Hilmel

Hi,

I have been looking at prebuying tickets to attractions in London (Eye, Tower of London etc) and to the Vatican and Colesseuem in Rome so as to avoid queues. Can anyone recommend good reputable websites? There are so many and prices are so varied. We are happy to pay premium to fast track queues but we dont really want to be locked into exact dates at this stage. We go in July/Aug and dont know exactly what day we want to do what yet in each city

Thanks

qwovadis

www.viator.com

Probably most reputable worldwide for this.

Happy Planning!

janisj

Rome is different -- and other will give you better info.

But for London you DO NOT want to pre-purchase Eye tickets. It is totally weather dependent and what if the time you book it is pouring down w/ rain and you can't see a thing? You can book on line or by phone after you are in London and have a good idea what the weather will be.

As for the Tower -- you <u>cannot</u> pre-book if you want to use a 2 for 1 voucher from the Days Out guide. If you get to the Tower just before opening time the queue won't be bad at all. OR - late in the afternoon is good too.

http://daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london (which also covers the Eye BTW)

kybourbon

Ignore the Viator suggestion above. You can save money and skip the lines in Rome by booking directly with the Vatican. You can book tickets for the Vatican Museums only (15€) or a tour (31€). Usually, they only take bookings about 2 months in advance. I doubt there will be much of a line at the Vatican Museums in August as most people try to escape the heat of the city during that month.

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...nfo_Orari.html

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...zi_Visite.html

No need to book the Colosseum in advance. Buy the Roma Pass (25€) when you get to Rome which lets you bypass the line. It gives you 3 days transport in Rome (buses,tram,metro) and 2 site admissions (Colosseum/Forum/Palantine count as one).
http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2

daveesl

In addition to what Ky said, if going to the Colosseum, you can purchase individual tickets at any ticket location for any of the three sites. On Via Imperiali you'll find the ticket office for the Roman Forum. On Via San Gregorio you'll find the ticket office for the Palatine. Each of these is about 200 meters from the Colosseum and seldom have a line (unless a tour bus is there). With the individual ticket you have access to all three sites - one admission - in a 48 hour period from the time you first use the ticket.

Whether you get the Roma Pass or the individual ticket, walk to the outside of the big line going into the colosseum. You'll see signs saying "Roma Pass" and "Purchased Tickets". Walk right to the security check point and bypass the ticket line completely.

Ky's suggestion on the Vatican Museums is spot on.

As to London, there is no need to pre-purchase and as was said earlier, you really don't want to pay to do the Eye if it is all cloudy and rainy. I've never had to wait long for the Tower of London.

dave

rineurope

Hilmel, as suggested by kybourbon and daveesl, avoid Viator as they are simply an agency. Their suggestions are right on the money. A couple of other things to pre-book might include the Scavi Tour (under St. Peter's basilica) and also the Undeground tour at the Colosseo. These are both "hot" tickets and you really have to book in advance. You might look at this article which suggests "what-to-prebook" in Rome: http://tinyurl.com/prebook-rome

If you're planning on doing the Vatican without a guide, you might also read this for some helpful hints: http://tinyurl.com/vatican-tips. Take some water with you as many parts of the Museum are not air-conditioned and it will be August in Rome!

Hilmel

Thank you so much for all your wonderful advice. Really appreciate it.

spurs_11

Hi,

On the Tower of London site you can buy a ticket that allows you entry for one day but you you book a date and you can go on any day within 7 days of that date.

Means you arn't locked in and can juggle your schedule a bit.

Cheers