Everyone knows there’s a lot to see and do in Rome. After all, we’re talking about thousands of years of history, conflict, ruins, art, and various neighborhoods representing different populations. The question is, with a limited amount of time, where do you start?

This was the question I was asking when I started to plan our trip to Tuscany and Rome earlier this year. My husband had never been to Rome before, and I was in my early teens last time I visited the Eternal City. We had 5 days to play around with, so I thought it would be best to start with a tour focusing on the overview of Rome while helping us orient ourselves within the city.

I had booked golf cart tours of Rome for clients before who loved it, so I thought why not try out something I often recommend? One of my go-to tour operators for semi-private experiences in Europe is LivTours, and they’re who I used for this golf cart tour of Rome. Stick around to find out what our golf cart tour experience was like, which sites we saw, what was included, and if it’s the right tour for you.

Table of Contents

• Why I Prefer LivTours
• About Our Private Golf Cart Tour
• Meeting Point
• Our Cool Guide, Simone
• First Round of Stops
• Aperitivo Break
• Last Round of Stops
• Tour Cost + Was It Worth It?
• Kat’s Final Thoughts

Why I Prefer LivTours

Full disclosure, this is not the only experience I booked with LivTours on this Italy trip. We did a grand total of 5 tours with this company since I like them so much, especially their Italy products.

I prefer LivTours because they’re family-owned, offer semi-private options, and have high quality guides. By semi-private, I mean most tours are typically capped at 6 people maximum. This means you can avoid the impersonal feeling of larger group tours, ask your tour guide questions (and hear them better, let’s be real), and not pay as much as a private tour.

Their private tours are great too. There’s nothing like getting personalized attention and being able to customize a tour. If you book a semi-private tour, like we did, and no one else books your time then you’ll get the tour private by default. This is exactly what happened for our private golf cart tour.

About Our Private Golf Cart Tour

The specific tour I booked us was called “Golf Cart & Drinks Evening Tour of Rome | Semi-Private” and I specifically chose it because of the time of day. Our tour was in June, and the locals we spoke to said it was unreasonably hot even for summer. This golf cart tour took place in the late afternoon so the weather was perfect and traffic wasn’t as bad.

The description of this tour painted a picture of cruising around Rome in a nice golf cart stopping by iconic sites like the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain with a bottle of prosecco in hand. The tour also included a stop for wine and Italian meats while learning about aperitivo culture. There was a maximum cap of 6 guests on this tour, and we thought this was the perfect size.

One thing I have to say is that the golf cart was invaluable for this tour. This little thing could go down narrow roads that normal cars couldn’t, which means we got to see a more local side of Rome. We could also easily squeeze through traffic and drive all the way up to some of the sites which would be impossible in a bus, van, or regular car. Trust me when I say that a golf cart tour is the way to go!

Meeting Point

We received our vouchers with the meeting point and starting time shortly after confirming the tour. The voucher specified a 6:00 PM start time meeting in front of the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Hotel (a gorgeous luxury hotel, by the way) at Piazza Repubblica.

The piazza was around a 20 minute walk from our hotel, or 10 minute taxi ride. It’s not far from Roma Termini train station where there’s a metro stop about 5 minutes away from the meeting point. There’s also a metro stop right in front of the Anantara Hotel (Repubblica stop). Honestly, it was a pretty central starting point and I appreciated that there was tons of space so we weren’t scrambling to find our guide (unlike our Vatican tour which was crazy).

There wasn’t any LivTours signage visible, but we walked towards some golf carts we saw parked and quickly saw our guide holding a LivTours folder. The main office is pretty good about reaching out to guests within 5 minutes of tour start in case they can’t locate their guide.

Our Cool Guide, Simone

I know better than anyone that a guide can make or break and experience, and in our case, Simone made our tour. We came up to him after arriving at Piazza Repubblica and he immediately welcomed us with a warm smile. The guy looked like an Italian George Clooney, I’m not kidding (see his picture at the end of the blog post)! After checking our names he delivered good news: the other guests cancelled last minute and we now have the tour to ourselves.

Simone was the coolest guide we’ve ever had. Before we started the tour, he handed us a cooler of proseccos (we got extras because of the cancelled guests) and told us about himself. The guy was an actor part-time and was even in John Wick 2. He was super passionate about the movie industry which tickled my husband to no end. Also, he was born and raised in Rome and throughout the tour pointed out some sites where he and his friends would get into mischief growing up.

