Planning Vatican Itinerary- Could Use Feedback!!

11:15- get to Vatican (Q1: if I buy my husband and myself tickets through the Vatican, how long should I expect to wait to get in?)
you would be better to get a time to enter and these come if you purchase a tour
not sure. i bought a tour 50 euros circumvented a long line
11:30- 2:00- Vatican Museums;;;
2:00-2:30- Sistine Chapel (Q2: is this enough time to see the Sistine Chapel sufficiently?);;;
you will know when you've seen enough ;

3:00- St. Peter's Scavi tour (Q3: I've read some places that this takes an hour and others that this takes 90 minutes- has anyone done it before who can tell me how long it took?);;;

have not done this someone will chime in

Afterward, I worry we will only have time to either climb the dome or attend the St. Peter's mass in Italian at 5pm. Here are my questions:
Q4: what time is the latest dome climb they allow?
the church closes at 7 pm you have more than enough time

Q5: would you recommend we do the dome climb or go to the mass? Note: we do not speak fluent Italian, if you think that would make a big difference in experience.;;;

do both just go to mass the next day

Here is a site that may help

http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/informazioni-utili.html

Q-4-- 1800 ( 6PM) is when the Dome climb closes ( per the above website)

Q-5- If you are Catholic, Mass at St Peter is special , in any language

Q-2- We had the RS audio guide and I think 30 minutes should be enough, although I would have happily spent hours, but there was still so much more to see, so tore myself away.

Is it possible to start earlier and have more time, so you are not having to 'beat the clock'?

It's been 3-4 years since my last visit, but with a reserved entry (costs about €4 per ticket), there was a separate security line that is much shorter and moves quickly. Have the reservation in hand to join the queue.

How long you spend in the Sistine Chapel depends on how much you enjoy it and how long you can stand and crane your neck upwards. If you manage to get seats, you may want to stay longer. It's a small chapel, so there's no walking around, you just stand and appreciate all the frescoes.

After you leave the Sistine Chapel you'll have a long walk through more of the museums to get to the exit. Then it's a 10-15 minute walk to the entrance to the basilica/dome - and maybe the Scavi tour.

There will be a line to climb the dome. You have to go through St. Peter's security line (which is always long). It's the same security line for the church and the dome climb. Once you are past the security, there's a line to the dome. The dome has limited capacity, so they only let people in as others leave. If you want to do the climb, I suggest you arrive early in the morning, see the church before everything else opens, then climb the dome, then walk (about 10-15 minutes) to the entrance to the museums.

11:15- get to Vatican....

Alex, is Saturday your arrival day in Rome? On an international flight?

Kathy's question is mine as well. My flight was cancelled and rebooked in May, caused a major delay (about twelve hours late landing).

Right. Flight-related delays and/or cancellations are a consideration as well as trying to manage the above itinerary right off the plane IF that's going to be the case? I manage jet lag pretty well with lots of fresh air but could not handle the mob at the Vatican museums plus a scavi tour AND the basilica on arrival day.

Thanks, all!
I hadn't even considered that my flight could be delayed- we land at 9:30, but I'm going to switch our schedule to do the Vatican on the 21st (the next Sat) just to be safe. We'll be coming up from the Amalfi Coast, so the timeline will probably need to stay the same just to be realistic.

Since you are moving your Vatican day to the next week, I suggest you arrive earlier and allow yourself a break somewhere between Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel and moving on to the Scavi tour if the tour is indeed at 3:00 pm. You may have to work around the time and date the Scavi Office grants you. Do you know the procedure for getting reservations?

You may not be able to move your scavi tour (and maybe weren't planning to do so). In that case, we'll cross fingers that you can make the 3:00 time slot. I do think it wise to do everything else at the Vatican another day from the point of sheer exhaustion after a long flight, if nothing else. The museums + basilica is definitely not something you want to tackle with a case of jetlag going on as they take some concentrated attention, and patience with the large crowds. You may feel overwhelmed and frustrated if you're just too tired!

Do your scavi tour if it can't be moved but try to spend the rest of your day outside to stay awake. :O)

The Dome closes an hour earlier than the Basilica. So, if you want to spend some time up there, you would need to join the line somewhat earlier. See the opening times at:

http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/informazioni-utili.html

In case you have not actually booked the scavi tour, see the procedure at:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20090216_en.html

In 2015, I tried to book the scavi tour for a particular afternoon, 3 months in advance, without success. I was able to make a booking for 2016, 8 months in advance. So, if you have not done so, I would suggest emailing them a set of dates when you know you will be in Rome and build the rest of your schedule around whatever they give you.

The Vatican Museums can be booked up to 60 days in advance, but not earlier than that.

I already booked and paid for the Scavi tour, but I'm going to see if they will allow me to reschedule.
Thanks for all the links!

If you purchase entry tickets through the Vatican museums website you don't need to arrive at the entry to the museums more than 15 minutes early. The guards usually won't let you in much before that.

It takes at least a half hour to exit the museums and walk around to the entrance of the scavi tour. Unless you change your scavi tour and museums visit you won't have enough time. If you can change one or the other or both it will be much better for you. The scavi tour takes about 90 minutes.

Personally, I think you're trying to do too much in a single day. The museums and basilica are very big and, for me, you're not allowing enough time for them. Trying to squeeze in a mass and climbing the dome isn't practical with everything else you have going on.

Donna

I attended the Mass at 5 PM in St. Peter's Basilica on a Tuesday earlier this year. The Mass was in the chapel in the apse at the back of the Basilica - the Main Altar of the Cathedra.

Afterwards, at around 5.50 PM, they removed the barriers that prevent people going up to the Baldacchino (canopy) over the main altar. So, it was possible to walk around the Baldacchino and take photos. There is a sign there saying the 'Confessio Sancti Petri' and it refers to the Tomb of St. Peter and the Gaius Trophy where the tomb is located.

The steps going down were off limits as was the chapel at the back, but you could take photos into the chapel and around. No photos are allowed in the chapel of St. Joseph where the Mass takes place sometimes.

The steps going down close for the mass and the remainder of the day.

If in Rome on a Friday evening the museum is much less crowded.

The Vatican is in a central location - it's easy to see some bits on one day and some on another. Consider spreading your visit over separate days.

We did the Pristine Sistine Chapel tour with Walks of Italy this past April and we were not disappointed. The early access to the Museums and Chapel as well as avoiding the blocks long security line was well worth it. I believe there is a discount code in the RS Rome Guidebook.