Best source for Skip the Line tickets?

The tickets will cost much more through Viator as they are a reseller. I found tickets to the Accademia in Florence for $83+ on Viator but they are only 23 euros on the official web site. Most of the site in Rome and Florence have their own web site and you can easily purchase advanced tickets though them. Here are a few of them to get you started;

Rome Colosseum http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm
Vatican Museum http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do
Florence Uffizi http://www.uffizi.org/buy-tickets/
Florence Accademia http://www.accademia.org/buy-tickets/

You can use Google search to find these and others.

For Florence, the sites Stephen posted. For Rome use this http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2

you need to do the math to see if this works for you.

Again using his link for the Vatican.

Dear Groundhog66, I believe that in Italy, as in other countries, ground hogs (also gophers, rats, cats, etc.) usually manage to get into sites with no tickets and without waiting in any lines. This is easiest at outdoor sites like the Roman Forum, but is generally also possible at indoor sites, especially if undertaken quietly. You would need to stay low to the ground, I would l think. Could save quite a bit over the course of a trip, no?

For Galleria Borghese in Rome (reservations are mandatory):

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edefault.htm

This is the official site for Uffizi and Accademia tickets:

https://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/en/orari/

Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated.

I see many different types of guided tours for the Vatican, is one choice better than the others?

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking&codiceLivelloVisita=4&step=1

Is it typically advised to go with a guided tour, or try to go it alone?

I will be more serious this time. You don't mention what month you are traveling. During peak travel months, the Vatican sites can be very, very crowded, so much so that it really interferes with appreciation and enjoyment, especially in the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. And in the summer months, it can be really, really hot as well. I, and many others on this Forum, have taken the "Pristine Sistine" tour of the company Walks of Italy (WalksofItaly.com), with great reviews. You begin at 7:30 am, get into the museum and Sistine Chapel before the public, and have some quiet and very, very uncrowded time in the Sistine Chapel. The guided tour ends in St. Peter's Basilica, and then you can stay longer there or be on your way, usually around noon or before. It costs more, requires an early start, but it can be a much more pleasant and worthwhile visit, and then gives you the rest of the day for other things.

We took a Vatican Museum guided tour (2 hours) in May of this year. I booked it on their website. It was very crowded as we didn't go until 2:00. The tour was good but you do not get any insights on the Sistine Chapel. I like Larry's suggestion of the Walks of Italy Tour. You will likely get more enjoyment out of it due to the crowd factor as well as the length of the tour. You can walk through the Vatican Museum on your own if you prefer. You can set you own pace and see what you want to see. There are readily available resources on the museum website to help you find what's in the museum so you can chart your own course.

The decision to take a tour or go it alone is very much a personal one. My DH and I like to have the flexibility to spend however long we wish to on things which are interesting to us so we tend do our sightseeing on our own. Other travelers really enjoy the narration a tour provides. There's no wrong answer as long as it works for you.

That said, the Vatican Museums are positively vast, and a guide can be useful for navigating one's way around. They don't cover all 4 miles (yes, 4 miles) of stuff in the collections but will steer you to the highlights.

Another bonus is that tours which include the basilica transition directly from the Sistine right into the church via a nifty back stairwell. As the entrance to St Peter's is some distance from the exit/entry of the museums and the line for security checks there can be long, this is a very nice time-saver.

Tours which end in the basilica allow you to explore the church at your leisure after the tour is over.

If the cost of the previously mentioned Pristine Sistine tour is too steep, this one offered on the Vatican's website is very popular:

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking&codiceTipoVisita=74&step=2

If going solo, you can rent an audioguide at the museums or purchase a guidebook. Rick Steves has audioguides of the basilica and Sistine which may be downloaded for free:

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy

A note on the Sistine: guides are not allowed to provide narration in the Sistine as it's required that visitors observe silence in the chapel. Any information imparted by a guide will be given outside the doors before entering.

More great information, thank you all!

Larry, we will be in Rome Oct 8th-12th (then off to Cinque Terre & Florence). Although I didn't directly respond, I did find your first post humorous.

I just really want to try and take the best route, no telling when we will get back there again. I know we won't be able to even scratch the surface, but if we can enjoy hitting the highlights, I'll be pleased.

I notice on the Vatican's ticket website, that there are guided tour options for Vatican & Sistine Chapel, as well as Vatican & St Peter's Basilica...Any advice as to which might be better/more interesting?

The Sistine is IN the Vatican Museums, and as I mentioned above, there are no narrated tours of the chapel as talking isn't allowed in there. The guided part is of the museums, and then it wraps up at the doors to the Sistine - which you do on your own.

The second one - Vatican Museums (which includes the Sistine) and Basilica - is the one which has that nice little bonus of being able to directly access the church via that back stairway.

They're otherwise essentially the exact same tour with an extra hour tacked onto the second one for the basilica.

Problem with "skip the line tickets" is that LOTS and LOTS of people buy those types of tickets for various sites. I've seen a line snaking around in front of the Palace at Versailles, and that line was for the people who bought the "skip the line" tickets. Had to laugh.

There are only two sites in Rome that will have a long line, the Vatican museums and the colosseum. With pre-booked tickets to the Vatican you are put at the front of the regular line and then you go through security. The tickets are timed so that not everyone shows up at the same time. Also, if you miss your time by more than a few minutes they can make you wait in the regular line. For the colosseum, even with pre-paid tickets you must still go through security. This is where the line backs up. These tickets are not timed entries so you can choose to visit the forum/palatine hill first if there is a back up at security for the colosseum and then come back when the line is shorter.

Donna

Well, I booked tickets for the earliest Vatican tour (8:30), I figure it's best to get in/out as early as possible.

I'll purchase Colosseum tickets today, and as previously mentioned, we can always come back if it's too busy.

Next will be Accademia/Uffizi for the following week.

Here is a silly question....When I go to buy tickets for the Colosseum, it asks for your nationality, why do I not see US?

The United States is Stati Uniti on the form. We just bought these the other day and it took us awhile. Had to use Google Translate to figure it out.

Ah okay, I didn't spot that...thank you!