Because Simone was also an actor, he had a knack for storytelling. In a city where the history spans thousands of years, it can get pretty confusing. Simone was great at painting vivid pictures of what life was like during the different eras of Roman history. He shared just enough information to make a story compelling without oversharing and becoming boring. During traffic stops he would whip out his phone and show us a famous painting or statue that was in a building nearby. Best of all, he knew the Roman roads like the back of his hand and was not intimidated by sharing the roads with full-sized cars and buses.

First Round of Stops

We started our now private golf cart tour stopping at Piazza del Quirinale learning about how the popes used to live in the Palace which is now home to the President. I’m paraphrasing, as I don’t want to give everything away, but we enjoyed learning about the significance of Quirinale.

We then headed to the Colosseum, Simone helped us avoid the crowds and took us up a hill for the most amazing view. This is where the influencers were laying on the wall taking pictures. Simone actually sweet talked the guards to park the golf cart up here as normally vehicles aren’t allowed. He also knew we had a full Colosseum tour scheduled in the next few days so he didn’t go too in depth, but he did share some interesting facts and snapped pictures of us as well.

After the Colosseum we drove past the Forum and Circus Maximus. We got out to look at the former chariot racing track to fill up our now empty prosecco bottles with water. Simone told us about the numerous Roman water fountains with constantly running fresh water. Totally free! We learned a bit more about the Circus Maximus and then hopped back into the golf cart for our next stop.

Aperitivo Break

On the way to our aperitivo stop, we passed by the “Mouth of Truth” sculpture made famous by the movie, Roman Holiday. We also drove past the Victor Emmanuel II monument, known by locals as the “wedding cake” building because of how huge and blocky the building is. Simone also took us through some narrow, very local, alleyways sharing stories of what neighborhoods used to look like.

Before long, we made it to Piazza del Biscione right off of the famous Campo de Fiori. We hopped out of our golf cart and made our way to Ristorante Verso Sera where we already had a table out on the patio. Simone spotted some sweet ladies that actually toured with him earlier in the week and went back to this restaurant because they liked it so much. The three of us sat down facing the square and were promptly served taralli (wheat crackers) and a glass of wine. We were told that it’s not an aperitivo without meat and cheese so the server also brought out a platter of Italian cuts and cheeses.

We spent about an hour here chatting with Simone and people watching in the square. My husband and Simone bonded over their shared love of film, specifically Italian horror movies. Simone shared his coveted list of best restaurants and bars in Rome with me. It felt like we were really good friends enjoying a drink together. There was a good mix of locals and tourists at this restaurant, and we thought it was a good choice.

Last Round of Stops

After loading up on meat, cheese, bread, and wine, we hopped back into the golf cart. We stopped at Piazza Navona and learned about a feud between famous artists before heading to the Pantheon. Though we didn’t go into the Pantheon, Simone told us it was a must-visit if we wanted to get a fuller picture of Roman history.

One of the last stops was the infamous Trevi Fountain, which we had just seen while re-watching the Lizzie Maguire Movie. Vehicles are strictly not allowed by the fountain so Simone dropped us off a block away and waited with the golf cart while we went to snap a photo. Boy, was there a line! We did not feel like waiting in line to take a picture up close so we just walked around, ooh’d and ahh’d, and then headed back to the golf cart. The fountain was pretty close to our hotel so we could always walk back here if we wanted.

After 3 hours of driving around Rome and chatting with Simone, it was time for us to part ways. Simone dropped us off right outside the gardens of the Borghese Gallery at an overlook that captured a gorgeous panoramic view of the city. We took a group picture together, exchanged contact information, and said our goodbyes. Nearby were the Spanish Steps and the road back to our hotel so we got to explore a bit more of the city on the walk back.

Tour Cost + Was It Worth It?

We really enjoyed this tour. It was the perfect start to our stay in Rome. Not only did we learn a lot about Roman history that carried through the rest of our time in Rome, but we got a good sense of the layout of the city so we could walk around in the coming days. Our guide, Simone, was excellent and we got really lucky getting the tour private.

The cost of this tour was around $350 for 2 adults in June. The pricing could change depending on the time of year. I should note that the evening golf cart tour is more expensive because drinks + aperitivo are included, but we found this to be well worth it. If we booked this privately from the start, we’d pay closer to $500 for the experience which would make sense if we were with friends or family.

Kat’s Final Thoughts

I mentioned before that I’ve booked golf cart tours in Rome for clients before and I’m glad I got to experience this first hand because I still highly recommend it. I especially suggest starting your trip to Rome with this tour so you can familiarize yourself with the city better.

Over the next few days, we did a few more LivTours (reviews to come!) including a Vatican tour, Colosseum tour, Borghese Gallery tour, and a day trip to Tivoli. I can say looking back, this golf cart tour with Simone was our favorite of the trip.