In Rome Tours Blog II

IN ROME TOURS REVISED BLOG II

Vatican City tours in the news

 Late on March 17th. when St Patrick's Day in Rome was in full flow, the American owner of Vatican City Tours, who occupy prime virtual real estate on Google for keyword "Vatican tours", second in rank only to the official Vatican website, was arrested for fraud. For reasons best to known to himself, he was using his website to profit from non-existent tickets offering access to St. Peter's Square on May 1st, when the beatification of late Pope John Paul II will take place. His price per "ticket" was £150. In fact, the event is open to everyone and it is free.

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 The owner was also charged for running a cash rich unlicensed tour agency in Rome. Whether or not he did keep 21 firearms, 15 computers and 11 USB keys in his apartment remains to be seen, perhaps we'll never know. For now, rumours abound that three other unlicensed tour agencies with websites on Google page #1 for "Vatican tours" will be investigated by the same e-crime team which closed in on Vatican City Tours.

 Vatican City Tours are also Limo Services EU and Italian Services Biz too, so all things being equal, these partner websites will be wound up in due course and removed from the internet.

 Vatican City Tours as of March 20th, 2011:

 "If you are the owner of this web site you have not uploaded (or incorrectly uploaded) your web site. For information on uploading your web site using FTP client software or web design software, click here for FTP Upload Information."

 All of the above means that the website has been pulled offline permanently for fraudulent activities. More to follow in the business of "Vatican tours" provided by unlicensed tour agencies, no doubt.

 Always use Google to check the name and reputation of your Vatican tours provider before paying online.

 In Rome Tours SRL, Tour Operator license 7339 granted by Provincia di Roma on 19/10/2010.

Public transport in Rome

 When the public transport workers of Rome decide to go on strike, they don't hold back. Rome grinds to a halt. Great care is taken to time their industrial action with political demonstrations, making it even more difficult for the rest of us to move across what fast becomes a suburban quagmire.

 Strikes aside, if you haven't been to Rome or are coming soon, here's a quick guide!

 Bus tickets: if you're a tourist it can be hell finding a place to get some. If you don't, you might be fined by inspectors who love the 40 and 492 routes in town. It's a 50 euros on the spot fine or about 110 euros if you have no cash. You'll have to take the bill you are given to any post office and pay up there, but of course you won't care about that when you're back home. You can buy bus / metro tickets in the Italian equivalent of a newsagent, just look for "tabacchi" on any street. Some bars sell bus / metro tickets too.

 Bag sellers, umbrella sellers, picture sellers with nowhere to sleep at night unless you buy one occupy at least 10% of all available legroom on all buses in Rome 24/7. Call it free temporary storage. When buses in Rome get busy, Italians get stressed and begin to lose control, at which point we advise you to get off and hail a taxi.

 Metro is better. Quicker, cleaner, but with a downside. Gypsies move through each carriage destroying traditional songs from back home and expecting to be paid for it by parading their most vulnerable looking child while the music plays. It's an uncomfortable experience for the rest of us, to say the least.

 An Italian student, Vanessa Russo, was stabbed in the eye with an umbrella at Termini station a few years ago by teenage Romanian prostitute Doina Matei. Vanessa allegedly annoyed her killer (and friend) during an altercation while getting on / off her carriage, and, as a result, died in agony a few hours later in Policlinico nearby. Rare incidents of random acts of violence aside, the metro is pretty safe.

 Football supporters will occupy Metro Linea A for an hour or so after either Roma or Lazio have played at home, but they're usually on the right side of rowdy, and, being Italian, prone to bursting into song. Just keep an eye on your jacket pockets and bag. It is said that 500 pickpockets work Rome's metro system every day. To be continued.

Vatican guides

 Vatican tour guides. Quality control in a service industry dealing specifically with educating people about the finest paintings and sculptures in the world, would, one might reasonably assume, be a given. People who have for the most part travelled great distances to experience the history of Rome and the Vatican City expect a tour guide who really knows their stuff; qualified, licensed, polite, personable and punctual. What are the guarantees?

