Scavi tour

Yes you can enter directly to St. Peter's when you are done, bypassing the security and lines. You will have gone through security to get your tour already.

Hi mmm,

I borrowed the reply from one of our posters -- "Herfnerd" He and his wife took the tour recently. Maybe he'll see this post and offer more suggestions/experience.

Posted by Herfnerd
Charlotte, NC
04/25/19 08:10 AM
159 posts
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JMHO, but if your interest in Vatican City is ONLY the Sistine Chapel, there are first entry tours to see it. My wife is not a museum person but wanted to see this work of art so we booked a 7:20am tour with City Wonder - it takes you to the Sistine Chapel an hour before the general public is allowed in - guided tour on the way there but we got to see the Hall of Maps and Tapestries empty. Spent 15-20 minutes in the Chapel and then we were allowed to visit the rest of the museum on our own which is perfect as we had an 11am Scavi Tour planned.

Since the Necropolis tour winds up in the grotto under St Peters, we
were able to bypass Security and go right into the
Basilica. The only issue I can see if you use RS's audio tour for
the Vatican Museum is that I think you would have to go back to near
the entrance and the SC is at the other end - a good 30 minute walk.

We also booked an afternoon tour for the Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman
Forum (on a different day) and it was a 3-hour tour but well worth it
- this was on a different day, though.

• Additional points: "As with all visits to the Vatican, appropriate clothing is a must. No shorts, short skirts, or dresses above the knees, or shoulders showing. No cameras allowed in the Sistine. No big bags or backpacks. Try to use a smaller bag that day. If you have to check a big bag, it will affect your time and visit."

As Dan said, you'll end up in the basilica after your scavi tour.

An early entrance tour of the museums doesn't apply as you can't do that and your 9:00 scavi tour. You CAN do your tour+ a look about the basilica, take a break, then do a 2-hour tour of the museums. They will be very crowded but that can't be avoided if you want to do it all on the same day. You don't mention how much time you have to spend in Rome but many visitors don't have enough of that to do part of the Vatican, such as the scavi and basilica, on one day and the museums on another.

Thank you for your helpful responses. I have taken your advice and booked a 12:30 guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. This should allow us some time after the Scavi tour to explore the basilica and grab a quick bite to eat. I anticipate it will be very crowded but since we only have two full days in Rome it makes sense time wise.

mmm2815

To be honest, you might find that you have less time than you think.

The Scavi tour runs approximately 90 minutes (ours ran a little over) and you'll find yourself in the papal grottos . Approximately a 10 minute walk to exit and you are right around the corner from the entrance to St Peter's Basilica (won't have to go thru Security again). This will be probably take you here around 10:45am.

The Basilica is HUGE and can take a full day to tour but even if you do a whirlwind, hour visit, that will still be close to noon when you are done. Your tour of the Vatican Museum probably asks you to meet at least 15 minutes prior to your 12:30 tour - it takes a good 15 minutes to walk to the Museum entrance from St Peter's. Keep that in mind as you had mentioned grabbing a quick bite to eat.

I hate to be the "kill-joy," but it is important for you to know that there COULD be an exception to being allowed to go directly into St. Peter's after your Scavi tour. There was that exception when we completed the Scavi tour. St. Peter's was closed to the public for a private mass/event, so we were not able to enter the basilica itself.

In fact, it was our our third trip to Rome that we were FINALLY able to enter St. Peter's.......there were private masses going on during our first two visits in different years!!! Our first attempt was when we took the Rick Steve's Heart of Italy Tour (that included the Vatican at that time and then we were supposed to be able to choose to go to St. Peter's immediately after.....but there was at least a 4-hour wait with a line that seemed to snake around Rome (just kidding...but it was a really long line!!) for when it re-opened to the public.

So, if your schedule allows a back-up plan, that would be good to have. But, I wish you a smooth entry into the Basilica after your Scavi tour...........that's the smoothest entry, and one MOST people get to enjoy.

Thank you all for your thoughts. We will be sure to bring our patience, humor and maybe a few snacks for husband in case of time crunch! Looking forward to a great visit.