If you’re looking for a tip for private tours of Italy, you’ve come to the right place. My recent Vespa sidecar tour of Rome with Dragonfly Tours was a great introduction to the kind of bespoke tour of Italy experience this boutique firm offers, with the glorious city of Rome as the perfect backdrop.
Usually offering seven day-plus travel tours to Italy, Dragonfly Tours essentially take the stress and hassle out of organising your own tour of Italy, while injecting your vacation with lots of fun, hallmarked by great attention to detail.
I challenged Dragonfly Tours to create my perfect day in Rome, imagined as part of a private tour of Italy, in line with my love of contemporary, in-the-moment experiences.
Dragonfly Tour’s brilliant idea was a Vespa sidecar tour, reflecting my love of seeing the city of Rome on two wheels, while removing the scary part of actually navigating Rome’s traffic by oneself!
Tours of Italy ideas: a Vespa sidecar tour of Rome
I can’t think of a much more iconic Italian experience as part of a tour of Italy than seeing the city of Rome by Vespa sidecar, and I wasn’t disappointed! Dragonfly Tours arranged for me to meet my Vespa driver in the centrally located Piazza della Repubblica, where I was safely strapped into the custom-made sidecar and given an in-ear receiver so that I could hear what my driver was saying at all times.
This was essential, as the Vespa sidecar tour of Rome involved not only stopping in several key Rome locations to explore the best of the Eternal City, but was also a driving tour, where fun facts were shared whilst on the road.
My driver was both hilarious and well-informed, which made the entire tour a lot of fun.
We started the tour by heading down to the world famous Trevi Fountain, where I paused to throw in a coin and listened to some fascinating facts about one of Rome’s most visited monuments (definitely an iconic stop on any tour of Italy).
We then continued up Rome’s characteristic hills to its lovely green lung, Villa Borghese. This gorgeous park was the perfect spot for a meandering drive, enjoying the gorgeous Italian weather.
So far, so good. As a first taste of a Dragonfly Tours private tour of Italy, I was very impressed!
Private tour of Rome, Italy: all the monuments
We next headed down towards Piazza del Popolo – from the breathtaking Pincio – where I learned all about this iconic corner of Rome.
It was time to cross the river, and my guide drove me first to another one of Rome’s best look-outs – the Janiculum hill – which enjoys some of the most picture-postcard views across the whole city. It was nice to stretch my legs and take a photo or two.
This segued into winding down to reach the charming backstreets of Trastevere, where it was time to explore the slow life in one of Rome’s prettiest neighbourhoods (another bucket list item for any tour of Italy).
It was in Trastevere that I was able to take some of the best photos of the whole tour, and gather some keepsake photos of me (thanks to friends in a second sidecar!)
From here, we wove through the gentle traffic, past Vatican City, and back towards the historic centre, with a drive-by of the iconic Pantheon. This is one of my favourite monuments in the whole city, and it is possible to pause and explore the Pantheon further as part of your Vespa Sidecar tour (an essential part of any travel tour to Italy if you haven’t already seen it).
The three hours were coming to an end, but there was just time to stop for a delicious ice-cream at one of the city’s Fata Morgana branches. This excellent-quality gelato really hit the spot!
We were finally brought back to the point of origin, Piazza della Repubblica, which made the perfect round trip.
Travel tours to Italy: the experts
I had a wonderful experience touring Rome with Dragonfly Tours in a highly original mode of transport. It is easy to see why they are a highly rated company arranging travel tours to Italy, where practical details are taken care of, but plenty of fun and quality moments are combined to create unforgettable experiences.
I’d be happy to recommend Dragonfly Tours, who were my generous hosts on this occasion, and would be confident in suggesting them for much more ambitious, multi-day private tours of Italy.
Testaccina was a guest of Dragonfly Tours
