favorite tour of the vatican

Through Eternity Tours is easily the best tour company that I've ever used. They do private or groups of up to 12 or so. https://www.througheternity.com/

I haven't taken this tour, early in the morning including breakfast, but I have seen it recommended by others in this forum. I've also seen recommendations for other tours by Walks of Italy.

My visit was part of a Rick Steves tour, with an excellent guide but overwhelming morning crowds. I'd suggest that any tour that avoids the regular daytime hours and crowds would be better than any tour that does not, regardless of other factors. There may be some evening tours that work as well. You will pay more for a less populated Vatican, and I'd say it's worth it.

The museum has a wonderful Friday evening program. I've done this 2 times and look forward to doing it every year. The crowds are very manageable. The price of the7:00pm entry ticket (can't remember it right now) includes dinner (they call it 'happy hour'), a concert (local groups and lots of fun), and then you have the museum until 11:00pm. I've lingered in the Sistine Chapel until the guards politely (not like the rest of the times) invite you to leave. But wait! You still have a few more corridors to wander through! It took me about 30 minutes to get to the exit. I walked right in front of the guards and had to keep slowing down to stay with them. It's a very special way to enjoy this amazing place.

I have visited the Vatican a couple times. The first was with our tour of Italy. The second time we were on our own. That said we used Walks of Italy for our tour of the Colosseum & the Forum. Knowledgeable tour guide. Well orchestrated. Many RS Forum contributors have recommended the Walks of Italy Vatican Tours. I found Robert’s (up thread) idea of an evening program tour ideal.

I'll second the Through Eternity recommendation above - if your schedule means you have to go during the day, they have figured out the best ways to manage the crowding situation ( a couple great tips I'll not share on the forum ).
To me the worst part of the crowds during the day is the cafeteria during lunchtime --
the Vatican ties or even beats the Louvre for worst lunch experiences to be had in Europe, ha.
You're probably better off stuffing protein bars in your pockets.

The Vatican area doesn't need a tour -- you can do St. Peters and the Vatican Museums easily on your own (get a reserved ticket for the latter to skip lines). The one tour well worth it, is hard to get but booked directly through the Vatican and that is the Scavi tour where small groups are taken to the archeological dig below St. Peters where you see pre-Christian tomb cities as well as possibly the actual grave of St. Peter. It is very interesting. They take about 10 people per tour which are language based, so you book an English tour. I did this with my kids (young adults, children are not allowed on these tours -- I think 12 is the youngest) about 20 years ago when it was not quite as well known as it is now and it was hard to get then -- You reserve for days that might work and hope you are one of the few who get slots. It was the highlight of our trip that year. The Scavi tour ends in St. Peters -- so if you can get an early morning tour and a late afternoon Museums slot you can do all three attractions in one day. There is a cafeteria in the Museum.

A second vote for the Scavi tour. We did travel to Rome this past September and tickets (this year only) were easy to get. However, that is not usually the case as has been mentioned. The tour is worthwhile. A reasonable fitness level and ability to navigate uneven terrain and cramped spaces are needed to enjoy this wonderful experience

I can't imagine negotiating the crowds of the Vatican Museums without a guide. We lucked into an "official English language tour" that turned what could have been a nightmare into a genuinely rewarding experience. The physical presence of a guide, with the connection via the headset, gave us relief from the crowds and a chance to enjoy a fraction of what the Vatican Museums have to offer.

This was back in 2005. Today, I couldn't imagine just queuing up outside the entrance like we did back then.

Walks of Italy, “Pristine Sistine”. The guides are incredible.

My wife and I had great tour of Vatican Museum and St Peters in 2019 with Through Eternity Tours. I posted a report on our experience in the Travel Forum: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/early-morning-vatican-tour-with-sistine-chapel-with-through-eternity-tours-excellent

Thank you all. I have booked a tour with Through Eternity Tours for an early morning Vatican tour. I'll let you know if it happens and how it tours out. Happy 2021!

We did the Pristine Sistine tour of the Vatican. For what we paid, it was not worth it. Sure, they tell you it's a small tour of 15 people. What they don't tell you is that they are running 15 tours at the same time. We waited in line for the doors to open, just like everybody else.
There was no intimate, personal "pristine" visit to the Sistine Chapel. The experience taught us that we're really not tour people and trailing behind somebody isn't our thing no matter how knowledgeable they are. If there's a next time, I'd invest in a good audio tour, a map, a book and just do it on our own. We'd move at our pace, dodge crowds and focus on our interests. Be aware that the tour guides were snarky and difficult towards "ungrouped" travelers. Their turf; their rules.

We did pristine sistine tours with walks of italy.
I agree though it says early tour, vatican was very crowded, the tour is expensive , but walks of italy gives a good discount during sale on black friday, nearly 40% off. They are very accommodating to any changes in dates too. Happy to have taken the tour as without that we would have been just lost, not knowing what exactly to see. By the time our tour ended the vatican was packed. It was a exhausting tour , but worth it, vatican and st peter’s basilica is simply stunning.