Colosseum tickets sell out the second they open up for sale?

Well, from what I understand, the caveat with the tours is THEY might not get the tickets.....if the date you are looking at has already had the tickets available, I would assume that the tickets would be easier to confirm (as they already would have them purchased) to offer the tour......

but if anyone else knows if the public on sale date is the same for the tour groups on sale date, that could help us figure it out....

Hi mom2co3 -
Question? Which tickets are you trying to purchase, and for which date?
If it's for the underground, they are the most in-demand tickets in all of Rome, if not all of Italy, and they can sell out in seconds.

As well, some folks trying to purchase tickets for the first Sunday of every month aren't aware that it's an Italian State Museum and free on First Sundays, thus the website shows no tickets for sale.

You shouldn't be having difficulties purchasing general-entry tickets; I haven't heard that those particular tickets are selling out at nearly the rate that the underground are, anyway. So, which tickets are you trying to purchase, and are you using the official website linked below? Just FYI: tickets are nominal - meaning they are specific to your name and date + time of entry - to try and eliminate BOT purchasing. I believe that was a change when Parco Archeologico del Colosseo took over (formerly poor, IMHO) management of the sites from Coopculture last year.

https://ticketing.colosseo.it/en

Hi Kate,

I was trying to purchase either the underground or the attic full experience. My husband was on one computer and I was on another. No luck. They were all gone by the time I clicked on them. So I thought I would try the full experience ticket with entry to arena and no luck there either.

So I went ahead and booked general tickets.

Thanks for your response.

Editing to add:

"Also, I considered booking a tour but have also been told that even
if you book one there is no guarantee when you arrive the tour will be
conducted due to the fact that tour guides are trying to buy tickets
also but not always available to purchase enough tickets to honor
their booked tours."

This doesn't apply to underground tours purchased through the official website. It has been occasionally true of tours purchased by independent companies. Inability to get hands on them for particular day or time slot they sold them for in advance has caused cancellations or shift to different time slots. It became such an annoyance for them that some companies have ceased selling underground tours altogether.

From your prior posts it looks like you're planning on visiting the Colosseum on October 3? I just tried to do a dummy booking for general-entry, 24 hour Colosseum/Forum/Palatine tickets, and the website showed lots of time slots available to choose from on that day.

I was trying to purchase either the underground or the attic full
experience

Well, you could keep trying but if it makes you feel any better, I've been to the Colosseum twice, never done the underground, and haven't felt like I've missed all that much. You can see down into large parts of it from other areas above, and there are so many other interesting things to see in Rome that I don't personally think the headache of trying to land these particular tickets is worth the time, energy and frustration! :O)

If I was to book a tour, it would be one offered by an outside company that includes the Colosseum (but not the underground portion) Forum and Palatine. The latter two are important, interesting, complex sites which benefit from a guide's shepherding, and the official website doesn't offer one that includes all 3. They generally run 3-3.5 hours, and I can pass along the companies that people have recommended most often on the forums, if interested?

There's no trick, you just need to be lucky. Bots aren't buying the tickets, attic and underground tickets are the most sought after (and limited) tickets at one of the most popular places in all of Rome/Europe/Italy. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to get them, you can look down into the underground from the regular areas and you can still get a good view from the second level.

Jeff,

Yep. I'm okay with that. Just want to relax and enjoy the view. thanks

Hello,
Right now there are tickets available for Sept and first week oct. What date are you trying to buy tickets for? Are you on the official site? I just did a test for sept 30 (individual general admission) and it went right thru. Im planning on visiting in dec tickets are not available yet.

https://ticketing.colosseo.it/en

Some additional questions...

What time do tickets for specific dates go on sale??? I'm currently on US East Coast time, but will be in Italy beginning next Thursday.

I'm looking for 2 tickets for the FULL EXPERIENCE TICKET WITH ENTRY TO THE ARENA OF THE COLOSSEUM
specifically for Friday, October 18, preferably early morning.
Right now, I only see tickets available thru October 4...it seems like this is a rolling 1-week forward availability.

I currently have tickets for a full guided tour via Get Your Guide for this date (pricey!), but would prefer to simply DIY this activity.
I need to cancel my GYG tickets by Oct 11@9am. so the actual TIME ON SALE is critical for me.

TIA

The website states that the Full Experience Arena ticket goes on sale 7 days before date of visit, and can be purchased at the onsite ticket offices as well as online...although the ticket lines could be pretty long. I can't tell you exactly what hour they go on sale.

I just looked and although limited, there are some open slots - all of them in the afternoon - for 4 of the next 5 days. You should be able to book this ticket, depending on how many you need, if you keep an eye on schedule starting on October. 11th or 12th. This is a 2-day ticket that allows you to visit the other sites it includes on the morning of your Colosseum reservation (if you can only land an afternoon time slot), or the day before, or the day after that slot.

https://colosseo.it/en/tickets/full-experience-arena/
https://ticketing.colosseo.it/en/eventi/full-experience/

Editing to add: Although I'm not a fan of GYG or other 3-party re-sellers, if the tour you purchased includes in-person guidance of the Palatine and Forum, you might consider keeping it. Those are complex sites that benefit from help understanding what you're looking at. I would also do a search of reviews for the actual provider of your tour as it's not GYG. Look for "Activity Provider:....." under the title of the tour you booked.

If the GetYourGuide vendor has sold you something that includes an entry ticket not yet purchasable, isn't it possible that, when the time comes, the vendor will not be able to buy the expected tickets and will cancel on you? We've had reports of that happening in the past, though not necessarily very recently. That sort of cancelation can occur late enough that it is no longer possible to buy tickets directly from the venue.

I think you will be happy with the general tickets. The stress of having a tour cancelled at the last minute is far greater than not seeing the Underground or attic.

I don't know how with the new rules private vendors can buy tickets for unnamed customers.

When I went in December 2023 with a group from France, our tickets had our names printed on them, and we had to show our IDs with pictures and names two times during the entry process to prove these were our tickets. Our tickets could not have been used by anyone else.

This new attributed-ticketing system was implemented in 2023 due to all the bots and agencies locking up the market for general tickets that could be used by anybody willing to pay the inflated price their tours.

I appreciate all the feedback from Kate, acraven, Mom Retired Now and Elizabeth!

The actual provider is Show Me Italy, and they have a pretty solid set of reviews on Trip Advisor.
As to the questions about "named tickets", I did have to provide my and my wife's names and dates of birth, and they are shown on the ticket vouchers I have from GYG.

I think the idea of a guided tour as providing in-depth info is good, but I also think the RS Audio Tour can provide similar info, and if I were to buy the tickets directly from the ticketing website, significantly less expensive, eg $48 vs $200 for the 2 of us.
But I also don't want to wait until the very last possible minute to see if they become available so I can cancel the GYG tickets in time.
I may consider the 24-hour access tickets that do not include the Arena, since they are currently available for the date/time we're interested in.

Thanks again!