping up in a place where you likely don’t have an acute sense of direction, can be stressful.
Making sure that everyone is ready to skip the lines through our official Private Partner Entrance at the Vatican
Your Tour, Your Way
There’s no one right way to travel. It’s your choice how you want to explore on your trip. When you tour with us, you have multiple options on how you spend your time in the city of the gladiators! You may not even want to make a decision about it. If you have the time you can do both bus tours and walking tours while in Rome.
If you are interested in learning more about our different tours, check out all our tours in Rome.