 It is not an overly difficult task to pick out licensed Vatican tour guides when in the vicinity of St Peter's Square. Most of them are Italian and have studied for many, many years to earn their right to lead tours behind the Vatican walls. As for the worst of the rest, a first time visitor to Rome could well end up being guided through the marvels of the Sistine Chapel by a first time visitor to Rome! How's that? It's not unheard of for new arrivals to be trained up on how to tour the Vatican on their first evening in Rome via several beers with unscrupulous tour agency owners!

 Advice? Ask your guide to display his or her official tour guide badge. If he or she cannot produce it, walk away and head for an official Vatican tours agency which employs official licensed tour guides. Tour guide examinations in Italy are notoriously tough, and those who get through are those with whom you must see Rome, the Vatican, and indeed anywhere else on the peninsula.

 When in Rome, it is important to remember that In Rome Tours was founded upon the very high standards delivered by official, licensed tour guides. Of course, touring Rome with In Rome Tours is the wise choice, however, some students and graduates who flock to Rome for summer work do know their history too, but without the required ID it matters not. Strict regulations are already in place for the coming high season which will make a legal distinction between those who can work, and those who cannot.

Roman Rain

 They are an electronic band from Moscow and possibly a film company in Rome, too, according to Angel Tours, but anyway, when it rains here, it pours! The original Roman rain. All sense of sensibility disappears down the drain and drives us all to distraction. Deserted streets, soggy trainers, giant umbrellas sheltering just one Italian. All of us flailing through the never, while the rest of us begin to behave in exactly the same way as those upon whom we frown, barging our impatient way through the despondency. It's do or drown, as Phil Oakey once sang. Maybe.

 Only torrential rain could dampen the eternal appeal of Rome. The narrow streets which lead towards high Vatican City walls look particularly unappealing beneath a hood of grey clouds. Between the months and warmer climes of May and August, when the annual visitor count creeps up towards the 5m mark - that's alot of Rome tours - drier Rome becomes another world. For now, and it's still raining hard, the vast majority of tourists in search of a good quality, licensed tour operator are making their way to our premises on Via Sebastiano Veniero 21 by canoe.

 Those who are left behind in the watery wind are welcome to do the same, we still have some bright red In Rome Tours umbrellas in need of a few heads!

 If this horrid weather persists, we'll be ordering branded wellies and raincoats in the near future. For the most interesting Vatican and Rome tours come rain or shine, visit us when in Rome.

A quiet weekend in Rome

 Saturday, February 5th, 2011 in Rome was a muted affair. Perhaps the narrow defeat of Italy by Ireland here at the Stadio Flaminio the pail that doused local Six Nations enthusiasm. However, the Irish community was out in force a week later to follow England 59 Italy 13 after the Manchester derby. Plenty of touristic publicity littered the expat pubs and bars between Termini station and Piazza Venezia offering Vatican tours, Colosseum tours, and other Rome tours in general, but in our office, it was a quiet day all round.

 Italy meet Wales and then France on February 26th. and March 12th. respectively. For Rugby Union fans travelling to Rome to follow their team, we are offering €25 off our Vatican Highlights morning tour and afternoon Vatican tour as well as our shared Colosseum Rome tours. Travellers who would like to avail of this offer, kindly attend our office on Via Sebastiano Veniero 21 the day before the match with one of our tour flyers between 9am and 11am. Flyers can be found in the Druids Rock or Druids Den near Termini station.

 Italian chances in this year's tournament are already slim, coach Nick Mallett had to endure shocking line outs, shoddy tackling and a real horror show from hooker Ghiraldini at Twickenham. We're hoping for renewed interest in the Six Nations here in Rome with an Italian win against the Welsh in a fortnight, however unlikely that may seem.

