Rick in his books recommends to go with a tour company in Vatican musium to avoid entrance lines. Any experinece with Rome tour companies. We found good revews on Miles & Miles but did not get any response from them and can't find the web site for this company.
Thanks
Dimitry
We used Through Eternity and absolutely found them to be GREAT. While in Rome, we went on 3 of their tours and highly recommend them. Groups were very small which we liked and the guides were wonderful. Well worth the money. Enjoy your trip.
I used the online company tickitaly.com. Booking a tour for the Vatican is such phenomenally GOOD advise, I could not believe the long long long lines to get in. One thing that is a little unclear - you DO NOT have to wait in the huge line for the pre-booked tours. Just go right up to the front entrance and look through the many tour guides and their signs. Things were so crazy with all of the guides that we had to call our tour guide on our cell to find her. Just be clear about what company you booked with so you can look for their sign amongst the chaos.
4 of us took an afternoon tour with Angel Tours and they were excellent. They have 2 tour times available, one in the AM which you pay extra to skip the line or the PM one which we took. There was no line and we walked right into the museum. The tour is also pretty lenghty, around 4 hours I think as they quickly took you through St. Peter's as well.
You can try www.welwalkinrome.com - they have daily Vatican tours at 2pm. I sisn't do this one, though, I did their Ancient Rome tour and found it BRILLIANT. They are a small Italian company (only 3 or 4 guides in total) and I am sure their other tours are of excellenty quality also.
However, if your aim of a tour is only to avoid entrance lines, then try taking Rick's tip of going Wednesday morning after 10am when the Pope is giving his public audience and everyone is heading to St. Peter's. I did this two weeks ago, and it was amazing - no lines at all, we were in the Museum within 5 minutes of getting there!
Have posted it a dozen times or more -- we like Angel Tours.
Depending on how much time you want to spend on a Vatican tour, Ron from www.roninrome.com does a full day tour (9:00-5:00). The cost is VERY inexpensive, as far as private tours are concerned. My wife and I are taking his Ancient Rome Tour this June. He is going to pick us up at our B & B and take us to many places. The wonderful thing is that it will just be the three of us on this tour. It is a private tour, but with a much better rate. If you want more information, go to his website, and then email him.
By the way, he is very prompt in getting back to you!
I hope that many of you have found his wonderful blogs to be helpful! Good luck in your decision!
