Colosseum, Forum & Palatine Hill Tour Canceled 6 Days out by The Roman Guy Tours! Any Options

This complaint is coming up here more frequently. These companies sell tours before they have the tickets, gambling that they'll secure tickets for the slots they sold. Sadly, often they don't get the tickets.
Good luck, sorry.

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Colosseum+tickets+canceled&utf8=%E2%9C%93

I still recommend a tour of the Forum and Palatine Hill if you can secure one. We thought these two were far more interesting anyway. Our tour was a few years ago and was just the normal above ground tour of the Colosseum though.
We used Through Eternity Tours.

The Roman Guy is not the only company that has sold tours then had to cancel for same reason.

Everyone-not just tour companies- is having a lot of difficulty getting tix this year

They wouldn’t be able to just modify the tour
All entrances need tickets

We booked the most basic tour for both these site on Tues. Hoping they can get our 11 tickets!

Oh…failed to mention…with The Roman Guy!

I visited Rome in late April and somehow got the combo ticket from the official website in March, but it was dicey, had to take a 5:45 entry to the Colosseum. While it was certainly fascinating to go inside this marvelous relic and at least peer down into the underground area, I must echo what another poster mentioned about the Forum and Palatine Hill area being much more interesting--possibly you can secure entry to just that, at least.

hey hey Robert
as Christine says, many companies are having issues with tickets. too many people traveling with seeing the same things everyone wants to see with many wanting same times. even booking far in advance, read about cancellations which is upsetting but keep looking forward. don't let it throw a wrench in the circle and have a bad time. so many other things to see.
friends just got back from their cruise with stop in rome late april, they both said it was so crazy, crowded worse than can of sardines. they went skip the line to vatican with so much pushing/shoving, rushing thru without seeing art, walked 7 miles that day and were happy cruisers back on ship. sounds like deloris downer but that's how it is.
with short notice look at:
thecolosseum.org
click ticket options for your day or change days
getyourguide.com/ rome colosseum, forum
look at days/times available
withlocals.com/ rome
look at days/times available
don't know how many "we" are, how many days you're in rome, where you're headed next. the other "big" cities will be the same crowds that many have posted on social media/instagram, high high season. maybe get away from the hustle and bustle, the heat.
tripsavvy.com
best beaches near rome. take the train from roma termini and enjoy dipping your toes, having lunch along the water
viaggiando-italia.it/nemi 90th anniversary of strawberry festival
june 4, 2023 at lake nemi. take train or taxi "fastest" to lake nemi and enjoy strawberry anything and everything including parade
italymagazine.com/ lake nemi and it's wild berry
older article but tells you about area and festival.
hope all works out for you and the gang, have fun
aloha

Robert, I Know this must be disappointing for you. However, this issue has been going on for over a year with multiple tour companies (mine was Walks of Italy). The tour companies struggle to get tickets for the underground. Can you find a company that will offer Colosseum and forum tours? Look on viator.

I have first-hand knowledge of how irritating it is to have a tour cancelled at the last minute when you booked months in advance. The Roman Guy had to know before today that they couldn't get the Colosseum underground tickets for your tour date.

I booked and paid for very expensive private tours 11 months in advance - only to have the company cancel 47 hours and 59 minutes before the start date. They had a no refunds within 48 hours - I think they were waiting to see if we would cancel. As you can see, I'm still pissed off.

Maybe a day trip to Ostia Antica instead?

You should always be able to buy the SUPER ticket to get access to the Forum, Palatine Hill and the extra sites there - these are not timed entry.

I posted this on 5/26:

Just keep this in mind: at 11:35 PM [23:35] PDT on May 26 I'm seeing approx. 50 tix available at various times for the regular 24 hr Colosseum ticket for 5/27. Within five minutes that dropped to approximately 12 tix available.

See this earlier thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/colosseum-tickets-95ef60a3-0053-49f4-b26d-15f749d8bbd9

So keep looking on the coopculture web site every day - try first thing in the AM, especially at 9 AM Rome time - you may get lucky.

I have no experience with this, but recently re-read the RS guidebook section on the Colosseum - he says that you may find people selling tours right outside; you need to confirm the tickets are for immediate entry. He said to ditch the tour once you get inside. Sounds like a last-ditch, risky option.

Because of the concern with these tour companies selling tickets they don't have, we went a different route. We took the Italian language night tour of the Colosseum (Italian language tickets are usually available) and used the official Parco app's audio tour. We didn't pay for the audio tour, though I wish we would have, but the free version give you 1-2 minutes of info at each audio guide stop, I assume the paid version give you more. It wasn't the same as understanding the human guide but we got it, were guaranteed tickets, and got a great view of inside the Colosseum at night. Might not be for everyone but I enjoyed it, plus at night the crowd situation was so much better and it was cooler.

For Palatine and the Forum we then just bought the SUPER pass of those 2 sites...those are always available.

Robert, this is the link to the night tour suggested by CuriousWanderer:

https://colosseo.it/en/event/the-moon-over-the-colosseum-2023/

Unfortunately, it looks like June 7 is booked for both the English and Italian tour, and that ticket does not include the Forum and Palatine but there looks to be tickets for Italian tour on the 9th, if that could work.

