Help choose between two City Wonders Vatican tours

Walks of Italy does the Pristine Sistine tour that includes museum visit and the Basilica

Going back into Vatican museum on your own will not likely be very pleasant it will be crushingly crowded, kids won’t be able to see over other visitors, etc
Then you’ll have to walk all the way around to Basilica in the heat about 15-20min?

We did the Pristine and it was worth every penny
I will say we didn’t really enjoy the museum part because it was a mob scene almost immediately. Our guide got us thru the highlights as best she could but it turned me off even wanting to return!

Check prices on Walks of italy they are running a huge discount now
The Pristine Sistine with current discount is $77.90
https://www.walksofitaly.com/

Thanks, ChristineH! I checked out City Wonders because they claim to be 30 min earlier than other tour groups. When you entered at 8, was it already crowded?

The chapel was not crowded
There were a few other tour groups there with us but plenty of room to move around, benches to sit and admire etc

The museum gradually became a mob scene very unpleasant
Then we went back out thru the chapel to exit to Basilica and the chapel was shoulder to shoulder
Frightening really!

I don’t think there is any way to avoid the museum crowds unless you are first to enter and you can’t do that no matter who you visit chapel with
The museum will open while you are in the chapel

Entry to Sr. Peter’s is only restricted by the need to go through airport type security first. once done, we walked right in.

Good point Suki
Everyone has to go thru security and I don’t recall that taking too long- we were there in Sept
I liked having the guide show us the Basilica which is included in Pristine Sistine

I was reading this:
https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2018/09/how-to-skip-the-line-at-st-peters-basilica/

It seems that everywhere in Italy, the tourist attractions sign all sort of "special arrangements" with all sorts of tour companies. Perfect price discrimination.

Jenny, I would DEFINITELY book an early entrance tour that includes additional museum treasures + basilica. It's going to be hot in the museums in June, and the crowds will be IMMENSE. The best of these tours last 3-4 hours or so, get you into the Sistine just before it's hopelessly mobbed, cover the highlights in a structure than can be difficult to navigate on one's own, and get you into the basilica through a back entrance reserved for tours. That right there saves you a long-ish outdoor walk between museum and basilica + a potentially long wait - in the elements - in the security queue for the church so it's an efficient way to do both. You can linger in the church as long as you wish to when your tour ends.

While there are parts of the Vatican Museums that are less visited than others, so the hordes can be escaped for a bit, with pre-teens + summer heat + summer mobs, I think a museum+ St. Peter's tour is the best choice. I wouldn't do either of the tours listed above as #2 looks only to get you in the door early and doesn't cover the basilica, and #1 doesn't cover any highlights in the museums except the Sistine: IMHO both are sort of rip-offs for the price.

While usually a little more expensive, do take a look at the Walks of Italy "Pristine Sistine" tour Christine mentioned? This one has been a very popular and very highly-rated option amongst RS travelers to Rome. It is also currently on sale so you'd land a high-quality tour for a bit less than the most expensive City Wonders option you were considering.

https://www.walksofitaly.com/vatican-tours/pristine-sistine-chapel-tour/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoJL4hKaF5gIVih-tBh3FawvqEAAYASAAEgI6evD_BwE

One more note? Ignore any mention of museum visitors whom are not on an organized tour sneaking into the basilica via that back passage. While guards at that door have been somewhat lax in the past, the word recently is that they've gotten much more strict about checking badges.

I have seen the Sistine Chapel twice, once before the Japanese renovation and once after. The Chapel is amazing. In my opinion, it is the number one work of art in the World.

The first time I visited you could stay as long as you liked and take photos, without flash.

Did the Vatican Museum, which is impressive, but just doing the short tour takes quite a bit of time.

We did the First Entry to the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums tour back in March which seems to be renamed to Sistine Chapel Tour Before Opening Hours with Vatican Museums. Make sure you look for a discount code

We thoroughly enjoyed it - was the first group allowed into the Vatican Museum and headed straight to the Sistine Chapel with a tour along the way. Was awesome to see the Hall of Maps and Tapestries and other areas totally empty. We were allowed into the SC with maybe a couple of dozen other people and spent about 15-20 minutes in there and then headed back into the Vatican Museum to tour on our own. It didn't get crowded until close to 10am but by 10:30 then we had to leave for our Scavi Tour which ended in St Peter's where we then toured it on our own

This was perfect for us as my wife isn't a fan of museums and we were able to see most of what I wanted to

To Herfnerd: The extra early entrance is the reason I picked City Wonders, but their Chapel tours either cover the Basilica or the museum, not both.

For those who chose Walks of Italy tour: Do you feel crowded with the Prestine tour, esp by the time you reach the Basilica? (more than an hour later than the City Wonders tour, my option 2 above. Thanks!

Jenny, again, just my personal viewpoint but paying $60.00 for JUST an early-entrance look at the Sistine (understand that any info your guide provides will occur BEFORE entering the chapel as talking is not allowed in there) and a map they give you for seeing the rest of the museums on your own is overly pricey when you could get a nearly 4-hour tour which includes early entrance + much more for abt. $76 (on what is normally a $101.00 tour at current exchange rates).

Understand as well that traveling in March is a different animal than traveling during June high season.

There are SO MANY companies offering 8am tours. Would that make 8am the new general admission time (i.e. same crowd), only with a higher price for everyone?

No, 9:00 is the opening hour for the general public with ordinary tickets or later-day tours.

http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en.html#lnav_info

Yes, there are quite a number companies - including the Vatican itself - offering early entrance tours or tickets so you're not going to be alone in the Sistine but it will be infinitely preferable to what it's going to be in there once the 9:00 stampede hits the thing. It's an estimated 30-minute walk (maybe a little less for power walkers who know how to navigate their way) from entry to chapel without stopping for anything else so the mob won't overwhelm it right away.

This is what the queue for the Sistine in the Hall of Maps can look like during general-entry high season hours:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-tourists-in-the-vatican-museum-43958343.html

Editing to add: I see that you confirmed with City Wonders that you will not be able to access the basilica via the back passage unless you've purchased a tour which includes the church. As I'd mentioned, they've gotten pretty strict about who does and who doesn't get access to that door.

One of the best things about early entry is seeing that Hall of Maps with nobody around
We actually saw Pope Benedict on his patio from one the windows along there

Kathy: Thank you for the information. I am worried that profit maximization will make 8am increasingly similar to 9am. Already saw reviews saying that City Wonders is bringing quite a few groups in their 7:30am tours. So "first to enter" is really "first to enter with many others."