Help with Vatican tour decisions?

I would choose the Walks of Italy tour--any time you get to be in the Vatican museum and presumably get some peaceful time in the Sistine Chapel is well worth the cost. I was there last April and did a guided tour through the Vatican website that does not seem to be offered any longer that allowed us in 2 hours before opening to the public and it was a wonderful experience--after that we had breakfast at 9 am and then could wander the museum further but it was so jammed with people that I quickly gave up. There's a tremendous amount of things to see and it's not possible to see it all in one day, so a tour that gets you in early, is affordable, and will get you to the highlights seems a good choice to me.

Thanks for the comments, Christa :)

The problem with the Walks tour is that it MEETS at 7:15 am , but doesn't ENTER until 8 am with the regular opening of the museum. My understanding is that it used to offer an early entrance, now it's just an early meeting time with first entrance publicly allowed :( I've chatted with them a couple of times to get clarification on the entry, route of the tour, etc).

Yes, the situation has changed this year.

What's more important to you: Superior commentary or viewing conditions? If it's viewing conditions and you can stand to get up early enough for the PAVM pre-opening tour (when does it actually start?), that may be worth it to you.

I'd think the guides provided in all cases would be good; I'm not in a position to compare them. I know Sonia Tavoletta has been recommended multiple times here.

Getting up early is no problem at all for me. I would rather have an early start and then an early finish in the evening.

The timing of the PAVM tour is (from my understanding with communicating with them) is anytime pre-opening. I would assume I could do it 7 am'ish?

I enjoy art/sculptures/frescoes, etc., but the spiritual feeling of seeing the Sistine Chapel either alone or without lots of people would be the most meaningful to me. Just to think of all that has gone on in there and imagining Michelangelo painting would be something. BUT, the cost is certainly "up there" for me. If I did that tour, I would have to cut corners other places such as meals, extras...

In a perfect world, I'd like to pay $149 and have a private pre-opening tour of the Vatican :) How long will I be waiting on that one?? :)

Once the museums open to the public at 8 AM, people will gush in. Some of those people will rush to the Sistine Chapel. It will take them some time to get there, but you will want to have had your Sistine Chapel experience early on, else it will not be what you are imagining.

Other parts of the museums between the entry door and the Sistine Chapel will start getting increasingly crowded quite quickly, not too long after 8 AM (though they will be worse later in the morning). I found (as I expected) the Pinacoteca and the collection of modern religious art to be much less crowded than exhibitions one had to walk through on the way to the Sistine at the time of my winter 2023 visit, so I'd suggest leaving those till the end of your time. You'll probably be nearly alone in those areas even at the busiest time of the day.

I don't know how the private Vatican guide will feel about taking your straight to (or nearly straight to) the Sistine Chapel when it means you'll be swimming upstream afterwards as you try to see other parts of the museums after 8:15 or 8:30.

If getting alone/quiet time in the Sistine Chapel is important for you, Walks of Italy also offers a Keys tour that is actually early entry, but it costs just as much as the PAVM tour (and it may even be the same thing as the PAVM tour).

Thanks for the additional comments.

I also wondered about trying to go against the flow if I went to the Sistine Chapel first, acraven. The Keys tour looks really interesting, but you're right, it actually costs more the the PAVM. I'm not sure opening the door would be as meaningful as just the quiet time in the chapel for me.

This is the toughest decision of the trip for me! It's such a one time experience, but so costly. Does anyone else agonize over decisions like this????

Joby, we bought 8:15 tickets for our visit in February. We did not take a tour. After going through security, we headed straight to the Sistine Chapel. We were the 2nd couple to arrive. I was very surprised because we weren’t at the front of the line to get in. It was wonderful to be there when it was so quiet. Even by the time we left, you could easily get a seat along the benches along the side. We stayed quite a long time.

We then went back to the beginning and walked the route with crowds.

Do you have the flexibility to go twice? Do the cheaper tour, then go back the next day with an early admission and go straight to the Sistine Chapel?

I am also planning on going without a tour at 8am. I sent you a PM with some more details.

Would you consider a tour with Viator? I know that some on the Forum prefer to tour with a specific guide, but we have used Viator in the past with very good results. Also, you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund which I had to take advantage of one time. The refund was prompt. They do offer tours of a maximum of 10 people; skip the express line and what looks like before opening and after closing tours. The price is @ $100 pp.
https://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Skip-the-Line-Vatican-Museums-and-Sistine-Chapel-Guided-Tour/d511-3731VATICAN

Viator doesn't operate their own tours. It's a 3rd-party clearing house for companies who do. That can be an issue if something doesn't go according to plan and you end up in a finger-pointing battle between Viator and the tour company.

Be cautious when looking at morning tours, OK? We've seen some fancy language promising "first entry" and "early entry" which, when you get into the details, don't get inside you inside any earlier than the general public. In fact, the earliest time for the Viator tour linked above is 8:10 AM and it's not even clear if that's the meeting time - point for which is across the street from the entrance - or the time you actually get in. Doors open to the public and other tours at 8:00.

Eef , Yes, I think I can make 2 visits with some rearranging. That's another idea and I hadn't thought of it.

Ciao_Jane, Thanks for the PM!!

Lindy, I don't think I would consider Viator for the reasons that Kathy below states.

Kathy, I've read about the wording discrepancies and am trying to be cautious. From my reading the only true early entry is the PAVM tour. Is that correct?

