Thinking it might be fun to take a family tour. Any suggestions regarding the time of day and day of the week? We will be there the first week in hot August.
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2455 posts
I, and many others on this Forum, have really enjoyed and valued Walks of Italy's "Pristine Sistine" Tour. It does require getting up and out early, since it begins around 7:30 am, but you get to see highlights of the Vatican Museum, you get into the Sistine Chapel before the public, with very few people in there with you, so you get to sit on a bench to appreciate the ceiling and all the art, see the floor, etc. and then the guide takes you directly into St. Peter's and guides you around the highlights. You are left there if you want to spend more time, but you cannot return to the Museum or Sistine Chapel. You do not spend the heat of the day there, as you finish at about noon, to have lunch and spend the afternoon at some different site or experience. Walks of Italy offers children's and (I think) senior's discounts plus a 10% Rick Steves discount, if you ask. They also have a very good US-based toll-free phone number and staff, if you have questions. They might be able to offer a private tour for your family, but probably at a higher cost.
Posted by
San Francisco
993 posts
Another vote for Pristine Sistine! It was awesome!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16367 posts
Innstead of Pristine Sistine, we chose the " Express" tour of the Vatican museums and Sistine chapel offered by Dark Rome.
https://darkrome.com/vatican-tours/sistine-chapel-early-access
It was considerably less expensive than Pristine Sistine, although it did not include the basilica. They do offer a tour with all three, for less than Pristine Sistine, if that is what you prefer. We went on a day of the papal audience, so could not gain access to the basilica in any case.
With the Dark Rome tour, you are truly the first to enter the Sistine Chapel, which was the goal of our visit. We had a good twenty-five minutes there when it was early empty, so peaceful and quiet. Then, although other groups began arriving, it was more time before it felt at all crowded. At that point we left and we're free to spend as much additionL time as we wished in the museums. I loved the map room in particular.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
The Vatican offers an early entry with breakfast option that you could use.
https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking&codiceLivelloVisita=34&step=1
It would allow you to visit the Chapel before the normal crowds do but also allow you to see the museums at your own pace, leaving when the kids are worn out.
Donna
Posted by
145 posts
My family of 4 did the Pristine Sistine tour in July of last year and enjoyed it. Be prepared, however, that the Vatican is extremely crowded! It was fine when we went in (very early in the morning) and went at a quick clip to the Sistine Chapel. We enjoyed the chapel in relative quiet. After the chapel, we looped back to hit the highlights of the Vatican museum, then made our way to the Basilica. By the time we got to the Basilica (probably 9:30 or 10?), it was a mob scene. Honestly - 60 people deep, 60 people wide crowd with selfie sticks trying to get a shot of themselves "with" the Pieta in the background. It gave us a good opportunity to discuss the difference between being a tourist and a traveler with our kids. And if we had NOT been on a private tour, we would have never made it into the church. Our Walks of Italy guide was really wonderful - a true Roman gentleman, full of knowledge and passion about his City.