About Real Rome Tours

Real Rome Tours is built around a simple idea: visiting Rome should feel personal, well organised, and genuinely rewarding.

Over the years, we have built a close network of licensed guides who know the city deeply and share a real love for it. Some are Romans. Some are Italians who chose to make Rome their home. Others, like Gerard, came from abroad, fell in love with the city, and stayed.

What connects everyone we work with is not one single background, but the same approach: warmth, professionalism, clear communication, and a real passion for helping people understand Rome, not just see it.

Our values, in practice

Honesty
If something isn’t realistic, we’ll say so clearly and offer sensible alternatives.

Integrity
We don’t oversell, overpromise, or push people into a schedule that doesn’t suit them.

Transparency
You’ll know what’s included, what isn’t, and what the plan is before your tour begins.

Dedication
We plan carefully, communicate clearly, and stay involved before and during your time in Rome.

Personal service
If something goes wrong, we take responsibility and focus on putting it right.

How we work

We believe the best tours come from matching the right guide to the right experience.

That means working with people we know well, trust, and genuinely enjoy collaborating with — licensed guides with different strengths, personalities, and areas of expertise.

Some guests want a guide who is warm and easy-going. Others prefer someone more academic, more theatrical, or more in-depth. We try to make that match thoughtfully, so the experience feels personal from the start.

Meet Gerard

Licensed guides we work with regularly

For many years, Gerard has been closely involved in the planning and day-to-day coordination behind Real Rome Tours — helping guests choose the right experience, shaping itineraries, and making sure each tour runs smoothly from the first enquiry to the day itself.

Originally from Ireland and now based in Italy, Gerard is also a licensed Rome tour guide. He has recently begun guiding tours personally, with a particular focus on Ancient Rome.

For Irish visitors looking for an Irish guide in Rome, this brings something a little familiar to the experience — clear communication, a warm approach, and someone who understands both Rome and the expectations of travellers from home.

Real Rome Tours welcomes guests from all over the world, but Gerard is always especially happy to look after visitors from Ireland, whether they are here for a family holiday, school trip, parish visit, special occasion, or first visit to Rome.

Real Rome Tours works with a small circle of trusted, licensed guides in Rome. They are independent professionals, not full-time employees, but they are people we know personally and trust with our clients.

Meet Heidi

Heidi is one of the licensed guides we work with regularly in Rome. She brings warmth, clarity, and a calm, thoughtful presence to her tours, helping guests feel comfortable while also giving them a deeper understanding of the city.

She is especially good at making complex history feel human and accessible, which is exactly the kind of guiding we value at Real Rome Tours. When Heidi leads a tour, guests are in the hands of someone knowledgeable, kind, and genuinely engaged with the experience.

Always improving

Feedback matters to us.

We pay close attention to what guests enjoy, what could work better, and how each experience can be made clearer, smoother, and more rewarding.

Rome is a city of endless layers, and good guiding is always a work in progress. We keep learning, refining, and raising the standard.

Why it matters

For many travellers, time in Rome is limited.

That is why we believe a tour should feel well judged, well paced, and genuinely personal — not rushed, generic, or overloaded.

Our aim is simple: to help you experience Rome in a way that is clear, enjoyable, and memorable.