Rome and Venice Honeymoon in November
 

Hello all, I am very new to posting in a travel forum so I apologize beforehand for any mistakes made.
As the title suggests my fiancé and I just booked a honeymoon trip to Rome and Venice in early November of 2017 and I am looking for some assistance in getting tickets to the sights in Rome, such as the Colosseum and Vatican/Sistine Chapel. We arrive in the morning on a Monday in Rome and are assuming we'll need some time to adjust, but we're looking to do sightseeing on Monday (hopefully), Tuesday, Wednesday, and in the morning on Thursday. Google searches return a billion results but are there any tips to buying entrance tickets/tours at a decent price and where to buy from, do these sights have their own dedicated pages to get the tickets, or is it best to go through a recommended travel site?
Also, how far in advance is it recommended to buy tickets? In my search it was looking like bookings for November aren't available yet.

Thank you all in advance for any information! We're first time travelers to Europe looking forward to seeing a country we thought we'd never get the chance to!

Well train tickets between the two are worth buying way in advance to get deep discounts - www.trenitalia.com -book your own. For lots on trains and what to expect (1st v 2nd class,etc) check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

check out a current thread on what needs or should be booked in advance in Rome:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ome-sights.cfm

I did a similar trip a couple years ago, I am going to paste the highlights of my itinerary below! Enjoy! It's a blast! We made a quick stop in Florence/Pisa on the way to Venice! Florence was one of the most amazing places I have ever been! I'm also putting my hotels, I highly recommend them all (but especially the one in Rome, great location and awesome staff!!)


Rome
Nerva Boutique Hotel
Via Tor de' Conti 3/4
Rome 00184 IT
+39066793764
Hotel is in Roman Forum/Colosseum area--makes for some light sightseeing on your arrival day. You can walk to the Colosseum in about 10 min from the hotel on the evening you arrive and the Roman Forum is right outside the door! The hotel also has amazing restaurants in the area!

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(Ancient Rome area/East Rome)
Walk from hotel to Colosseum is about 0.4 miles. Check out Colosseum --Open at 0830 can close as early as 1630. Tickets are a must for priority access and to the upper and lower areas. The tour below was awesome and only took half a day! It is nice to have the guide because without you would miss some of the details!

https://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Sk...-3731COLOSSEUM

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*Heart of Rome Walk to Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps (see Rick Steve's' book)
*Pantheon open until 1930
*Galleria at Via Del Corso closes at 2200
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*St. Peters/Vatican
o Taxi there/hotel town car (warning, expect traffic and delays in the morning--even on the subway!!)
o Necropolis tour at 0900 (need to be at excavation office by 0845)--Buy tickets way in advance, they only allow a few a day through! Best tour we did! It's amazing and it ends at St. Peters remains
o Necropolis tour is 90 minutes
o Not going to take official tour of Basilica, the Necropolis tour ends in the Basilica, we will look on our own, we will climb the dome if we feel like it (dome climb is about 30 minutes)

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/in...090216_en.html

o 7 Euro to climb the dome with partial elevator ride
o 0700-1800 open hours
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*Vatican Museum (need to start by 1300)
o About 2.5 hours
o Reserved ticket for 13:30. Print voucher and bring to the museum. You can bypass ticket line at the entrance with reservations line
o Sistine Chapel closes 1.5 hours before museum (4:30pm/1630). Try to start tour at Sistine Chapel.
o Monday –Friday 0900-1800, last entry at 1600, for least crowding, get there at 0900

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Florence/Pisa --we stopped here to break up the train ride and get to see the tower of Pisa (amazing!)
Train from Rome to Florence (drop bags at hotel in Florenct) and then train to Pisa for the day (all very short train rides)

Hotel in Florence
Hotel Burchianti
Via Del Giglio 8
Florence 50123 IT
+39055212796

*Train out to Florence from Rome (we can either check bags at our hotel--its a 5 min walk from the train station.
*Train out to Pisa
*In Pisa, it is a 30 min walk to the tower, or there are busses running (10 min or so).
 Head back to Pisa Central after the tower trip
 Train back to Florence
 Stay the night in Florence—we are walking distance from the train station/hotel/city center
 Dinner and walk around city center, see duomo, etc
 5 min from Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio
 Train out to Venice at 10:00 the next morning
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Venice Itinerary


Hotel Palazzo Selvadego--San Marco is nearest water buss stop
San Marco 1224/B - 1235
Venice 30124 IT
+390415200211

*Take Grand Canal Cruise from train station to St.Mark’s/Hotel--buy passes/tickets directly out front of the train station for the water taxi's.
*45 minute cruise for slow boat #1, express boat #2 takes 25 minutes but not all #2 boats go to St. Marks, check before getting on

In Venice, you really don't need a huge schedule, just walk around and get lost! It will happen! Every corner is something new! Don't worry about getting lost, just head back toward the canal and you can quickly hop on a water bus back to your destination!
TAKE A GONDOLA RIDE!! yes they are cheesy and touristy and overpriced, but it ended up being one of the best experiences we had!
We were in Venice for Carnival so our agenda included a Carnival Ball!
 Explore St. Marks Square
o St Mark’s to Rialto Loop Walk (Rick Steves's book)
o St.Mark’s to San Zaccaria Walk

 Ship home anything too bulky, post office across from hotel--The post office in Venice near San Marco gets stuff to the states in about 10 days! The fastest we have found in Europe
o alilaguna to the airport or call a private water taxi (more $$ but WAYYY nicer!)


Hope this helps! Venice was awesome, we have been back every year since our first trip!

We did a few things with Walks of Italy to avoid ticket lines etc...Their tours are small (or we wouldn't go). The guides were really good. We did Pristine Sistine where our guide took us straight to the Sistine Chapel. It was almost empty! We worked our way back through the Vatican museums and then went through and ended in the chapel when it was packed. We also did a tour of the Colisseum with the top tier and also the underground part, also excellent. That tour also included the Forum.

You book the Scavi tour of the Vatican directly with the Vatican, if you are interested in that. Interesting but not for the claustrophobic! ��

http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/prenotazione.html

Site for Scavi tours. Below the site for Elizabeth Minchilli ...we did a food tour with her on our first night to beat jet lag and had a magnificent time.

http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/food-tours/

Viator mentioned above is a reseller or OTA for other companies' tours. If you want to book directly with sites, use their official sites. Most offer their own tours for a few euro more than the entry ticket. The Vatican has a tour of the museums or a combo tour that includes St. Peter's (you don't need tickets for St. Peter's). If you want more in-depth tours, ask for suggestions for companies.

For Vatican Museums:

http://www.museivaticani.va/content/...ticani/en.html

For the Colosseum/Forum:

http://www.coopculture.it/en/

>>>Also, how far in advance is it recommended to buy tickets? In my search it was looking like bookings for November aren't available yet. <<<

Probably 2-3 months in advance schedules will be posted and tickets available. Just keep checking. Notify our credit card company that you will be making an online purchase or two for tickets in Italy so they don't block the transaction.

There are other museums sites in Rome (such as Capitoline or Borghese) if you are interested in anything else.