Colosseum Area Questions

Hi Barb, I've traveled to Rome in '07, '09, and '13. Each time I have followed the tips in the RS books and feel that we were better off efficiency-wise and enjoyment-wise having taken his advice. You did not mention the time of year you are traveling, but the sights will be crowded June - August whether you are in a tour group or not. If you are looking to avoid the lines or at least use the smaller ones, get the Roma Pass (30 Euros) that Rick recommends. When you arrive at the Colloseum there will be two lines. One will have all the people and the other will be mostly empty. I felt a bit guilty walking by the 200 people in the other line, but holding the Roma Pass my line was maybe 20 people. I also try to visit the Colleseum first thing in the morning or late afternoon because its wall-to-wall people in mid-day.
Typically, my family goes to Palantine Hill or the Forum mid-day and we do the Colleseum morning or afternoon.

I don't know what your family likes, but I've seen the tour guides at the Colleseum and I prefer using Rick's book and audio guide. My teen daughter enjoyed exploring what interrested her vs. following a guide and listening to them over a wireless headset. We prefer to make our own pace.
As far as food there are food and sovenier vendors everywhere outside so my advice is a few granola bars and a couple water bottles and thats it. Your can re-fill the water bottles at the fountains which are safe to drink.
As far as time, you will probably be paced by your kid's interest level, but my daughter usually spends a couple hours at the Colleseum, a couple hours wandering the Forum and 1-2 hours at Palantine Hill which has a great view of the Colleseum.

As far as what else to carry, my backpack holds the water and snacks leaving the rest of the space for my families soveniers they buy and then give to me to carry the rest of the day.

Everything you need to enjoy your trip really is covered in RS books.
Have fun!

A BIG THANK YOU! This really helps me to plan my itinerary. ---Barb

1) you can book directly with the official colosseum site for tours of the colosseum. Your child will get free entry but will still pay for the tour portion. You can book tours online or by calling. The website is:

http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

If you wish to book the underground tour you'll need to call to do this. The website has not allowed online booking of this tour since the beginning of September.

39 06 399 67 700

For the forum you can book a tour onsite. They cost 5 euros each and last about an hour. These are really good tours that give really good information. If you book the colosseum for the morning you can take a break for lunch and then do the forum tour. Here are the tour schedules:

FORO ROMANO
from Monday to Thursday at 1.30PM - 3,00PM
from Friday to Sunday at 12,00PM - 1,30PM - 3,00PM
PALATINO
from Monday to Thursday at 12.30PM
from Friday to Sunday at 11,00AM - 12,30PM - 1,00PM

2) you won't be allowed to take food into the colosseum or forum but there are plenty of restaurants nearby where you can get a bite to eat. Just walk a few blocks away in any direction and you'll find something.

3) How much time you spend at a site really depends on your interest level. I would plan at least an hour at each of the colosseum and forum if not more. If taking the tours then I would plan an additional half hour to hour inside each.

4) Do you mean the colosseum area? It can be very crowded. Just bring bottled water if you have some or can get some. There are no fountains inside the forum and not a lot of shade either. It gets very hot. I would try to bring as little as possible.

The romapass was mentioned in an earlier post. This is a great way to save money if you visit 3 sites covered by the pass and use public transport. Your child won't need a pass because of the free entries but will need transport tickets.

donna

We managed to get a very reasonable lunch at the stand inside the Coloseo Metro station, and were seated outside under an umbrella. Not as crowded as it looked at first. I think we just had panini and birre. Gelato later, of course! We had done the Underground Tour, which was well worth it.

Barb,

1. I agree with donna that the official Colosseum group tour would be a good option. To begin with, you can get admission using either the Roma Pass or a Combo ticket (purchase that on Palatine Hill to avoid the queues) as described in the Guidebook. Using an Audioguide is one option, but IMO the official tour will be better, especially with a preteen child. One advantage of a "live" Guide is that you can ask questions, which I've found provides a more interesting experience. Last time I took the tour, they were using "Whisper Headsets", so everyone can hear the commentary well.
2. Just bring water. You can get food after the Colosseum tour. Restaurants aren't hard to find in Rome.
3. I'd allow AT LEAST 2-3 hours. You'll need an hour or so for the official tour and then whatever time you want for wandering around the Forum and Palatine Hill. With a pre-teen child, I expect you'll want to pace yourselves somewhat to avoid tiring your child too much.
4. Which part of Rome will you be staying? It's easy reach the Colosseum via the "Colosseo" Metro stop. You'll see it as soon as you exit the station, and will than have to cross the street. Yes, that area is quite crowded much of the time, but how crowded will probably depend on the time of year, time of day and weather at the time. One point to mention regarding your "day bag"..... as I recall, you'll have to put that through an airport-style X-ray scanner in order to enter the Colosseum.

Happy travels!