Last Updated on October 7, 2026 by admin

So, you’re coming to Rome, and you have a lot of ground to cover. Maybe you’re looking for an activity to fill the gap between your early arrival and your 3pm check-in. Perhaps you’re traveling with elderly family members, or really little ones who take tiny steps. Or maybe the forecast predicts temperatures of 100 degrees on your summer visit.

A quick Google search reveals the “best way” to start your trip, to appease multiple generations, to stay cool, to make sure you’re seeing as much as possible: a golf cart tour.

But are these tours really as great as they seem? What do the locals think of them? And how is their proliferation impacting the city?

Let’s find out. And I’ll tell you why and when I recommend golf cart tours for my Rome trip planning clients (hint: the reasons are few, and it’s not very often).

A brief history of golf cart tours in Rome

Two companies claim to run the original golf cart tour of Rome – Golf Cart Tours Rome says that they began touring in 2005, and Rome in Golf Cart claims to have started the phenomenon in 2010.

An exact number of companies that offer golf cart tours isn’t available, but ABC News estimates that there are around 500 carts operating in the city, which means the number has grown significantly since the early 2000s.

Another concrete number ABC News provides is regarding bookings, which, they state, according to TripAdvisor, went up 147% during the summer of 2026 when compared to data from 2024.

It’s pretty clear that supply has risen to meet demand.

The impact of golf cart tours on the Eternal City

The impact of golf cart tours on Roman life varies significantly depending on who you ask. Tourists love them – a quick Google search shows rave reviews, strong recommendations, and five-star ratings. A number of recent articles indicate that locals don’t feel the same way.

Let’s take a look at both sides of the coin.

What tourists think of golf carts in Rome

Blogger Jessica Lynn says that booking a golf cart tour in Rome is “the best decision you’ll make on your trip,” citing “no sore feet, no navigating busy streets on foot, no whiny kids, just pure sightseeing bliss” as reasoning.

Marta of Mama Loves Rome wrote about her experience with a kid-focused tour with LivItaly. Similarly to Jessica Lynn, she states that it’s “one of the most enjoyable, efficient, and least tiring ways to see Rome with kids.”

Rome in Golf Cart (the early adopter that opened in 2010) has a five-star rating on TripAdvisor, from an impressive 1,806 reviews. Only eight reviewers rated the tour below “Excellent,” TripAdvisor’s highest score.

Reviewers indicate that the tours allowed them to see “the highlights” of Rome as well as some unexpected things, too, that stops included food and drink tastings, and that the guides were well informed, passionate, funny, and interesting. One reviewer said that the guide went out of their way to involve their teenage children, even telling their daughter where the best Instagram spots were.

I perused the more negative reviews, too, and there’s actually only one person who seemed unsatisfied, and the reply from the company seems to point to some degree of misunderstanding rather than significant wrongdoing on their part.

A 2025 Facebook post from a group called “Discover Italy | Best places and travel tips” asks if golf cart tours of Rome are worth it has hundreds of comments, all saying yes.

It’s pretty clear that golf cart tours of Rome are massively popular among the city’s millions of visitors.

The pros of golf cart tours

In a nutshell, golf cart tours allow visitors to see the major highlights of Rome in a way that’s fast and appealing for parents or those traveling with elderly family members. Proponents also argue that they’re also more environmentally friendly than other means of transport, and that they allow people who have physical difficulties in getting around to see the Eternal City.

Famed travel writer Pauline Frommer makes the valid point that Rome is a difficult city to visit for anyone who has mobility impairments. Golf cart tours are an easy way to get around this problem. With its staircases, cobblestones, potholes and a public transportation system that is found wanting, this Roman resident agrees – Pauline Frommer is right.

Given that some golf carts are electric, proponents also point to their lack of emissions as a positive feature of this type of tourism, claiming that the vehicles are quiet and don’t pollute the city like buses and cars do.

What locals think of golf cart tours in Rome

Now let’s take a look at the bad and the ugly.

Locals point to the increased traffic caused by the carts, illegal parking, and the overall “Disneyfication” of the city center as reasons to curb the industry.

Roman residents have chimed in on Reddit posts, asking visitors to avoid these types of tours for the reasons above.

Another issue that is less talked about although still part of the increasing dialogue on the issue is the fact that those driving the carts are providing historical information as they go. Strictly speaking, it’s illegal to do so unless you are a licensed tour guide.

The cons of golf cart tours in Rome

The main cons of golf cart tours in Rome are that they contribute to congestion in an already congested city, they are emblematic of overtourism, which leads to hollowed-out, culturally bankrupt city centers, and they operate within a legal gray area.

The new laws threatening golf cart tours in Rome

The city is taking steps to crack down on golf cart tours to combat the above issues.

The AP reports that an overall aim to reduce traffic in the city center, spearheaded by Eugenio Patanè, the Deputy Mayor for Sustainable Mobility and Transport, will also apply to golf carts. Patanè has requested permission from the regional government of Lazio to regulate the golf cart tour industry at the city level (it’s currently in the hands of the region of Lazio). If permission is granted, the number of operators will be reduced, and the carts will have to travel on a fixed route.

When and why I recommend golf cart tours

When I first started planning trips for people, I was surprised at how common it was for requests to include a golf cart tour. Along with the Vatican Museums and Colosseum, it seems like golf cart tours are at the top of most people’s “must-do” list when coming to Rome.

As someone who calls the city home and who also works with visitors, my feelings on golf cart tours are this: If everyone in your group can walk without significant discomfort, please don’t take one. 

For travelers with mobility issues, they may be an option worth considering. Outside of that context, in my opinion, they do more harm than good.

Why? Because Rome isn’t a resort. It’s a city that’s feeling the impacts of overtourism more and more. The center is now unpleasantly crowded for most of the year. Cafes serving scrambled eggs with bacon to tourists are ubiquitous (here’s my guide to real Italian breakfast). Souvenir shops selling crappy trinkets abound. Hundreds of apartments have been turned into vacation rentals.

All of these things that cater to tourists squeeze out something that was there before – a family, a local pastry, an artisan’s wares.

It could be argued that golf cart tours – perhaps – squeeze out cars. On that front, they don’t bother me – I think cars are a scourge on the city. I’m all for Patanè’s proposal to limit the number that can enter the city center. I think it’s overdue. I actually think the entire center should be pedestrianized, but perhaps that’s a post for another day.

I’m digressing here, but I think the question to ask yourself is this: Do you want to do something as a visitor that locals hate?

I recently saw an Instagram reel from a golf-cart company recommending certain sights to see, and claiming that the sights were all extremely far apart and that there’d be no way to see them all without a golf cart tour. As someone who knows the geography of Rome and where all of these places are, I can tell you that the claim was completely false. A lot of Rome’s major highlights are largely in walking distance of each other. That’s why I create customized walking tours for my clients (with snack stops along the way).

Of course, some things are far apart, and you may not have time to see every single thing in one or two days, but maybe there’s a reason for that. When time is limited, I promise you’ll have a better trip if you slow down and focus on one or two areas rather than flying around the entire city, barely scratching the surface of anything.

What do you think of golf cart tours? Share in the comments!

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