I'm trying to find out the best way to pre-book tickets to the Colosseum and the Vatican City attractions that will allow us to skip the lines. Should we buy our tickets directly online from each attraction; will this allow us to skip the lines? Do you need to book a tour to skip the lines and if so, which is the best tour company? Or should we get a Rome City pass? Does that allow you to skip the lines? We are a family of 4 (kids ages 10 and 12) and we will be in Rome June 26-29. Thank you.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
You don't need to book a tour in order to bypass the long lines. The only two sites that will have really long lines are the colosseum and the Vatican museums. If you book entry tickets or a tour from their official websites it will allow you to bypass the very long ticket lines.
https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm
https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do
Be aware that at the colosseum you skip the ticket line but not the security line. There is no way to bypass that. It can get backed up, especially in the summer, so be there at least 30 minutes early if you book a scheduled time ticket. There are several different ticket types to choose from so read their descriptions before choosing.
For the Vatican museums you'll be put in right at the doorway. The security scanner is just beyond that. Once inside you exchange your voucher for a ticket and can enter the museums.
It's all very easy.
The kids will gain free entry to the colosseum so purchase the "free" tickets. You will need their passports when you pick up their tickets to show proof of age.
Donna
Posted by
12 posts
For kids under 18, is a full, original passport required to prove age or (i) would a copy of the first page of the passport (with birth date) or (ii) a driver's licence (with photo and birth date) be OK?
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
You are required to carry your passport with you at all times unless you are an EU member so just use that as proof of age. Carry them in a secure purse or a money belt. They don't weigh anything and are easy to store in your money belt or even your purse.
Donna
Posted by
OP
16 posts
Donna - Thank you for the info. We've booked our tickets for the Vatican and are now looking that the Colosseum. We want to book for a specific entry time, and it says that the kids are free (just need to pay 2euro reservation fee) but I'm not seeing where we can add the 2 euro reservation fee for the kids. So do we just book our adult tickets and then pick the tickets up for the kids at the colosseum? Since we're want to go at specific time, i'm concerned that if we don't have the reservation for the kids that they won't get in? Do the kids not need a reservation or have I missed something? I'm a little confused here...
Posted by
OP
16 posts
I was just looking at the Colosseum website again and for the scheduled entrance times it does say "Free entrance tickets with scheduled entrance time can be required directly at the ticket office, by paying the reservation fee at the ticket office." But does that mean we have to go to the regular ticket line or since we will have the 2 adult tickets reserved can we just go to the shorter (special events?) line?
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
No, you'll go through the special line for timed tickets then stop by the desk to get the tickets for the kids. There may be one or two people in front of you but it will only take a minute to get them.
Donna
Posted by
OP
16 posts
I just booked 2 adult tickets to the Colosseum for 8:35am scheduled entrance because we wanted to try to beat the heat. I did the pickup tickets there option because we also need to pick our free kids' tickets. But it looks like the ticket lines don't open until 8:30am, so now I'm wondering if we're going to be able to pick up our tickets and go through security in time to make our scheduled entrance?? Maybe I'm over thinking this, but it doesn't seem as straightforward as i'd like it be. Should I re-book a later entry time, or will we be okay??