Presto Tours vs. Angel Tours vs. Rome Walks of Vatican

The Vatican Museum has new hours for 2008: open 8a-6p. Take Angel Tours afternoon tour when there will be no line anyway & you'll save money.

Yes. It is possible to skip the line at the Vatican Museums. Some Tour Companies are registered with the Vatican and are licensed to the Early VIP Entrance which does skip the extremely long line. Presto Tours is one of these companies. The thing that stands out when comparing the two companies is the difference size of the groups. I wouldn't worry about the line if you are booking from November-January. The rest of the year is high season when the line can be devastating.

I would be concerned about the line even in November.We were there Nov. 13 and the line was several blocks long.We had a tour booked and walked right in.

You can book a tour directly with the Vatican Museum itself. You go to a different entrance with essentially no line. Check out their web site, send a fax indicating your preferred dates and times, and you will get a confirmation fax in 24 hrs. We did this in October and it worked great. So, unless they have changed their procedure, no need to use an outside agency.

BTW, the Vatican Museum is as well organized as any tourist stop you will find anywhere: ticketing, tour guides, earphones, souvenir stands every 100 feet, snack bars, pizzeria, etc., etc. Amazing!

Last year in November the Vatican Museum was open from 10a-1:45p. The new hours for 2008 are 8:30a-6p so if you go in the afternoon you won't encounter a crowd because everybody goes in the morning.

Angel Tours also offers an early entry tour and they receive excellent reviews.

I'd send in a request to the Vatican, but if you don't get a reply I'd write to the private company and try to get the information from them. Why not just ask the company if the no wait in lines is true. Easter may be hard to get in touch with the Vatican itself because of everything going on in Rome.

We used Angle Tours and loved 'em. Young, eager, art students who were fun to be with.

Yes. It is true.

We all enjoyed Angel Tours, we jumped the line, the guide Jimmy was funny but sure knew his stuff.

We used Presto Tours for our Vatican tour last September and we did indeed skip the lines & we really enjoyed the tour. Our tour guide made the tour very informative and fun. I would definitely recommend Presto Tours. I have also heard great things about Angel Tours & we were at the Pantheon one night during the Angel Tours free tour. We hung around for a few minutes and listened to the tour guide; she seemed very knowledgable as well. I believe both tour companies have a good reputation. Have a great time in Rome.

Why are we replying to a post that is over TWO years old?

Cause JJ cannot read a date.

sorry about that I am new to this.