Our family’s trip to the Colosseum and the Forum didn’t go according to plan, however, we did see these famous landmarks which can’t fail to be a memorable experience.
Sometimes when traveling with kids it just takes one mistake to cause a full-fledged mutiny. This happened to us in Rome on the day that we were planning to see the Colosseum and the Forum. The heat couldn’t be helped but some key planning mistakes on my part transformed what we had thought would be 3 hours of sightseeing into a full day endurance test. So here’s a rundown of how we courted disaster in the hopes that others will avoid making the same mistakes that we made.
(1) Travel in August:
Unfortunately, we couldn’t avoid traveling in the summer but it is wise to be aware that visiting the Colosseum with kids at the hottest time of the year is going to be challenging under the best of circumstances. Knowing how hot the day’s temperatures were likely to be we should have had a plan in place to minimize the impact of the heat on the kids.
(2) Don’t Pre-Purchase Tickets:
I had read all the advice that the way to avoid long lines at the Colosseum was to pre-purchase the tickets online but we ignored this advice. We thought we would just “wing it” when it came to our Colosseum visit. I have no idea what I was thinking when that decision was made. Mea Culpa is all I can say.
(3) Sleep In:
Sleeping in will ensure a late morning arrival at the Colosseum. This is particularly easy to do if you are traveling with teenagers who have difficulty getting out of bed in the morning. Unfortunately, a little bit of sleeping in has far-reaching ramifications as it will now be hotter and more crowded when your family finally arrives at the Colosseum.
(4) Join a Group Tour:
It was late morning and already steaming hot by the time we finally arrived outside the Colosseum only to discover that the line-up to enter was now about two hours long. This is when the grumbling set in full-force and we panicked and opted to join a random group tour with the first guy that approached us promising that we would get through the Colosseum and the Forum in record time.
The lesson here is to ask a lot of questions and hope that some truthful answers are given. We were told that the tour would start in a few minutes and that 2 or 2.5 hours would get us through the Colosseum and the Forum. Sounded good in theory, however, it was close to an hour later before our group even set foot inside the Colosseum. We also were informed after we had paid for the tour that one guide would conduct the tour of the Colosseum and then we would have to, as a group, meet the second guide for the tour of the Forum which wouldn’t commence until about 2.5 hours later. We could not enter the Forum on our own because one “group” ticket covered everyone for both places.
Our guide for the Colosseum was awful – dreadfully boring and spoke horrible English. We left her tour and explored the Colosseum on our own before heading outside to wait for the Forum tour. We had a long wait, however, we found a slightly shady spot, bribed the kids with ice cream and chocolate treats purchased from a nearby vendor and threatened them that there would be serious consequences if I had come all the way to Rome and missed seeing the Forum because of their whining. Eventually we were joined by our guide for the Forum who was far better, however, by this time exhaustion was starting to set in and the kids were in no mood for the tour which was focused on Palatine Hill. We opted to head directly to the Forum.
(5) Don’t Bring a Map:
If you really want to make a mess of the day then don’t bring a map or guide of any sort with you. This will ensure that if you are directionally challenged to any extent that you will wander aimlessly unable to find the Forum when you abandon your tour group on Palatine Hill.
We spent a fair bit of time trying unsuccessfully to find our way from the Hill down to the Forum which we could see but couldn’t figure out how to get to. A map of the site would have cut the complaints by at least half.
Avoiding these mistakes will reduce the chances that you will have grumpy, miserable, complaining kids when touring the Colosseum and the Forum. Not having pre-booked tickets and not getting an early start were the worst mistakes we could have made and the problems just snowballed from there.
In retrospect, I should have booked a guided family-friendly tour similar to the one that we did at The Vatican with a mid-morning time slot. That would have reduced the waiting time, provided us with a starting time and finishing time so that we knew how long we would be touring, provided some interesting historical background about what we were seeing and, most importantly, eliminated the whining as my kids tend to be on their best behaviour when there is a stranger around.
Nothing went according to plan that day and there was a lot of moaning and groaning but, at the end of the day, we saw the Colosseum and it was pretty darn impressive.
Approaching the Colosseum
Interior of the Colosseum
Interior View of Colosseum
View of The Forum
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Terri @ Travel 50 States with Kids
Ugh. I hope others can learn from your experience. This is a great example of why I think the best advice on family travel comes from parents who have been there. At least you got to see it and got some great photos.
Steve
That’s got to be incredibly frustrating, but at least you got to see the Colosseum. Did you ever get all the way to the Forum?
I appreciate the advice though. Believe me, when I finally drag my family over to Rome your tips will be the first things in my mind.
Lisa Goodmurphy
@Terri – It was really a mental lapse on my part. I had read the advice and should have followed it. We had a scheduled tour of the Vatican the day before, however, and I was wondering if formal tours two days in a row would be too much. In hindsight, a formal tour probably would have been best for us but at the very least we should have pre-purchased tickets for a specified time.
Lisa Goodmurphy
@Steve – Yes, we did see the Forum. If by “seeing” the Forum you mean walking through it as quickly as possible, admiring some of the ruins without knowing what we were looking at and having one member of our family complain the entire time about being tired and insisting that if we had listened to her then none of this would have happened (except she conveniently forgot that she had been the one still in bed at our planned departure time). 🙂
Jessica
I’m so sad for you. I’m glad you were able to use your experience to help others, but I wish you had been able to have a great experience. Maybe you’ll have to go back.
