Guided tours?

I have never tried the Vatican on my own, however when we went there with a tour last year I was completely overwhelmed, even with a guide. The museum is huge, and seemed laid out very strangely to me, although perhaps the guide took us around back ways so there is a more obvious flow for people taking the main route? Not really sure. But that is the one place we've been that we thought "thank God we had a tour guide for this!" It's also just so crowded and confusing and jam packed with art. We did the Pristine Sistine tour, which was well worth it, even though there were still a lot of people there. But our guide knew exactly the route to take to get us to the Raphael room and Sistine Chapel with almost no one there. If nowhere else, I'd recommend a tour of the Vatican museum.

I agree - tour of the Vatican museums . Doesn’t need to be a private tour, but a good guide. I can recommend Walks of Italy - Pristine Sistine tour. You get early entry and it’s well worth it. The crowds are unmanageable otherwise. We were alone in the Raphael rooms and had plenty of room in the Sistine Chapel. The downside is you go to St Peters after the museum and it is insanely packed by then. We went to it first thing in the morning on another trip and that was a better experience.

Walks of Italy's "Pristine Sistine" tour is worth every dime, but with a group your size, consider a private guide. At 60 Euro per hour, it will be less expensive than Walks of Italy.

I also recommend a tour guide for the Colosseo/Forum/Palatine as it can be very confusing. With a group your size, a private guide is again a good economic decision.

For both, I recommend Sonia Tavoletta, [email protected]. She is a colleague of the much-recommended Francesca Caruso and very talented.

Good suggestions above. Here's my suggestion. Hire a guide and tell them want you want so see. Example. I told our guide I wanted to see ancient Rome, medieval Rome, modern Rome, and Christian Rome. In two full days we saw sites that people don't usually see, plus all the sites everyone sees. It is worth the extra money and can be more efficient for a group of 7. Just be specific with your guide and let them run with it.

This is something your kids might really enjoy. While we did this last October with an older group on their first trip, the information gained and the ground covered was well worth the price.

http://www.mybesttour.com/carts.htm

This is not just a drive around. We stopped and took pictures at most sites, and received a lot of historical info.

We stayed in the Monti area which determined our path.

These are the sights we visited.
Coloseum, Roman Forum, Orange Garden, Aventine Hill Pincio, Santa Sabina, Plazzo Farnese, Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Borghese Gardens Pincio. These gave them a great overview of Romes neighborhoods and an idea of which areas they wanted to return to.

To cover this area would take at least two days on your own.

They were extremely helpful to work with, and I recommend them.