I've read many suggestions on this site about NOT booking Coliseum tour tickets through a tour agency because they jack the price of the tickets up skyhigh. Instead there have been suggestions to bypass the Coliseum and instead get tickets to Palintine Hill, which includes entry into the Coliseum. It has been said that the line for Palintine Hill tickets is much shorter. My question: Even in early July? During the height of the tourist season? Or is that the one time it might be smart to book in advance through an online company? Thanks in advance for your help in planning our trip.

Our experience twice has been that tour operators are working the line at the Coliseum, selling their tickets. We just bought from a guide we liked, then went directly in. It also covered the Forum, etc. It wasn't very expensive, but I don't recall exactly. Maybe an extra 9 EUR apiece??

We tried the Palentine HIll option and couldn't find it! Had the same experience as maureen - in line at the Cloiseum and tours were recruiting you. Our schedule didn't mesh so we skipped it but DID go to the audio guide line which had NO waiting.

We too had the same experience as MaureenB. We've taken a Coliseum tour twice, and both times it was because we were approached as we were walking towards the Coliseum. I highly recommend a tour; its worth the extra money just to get through the line!

If you want to by your ticket at Palentine Hill, the ticket booth is right inside the entrance for the Forum, just as you come through the arch. It will be on your left, and you will see the stairs that lead up to Palentine Hill. Many people skip Palentine Hill, but I highly recommend it. The sights are great, and you get wonderful sweeping views of the Forum.

Tracy

we bought when we got there....it busy but nothing crazy and the prices weren't increased.

Colosseum. Palatine.

Just so you know.

I would echo the suggestions listed above. As soon as you get near the coliseum there will be tour operators hawking tours. They will listen to see if you speak English and then approach. It gets you in the Coliseum through a quicker entrance and covers the Forum. A Word of Warning... Some of the tour operators don't have a license to give tours in the Forum. In our instance, we got through the Coliseum and then went through the Forum with the group. Halfway through the Forum an official stopped the tour guide and ordered her out for not being an official tour guide for the Forum. We went on without her but the majority of the group did the tour on the outside of the Forum.

Our experince was that we queued for 10 minutes or so on Easter Monday for tickets at the Palatine, and guessed that we would have had to queue for 2 hours to get into the colosseum without those tickets. You certainly don't need a guide for the colosseum, just some imagination; it might be useful to have one for the Forum, as we found it more than a little confusing. [A better guide book would have been useful - Rick Steves is pretty good in these situations, I have found]. You'll find the ticket office easily - if you walk through the Forum, it's just infront of the entrance to the Palatine, under a little arch. Good luck!

I tried to the Palatine Hill option just before the Easter, but I did not have the EXACT change. The ticket lady would not sell me otherwise. So I went to the Coliseum just after the opening time and there was NO waiting line. Ticket office was NOT easy to find, seems I walked round and round.