Hello. Experienced Rick Steves tour member here but first time poster in the forum. My wife and I are considering a tour of Rome later this year but the RS Best of Rome tours are full. This will be our first time in Rome. An alternative we are considering is Road Scholar's 9-day Roaming Rome tour. One drawback is that this tour only includes a 2-hr visit to the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums. A visit to St. Peters Basilica is not included. I am considering adding a longer (perhaps private) tour of the Vatican (including St. Peter's) with The Roman Guy (or similar company) at the beginning or end of the Road Scholar Tour. Has anyone taken this particular Road Scholar tour and felt that the time allotted to the Vatican was insufficient? Looking for opinions and/or recommendations. Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14433 posts
I've not done any Road Scholar tours in Italy although I have done 13 in Europe and the US. I've done 12 Rick tours.
I looked at the itinerary and it looks good but it looks like the September departures don't visit the Vatican at all? I see a special night visit for the October departure that is sold out. The Nov departure is coming up with the same itinerary for me but that could easily be a glitch. I'd want to call Road Scholar and talk with them about the itinerary specific to the dates you are interested in.
I'd recommend you go in a couple of days early if you have the time and do a Sistine Chapel/St Peter's visit either on your own or with a guide. To me the Vatican Museums are better with a guide just because there is SO much stuff and it is so very crowded! The guides can't talk in the Sistine Chapel so they have to explain everything outside before you enter the museums.
In general I find Road Scholar comparable to Rick's tours. The Rick tours are a little more active and the participants need a little less hand-holding. Road Sch picks you up at the airport if you book air thru them while you always make your own way to the first hotel on a Rick tour. I always go early for either tour company so I don't mind getting myself to the starting point. Both are educational.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8734 posts
You may want to look at Gate 1 for other alternatives. Their Discovery tours are limited in group size comparable to Rick Steves. At some point , they are also dropping the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel from the group itinerary, but I am not sure when that change begins.