Yes, you need to book private tours in advance when you’re traveling to and holidaying in Europe. How far ahead should you make a private tour booking? It depends on certain factors.
In truth, you can get a European private tour booking just a few days in advance if you know where to look. For instance, at MyPrivateTours.com, we provide a curated list of expert-guided private tours in Europe’s top cities, and for some of these tours, you can book three days before your planned visit date.
That said, the wiser thing to do is to book your private tour three to four months in advance, preferably at the same time you book your flights and hotel accommodation. Booking private tours ahead of time is particularly important if you answer yes to any of the three questions we ask below.
Key Takeaways
- Book your private tours three to four months in advance, ideally alongside your flights and accommodation.
- Early booking is essential if you are visiting during the peak summer season or planning to see popular, in-demand attractions.
- Secure your tours well ahead of time to avoid disappointment and ensure a smooth, well-organized itinerary for your trip.
1. Are You Visiting in the Summer?
If you’re planning to visit Europe in the summer, it’s crucial that you book your private tours three or four months in advance. If your Paris itinerary revolves around climbing the Eiffel Tower up to the summit, lock in that Eiffel Tower private tour on the same day you book your flights and accommodation.
Why Book Private Tours in Advance During Summer?
You need to book summer private tours in Europe months ahead because summer is the peak tourist season in Europe. This starts in June and ends in August. The high volume of tourist arrivals is the result of a combination of factors.
Schools break for the summer, and this can last from six weeks between July and August (e.g., the United Kingdom) to three months between June and September (e.g., Italy). Consequently, locals often travel and take vacations during the summer.
European cities also celebrate many holidays and festivals in the summer, and they draw both local and international tourists. Here are just a few of these festivals:
- Lollapalooza Festival (Paris)
- Notting Hill Carnival (London)
- Grec Festival (Barcelona)
- Cinema in Piazza (Rome)
- Festa del Redentore or Feast of the Redeemer (Venice)
- Florence Dance Festival (Florence)
- The Summer Shakespeare Festival (Prague)
Finally, the long days and great amount of sunshine make coastal areas exceptionally popular in the summer. Locals and international tourists alike flock to Europe’s beaches and resort towns.
Summer Alternatives for Touring Europe
Late spring (May) and early autumn (September) are good times to visit Europe if you want to avoid the rush of the summer crowd.
Not only is the weather milder and more pleasant during these times, but they also come with lower accommodation costs. In May, the days are getting longer (in preparation for summer), and the flowers are blooming. In autumn, the fall foliage paints everything a beautiful color.
2. Are You Planning to Visit a Popular City and In-Demand Tourist Attractions?
If you are visiting a popular city like Rome, especially during the high season, definitely book your Rome private tours months in advance. For instance, you should arrange your Colosseum private tour and private Vatican tour three to four months before your planned visit, ideally right after you buy your plane tickets and make hotel reservations.
Why Book Private Tours in Advance When Visiting In-Demand Destinations and Attractions?
In 2025, Rome logged 22.2 million tourist arrivals (with 52.92 million overnight stays), while Greater Paris drew 37.4 million tourists. In that same year, 16 million tourists visited Barcelona, nearly six million traveled to Venice (the city), and more than 22 million tourists arrived in London.
In-demand destinations are drawing millions of tourists. Popular attractions in these in-demand destinations are default tourist stops.
If you’re in Barcelona, especially for the first time, are you really going to miss the Sagrada Familia? Probably not. Most tourists feel the same way, so expect long lines and heavy crowds at famous European attractions.
If you don’t want the inconvenience of waiting and queuing, get on a private tour.
How Do You Still Enjoy In-Demand European Attractions?
Despite the crowds, you can still enjoy in-demand European attractions by booking exclusive, early access, or skip-the-line-tours in Europe.
Exclusive tours give you access to generally restricted areas. For example, a Colosseum with exclusive arena floor access tour means your guide will actually lead you to the arena floor, so you can appreciate the history-rich Colosseum on the same level where gladiators used to fight.
Early access tours provide entry before an attraction opens to the public. An example is the Mona Lisa first access private Louvre tour. A similar variant is the Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s After Hours tour, which takes place in the evening after the attraction has closed for the night.
Skip-the-line tours in Europe, meanwhile, guarantee no queuing and waiting in lines. The Uffizi Gallery small group guided tour, for instance, gives you express, skip-the-line entrance into the Uffizi Gallery.
3. Are You Planning a Complex, Multi-Day Itinerary?
If you have a whole week of activities planned, with each day devoted to multiple attractions or experiences, plan way ahead and book your private tours months in advance.
Why Book Private Tours in Advance When You’re Planning a Complex, Multi-Stop Itinerary?
Especially if you have limited time (five days, one week, etc.), you’re likely to have jam-packed days to make the most of your visit. In this case, you want to have all your activities arranged and neatly lined up beforehand. If you don’t plan and book in advance, tickets may run out, and you won’t be able to see what you came for.
You also want to avoid waiting in line. In really popular attractions, the number of people wanting to get in and see the sights means an hour or more of your time lost waiting in line. If you’re visiting multiple attractions in one day, the time you waste in queues is time you will never get back; it may even cost you the next stops in your itinerary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far ahead should I book private tours in Europe?
Book three to four months ahead, ideally when you reserve flights and hotels. This is especially important for summer travel, visits to popular cities, or complex multi-day itineraries. Booking last minute is possible, sometimes just three days out, but early booking secures better availability for small, exclusive tours with limited slots.
Please also keep in mind that an empty availability calendar does not always mean an attraction has sold out. Some attractions release tickets in stages and only open their booking calendars weeks or months before the visit date. The Eiffel Tower, for example, currently releases online elevator tickets up to 60 days in advance and second-floor stair tickets up to 30 days in advance; release schedules vary by attraction. If your dates are not yet on sale, check again closer to your visit or ask our team when tickets will be released.
Which attractions sell out first?
Popular, in-demand attractions in cities like Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Venice, and London sell out fastest, especially top sights such as the Colosseum, Vatican, and Sagrada Familia. Small, exclusive private tours have limited slots, so they fill quickly. High tourist volumes, especially during summer, make early access and skip-the-line tours in Europe particularly likely to sell out first.
Is it cheaper to book tours early?
It may be cheaper to book tours early if you score early bird promotions. Otherwise, booking private tours early may not give you much of a discount. That said, booking tours early can save you money because it will help you avoid paying for higher-priced tours, which may be all that are available closer to your travel dates.
Can private tours be booked last minute?
Yes, some private tours can be booked just a few days ahead if you know where to look, such as through curated providers like MyPrivateTours.com, which has luxury private tours that may be booked with only a few days of lead time.
When should families book private tours?
Book private European tours three to four months ahead, especially for summer travel, popular cities, or multi-day itineraries. Families juggling several activities in limited time benefit most from early booking, since it secures slots and helps families avoid long queues that eat into a packed schedule.
When to Book Tours in Europe Months in Advance
To reiterate one of our most important private guide booking tips, book private tours in Europe three to four months in advance if you are traveling in the summer to a popular European city and planning to see as many of its in-demand attractions in the limited time you have available.
Book your early access, exclusive, and skip-the-line Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence, Prague, and Barcelona private tours now. Browse our luxury private tours.