I'm also really concerned with whether I can even get the early morning ticket I want whether it's for my own visit or if I decided to use the personal guide and need to get an 8 am ticket for that. It seems they get sold out immediately.

Thanks for all the feedback. This is (as silly as it may seem) a really tough decision for me. I'm hoping that some of this feedback will help to clarify facts for me and from other's experiences I can get some help for making the best decision for me :)

Hi Joby, we did the Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine Early Entrance Small Group Vatican Tour at 7:15 am about 2 weeks ago. We were among the first 20 people allowed to enter when the doors opened. Our guide was excellent and we thought it was well worth it to be able to get ahead of the crowd. Highly recommend.

Fyi, we used Carpe Diem Rome (http://www.carpediemrome.com/) for an afternoon tour of the Colosseum With Arena Access, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum. Also recommend this one. We had a great (busy) day.

Joby,
I am in the same situation as you. I will be in Rome in the 3rd week of May which is going to be super crowded. Hope that crowds would be a little less in September when you visit.
I am hoping to get the first entry general ticket and head straight to the Sistine chapel and then go back to the museums. I know it will be going against the crowd but the Sistine Chapel is more important to me.

Hi Donna,

Thanks for the reply. Approximately what time did you get to the Chapel?

Shom, Good luck :)

"Approximately what time did you get to the Chapel?"

Hi joby, our tour was 4 hours long and ended at approximately 11:30 am. We did the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, then St. Peters and the courtyard. I think we arrived at the Sistine Chapel at about 10 am.

I went off season in 2022 and had an early morning tour of the lower level with a guide. She was brilliant. The tour was Vatican Necropolis of St. Peter's Basilica through their architecture and preservation department, SCAVI.
http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/ufficio-scavi.html

After the tour we were allowed to enter the Vatican museums on our own. It is going to be crowded for you no matter what unless you get a genuine early entry tour that dashes you through to the Sistine Chapel. The highlight for me was the Necropolis tour, and not for religious reasons by the way. My next favorite is really a tie between the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel. If I were going to dash anywhere to avoid crowds it would be the Raphael Rooms. A crowd would be frustrating there. The tours I witnessed would be frustrating, also. "Here is this great big painting. Okay, moving on now." Third favorite were the Map Rooms, where a crowd might also be a problem. You can still see everything in the Sistine Chapel despite the crowd. When I went no one was forced to leave the Sistine Chapel after 15 minutes. That might be a problem during high season. Better check on that.

More to think about. Look at it this way, all options are going to be good but none will be perfect. The two day suggestion might be best if you can manage it.

Joby, I'll throw this in regarding some additional recent info on the Pristine Sistine tour:
Read what Amy was told when she called for details last month:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/question-regarding-walks-pristine-sistine-tour

As well, if you read the description of the tour, it doesn't make a beeline for the Sistine:
"Passing through tranquil galleries with your expert guide, you'll take in some of the world’s most incredible works of art, stopping at the Belvedere Courtyard, the Gallery of the Maps, the four Raphael Rooms, and more on your way to the Sistine Chapel. It can be difficult to navigate these spaces later in the day due to the crowds, but on this Vatican early morning tour, your guide will have the time and space to give you a proper explanation."

And this was another poster's experience a few months earlier. That was before they essentially disposed of practically all of the old before-the-public entry offerings in January but the order of the poster's tour matched what's posted on the WOI website.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/disappointing-experience-with-walks-of-italy-s-sistine-pristine

This is NOT to say that Donna didn't have a great tour! Ii's just a couple other perspectives as you are looking for - and are willing to pay $$$ for, if necessary - a truly premium tour/ticket/membership to be able to have your wished-for spiritual experience in the chapel. If still interested in the "Pristine Sistine", you might contact them for what to expect?

Just sharing my recent experience with Walks of Italy. I’m not affiliated with the company, but this tour worked out well for us. Your experience may be different.

The tour description for Pristine Sistine says “be among the first visitors of the day to access the Vatican Museums, and see the Raphael Rooms and Sistine Chapel at their most tranquil”. As I noted, our small group was among the first 20 people to enter the museum when the doors opened. There were other people in the buildings too, but it wasn’t crowded and our guide was able to provide meaningful information. Time of year affects things too, it is still winter in Italy and considered “off season”. We paid $109 each.

Really glad you had a lovely time, Donna! :O)

Thanks for all the posts. This info is helpful to me :) I'm still open to hearing other opinions and suggestions!

Thank you all so much for your posts!! I’ve decided and made a reservation for the Walks of Italy Key Master’s tour. After weighing all the pros/cons I thought the Key Master’s tour would be my best bet.

For those who don’t know (and I didn’t), the prices of the tour fluctuate frequently. I was able to get the tour for $480. I looked just now and the cost is $621. I also decided to purchase the 3.5 hour tour of the Colosseum, Arena, Palatine Hill and Forum with Walks of Italy. I got it for $75. I include the costs because I think others might be interested, I know I always am :) I hope I’ve made an informed and wise decision (fingers crossed). Thanks again for the advice and suggestions, truly appreciated!

Wow. I would never have expected the price of that tour to vary. I'm glad you made the purchase when you did. Please let us know what it's like.

Acraven, I was surprised too. I was talking with a lady on the Chat feature and she told me. I had to change my preferred day because the price on the original day had gone up. She explained that they have dynamic pricing :(

I’m relieved to have made the decision, it was driving me crazy going back and forth with pros/cons.