If you’re headed to Rome, no doubt the Colosseum is at the top of your “must-see” list. And it should be, along with the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.
Like other big European A-list cities, Rome is a lot to navigate, especially when traveling with families. Even after all my research and asking friends for advice about the Colosseum, I walked away wishing I had known a few things, and created my own list of tips for anyone wanting to successfully explore this ancient site.
1. Pay for a Tour Guide for the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill
Seeing the Colosseum was at the top of the list so I wanted to get this right. But planning this particular day, with all three Roman ruin sites, was stressful. First, if traveling with teens, you need a tour, a real tour. With younger kids and babies, get the abbreviated one and more on. But teens will appreciate the details.
A friend had recommended the tour from Dark Rome tours that combined the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill. When adding up the price times our family of four, I just couldn’t stomach the €200 for the tour. If budget allows or price isn’t an issue, pay for a guide for all three places. There are a ton of different companies who offer these package tours. Keep in mind, it’s a total crap shoot on tour guides. If you can pay for a private guide off Airbnb Experiences, do that.
However, if you’re budget conscious, there are other options purchased directly via the Colosseum website. To get into the Colosseum is only €12 for adults and €2 for kids under 18 (prices soon to jump up). You see why I was having trouble stomaching the €50 per person fee! Add on the Colosseum tour guide (that you get through their website) and you’ll add on €5 per person, plus a fee to book online. This still puts your total around €50. A significant price reduction. If you only want the tour of the Colosseum, it’s possible to still get in for a reasonable price. While wandering through the Palatine and Forum on our own, we noticed they offered daily tours for 30 minutes in English at one time only.
All that to say, there is a lot to see in all three parts. My biggest regret is just eating the price for the full tour of all three. The Roman Forum is a fantastic mix of an ancient city, and I think there is was so much more to discover that we missed.
Related: 8 Things to Know Before Traveling to Rome
2. Book Your Visit for Early in the Day
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know how much I insist on going to A-list tourist attractions (such as Versailles, the Louvre, Sagrada Familia) early in the day. I know teenagers hate early wake-up times, but they complain anyway. Bribe them with gelato and move on. This goes for the Colosseum. While it won’t be crowd-free, most places will be crowd-less. That simply means less people to push into you or less people to get into your pictures.
Book ahead of time. I know it’s hard to commit, but I promise it will save on headaches later. For our tour, we had a 9:30 a.m. meeting time. Even still, I wish we had booked it for earlier. The line for security was not too bad, but I cannot even imagine what this place is like in the summer. It was busy even in October.
Related: Explore 2,000 Years of Stone and Ruins Along the Roman Appian Way
3. “Skip the Line” Doesn’t Mean Skipping All the Lines
We booked our tickets/tour online from the official Colosseum site. Because we had two reduced tickets (my kids), we had to wait in a line to pick up the tickets. This took about 10 minutes, but still, we had to wait. Get there early if picking up those reduced tickets.
The security line is required for everyone. Regardless of pre-booking, buying, tour, or whatever, you will have to wait in the queue for them to check bags.
TravelTeening Tip: All the security lines lead to the same place. If you can, just go into the shortest one. No one (when we went anyway) checked out tickets until after security.
4. Need More Time? Go Back the Next Day or the Next
Get the tour of the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine and then come back the next day? That’s right, tickets are good for up to 48 hours. Depending on the length of time you’re spending in Rome, this may be not be feasible. But if you feel a bit too rushed through with a guide and want to come back early morning or after dark, this is a nice option to really have time to explore.
TravelTeening Tip: There are several entrances to the Forum and Palatine, which means less time in the security line. I spotted one on Via del Fori Imperiali which has a fraction of the line as the main one (which is across from the Colosseum entrance).
5. Wear the Right Clothing for the Weather
Most of the Colosseum and accompanying sites are outside with little coverage from rain or heat. While my advice would be to wait for a nice day, that’s not always possible so make sure your family is wearing the right clothing. Since there are hordes of people around, a poncho or a rain coat is preferred to an umbrella. No one likes an umbrella in the eye.
On that same note, in the summer there isn’t a lot of shade so wear cool, comfortable clothes and bring along sunglasses and hats.
Related: Want an Authentic Italian Experience? Learn to Make Homemade Pasta in Rome
6. Bring Snacks Along for ‘Hangry’ Teens
Unlike almost everywhere else in Rome, the Colosseum, Forum, and Palantine are sans cafes. Depending on your tour, you’re looking at several hours of sightseeing without a designated food stop. Bring some snacks along to keep your brood from complaining.
Main photo by Mauricio Artieda on Unsplash
All other photos © Linda Kerr, TravelTeening