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Jessica. I think we do need to go back – but not in August.
Laura
I remember going through much of what you wrote about when I was a kid. I never had fond memories of Rome until I went back as a single adult and did my own thing. It went a lot better the second time around.
Great advice Lisa! Will have to keep it in mind if I ever go back with my troup.
The Time-Crunched Traveler (Ellen)
Wow — great tips, good to know! I agree about the not arriving early. I hate it when I get to places and there’s nothing but tour buses galore. We’ll have to remember these when in Rome! At least Emma looks happy approaching the Colesseum, though 😉
Mary@The World Is A Book
Sorry to hear about your experience, Lisa. Wonderful tips though and sure to help out. We were there in Nov. 2010 (without the kids) and the lines were still long at 11AM. Luckily, we had the Romas pass and bypassed it. Definitely agree on the tours. Even though we had a map, it would have been a more enriching experience.
Lisa Goodmurphy
@Ellen – I agree – there’s nothing worse than seeing a bunch of tour buses when you arrive at an attraction. Emma was happy when we were actually seeing both the Colosseum and the Forum – it’s the waiting around that makes her grumpy – she’s a bit impatient. 🙂
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Mary – I have only myself to blame! 🙂 And fortunately the rest of our stay in Rome was fabulous – we just had those few hours that went off the rails a bit. And if only it hadn’t been so hot then we would have easily recovered from the timing and planning mistakes.
Sonja
We have GOT to put a stop to that darn pickle legend! 🙂
Great picture of it though – I’ll have to show my mom, she’ll get a kick out of it!
Erica @Impulsesave
Yikes! Rome can definitely be a rough place. Even being there for a few months I would constantly get lost (especially on the buses!) I’m glad you survived enough to get to see the important sites!
Lisa Goodmurphy
I can definitely see how it would be easy to get lost in Rome – we didn’t venture much beyond Centro Storico and it was still a bit confusing. I think the key to a successful visit to Rome is to avoid the heat of summer and to bribe teenagers to get them out of bed in the morning! 🙂
Mel
Great advice! We’re about to go to Rome for three nights in late September so at least the heat won’t be as intense!! I’m currently researching guided tours hoping to get one that is in a smaller group without breaking the bank, so that the ancient ruins come alive for the kids. $600NZ for 3 hours so far for a family of four – seems a bit steep, even for Europe! However reading your review has convinced me to keep looking for something good whilst still in our price range 🙂
Lisa Goodmurphy
It is a bit of a trade off between a small tour and the increased cost. Perhaps a tour offered by a company such as Viator – they guarantee no more than 25 people and it’s a reputable company so you know that you will be getting a decent tour. Here’s the link to their 1/2 day tour:
http://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Skip-the-Line-Ancient-Rome-and-Colosseum-Half-Day-Walking-Tour/d511-3731COLOSSEUM
I know I looked at other options for the Vatican before our trip – I’ll try to find the names of the tour companies that did family-friendly tours.
Lisa Goodmurphy
Walks of Italy is another well-regarded company and it looks like their prices would be under 500 New Zealand dollars. Smaller groups also – I believe they cap at 12 and they include special access to parts of the Colosseum.
Ryan
Hi,
I just stumbled across your blog and found it very interesting. It’s a shame about how things went for you in the Forum. It can be hard to dodge the heat and the tour buses. There is one small tip if you do ever get the chance to go back to see the Forum properly.
The tickets to the Colosseum and the forum are linked. There is a usually a 2+ hour queue to the Colosseum, but you can get into the forum more or less straight away.
Buy your ticket first at the forum and when you are done, head back to the Colosseum and because you already have your ticket you bypass the queue and walk straight in! It saves the need to pre-purchase tickets too. This worked for me both times I went (both in peak times in July!) and is a little known secret among tourists 🙂
I hope you get the chance to revisit it with your family and experience it the way you would have liked.
Joc.oliver@clear.net.nz
Hi Lisa
I have just discovered this website and I have already found it invaluable. Next month I am travelling to London, Paris and a short stop in Rome with my 14 year old daughter. Thank you for your delightful traveling stories and the very useful tips!
Rachael
At least Emma is still smiling in the picture! My daughter was quite young when we visited in 2010 so we decided to take a day each to do our top sights while the other parent did some more kid friendly activities with our daughter. Sometimes travelling without kids while you’re travelling with kids is the way to go!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thank you for that tip, Ryan, I wish I had known it then and will definitely keep it in mind if we return!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thank you – I’m glad you found the information useful and hope you enjoyed your travels in Europe with your daughter!
Lisa Goodmurphy
I agree! Some sites are just too difficult to see with kids especially if you are travelling at peak times. Emma was 8 on this trip so old enough to appreciate the history of the Colosseum if only it hadn’t been so hot or the wait so long!
Colosseum Free Tours
Thank you for all the information. Wanted to give a tip to who is in Rome the first Sunday of the Month, that the Colosseum is free . There is a Colosseum Free Tour. You can book the tour through eventbrite: search for “Colosseum Free Tour” or you can also book through the website:
Thank you
Colosseum Free Tours
Thank you for all the information. Wanted to give a tip to who is in Rome the first Sunday of the Month, that the Colosseum is free . There is a Colosseum Free Tour. You can book the tour through eventbrite: search for “Colosseum Free Tour” or you can also book through the website:
Thank you