The Best Times To Book Attractions In Italy, According To A Travel Consultant

When you want to see a lot of iconic attractions on your trip to Italy, you need to book your tickets as soon as you possibly can. If you've done your research, you know that winter is the best time to vacation in Italy to avoid crowds, but for top attractions and during festivals, you'll probably still find yourself waiting in line if you wait until the last minute. Islands spoke with Italy travel consultant Jenna Chaplin to find out more about how far in advance you should book attractions in Italy to ensure that you get to check everything off on your bucket list during your visit.

While you might be tempted to spend a long time fine-tuning your itinerary, there's no real advantage to waiting until the last minute to book tours and tickets. As Chaplin explained to Islands, "Official ticket and tour prices are static, and once sold out, there is little chance of more becoming available in advance. If travelers haven't been able to secure tickets to an attraction, it never hurts to keep an eye on tickets or tours leading up to travel dates in case of cancellations from other travelers, but waiting is not an advisable strategy."

While less well-known attractions can be safely booked closer to your actual trip, you should try to book the more popular tours as soon as they become available. Figuring out exactly when spots for the most important stops on your trip will open up might require a little research, but as a general guideline, Jenna Chaplin says, "Release dates for official online tickets vary per attraction but are often 30-90 days out ... Certain things, like the Night Tour of the Colosseum, release 7 days out around 8:00 am/9:00 am CET and sell out very quickly, so it's important for travelers to plan ahead. Tours from outside tour companies can often be booked up to 6+ months in advance."

There are often tickets for attractions that you can just walk up and buy the day of your visit, but according to Chaplin, they're a major time waster. Making sure that you show up to tourist hot spots at the right time of day can help keep you from having to fight major crowds for views, but famous spots, like the Colosseum or the Statue of David, can be packed even if you arrive first thing in the morning. Chaplin warns travelers who are planning to buy their tickets on-site that "ticket lines may be incredibly long, wasting hours of precious travel time that could have been avoided with planning." That goes double on the first Sunday of every month when a lot of iconic Italian attractions, like the Colosseum, are free.

When planning your trip to Italy, Jenna Chaplin recommends creating a list of ticketed tours and attractions that you definitely want to do well in advance, finding out when the tickets will go on sale online, and then setting reminders for that time so that you get a notification and can book them immediately when they become available. Even though they sell out more quickly than third-party sellers, your first option should be to book through the attraction's official website. Not only is this the best way to ensure that you're getting the best price, but it's safer than booking from anywhere else. As Chaplin warned, "I do not recommend third-party ticket/tour sites as I have seen too many travelers experience cancellations and other problems."

While it might sound like a good way to save time, Chaplin also told Islands that the "skip the line" tickets you often see available from third-party sellers are more of a marketing gimmick than an actual perk. According to Chaplin, rather than some kind of VIP pass, they are exactly the same as timed entry tickets that attractions sell on their official websites, but with an inflated price. They might let you skip the line for folks buying their tickets same-day, but so do the official tickets you buy in advance.