Need help understanding Rome

[mags0615]

We are in port from 7 am to 8 pm on a Thursday in June.  We really want to see the Vatican, Chapel, and Coliseum.  I have a couple of questions. We currently have a tour booked with the tour guy that begins at 10 AM at hotel Alameda. My husband is extremely concerned that we will not be able to make it from the ship to the hotel by 10 AM. We plan to take the train. Do you believe that will be an issue?  My other question is would it be possible for us to visit the Vatican and Sistine Chapel and Colosseum on our own without a tour and be able to see everything how would we purchase tickets in advance to skip the lines? If this is even possible. I appreciate any advice any season travelers can give me.

[euro cruiser]

Yes, you can do it on your own and it's probably a better use of your time vs. a tour that may go places you're not as interested in.

 

You've got a nice, long port day, which is good news.  If you're up and out as soon as they let you off the ship you should be able to make either the 7:44 or the 7:58 regional train to Rome.  They will be crowded and somewhat uncomfortable, so you're forewarned.

 

At the other end of the day there are returns at 17:27 or 17:58 that would have you back in Civitavecchia an hour or slightly more before your departure time.

 

That makes for a nice long day, plenty of time to see both sites.

 

I have a bus to catch so I can't give you all the links right now, but I'll bet that before I get back another member will have provided them.

 

For train info here:  EN - Trenitalia

[firefly333]

I'd read some of these threads about booking the vatican and Colosseum on your own. Maybe it's me but sounds hard. And to see faster or get into extra levels a extra fee. Not that easy to book on your own. I'd book a tour. ..or that's my plan.

[euro cruiser]

Everyone should do what makes them comfortable,  understanding the costs and tradeoffs.   Successful DIYing requires some up front work and on the ground adaptive skills.   Knowing yourself and what's right for you is one the best steps toward a happy trip.

 

When I get back to my computer I'll provide the links and support info, if someone hasn't already done it. 

[kohanfam]

Two very popular tour companies are LIV Tours and Walks of Italy.

we booked LIV because only 6 people

we also booked rollingrome.com golf cart tour.

[euro cruiser]

Okay.   For Vatican tours use this link to buy directly from the Vatican Museums:  Pilgrims (museivaticani.va)

 

For the Colosseum, use this link to purchase directly:  Contact us – Parco Archeologico del Colosseo

 

For that second one a few extra steps may be required, but it is direct.

[Cruise4usnow1]

Just looked at V museums for Thursdays in June and it appears to be sold out for both Vatican sponsored tours (40E) and standard admissions 18E each museum tickets. Those tickets open 60 days ahead.
     For the Colosseum, tickets open 30 days to the hour Rome time, so Jun 7 is available standard admission (18E) but other Thursdays are not yet available. Good luck, It wasn't so hard once you get English on the screen. FYI I tried multiple days to get underground tickets but those were always gone instantly, but I did get arena tickets with super pass for 24E each at the time I wanted.

[Cruise4usnow1]

Sorry, meant Vatican Museums appear to be sold out for Thursdays in June for direct purchase from the Vatican. 

[atwinhusen]

Since buying tickets directly from Vatican Museum is sold out, does anyone have any recommendations of a reputable company to get skip the line tickets from?

Thanks!

[euro cruiser]

Did you dig all the way through the options?  For example, there is one tour that doesn't seem to sell out, "Vatican City Tour and Museums - Open Bus", with this you get entry to the museums.  

[atwinhusen]

Yes, I was checking the vatican website directly.  Sounds like a tour that includes "open bus" would be from a third party tour operator.  Thanks!

[euro cruiser]

That's offered by the Vatican museums, it's on the list if you keep digging through.  I'm only suggesting it as a way to get the museum ticket directly from the Vatican museums.  Plus it might be fun to see other parts of the campus.

[kctwinmommy]

On 5/13/2024 at 3:46 PM, atwinhusen said:

Since buying tickets directly from Vatican Museum is sold out, does anyone have any recommendations of a reputable company to get skip the line tickets from?

Thanks!

We bought ours from Get Your Guide.

 

We had booked a private tour through LimousIn Rome. They were amazing! It was great to have a personal driver to get us to all the sights we wanted to see. While expensive, that might be an option for you to get you to the places you want to see. The ticket into the museum will take you to the Sistine Chapel, it's basically where the crowd leads, everyone just moves through the whole museum, ending with that. We didn't purchase tickets to go into the Colosseum, but she still took us over there so we could walk around.

Edited May 15 by kctwinmommy