Another last resort is the NEW on-site ticket office. I've no idea if they sell tickets that include the underground, and at this point I certainly wouldn't hold out for those: buy whatever is available. A general-entry ticket will get you into all 3 sites (timed entry for the Colosseum). Use Rick's free audio guide or the app CuriousWanderer mentioned. Get in line at the ticket office EARLY, well before 9:00, as I'm sure people are starting to catch on that it's there. It looks to be on Via dei Verbiti, on the west side of the Colosseum.

https://colosseo.it/en/2023/05/ticket-office-opening-colosseum-square/

This happened to me the day before our Tour with Walks of Italy. They actually rebooked us to another tour the same day with arena access, plus the Palatine Hill and Forum. They refunded us the difference. If the other tours on the same day are sold out for Roman Guy, perhaps you can get on a wait list or see if they can find you another tour.

Good luck. I know is very frustrating to have this happen. Good luck in finding something.

Another idea that we have done a couple of times. Just look for tour guides walking around the entrance to the Colosseum. They are looking to scoop up about 10 people for a tour and they get you right in without having to wait in the line. Then your ticket is good for the Forum and Palatine Hill too. You pay a little more than you would if you waited in the line to get the ticket but you don't have to wait in the line to get the ticket!!

Another option would be the Roma Pass, but it looks like they are all booked for June 7. But it's something for others to keep in mind. There is a separate ticket allocation for Roma Pass holders.

https://ecm.coopculture.it/index.php?option=com_snapp&view=event&id=7D8772B8-1D4C-5766-0483-016CAFC55142&catalogid=577EE60C-C16D-67DA-4942-017C7D6D0AED&lang=en

You’ve gotten some good advice about how to search for entry tickets without a tour. If that works, don’t forget Rick’s AudioEurope app and its audio tours. I’ve come to really like them instead of following a guide because I can stop when I want and listen in more detail.

Also, I hate to be negative on public sites, but I’ve used the Roman Guy/Tour Guy 3 times in the past year for Colosseum tours for my visiting friends. Only one was worth the price of admission. The other two guides were barely phoning it in with very limited or inaccurate information and no enthusiasm. One of them even skipped the “colosseum floor” part of the tour we had paid extra for. Since you don’t get to choose your guide, I’ve decided this guide lottery is not for me. I either book private, recommended guides or use audio tours.

I hope you find a way to get inside, then use other resources and pre-reading for your tour information. The last-minute stress is a real drag, I agree, but hopefully you find a more personal alternative that works for you.

Thanks to all who offered alternatives.
We were planning to book the same tour from The Roman Guy for our visit in late September 2023.
Now I know to have backup plans.

It looks like some tour companies have had enough of CoopCulture. I pulled the following off of a Facebook post of an email sent to customers of Liv Tours. It says they're going to stop selling some underground tours.

If you don't want to read all of it, here's is one telling paragraph;

The choice is dictated by a series of insurmountable difficulties
imposed by surprising, astonishing and illogical daily new regulations
dictated by Coopculture and the Parco Archeologico. These erratic
regulation changes began in mid-2022 and made it increasingly
difficult for tour operators, their clients and guides to access the
monument and underground in a fair and equitable manner.

Here's the full message;

Dear future clients, extended LivTours family members, partners and
friends, It is with great regret, sadness and a bit of embarrassment
that we announce that we will no longer serve our Colosseum
Underground & Ancient Rome Semi-Private tour and Semi-Private Express
Colosseum Underground, effective July 4th.

Despite this, rest assured that although we are discontinuing the
underground portion, your Colosseum tour with exclusive arena access
remains confirmed.

Why is LivTours discontinuing Semi-Private Colosseum Underground
tours?

This decision is a result of much careful thought. It was one of our
first tours ever offered and one of the first “special access” tours
we introduced at LivItaly in 2014. The tour has won awards and
mentions and has given us great satisfaction.

The choice is dictated by a series of insurmountable difficulties
imposed by surprising, astonishing and illogical daily new regulations
dictated by Coopculture and the Parco Archeologico. These erratic
regulation changes began in mid-2022 and made it increasingly
difficult for tour operators, their clients and guides to access the
monument and underground in a fair and equitable manner.

Over the last 12 months, with every new and nonsensical regulation
imposed, we rolled up our sleeves and worked with what we had. We
worked hard to adapt to the growing challenges, often wasting hours
and days making endless modifications to our clients and guides
schedule in an effort to adapt to changes that seemed to favor large
corporations utilizing bots while restricting access of guides and
clients even with valid tickets in hand. What’s more, these unfair and
often contradictory regulations are imposed without transparency, and
come at the cost of our clients' satisfaction, tranquility, not to
mention our guide's patience.

Nelly, very helpful information. Do you have any suggestions for a pre-recorded audio guide for the underground portion of the Colosseum? I was also able to secure a night visit, but the guided tour will be in Italian.