I read all of the great reviews of the underground colosseum tour here and booked tickets for me and my son months ago with The Roman Guy. We were all set, we are leaving next week. Today I got a message from them that they can't get tickets to the underground and they canceled that portion of the tour on our ticket. I am so incredibly disappointed, my son is in tears, we have saved for this trip for years and he wants to study ancient Roman history so this was the thing he was most looking forward to. I have looked on every tour site I can think of try to find tickets last minute, if anyone has any thoughts about anything to try to get him to be able to see the underground I would appreciate it so much.
Thank you,
Elizabeth
Posted by
San Diego, California
5649 posts
https://search.ricksteves.com/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Colosseum+tickets+canceled&button=
Very sadly, a number of posters have reported this exact same experience. These companies are all selling tickets they don't have. I believe the Underground are the hardest tickets to get. Even the companies themselves are upset with the current system in place.
Good luck!
Posted by
San Diego, California
5649 posts
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Thank you for the info, Pat. That's such a bummer, we have many, many tears here :(
Posted by
Folsom
2738 posts
As a consolation prize get tickets for this (in English) https://www.palazzovalentini.it/domus-romane/index-en.html. Suggested by Sarah Murdoch when we were in Rome and it was a highlight of our trip.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7229 posts
I’m sorry this has happened to you.
How about a visit to Ostia Antica instead?
Posted by
Sonoma
66 posts
It sounds like you still get in, correct? You can still look down into the underground as you circle inside the Colosseum. We did the underground tour in 2019 and honestly it wasn’t that big of a deal. You barely went underground at all.
Here are a couple underground things that might interest him.
https://www.vicuscaprarius.com/en/
https://stadiodomiziano.com/homepage-en/
Posted by
OP
11 posts
These are great ideas, thank you so much everyone! I really appreciate the help!
Posted by
State of Washington, USA
267 posts
For what it's worth: in 2019 we took a Roman Guy Underground Colosseum Tour. 29% of the people on the tour (including us) walked out early, unhappy. (6 of 21 people). The tour company did not set expectations in line with the actual experience. Of 4 tours we had in Italy during this trip, only this tour was a disappointment. Hopefully the content has improved over the 4 years since then. Note this was just our experience, as I have seen positive as well as negative reviews by others. My review is on the forum: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/vip-colosseum-at-night-tour-by-the-roman-guy-a-great-disappointment
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16621 posts
It sounds like you still get in, correct? You can still look down into
the underground as you circle inside the Colosseum.
Exactly. I personally feel that the underground tours are overrated as I've been twice since before that section was even open to tourists and haven't felt like I've missed anything much by not seeing it. It's not like they spend much time down there. and you really can see down into the uncovered areas from above. So, there is NO need for tears. Take whatever is still offered to you, and explore some others of MANY of Rome's fascinating antiquities open to you. :O)
Editing to add: Take a look at a long walk on the Appia Antica; best day we've had in Rome to date.
https://www.parcoappiaantica.it/smart-info-ita-eng/
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Interesting, well I did book an underground Rome tour with a different company, it's not the Colosseum but looking at some other layers of history, so hopefully that will give him a little sense of what he seems to be particularly interested in. But I'm relieved to hear that he will be able to see most of the sites from the Colosseum tour. I also booked the Palazzo Valentini. I will check out more suggestions. Thank you!
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16621 posts
Interesting, well I did book an underground Rome tour with a different
company, it's not the Colosseum but looking at some other layers of
history,
So what tour is it, and for which subterranium part of Rome?
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16621 posts
That should be a very good one! :O)
As long as it's not the underground of the Colosseum, I think you can breathe easy as far as further cancellations. We've done one of the Roman catacombs (San Sebastiano) and it was very interesting so I expect Santa Domitilla will be well worth this tour as well. The underground layers of San Clemente will be fascinating as well.
Frankly, I think this tour will offer more of interest than the short time you'd have had in the Colosseum underground. So, play UP the many interesting things you WILL be seeing versus what your young person thinks he'll be missing. His experience will be much richer than what most tourists have had.
Though Eternity is also reputed to offer high-quality tours. They get high marks from forum posters whom have used them.
Posted by
OP
11 posts
I hope so! It looked fascinating to me and we are very similar. He has just been so into ancient Roman history ever since he was little, I can’t wait for him to see everything. He just graduated 8th grade and he is starting Latin in his high school. We are also going to Pompeii and Herculaneum, he wants to study something related to history, archaeology, or the classics.
I just booked tickets to Stadio di Domiziano and sent an inquiry to Vicus calrarius. I love these sites that aren’t in all of the books, thank you and I welcome any more suggestions!
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16621 posts
We are also going to Pompeii and Herculaneum
Oh, well, expect just those two to blow his teenage mind!
Rome: while they're probably in the guidebooks, so many tourists don't get beyond the Vatican and Colosseum so look at the Baths of Caracalla, a 1/2 day trip to Ostia Antica, Teatro di Marcello and Portico Octavia, and Largo di Torre Argentina, for starters,
Still, I think a long walk on the Appia Antica might be right up your youngster's alley. Here's a look at their step-by-step guide of ancient monuments at points along the way. You don't have to do the ENTIRE route but I'd consider a big chunk of it. Pack a lunch! :O)
https://www.parcoappiaantica.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/via-Appia-Antica_ENG.pdf
Posted by
Amman, Jordan
177 posts
We did the underground tour with The Tour Guy last year. While it was interesting, the underground wasn't necessarily the highlight and you can still see much of it from above. It's absolutely still worth touring the Colosseum even if you can't get to the lowest level.
Posted by
Texarkana
53 posts
The same thing happened to me with the Roman Guy a couple weeks ago, except they cancelled less than 24 hrs from the tour. It was also the thing I was looking forward to the most, but it is what it is. Nevertheless, they put us on a tour that included the arena with 4 other people, instead of the 15-20 as usual and had the entire arena floor to ourselves since we were one of the first groups.
Just remember there is so much more in Roman and even the Colosseum, than the colosseum underground
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Thanks Kathy - I have added these, and they look great - the Baths of Caracalla, a 1/2 day trip to Ostia Antica, Teatro di Marcello and Portico Octavia, and Largo di Torre Argentina. Not sure if we will have time for the Appian way or not, but it's on the list!
I appreciate everyone's comments!
Posted by
Washington DC
28247 posts
There's a cat rescue at Lago di Torre Argentina. Some of those cats are very friendly; they may have been feral at one time, but they don't act that way now.