Viewing Coliseum From Outside...good or bad?

I am researching private tours going to the Coliseum. All of the tour companies are advising people of the long wait to get through the security lines. One company stated the following:

I am researching private tours going to the Coliseum. All of the tour companies are advising people of the long wait to get through the security lines. One company stated the following:

Note:

because of the security checks and metal detector that has been added lately inside of the Coliseum, massive lines have been created to enter now, even with the tickets prebooked and guided tours, in order to not spend much time lining up and losing time, we strongly recommend for you to see it just from the outside.

 

Will I be able to see much from the outside?

 

I will be coming from a Ship so timing is important.

 

 

I appreciate any advice!

 

Jan

 

 

 

 

It is huge, you get a sense of that from the outside. I suppose it depends how much of a "must see" it is for you. There are plenty of other wonderful sights in Rome that would be more interesting than standing in a long queue in the heat outside the coliseum.

 

 

I would be tempted to follow the advice of the tour guide. Or even suggest "can we make a decision on the day?" and see how long the queue is.

 

 

At the end of the day we all have different priorities when we travel and only you know yours.

Jan, it really comes down to what your plan is for Rome.

 

If I was there for two to three days I would want to go inside and tour it for awhile but if you have a lot to do in say one day

I would just view it from outside.

 

Keith

It's unfortunate that the lines have become so unwieldy -- between the need to protect public spaces from potential terrorist attacks and the need to ensure that people aren't defacing the ancient buildings, security checks are definitely more strict and thorough than previously.

 

From the outside, you can get a sense of the size (as mentioned) and also the striking modernity of the design -- how much it looks like modern sports arenas, even down to the carved Roman numbers above the various entrances so people would know which access to use. You can walk around and look at the different architectural orders used (each of the 3 levels is slightly different).

 

But you can't really see inside.

 

As others have said, it will come down to what is most important to you. On a short port visit, I'd probably opt for an outside view only and move on to something else like the Forum.

Thanks everyone for the valuable information!

 

Jan

Good luck with all of your planning and enjoy your time in Rome.

 

Keith

Good luck with all of your planning and enjoy your time in Rome.

 

Keith

 

Thank you!

Jan

Thank you!

Jan

Went there last week with skip the line tickets, took maybe 15 minutes to get inside. From the outside you get a sense, from the inside you get an understanding. We took mini bus tour and saw the key sites plus inside the coleseum and vatican, and had a leisurely lunch.

Went there last week with skip the line tickets, took maybe 15 minutes to get inside. From the outside you get a sense, from the inside you get an understanding. We took mini bus tour and saw the key sites plus inside the coleseum and vatican, and had a leisurely lunch.

 

What tour group did you use and price? Do you recommend them?

What tour group did you use and price? Do you recommend them?

I used italytours.eu which picks you up as you come off the ship. Check website for price options. Definitely would recommend, had great driver who got us close to all sights and had expert guide in Vatican museums who was included in price.

Went there last week with skip the line tickets, took maybe 15 minutes to get inside. From the outside you get a sense, from the inside you get an understanding. We took mini bus tour and saw the key sites plus inside the coleseum and vatican, and had a leisurely lunch.

 

Thank you for the information. Since you went last week, is that considered "off" season. I will be there May 2/18 and believe it is considered "red" or high season.

Thank you for the information. Since you went last week, is that considered "off" season. I will be there May 2/18 and believe it is considered "red" or high season.

 

I would check online for what are the best months to visit. I was there on Nov 2 which was a day after a holiday, All Saints Day, and the crowds were a little larger than maybe this week. I would think May should be OK since kids are still in school.

May is already getting crowded in Rome but early May won't be as bad. Still, don't expect short lines anywhere.

 

There's a reason I like to go to Rome in late November/early December! And even so, the last time I was there in December and went to the Vatican museum, I could not believe the crowds. :eek:

May is already getting crowded in Rome but early May won't be as bad. Still, don't expect short lines anywhere.

 

There's a reason I like to go to Rome in late November/early December! And even so, the last time I was there in December and went to the Vatican museum, I could not believe the crowds. :eek:

So glad to hear you say you like to visit late Nov/early Dec. We are leaving home the day before Thanksgiving for Venice and will be in Rome Dec 5-7. The one bummer is that the Vatican is not offering their early entry breakfast option to the museums during that week, so we had to opt for the earliest group tour we could get. We'll have to make do with the crowds.

 

As for the Colosseum, we still have to try and get the third ring tickets when they open up for booking next Monday. But if we are not successful, we'll get regular entry tickets for that day and it will still be great.

 

Thanks for all your advice, Cruisemom.

Thank you for the information. Since you went last week, is that considered "off" season. I will be there May 2/18 and believe it is considered "red" or high season.

 

That is the day after May Day :confused:

 

We were in Civitavecchia on the November 1st just past (also a Wednesday) and I was surprised at the number of people catching trains and taking holidays. There was just a general sense of busyness.

I am researching private tours going to the Coliseum. All of the tour companies are advising people of the long wait to get through the security lines. One company stated the following:

Note:

because of the security checks and metal detector that has been added lately inside of the Coliseum, massive lines have been created to enter now, even with the tickets prebooked and guided tours, in order to not spend much time lining up and losing time, we strongly recommend for you to see it just from the outside.

 

Will I be able to see much from the outside?

 

I will be coming from a Ship so timing is important.

 

 

I appreciate any advice!

 

Jan

 

 

 

that is what we will do probably . We only in Rome for 3 days and I don't want spend half of it in line. We will look from outside and inside look I will get from web. :(

We were in Rome in late Sept pre-cruise for 3 days. I booked all of our excursions through Viatar. Can't remember specific companies. I would definitely recommend a skip the line tour for the Vatican. I think that one was tours of italy. Our group was only 10 and the tour guide was very good. For the Colosseum we did the Underground, Arena and Upper Level. I would definitely highly recommend going inside the Colosseum even without a tour. The only downside was our tour spent so long in the Colosseum I felt rushed for palatine hill and the forum. We did the Colosseum in an early morning tour and spent the afternoon wandering around visiting the Pantheon, Piazza navona and Trevi Ftn. We also did the Crypts and Catacombs tour the first day we arrived.The tour was awesome but after flying over night it was just too much for us personally. Also there was not much of a line at the Colosseum (but at 8am) compared to the Vatican at noon, which was crazy long.

When we arrived at the Colosseum, a local guide approached us and asked if we were interested in a tour. We said yes - she took the four of us inside and gave us a tour. It wasn't expensive and we skipped most of the line. They checked my bag, but was very quick. Well worth it.

Went there last week with skip the line tickets, took maybe 15 minutes to get inside. From the outside you get a sense, from the inside you get an understanding. We took mini bus tour and saw the key sites plus inside the coleseum and vatican, and had a leisurely lunch.

 

I know this is an old post. Which tour company did you use?

I know this is an old post. Which tour company did you use?

Italytours.eu

 

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Italytours.eu

 

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thank you!

Does anyone have any experience buying Colosseum entry tickets thru CoopCulture? I ask as I purchased entry tickets thru their website on 3 May with the tickets to be emailed to me. Other than the charge being made to my cc, I've now received anything from them.

Does anyone have any experience buying Colosseum entry tickets thru CoopCulture? I ask as I purchased entry tickets thru their website on 3 May with the tickets to be emailed to me. Other than the charge being made to my cc, I've now received anything from them.

I used tickitaly for mine last may and I received an email with voucher. I had to print it out and show it when we got there. They will not allow you unless you have proof. We saw people try to use their phones and the guides said no. That being said, it was an awesome way to see Coliseum. Not crowded and very cool and breezy.

 

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