Rome- Vatican Museum

I did the official Vatican museum tour at night earlier this month. Our guide had great credentials as they are required but overall she was pretty uninteresting, bad even. For some reason we spent a half hour in the modern art wing. You pass it before getting to the Sistine. Why she thought any of us wanted to hear about modern art is beyond me but the group was dropping like flies. Other people in the forum have had good experiences with the official tour, IIRC. Its a crap shoot, depending on the guide.

That guide may have dawdled in the modern gallery because the Sistine Chapel was jam packed, but it is always full during normal hours.

The guides are licensed, so they are usually very good.

I was very pleased with the Vatican tour we did a couple of years ago. It was also a Vatican guide and she was very good. I would advise taking the earliest tour you can due to the crowds.
IMO a day trip from Rome to Naples/Pompeii would be tortuous..... I can't tell from your post if your day in Florence is a day trip but strongly advise it to be. Moving from Rome to Florence for one night would really eat up a lot of time.

The Borgese is lovely but won't take your entire day so you can spend the rest of the day at the Colliseum, or just wandering around the Piazza Navona, Pantheon or many other lovely areas in Rome. I've done the tour bit and done it on my own. I prefer doing it on my own. Except for Colliseum.. The underground and third tier tour is great . It's led by an archeologist and a way to see things most tourists miss.

Rome to Pompeii is an easy day trip to take. It takes just over an hour to get to Naples and then a half hour from there to Pompeii. Be prepared to leave Rome early and come back very late.

I've taken the official Vatican tour many times. My guides have always been very good. I would try to choose a Tuesday or Thursday to do this. If you are there on a Friday night that would be better. You don't need to be on a tour to bypass the lines. You can buy skip the line tickets directly from the Vatican website.

With the little time you have in Rome I wouldn't take two day trips. Arriving on the 10th and leaving on the 15th means you have only 4 full days and 1-2 partial days there. That's not a lot of time to visit Rome and see many sites.

Donna

A few comments:

1) Any chance you can spend more than 1 day in Florence? It was one of my favorite stops when I was in Italy and just one day really doesn't do it justice at all. I recommend at least 2 full days (I spent 3 but could have spent 5).

2) When I went to the Vatican Museum in March, it was a mob-scene. It's pretty much a conveyor belt to the Sistine Chapel. Seriously, it was insane. Unless you have a strong interest in art (not just that you like art museums) I wouldn't waste the money on a tour. However, I WOULD get reservations in advance since the line is ridiculous. When I went, I strolled right in with my reservation. I can't emphasize how important it is to have reservations for everything. It's usually 5 euro more a ticket and when you're spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on your vacation anyway, it's nice to not waste your day waiting on line.

3) My wife and I really liked the Borghese. Spring for the audio tour - it's great. The park is nice too. I went running in it each morning I was in Rome.

4) Instead of Pompeii, I urge you to consider Ostia Antica. We toyed with the idea of going to Pompeii as well but decided the transportation there would be too long and the area full of tourists and tourist traps. Ostia is an ancient port town that has great ruins, is so easily accessible by the subway system (about 30 mins each way), and will have FAR fewer tourists than Pompeii. It also has a great cafeteria (believe me, I'm a stickler when it comes to food) that is underpriced, if anything. If you purchase a Roma Pass (which I suggest you do), you can use your free entries for the Colosseum and Borghese, get a discount at Ostia, and ride the trains - this will cover the money you spent on the Pass. Also, be sure to stop at the Pyramid and Trastavere on your way back!