 Walking up Via Flaminia to Stadio Flaminio when Italy are playing England, France, Scotland, Wales or Ireland has become a pilgrimage for Italian Rugby Union fans. Do they know about the ancient necropolis discovered beneath one side of the stadium in 2008 or the long history of Via Flaminia? Visit the In Rome Tours website to learn more and book tours of Rome too.

Helicopter tours, Rome - really?

 It's another new and exciting on request activity from In Rome Tours, which, in truth, has very little to do with Rome at all, bar the fact that the heliport is located a few clicks north of the city. Strange as it may seem, helicopter tours "of Rome" don't hover directly over the city centre due to ATC restrictions, however, with the rest of the region immediately accessible, it's never been a problem!

 Our prices are far from prohibitive, for perhaps twice the cost of seeing Rome on a private tour over one or two days, you can see alot from a helicopter with family, friends or clients. Perhaps the olden days of sightseeing in Rome on foot, by carriage, Segway, pedalo, you name it we've probably seen it etc. are over? Well, not quite. Vatican tours and other walking tours in Rome are simply necessary and that will never change, but what better way to experience such a beautiful country than from on high? Of course, on one of our helicopter tours, Italy's great cities can be visited too (by special request). Wherever you land, one of our private guides will be on hand to show you Venice, Palermo, Genoa, Turin, so on and so forth - there really are no limits on this activity, just your imagination!

 If you are looking for an expedient and cost-effective way of seeing Italy - all of Italy - in one day, or even half a day, our helicopter tour services fit the bill perfectly. In the coming weeks we'll be listing new tours to the volcanoes of south Italy and Sicily, which will include connections by helicopter. If you are keen on seeing our active craters from the air with a focus on perhaps Mount Etna or Stromboli, let us know!

Italy shore excursions

 Perhaps 500 limo / bus tour companies send their drivers to the ports of Civitavecchia, Livorno, Venice, Palermo and Messina every morning offering all manner of trips to weary tourists who are very much looking forward to seeing what they can of Italy. We all know, and have already discussed the fact that bus tours arranged by cruise lines here in Italy and probably everywhere else in the world are a waste of time and money. Limo tours offered by drivers who double as tour guides are the middle ground, in that tourists will be told what they are seeing in broken english, but no more. Is that really enough in a city as splendid as Rome, for example? A couple of anecdotes and some garbled history from behind the wheel your abiding memory of Etruscan, Republican and Imperial Rome? No, of course not. God forbid!

 In an ideal world, every traveller arriving in Rome, Florence, Venice or Sicily from a cruise ship will have the good sense to pre-book tours. This will guarantee a great experience, something they'll never forget for all the right reasons.

 It is unfortunate that the vast quantity of paid advertisements on search engines clutter the decision-making process. Limo, limo, limo, limo. NO! Think before you book. If you are happy to "explore" Rome, Florence or the canal city of Venice (!) by car, that's your choice, but by now it should be clear how much you could miss.

 For shore excursions with expert guides who will meet you in your destination city after a rail connection that we arrange, send us your needs by e-mail at In Rome Tours.

 Personal callers are always welcome at our Rome / Vatican office. Via Sebastiano Veniero 21 is just one block away from the Vatican Museums entrance.

Sightseeing in Rome

 For the majority of visitors to Rome, an afternoon spent in the labyrinthine Vatican Museums is the absolute highlight of their stay. The Vatican tour they take must be as complete and fulfilling as possible, which is something we strive to achieve by offering three different Vatican tours. But what about sightseeing in Rome? Away from the vast collections of major works of art within the walls of the Vatican City?

 A boat trip up the Tiber from Isola Tiberina to the bridges of Duca d'Aosta and Milvio costs a couple of euros, and if you'd like to spend more time on board, two hour trips to the ancient port of Ostia depart from Ponte Marconi pier which is located at the beginning of Via della Vasca Navale.

 There are some beautiful gardens in Rome. In the stifling heat of summer when our streets are packed with tourists, where better to go? Of course Villa Borghese is known to all, like Zappion Gardens in Athens and Regents Park in London. In June and July, however, the landscaped gardens and wooded parkland around the Borghese Gallery and museum can become as busy as the city streets that surround.

