Hi!
I would like to purchase advance tickets to see the coliseum in Rome. When I go to the Coopculture website (which seems to be the place to do this) once I try to check out, everything is in Italian so I can't read the instructions on how to enter my credit card etc in order to actually purchase the tickets. Any advice for me?
Thank you!
Abby
English version of the website.
Interested in this too but are advance tix necessary or can you buy day of??
The reason for buying in advance is to avoid the long lines.
When we were there, we bought our tickets at the Roman Forum in the late afternoon, it maybe took 5 minutes, and visited the forum then. One ticket includes entrance to the Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum. The next day, we came back to the Colosseum and already had our tickets. Still had to wait about 15 minutes to get in, but the long line was at the ticket window. I think the ticket is good for 2 days/48 hours, so that would have to be considered.
Thanks so much for the advice everyone! Really appreciate it. As far as touring the coliseum, would you recommend seeing it on your own or maybe going with an actual tour group? Thank you!
We've done it on our own one visit and a tour on another visit. We took the Underground Tour and enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend it.
If you decide to do the underground tour - which most on this site would highly recommend you MUST buy the tickets on the day that they become available for the month you are going. There are many threads on how to do this on here, do a search. I loved the tour but the staying up to get the tickets is a bit of a challenge. Have a great trip. Also, google translate can help with Italian, use the phone app and put your phone over the writing and it will magically show what it means in English - a life saver with menus.
If you miss out on tickets for the underground tour during the day, they run evening tours as well (after the Colosseum is otherwise closed). You don't get to go up to the third ring on that tour, but you see everything else and the place is almost empty. I bought my evening ticket a few weeks in advance, but they had same-day availability for the evening tours the day I went.
Thank you for the underground tour advice. This sounds like an interesting option. I appreciate all of you taking time to write your ideas down here for our trip:)
Abby
After waiting for months for the availability to open up, I just tried to buy tickets at the Coopculture site, as they became available a few hours ago. The entire month of April is already sold out! Even other languages!
September just opened up, and I bought my tour tickets last night. The underground tours always sell out well ahead, because they limit the number of people who can go at once to 24, and the number of tours in a day is limited. Last time I was there, we toured with a guide we found outside the Colosseum, not the best idea. He was marginal at best. The underground was not yet available, and now the ONLY way to see it is on an organized tour. The people who lead these tour are archaeologists and historians who really know their stuff.
Hubestur,
Walks of Italy has 2 days available. Don't know if they are your date. It combines with a tour of the Forum & Palatine Hill. Exceedingly more expensive than the Coopculture tour. When I did the Underground tour they joined in our group (their tour guide just stayed to the back while the Coopculture guide led the tour - then they went on to the Forum & Palatine Hill). Even if you buy a tour from an outside source the Underground portion is led by a Coopculture guide as they are the only ones allowed to go into those areas. You definitely have to stay up and buy them the minute they open up if you get them from Coopculture as they sell out within 2 hours or less.
Thanks larlock.
I ended up going with a Viatour Underground tour, which as you say, is close to 3x what Coopculture charges. The extra cost is one thing, but I was actually more upset about not getting the combo underground/belvedere tour, which seems like the best of all worlds!
Oh well, that's what I get for sleeping at midnight instead of staying up and hitting refresh on my browser. Perhaps it's karma coming back at me for getting 2 additional Hamilton tickets when I bought them for my wife. I must confess that I sold the extra 2 for a profit, to a very grateful gentleman who (like me with this tour) completely missed his availability window, and would have been in the doghouse with his wife had he not been able to find tickets. : )
Hubestur,
Glad you were able to get something. I just stayed up until 4:30 am waiting to get Eiffel Tower tickets . . . I did get up early to get my Hamilton tickets and my Harry Potter tickets. I had 3 computers and a phone going for the Underground tickets. Buying tickets should be easier :)
Laura
