skip-the-line tours

Anybody can "skip the line" if you buy your timed entry ticket from the official Vatican Museum ticket website.

Tim,
Thanks for your info. Will check it out.

As mentioned above, you can buy a skip the line ticket and self-tour. You can also opt in, at extra cost, to a Vatican-led tour. My recommendation, which we and our many visitors have enjoyed, is the Pristine Sistine Tour by Walks of Italy. Fabulous early entry and very small group (max 12) experience by excellent guides.

As mentioned above, you don't need to book an expensive tour in order to skip the line at the Vatican museums. You can buy entry tickets that allow you to bypass the lines from their official website. They also offer a variety of tours that allow you to bypass the lines. These tours are very good and very inexpensive.

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do

Donna

Laurel and Donna,
Thanks for your great tips and suggestions. Will check them out.
I see that the Vatican tour prices are shown in Euros. How can they be paid if ordered online?
Thanks.

Laurel, Dark Rome also offers the Early Entry Sistine Tour. Do you know which tour is better? Thanks.

Just pay online with a credit card. It will be charged in the proper currency.

Donna

"I see that the Vatican tour prices are shown in Euros. How can they be paid if ordered online?"

You will NEED to read Rick's money tips. Follow all the links on this page, and you'll be an expert: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money

To answer your question directly, you use your credit card as you do for any other online purchase. When you use your credit card, make sure you are charged in euros. The credit card company will then convert from euros to dollars at an excellent rate, and for most cards, they will add a surcharge of 1-3% as a "foreign transaction fee." Capital One cards do not have this fee, and there are some others that don't. If you have more than one card and don't mind spending the time to save a small amount, you can check with each card to see what it's foreign transaction fees are, and then choose the one with the smaller fee (probably not worth it just for these tickets, but definitely worth it for large expenditures like a hotel bill). When you get your card statement, the price in euros and the transaction fee will be shown along with the total amount in dollars (they are now required to show these items).

Just make sure you are indeed billed in euros. Some websites and many businesses will offer the "convenience" of charging your card in dollars - don't ever let them do this. EVER. This is called "dynamic currency conversion," but a more accurate phrase is "soaking the unwary." They pick their own conversion rate, which will not be nearly as good as the credit card company's. Then, to add insult to injury, it's still considered a foreign transaction, so you are still charged the 1-3% fee!

It's also a good idea to call your credit card company and tell them you will be doing an online foreign transaction. Otherwise, they may block the transaction as fraudulent (since you're in the US and the card is being "used" in Italy).

Our family used Easitaly tours (www.easitalytours.com) for our Vatican tour a couple years ago, and it was totally worth the money! We saw everything without waiting in a single line in just about 3 1/2 hours. Our guide was phenomenal and pointed out things we never would have noticed if we had gone on our own. He even got our two teenagers laughing and engaged in the tour. If you have limited time in Rome, I would strongly recommend them. Ask for Massimo- he's wonderful!

Pilgrim, I am not familiar with that company. I have been so happy with Walks of Italy that we always go with or recommend them.