Does anyone know if the website: https://romeinfo.rome.ticketbar.eu is a legitimate website for purchasing museum tickets and tours in Rome. For example, it looks like the tickets for the Borghese Gallery are less expensive when purchased there and that makes me suspect that it might not be legitimate.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32742 posts
I don't know if in some way it is legitimate. It certainly isn't the official site.
Posted by
USA
291 posts
When we were at the Galleria Borghese in February, the mean woman at the ticket desk was giving a loud lecture to a couple who had purchased their tickets online from a website other than the official Borghese website, and denied them access. Tickets for that day were sold-out, so the couple was out of luck. I don’t think it is worth taking any chances to save a few euros.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15807 posts
Nona, it's safest to order your tickets directly from the official ticketing site, which for the Borghese is:
I can't imagine that any 3rd-party vendor can sell tickets for this museum less expensively than the museum's vendor itself. If they promise to do so, I'd personally run the other direction. And do understand that some sites quote prices in U.S. dollars and others do in Euros so there can be some confusion there. Also, dates matter as a special exhibit at the museums can raise the price. For instance, as I'm looking at the official website, a full-price adult ticket through them is € 15.00 + € 2.00 per ticket reservation fee until Oct. 30th, when ticket prices rise to € 22.00 + € 2.00 per ticket reservation fee for what is apparently the " VALADIER. Splendore nella Roma del Settecento" exhibition which runs to Feb. 2nd. No, there isn't a ticket which excludes this exhibit.
Which websites to use for other attractions depends on which attractions those are. Also, some folks are willing to pay quite a lot more for, say, early-entrance or after-dark tours offered by 3rd party companies with stellar reputations.
Posted by
USA
47 posts
Bumping this, as I also have questions about Ticketbar. City attractions & tours booked through ticketbar seem to get mixed reviews. Some extremely positive and some very negative about botched bookings.
I am wondering about their Rome Tourist Card, which as far as I can tell, is the only such combination card that delivers the ticket/pass electronically and doesn't require one to pick up a card in person from a tiny list of pick-up locations.
Posted by
Washington DC
27104 posts
I don't know anything about that company, but after a quick look at the website in the original post, I would proceed with great caution. Most of the benefits of that card are in the form of 20% discounts--hardly worth mentioning, in my view. And you have to pay for the card before you select the time of your visit to the Colosseum. It's only then that you find out whether the day/time you want is actually available. How are you going to feel if you pay $74 for the card and then discover the Colosseum is sold out for the days you'll be in Rome?
Posted by
USA
47 posts
Very good points. Combined with the booking complaints I've read, I will pass on Ticketbar for anything.
I know that I can book tickets ~ 3 months in advance to the Vatican Museums, thus skipping the ticket line. I'm still trying to determine the best way to book "skip the line" entrances to St. Peter's that doesn't involve a guided tour. There are so many shady-looking sites out there.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15807 posts
A wise decision not to purchase that card; there's little if anything to recommend about it. For just a couple of many reasons to avoid it, hoho buses are NOT particularly useful in Rome, and you'd see very little from a river cruise/hoho boat as well. The Tiber is not all that attractive to begin with, and steep walls around it impedes much of a view. Give this a look:
A quick example of why Borghese tickets are NOT less expensive through the ticketbar website?
I did a dummy booking on both Ticketbar and the Borghese's official vendor for 1 adult ticket on Nov. 6th.
Through the Borghese's vendor (linked above) it's € 24.00, which includes the € 2.00 pre-sale fee + € 2.00 service charge.
Through Ticketbar, it's $28.72, including their $6.84 booking fee, which converts to €26.01 per today's exchange rate, so is more expensive than the Borghese's official vendor.. The ordering page for this Ticketbar ticket lists it in euros as as €26.25. So, while not a lot more expensive, it's definitely not less than https://www.tosc.it's price.