Hi. Heading to Rome and Athens in Sept.
Can you tell me some tips/ideas to avoid massive tour groups/lines when visiting the sites (ie: Vatican, Colosseum, Acropolis etc...)
Also, any other highlights to see or places to eat at are welcomed. Much appreciated.

Barb Lacroix
If you do the Vatican be sure to book before you go and get front of the line passes. Do the tour first thing in the morning and plan for a half day.
I would recommend buy Rick Steve’s app as he has done all of the research for travelers. Even when I did my own research on things, I would
Later look at his app and see that I could have saved myself a ton of time

Josephine Scarsella Olivieri

I did a Rome tour from our cruise ship. It was great because we got to go straight into the Vatican, no waiting. Same with the colosseum. In Athens, we got a private driver. He took us to the ruins first thing to avoid the crowds. Perfect, we got up the hill, toured and down before the crowds. Then he drove us to all of the sights in town, and took us to a great place for lunch before dropping us at the market. We walked to the the bottom, shopping along the way where he met us to take us back to our ship.

Linda did you book this tour through your cruise line? Which cruise did you go on?
Thanks

No, always book with local tour packages. Much cheaper than the cruise lines. I did the Norwegian Mediterranean cruise. In Athens, when you get to the port, there are many guides waiting there. We negotiated a tour right there. In Rome, looked online for tours and booked in advance.

Love Rome and Athens, wear a money belt and read Rick Steves/download his walking tours. I start at the Moses by Michelangelo at San Pietro in Vincoli which is two blocks from the Coliseum and is free. Take your time and go slow. If you can avoid the coliseum and get a visit to one of the better preserved less busy ones in Pozzuoli etc (google it there are soooo many) then that's always nice too.

WE did a Colloseum tour in Rome, and spur of the moment decided to take their afternoon tour of Palatine hill (right next door). SO incredibly glad we did - probably the highlight of our week there.

I highly recommend Rick Steves guide book on Rome. It was invaluable for timing, self guided walking tours etc. when we visited. We even skipped the St Peters lineup from the Vatican museum based on his recommendation of the secret staircase from the Sistine chapel.

We booked tours for Vatican, Colosseum and Forums. Tours better then “skip the line” as the skip the line line was longer then the tour line up.
We used City Wonders tour company.
Tip for the heat of summer. Cooling towels, wet them and place on your neck. July heat in Rome and Athens is nothing I’ve experienced before

Yes, it can be hot in July, not a whole lot of shade around the Colosseum. Bring a refillable water bottle as there are many places to refill it (nothing around the Colosseum though), but most other sites have water "taps" nearby. Don't forget to also visit Circus Maximus, mostly just a large park now days but cool to see how big this was (there are some ruins though).

Get the city pass for Rome. For Athens you only need a few days to see the city

Missing massive lines ? Don’t visit Rome’s historic buildings !

Just came back from Rome and you need to prebook entry to all major sites or you will be forever in line. A lot of the tours are small groups so look for those, the tours skip all the lines. And frankly, most of the tours have very knowledgeable guides and you miss a lot if you just follow a book.

We did an electric bike tour in Athens last June and it was a blast. Be VERY careful for pickpockets/thieves in Athens. Lots of migrants in Athens compared to Rom
https://we-bike-athens-electrical-bike-tours.business.site/

Walks of Italy is a great tour operator. 12 max to a group, skip the lines entrance. We used them in Rome and Florence. In Florence, my husband and I were the only ones booked on our tour and it still happened...our guide took us to all the places listed plus other spots he thought we would be interested in....awesome company

Rome - the first time we were there we were total newbies and not comfortable at all so we booked the Royal bus to Rome and do it on your own. The guide on the way in gave us a map of Rome and told us how to hit all the major highlights by walking (but not actually going inside). We followed her plan and saw so much in our short 5 hours. The next year we went back for 4 days and explored every place in detail that we only had a glimpse of the year before. But we felt so much more confident knowing where everything was and how to get there. It was amazing. This is why we love cruising so much. You get to see so many places in a capsule and if it really moves you, you can come back and explore in greater depth.

We booked an airbnb In Trastevere and from there could walk everywhere. We did the Coliseum, Vatican, Spanish Steps and
Every notable sight in between. We did it us public transport once. But we love.walking and exploring along the way.

The best way to skip the lines is to book a tour. You don't have to pre-book though as there are lots of these companies and you can simply book day of at the site. That is what we ended up doing after seeing the lines to get in. Once the tour is done, they just leave you and you can spend whatever time you wish inside.

One other thing, nothing is free. People will come up to you and offer to "give" you something (roses are common) - if you take it, you have to pay for it. A lot of sites in Rome are within walking distance of each other, Vatican City is the one that is out by itself and you need to take the metro (or other transport). Grab a general tourist map that shows where things are and the streets and you should be good. We were able to walk from our hotel that was near the Villa Borghese to the Colosseum in about a half hour. Most other sites where in between.

Hire a tour guide for the coliseum and the forum. I’ve been twice and never waited in line because we had a guide. As for the Vatican don’t go on free Sunday, the line is monstrous.

Prebuy your tickets on the place's website directly and you will skip the line that way - did this for Vatican, etc. viator charges you extra fees because it's via tour companies. If you want a tour of the Coliseum and the Forum, you can pick one up by the entrance - they'll charge you less because you already have your entrance ticket.

It helps if you go early to all of the touristy places. Sometimes you can pre-buy tickets so you don’t need to wait in line (as long). Good luck and have fun!

Book athenswalkingtours.gr Take the metro from Piraeus and back (about a 20 minute walk from port). Book the tour that includes the Acropolis. Best day ever with time to explore after the tour. Then making our way back to the ship after the metro in Piraeus and stopping for drinks along the way. Will never forget that epic day. Can't wait to go back.

Sorry I thought I was on my cruise site. Either way the athenswalkingtour was good for not a huge price.

I reccomend a tour for the Coliseum and the ruins. The Vatican is very busy and you will be rushed with a guided tour, might be better off with a good tour book and you can slow down a bit. Also the hop on hop off tours should can be a waste of time. Many sites are walking distance from each other.

Also, book your tours in advance. The Vatican offers a great tour usually for much less than most tour companies

I screwed up. The Coliseum offers the tours.

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