Crowds at the Vatican in November

The musuem opens at 10a, sometimes a bit earlier. You need to there EARLY to make sure you can get in and make your tour on time. The Vatican Museum will be closed on November 1 for All Saints Day and Saturdays are always crowded. Make sure you exit the Vatican Museum no later than 12:45 so allow time to find the Scavi Office in plenty of time for your tour. You can visit St Peter's Basilica after the Scavi Tour.

I was there the first week in November a couple of years ago. We went in the morning before the museums opened but not super-early because we thought the line would be shorter in November. The line snaked around the building long enough that our cab driver figured we would change our minds, but we stayed and didn't wait four hours. More like 90 minutes. Once the museums opened, the line moved quickly. Get there early!

How early is EARLY? Would 8 am be good, or earlier?

Take the exit Rick Steve's recommends out of the Sistine Chappel. It will take you down steps and drop you on the Right side of St. Peter's. The Scavi tour start over to the left side of St. Peter's. You need to go up to the left gate and ask the Swiss Guards and they will point you to the door you need to enter and present your tickets. Be sure to be at least 10 or 15 minutes ahead of time for the tour. Our's left about 5 minutes before it was scheduled. Maybe that is because everyone was there? You will be about 2 floors below St. Peter's in the excavation Sites, then they take you up to the 1st floor below where the pope's are buried. They let us snake back to see John Paul II tomb. When we came out we headed up the steps into St. Peter's. Try to take the elevator up to the dome and roof if you still have time. If you are still up to it walk the remaing steps up to the very top for great views over St. Peter's and the city. We did St. Peter and Scavi one day and Sistine another in Sept. because of the crowds then.

Hi Rebekah--I looked back through my trip journal and saw that we only waited 1 hour. We slept in til 8:30 and got in line around 9:30, so we must have gotten in by around 10:30 am. Study maps of the museum before you go to make sure you don't miss your must-sees, and follow RS shortcut to the Sistine Chapel; we went his back way and encountered NO line into the chapel! (And we saw the chapel line extending wayyy back as we went in.) We also used the exit out the back of the chapel. I think you'll have no problem seeing the museum before the tour.

Thanks for all of your help! I think we will try to get a tour from 10:30-12:30 with the vatican to make sure we get in on time. If we can't get a tour, I guess we'll just go early and see what happens!

After reading this article in February of 2007 --http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/travel/18journeys.html I did some research and found this website-- http://www.rome-museum.com/index.htm I made reservations for 9:30 am for July 23. They e-mailed our vouchers on June 25,

We met the group across the street from the Vatican Museum entrance they will check your voucher you’ll probably wait about 15 - 20 minutes for everyone to check in.
This is entrance only to Vatican museums with coordinated group no guided tour. The assistant will lead you to the Courtyard of the Pigna (Pineapple). Then the visit is on your own. If you follow RS book you should be fine.