nnancy

I’ve been making reservations for various activities for our trip to Italy and have used this site and Rick Steves’ books to help. I thought I’d share what I’ve learned.

Call the museum instead of ordering online – it’s cheaper, you speak with English operators and they give more options for tour times that don’t show up online. For the Uffizi and Accademie, the only times online for September 15 were between noon-3pm. When I called, I was able to get 8 reservations for the 4:30pm time slot. I used my cell phone (verizon) and my plan does not charge much for international calls – but check your own plan so you have no surprises. The longest I’ve been put on hold was for the Accademie in Florence and it was about 5 minutes. For the Colosseum, I listened to a long recorded message in Italian (I almost hung up but be patient) - at the end, it was repeated in English and you’re directed to press the correct number for English tours.

Here are the phone numbers I used:
Uffizi and Accademie: 011-39-05-5294883
Borghese Gallery: 011-39-06-32810
Colosseum Underground tour: 011-39-06-39967700. If using the Roma Pass, you must pay for the underground tour over the phone and you’re given a confirmation code.

FYI: The last weekend of September is a World Tourism celebration. The Borghese is free that weekend – I was told there will at least be a reduced fee for most museums (the Vatican is free on Sunday only) so we may not buy the Roma Pass like we planned. The downside is there will be plenty of crowds.

ekc

Thanks Nancy! I read somewhere that World Tourism Day is actually September 27, not the whole weekend.

kybourbon

>>>Thanks Nancy! I read somewhere that World Tourism Day is actually September 27, not the whole weekend.<<<

European Heritage Weekend is typically all weekend (a full week in the spring) and varies by country/city (some countries will have theirs earlier in the month).
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheri...default_en.asp

All Rome state museums will be free and it's typically the last weekend of September. This year it is the 24 and 25.
http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/ex...647689147.html

>>>Call the museum instead of ordering online – it’s cheaper<<<

How is it any cheaper? It's my understanding you still have to pay the entrance fee and a reservation fee the same as you would online. It seems to add the price of a phone call to your cost. I know it's necessary to phone for the Borghese if you are using the Roma Pass and the underground Colosseum tour, but is it actually cheaper for the others such as the Accademia?

nnancy

It depends on the cost of your phone call. The Uffizi and Accademie charge 4 E/ticket as a reservation fee. I'm charged 39cents/min for the call so it's cheaper for me. The main reason is you don't get all the available time slots.

nnancy

P.S. With 8 people in our group, that was 32 euro total which was a savings for us.

Ronda

Thanks for the info.

kybourbon

Are you saying you weren't charged the 4€ reservation fee by calling? Others have reported they were. How much did you pay for 8 people total?

nnancy

I ordered the Uffizi tickets online and was charged 11E plus 4E reservation fee.

Once I found the correct phone number to call for the Accademie, I called to order 8 tickets. She didn't take my credit card number so I haven't been charged anything yet. I was just given the reservation code and told the gate number for check in. She didn't mention a reservation fee; however, I may find that I will be charged one when we arrive and pay for our tickets. If that's the case then online is the way to go. Except for the fact that all the open tour times were not showing up on the website for some reason.

kybourbon

>>>Except for the fact that all the open tour times were not showing up on the website for some reason.<<<

I think you are right in there are more time choices if you call. I don't think they list as many on the website.

If you weren't charged for the Accademia, you may find you can just walk in without a line/reservation depending on time of day. The last time I was at the Accademia there was a line for people using credit cards. If you had exact cash, no line.

nnancy

Thanks kybourbon - I will be sure and bring cash.

wikie

hi,

--- I know it's necessary to phone for the Borghese if you are using the Roma Pass and the underground Colosseum tour,---

is it necessary to call to reserve for tickets?

thanks

wikie

i meant to say, is it necessary to call in to reserve for tickets at Borghese and Colosseum even with roma pass?
thanks

kybourbon

For the Borghese, yes. It's reservation only and you are booking a two hour time slot (they only allow so many people in every two hours). If you aren't using the Roma Pass, you can book (and pay) on their website. If you are using the Pass, they don't have the option to reserve a spot only so you have to call and tell them you are using the pass.

For the Colosseum with the Roma Pass, a reservation is not necessary. You just go to the group entrance. It's only if you want to try to book the underground tour that you would need to call. There are other tours (not underground) available at the Colosseum at set times. If you wanted in one of those, I think you would have to call also as I think they could sell out.

>>>Visits Timetable for the Colosseo
Timetables visits, language english:
from monday to sunday, starting at: 10.15 am, 11.15 am, 12.30 pm, 03.00 pm, 04.15 pm, 05.15 pm.<<<

These are short tours (40 minutes) for 5€.