When you’re on vacation, your time is precious. You’ve worked hard to earn your time off and the last thing you want to do is wait in a line. Unfortunately, if you plan to visit any of the museums, monuments, or fine works of art, you often don’t have a choice.
With tourism in most countries growing at the speed of light and Instagram culture pushing for endless selfies in front of popular places, wait times to see iconic attractions are increasing significantly. That means you’ll need to budget more time for each trip. Unless, of course, you know how to circumvent the process and skip those long lines.
What most travelers don’t realize is that there are a couple guaranteed ways to avoid the typical entrance process to most attractions. If you’re willing to spend a little extra you can buy yourself some time and make your experience as smooth as possible.
Skip-The-Line Tickets And Tours
While many may be familiar with booking guided tours, few are aware of “skip-the-line” tickets which allow fast, direct access to an attraction. These skip-the-line tickets come in two varieties: ones that simply provide pre-purchased tickets so you don’t have to purchase on-site or tickets purchased through a tour company where you are ushered in by a guide.
Tour guides are granted access to special entrances that allow them to get their groups in quickly and usually without any wait. This could literally save you hours of waiting in line. I witnessed this firsthand at the Louvre in Paris. My party and I were ushered in through a separate tour group entrance but when we exited after our time in the museum, we saw the general entry line which appeared to extend endlessly.
The main difference between a skip-the-line ticket and actually purchasing a tour is often the educational aspect of the excursion. A guided tour is typically timed, and the guide stay with you throughout the entire time, as opposed to just getting you in. Personally, I prefer a guided tour when going to museums or historical monuments as helps to enhance the experience by adding valuable information such as the history of objects or the relevance of different items.
As far as cost is concerned, you can usually purchase skip-the-line tickets for as low as $15 or up to $35 depending on the attraction. Guided tours, on the other hand, are likely to cost closer to $50 and up per person.
Advance Purchase Tickets
Some attractions have online ticket offices where you can buy your tickets in advance to avoid waiting in the purchase line. This is always a good idea, especially since many attractions only sell a limited amount of tickets each day. This is case for entering the ruins at Machu Picchu or seeing the Last Supper fresco in Milan.
For this reason, you should always research ticket options prior to arriving at your destination. However, if you find yourself unable to get tickets directly from the source, there’s a good chance that you can still buy them from a local tour company. These companies often buy blocks of tickets for most dates with the anticipation of being able to re-sell them at a higher price or with a guided tour.
Where To Buy Your Tickets
If you’re planning to buy advance purchase tickets for an attraction, then the cheapest place to get them will likely be on that attraction’s official website. However, if there’s no online ticket office or if you plan to get a skip-the-line ticket, then one of my favorite websites to purchase tours/excursions is Viator.
Viator aggregates all of the tours and ticket options for countless types of activities in any given city. You can find everything from food tours and skip-the-line tickets to private guided tours. Additionally, you can even book airport transportation for decent rates. Each excursion option features real reviews and detailed information of what you can expect with purchase. If you decide to book on Viator, make sure you use a credit card that gives you bonus points for travel purchases for maximum points earning.
Conclusion
There’s nothing worse than spending a substantial portion of your vacation waiting in lines. It can be faster and easier to visit popular attractions and historical monuments by purchasing advance or skip-the-line tickets. By conducting some research, making plans in advance, and spending a little extra money, you can enhance your experience and make memories that last a lifetime while others are stuck waiting in line.
