Early (or even Express) entry into the Vatican Museums - Worth it in late August?

Yes, that is very expensive.

We did the Sistine Chapel early access with Dark Rome a couple of years ago and it was $57 per person. (A bit more now). It was wonderful as we were among the first into the Sistine Chapel and had it almost to ourselves. We then explored the Vatican Museums at our leisure. This did not include the Basilica.

They have a number of different options for less than $100 per person. If you want to see all three (Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and Basilica, they have that, but is "skip the line" rather than "early access" for the Sistine Chapel. Or you could have early access to the Sistine Chapel and then go straight into the Basilica, including the crypt, but no Vatican museums.

https://darkrome.com/vatican-tours#dateFrom=2018-08-06&dateTo=2018-08-30

Look them over and see if one might match you expectations. I do suggest an "early access" one to avoid crowds.

From the official Vatican site.

http://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/visita-i-musei/scegli-la-visita/musei-e-collezioni/musei-vaticani-e-cappella-sistina/visita-libera-musei-vaticani-e-cappella-sistina.html

Both early entry and after hours are available.

The early-entry-with-breakfast option offered on the Vatican's website would cost you considerably less than $550 but it's not a guided tour and doesn't include the basilica; you get an audioguide. No time limit on your exploration of the museums. Someone just wrote that one up recently and had good things to say about it.

http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/visita-i-musei/scegli-la-visita/musei-e-collezioni/colazione-ai-musei-vaticani/ingresso-anticipato-ai-musei---colazione.html

Editing to add: the "someone" who'd "recently" chatted up this tour was aarthurperry below. :O)

We were just there in the middle of May and on the Vatican web site you can book a breakfast tour that started at 7 am if I remember right. Breakfast was in the garden of the museum and was a huge buffet with even pancakes for the kids.

This gets you in to the Sistine Chapel and the rest of the Vatican museum earlier than 99% of others and before the museum opens, A very few tour groups are there. But we had the Sistine chapel to ourselves and probably 30 or so others with time to sit and gaze and the majority of the place was relatively empty.

My advice either go directly to the Sistine Chapel from breakfast...which a lot of people do or hang back for no more than 20 minutes and then head there. By that time the first wave has departed the chapel.
I highly recommend this option but you must book it right away.

This tour is limited in numbers of people it will accept.

Also by the time we left, outside at where we exited was a madhouse. There was pushing and shoving, thousands of people and even some near fist fights over line place as we strolled serenely away from the regular chaos of those who dont think ahead.

Thanks. Well, sounds like people think "early access" to the Vatican is "worth" it for the extra cost, and I agree. Some of the tours you all referenced though are between 3-4 hours long, which seems long, esp for kids who have little appreciation. does that seem long for all 3 areas (basilica, SC, Vatican?). If you skip the Vatican museums and go straight to the SC and then onto the Basilica, is that the recommended route?

Ironically, as I've mentioned, the tour I found that does this (in 2 hours and skip the line early access), from Eyes of Rome, costs MORE for less time and is total in the $600 range for the tour guide and then the access tickets on top of it (350 euros for the tour guide and then 45 euros per person for the tickets).

You don't have to stay for the whole time. Pick what you want to see then leave as the kids get bored.

Spending that kind of money not knowing how long their attention span will be is crazy. Save it for when there're older and can appreciate it.

We wouldn’t be the only ones on the tour. So if we leave early we’d miss, for example, the basilica tour (and still have paid for a 4 hour tour!)

If you are concerned about the kids’ attention span, I would suggest the Dark Rome Early Access to the Sistine Chapel plus Basilica. You get direct access from the chapel to the Balilica through the “secret door” for certain tours. You could skip the crypt if you like. $86 per person.

$350 for a private guide for the Sistine Chapel plus basilica with Eyes of Rome is crazy. The guide is not allowed to speak or “guide” inside the Sistine Chapel, so what are you actually paying for?

Thanks. So missing other things in the Vatican museum, like the Raphael rooms? Is the real bang all in the chapel (esp for the kids)? I’ve been but just don’t recall it was so long ago. Thanks.

I also see some options for 7:30 am entry to the Vatican to go straight to the SC vs. 8 am (also going straight to the SC). Anyone think the 30 minutes makes a difference? thanks.

I'm going to make an heretical suggestion: Why not just do the basilica? The Vatican Museums are huge and I wouldn't want to pay the price for an early-access tour for 3 or 4 people and skip everything except the Sistine Chapel. And I certainly wouldn't try to do any part of the museums with regular daytime entry.

I'm going to make an heretical suggestion: Why not just do the
basilica?

LOL, I was thinking of making the same suggesting but figured I'd be pelted with virtual veggies! It's a LOT of $$$$ to fork over for something the "kids have little appreciation" for to begin with and you've already seen. It's also time that could be spent doing something possibly ALL of you would enjoy.

There's no rule that says one MUST see the Vatican Museums. There are other ways/places to expose the young (and not-so) folks to some great art/architecture that don't cost much at all and which are more easily digested. Have you thought about the Borghese at all? Great collection in a fascinating structure, costs a fraction of the amount of the Vatican tours you're looking at, has GREAT crowd control, and takes 2 hours or less to see.

Ha! I thought frequent posters might recognize my prior posts on this - from February and then just a day before I posted this one where I asked 1) "would it be heresy to come to Rome and not see the Vatican/SC" and 2) tours for just the basilica....that's why I started this post with "still waffling over..."!!

Yes yes I know - obviously I too was thinking why spend all the money and get up super early to run to the chapel? And now that's its closer, and I KNOW I want a guided tour of the Basilica because otherwise I am the guide and my kids make fun of me, and another tour we have across town that starts at 2 pm that day (and we need to change into shorts), etc, once I looked at the Basilica only options and cost and timing, my husband said "for a bit more, why not also go see the Vatican?". Thus, the research again. Now, given the timing needs, we can't do a 3-4 hour tour in the morning, so that leaves only getting up super early and doing one of these 2 hour tours that go straight to the Chapel and then the Basilica, and we're talking $315 for 4 people. So yes, that still seems steep esp only to see the SC in the Vatican, and we have to get up super early after flying in from the states only 2 days earlier. So then I'm weighing the Basilica only options again but the times aren't ideal for a guided tour unless I do an audiotour which I prefer not to do!

So that's all the thinking going into this!

And yes, did think about the Borghese but closed on Mondays and that's the only day we have.

Thanks.

Hi,
We took a "skip the line" early entry tour of the Sistine Chapel at the end of May. It cost about $130 for we two adults. We found our tour guide at about 7 am and were in the Chapel by 8 am. What we got was a little bit of background info on the Chapel and Michaelangelo along the way as well as a bit of commentary on some of the items along the route to the Chapel, then time in the Chapel itself, when it was quiet, cool, and fairly empty, giving us a great time to look around. We were then free to go back and wander around the Vatican museums on our own. Perhaps that would be a good choice for your family? We booked this through Viator; the local company that did the tour was City Wonders. We were very pleased with our experience. It wasn't exceptionally hot that day, but I wouldn't want to try to go into the Sistine Chapel when it was stuffed full of people. Even some spots along the route could be stifling!
Best wishes, Christie

Thanks for the suggestion. We'd want to go into the Basilica from the SC as I understand there is a direct door and you can only get in with a tour guide.