Appian Way Bike Tour Rome with Catacombs and Aqueducts
A 4- or 6-hour guided ride from the city gate out along the old basolato, with the San Callisto visit included in the longer version.
Updated 24 October 2026
In shortThis is a guided ride by premium bike or e-bike along the Via Appia Antica, through the Caffarella farmland and under the aqueduct arches, with 45 minutes inside the catacombs of San Callisto in the longer version. It runs 4 or 6 hours from a shop near Metro Manzoni, in groups of up to 10 people, and the guide works in English. It suits travellers who are happy on a bike for half a day and want the countryside and the roadside tombs as much as the underground.
4–6 htour length
from €59per adult
★ 4.91966 reviews
Appian Way bike tour Rome: what the ride covers
The tour is a guided ride out of the city along the Via Appia Antica, offered in two lengths that cover the same ground: 4 hours or 6 hours, from €59, rated 4.9 (1966 reviews). Groups are limited to 10 people. The bike is a premium bike or e-bike with anti-puncture tyres and a comfortable saddle, the helmet is mandatory, and a handlebar bag and a biodegradable bottle of water come with it. The shop is a 10-minute walk from Metro A Manzoni, or 10 to 15 minutes from Metro B Colosseo.
The catacomb is what separates the two versions. The 6-hour ride includes a 45-minute guided visit of the 2nd-century galleries of San Callisto, which on Wednesdays becomes San Sebastiano, since San Callisto closes every Wednesday. The 4-hour ride pauses about 10 minutes at the entrance and stays above ground, and on Wednesdays it skips that stop. If the underground is the reason you are going, take the 6-hour version.
Take a long-sleeved layer even in August. San Callisto stays around 16 C with high humidity, the visit means about 50 irregular steps down and the same back up with nowhere to sit, and photography and video are banned inside both San Callisto and San Sebastiano. Wheelchairs cannot go in, and both sites advise against the visit for anyone with serious mobility problems or claustrophobia.
Riding conditions change along the way. On the preserved stretch of basolato, the rutted ancient paving that starts near the Via Ardeatina junction, cyclists dismount and push or use the dirt paths beside the stones, while the park sections are unpaved and free of traffic. Sunday and public holidays are the calmest days on the first stretch past the Maxentius complex, which closes to ordinary traffic then, and private vehicles are banned from the Via Appia Antica on public holidays.
No food or drink is included beyond the water. The route passes a few places to buy something, and the guide builds in a break where that works.
Which version to pick
The 4-hour and the 6-hour rides follow the same route and differ in what is included. Only the 6-hour one goes inside the catacombs, for a 45-minute guided visit of San Callisto, with San Sebastiano instead on Wednesdays, and only the 6-hour one stops at Villa dei Quintili and the Terme di Caracalla.
Porta San Sebastiano10 min A first stop at the gate in Rome's 3rd-century defensive walls, the point where the Appia leaves the city.
Appian Way (Via Appia Antica)120 min Two hours on the Regina Viarum, the road begun in the 4th century BC that ran from Rome towards Brindisi, about 538 km in its first form. Expect to walk the bike across the old paving.
Catacombe di San Callisto10 min In the 4-hour tour, a 10-minute pause above ground at the entrance to the galleries that hold an estimated half a million burials; on Wednesdays that stop is dropped. In the 6-hour tour, a 45-minute guided visit inside the 2nd-century catacombs, replaced by San Sebastiano on Wednesdays.
Circus of Maxentius10 min Ten minutes at the ruins of the imperial villa and its private chariot racetrack, from the beginning of the 4th century AD.
Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella e Castrum Caetani - Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica10 min The largest mausoleum built on the Ancient Appian Way, raised for a young noblewoman, with its ox-skull frieze and the 14th-century Castrum Caetani grafted on top.
Villa dei Quintili e Santa Maria Nova - Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica10 min The spread-out remains of a 2nd-century villa that Emperor Commodus envied. This stop is in the 6-hour tour only.
Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica60 min An hour of riding through the park, crossed by the arches of the aqueducts that carried water into the city.
Terme di Caracalla10 min A look at the remains of one of the largest bath complexes of ancient Rome, from outside. In the 6-hour tour only.
Parco Della Caffarella Farmland inside the city limits, with working animal farms and open pasture on either side of the track.
Photos: ours and the tour operator's
What is included
Included
Water (biodegradable bottle)
Professional guide
Helmet (mandatory)
Premium Bike or E-Bike (with anti-puncture tires and comfortable saddle)
Handlebar bag
Guided visit of the Catacombs of San Callisto or San Sebastiano (ONLY IN THE 6-HOUR TOUR)
Not included
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities
This tour doesn't include any food or drinks; however, the route offers a few possibilities to purchase some food or drinks (which can be consumed during a suitable break).
Meeting point, pickup and cancellation
Meeting point: You can easily reach us using the A-line subway, getting off at Metro MANZONI (our shop is a 10-minute walk from there); or using the B-line subway, getting off at Metro COLOSSEUM (our shop is a 10/15-minute walk from there).
Cancellation: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
How this Appian Way bike tour Rome itinerary compares with the alternatives
The four alternatives below cover the same road and the same aqueduct park with different inclusions. The top e-bike version at €75, rated 5.0 (1004 reviews), suits anyone who wants the newest machine for the 4 to 6 hour distance; the small-group e-bike tour at €75, rated 4.9 (616 reviews), and the deluxe ride at €89, rated 4.9 (97 reviews), both add food, which this page's tour leaves out; the 3-hour option at €159, rated 5.0 (180 reviews), is the short one and can be run privately.
Tour
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From
Rating
Rome Bike / EBike Tour: Appian Way, Catacombs & Roman Aqueducts (this page)