 Villa d'Este in Tivoli boasts perhaps some of the finest gardens in Italy, but distance from Rome is a stumbling block for some. Giardino degli Aranci on the Aventine hill, the Pincio overlooking Piazza del Popolo, or the sacred Vatican Gardens - be sure to see all of them when in Rome.

 Rome is a vibrant and culturally diverse city as much today as in antiquity. There is a constant flow of events for each and every one of us to become a part of. In the coming weeks, In Rome Tours will publish a "What's On In Rome" guide, to make sure that sightseeing in Rome can also be experienced with locals.

New Rome tours commencing Spring 2011

 Tours to Ostia - The ruins of Ostia Antica are some of the most impressive in Italy. Many travellers compare what they see there with the ruined city of Pompeii near Naples. Check out this introduction to Ostia Antica on YouTube. Our Ostia tours cover 2nd. to early 3rd. century trade, buildings, inhabitants and religion when Ostia was a thriving city port, daily life and times until the end of the Severan dynasty, then go back to the late Republican period when the commercial port was militarised for the Punic wars against Carthage. Ostia has suffered from pillaging for over 1,000 years, even today, many statues have had to be replaced with plaster cast copies. However, the large number of surviving residences, temples, mosaics and frescoes make Ostia as important an archaeological site as the Colosseum in Rome.

 Tivoli tours - Our day trip to Tivoli from Rome can be booked online. Tivoli lies east of Rome and is over 1,300 years old. Famous for the ruins of Hadrian's villa, the spectacular Villa d'Este and Villa Gregoriana, our Tivoli tour is popular!

 Food in Rome - You can definitely eat very well in the heart of historical Rome! If you'd like to savour the sweetest, most colourful gelato, the tastiest coffee, sample the traditional flavours of Testaccio, or just browse our favourite food stalls, you definitely do all of these when in Rome!

TripAdvisor Rome

 There is so much subterfuge in the Rome tours section on TripAdvisor. First impressions would suggest that limo drivers and new tour operator website owners are offering services that are better than better than perfect every time, but upon closer inspection, two things become clear. Firstly, fake reviews are everywhere. Secondly, genuine tourism professionals in Rome who are simply too decent to write their own reviews can be only be found on pages 7 or 8 at best (due to the volume of fake reviews penned by competitors). TripAdvisor members who actually review their Rome tour experiences themselves are a rare breed these days, and the website is a poorer place for it. Is the once all-powerful (and respected) TripAdvisor to be trusted in 2011, if ever again? Does anyone really pay attention to reviews / comments anymore? Do travellers trust fake reviews? Yes, that does seem to be the case.

 Beset with annoying consoles landing here, there and everywhere (pop ups, to you and I), unwieldy language options, and now, to top it all off, highly suspicious (paid) content moderation, TripAdvisor is looking rough. In the eyes of property owners and those of us who work our socks off in tourism, their website has become a parody of everything a responsible, corporate travel portal should never have been allowed to become.

 Plenty of Rome tour websites trade exclusively on the back of their TripAdvisor reputation, but what reputation? Moderation has become so desperately slack that nigh on anyone can cobble together a TripAdvisor profile with a few dozen sparking reviews to get the BS ball rolling in a matter of days.

 The acid test, as ever, is Google. Spend a couple of minutes there (or Yahoo!, Bing etc.) searching for the "top rated Rome tour websites" on TripAdvisor to see how they fare in the real world of the search engine algorithm. If they are as good as TripAdvisor thinks, they'll have been reviewed favourably on many other websites. Independent search engines will rank them highly as a result.

Guided Tours in Lviv

 A new tourism venture in Ukraine called In Lviv tours is already in the news as their guides are injured veterans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The project will help them with rehabilitation and employment. Founded in wartime, In Lviv Tours is a partner of In Rome Tours.