Hi! I'm planning my honeymoon to Italy and we'll have 4 nights in Rome. We're interested in seeing it all (lofty goal) but specifically with the Colosseum and the Vatican, what have been your best ticket purchasing and tour strategies?

My best tour strategies have been 100% self guided.

Please see my trip report from last month. We managed to see a lot of Rome within a few days without fighting the crowds. Here are some tips:

1. Book the coloseum on line.
2. Do a bike tour of the city towards the evening
3. Go to the Vatican museum on Friday night. Advance bookings are a must.
4. See the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain in the early morning hours.
5. Eat at least once in Trastevere
6. Don't overdo it. Rome needs a day off after two days of sightseeing.
7. Go to the farmer's market above the Circus Maximus open on Saturdays. It's free, doesn't have many crowds and if you keep walking towards Piazza Venezia afterwards, you'll have the most amazing views of the Roman Forum.

I'll check it out! Thank you for the tips!

The Colosseum also has night tours. This is considered an, "event" and the ticket doesn't include admission to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, as the day tickets do. However, it's one way to beat the crowds.

I've been to Rome probably around 30 times, and I still haven't seen all that I want to see. There are over a dozen world class museums, hundreds of astonishing churches, and maybe half a dozen spectacular archaeological sites. And beautiful parks, monuments, scenic over looks.

I suggest you focus less on the "must-sees", and search out some "hidden gems" to include in your itinerary. That makes the difference between a magical experience and a cooky cutter vacation.

I am Roman, always lived here, so here are my suggestions
1) Do not miss Appian Way and Villa dei Quintili
2) Coppedè neighborhood, early XX century, is amazing
3) Rome is the greenest city in Europe, do not miss a walk in Villa Borghese or Villa Doria Pamphili. Also, walk through residential areas and just look the private gardens
4) Romans go dining in Testaccio rather than in Trastevere. and do not miss to taste supplì, the king of the Roman street food
5) Aventine Hill, both sides, is a real jewel

vincenzos has lovely suggestions, but probably not for first-time visitors to Rome with only 4 days, which with travel time getting there is probably only 3-1/2 days.
Context Tours has great tours, though expensive.

How I did it was I bought Vatican tickets on line timed as it was in the summer. I did the garden tour which after I got to see the museum and got me in the back door to St. Peter's. For the Colosseum I go at around 9 am and get my tickets at the Palatine Hill entrance as I buy a combination ticket. If you just want Colosseum tickets buy them on line and it will by pass the majority of the lines if you get there by 9am. Going early in the morning does help a lot.

Someday, I'd love to see all of your tips but the problem is that I usually go with first-timers and they just want to stick to the typical highlights. However, I'm going to keep your list for another time.

SusanP, I gave those suggestions just because I am Roman and lived here for... well too much to say .
The Vatican and the Colessuem should be the end of a path, otherwise one will not understand why they were built.
Among the most famous site of Rome, the one that should not be missed the very first time that one is visiting Rome is the Pantheon, the most copied building in the human history and the one that has been a revolution in architecture.
Few other places worth a visit are those having a significance for other, more modern, revolutions
- The Non-Catholic Cemetery, next to the Pyramid, where there are the burials of Keats and Shelley that, along with Byron, who also lived in Rome, and Selley's wife have changed the modern literature
- Via dei Marsi, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood, where Maria Montessori starte her revolution of the educational system (her firs school was destroyd during last war, a new one has been made in the same place)
- Via Panisperna, where Enrico Fermi and his group started a new era for technology and, unfortunately, also for weapons
-

vincenzos, I totally agree with you. I have seen a lot of what is on your list, but I have been fortunate enough to have been to Rome ten times (and will be returning in a few weeks). I just think it's not realistic to have time to see those things when it's your first time and you only have a few days and want to see the famous sites that Rome is known for. Certainly the Pantheon could and should be added to the list of Vatican and Colosseum. 😀

I appreciate input from seasoned travelers and Roman locals, since you know some of the amazing places that might not get as much mention as the others but shouldn't be missed! I'll also be looking at the tours mentioned, since you're right, we won't have time to waste with standing on line! I love putting together an itinerary that isnt like everyone else's. These are fabulous tips, thank you all!

So many great recommendations, I know where I am booking my next holiday!

In my opinion, most organized tours are not an efficient way to organize a short trip. They usually occupy at least a whole morning or afternoon, and may include timewasters that don't interest you. And they often rush through things you really want to see more of.

The only places you might have a long line are the Colosseum and the Vatican. You can avoid most of these by buying your tickets online. I think the evening visit to the Colosseum is only by tour, but a tour of a particular site is not the kind of tour I was talking about. In any case if you get the tickets for that evening visit from the official website of the Colosseum, the tour is included at a very reasonable price. Here is the official site:
https://ecm.coopculture.it/index.php...plate3&lang=en

Scroll down to see Colosseum by Night.

Here is the Vatican Museums website:
https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do
I recommend the night opening, which isn't available every day, and not all year. If you can't make it, the Breakfast at the Museums is a good alternative. They have several options, but the best is the early entrance with breakfast and audio guide.