Rome: Catacombs & Appian Way Golf Cart Small Group Tour

4.94

(646 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I never thought I’d be zipping along the Appian Way in a golf cart, but there we were—six of us plus our guide, Paolo, who had this habit of gesturing wildly as he talked about emperors and old stones. The city felt different from this angle; quieter somehow, even though traffic buzzed somewhere beyond the trees. We stopped at Circus Maximus and I tried to picture chariots racing—honestly, it was easier to imagine after Paolo did his best “Roman cheer” impression. Not sure if that’s historically accurate but it made us all laugh.

The air changed when we reached the Catacombs of Rome. It got cooler—almost damp—and the light faded as we followed a Vatican guide down into those narrow tunnels. My shoes scraped on the old stone floor, echoing weirdly off the walls. Someone whispered (not sure who), and it sounded like a secret you weren’t supposed to hear. I kept thinking about all those centuries layered above us. The catacombs tour lasted about 45 minutes but honestly? It felt like time folded in on itself down there.

Back outside, sunlight hit my face so hard I squinted for a full minute. We rotated seats—Paolo insisted everyone get a turn facing forward—and then rolled past the Pyramid of Caius Cestius (which looks way more out of place than I expected) and through Piazza Venezia. There was this moment near Bocca della Verità where an older woman waved at us from her balcony and Paolo just waved back like they were old friends. Maybe they are. Or maybe that’s just Rome—everyone’s part of the story for a second.