Tour of Necropolis and Vatican

We did this tour 2 years ago. As I recall we met outside at a side entrance and were then ushered in. It was quite something. This is separate from the Vatican tour. If your time is limited I see no reason why you could not do both in one day. Just be on time for the Necropolis tour. Have a wonderful trip.

You should receive a reservation confirmation to print. If it works like it did when we visited the Necropolis (I think it was about 7-8 years ago), we took that piece of paper, presented it to the guard at the outside entrance to sort of a courtyard (that looked more like a parking lot, but without cars), who then allowed us to proceed to the little door on the side where our fellow participants (maybe a total of 5-6 of us) waited.

Do not be late.

At that time, large bags were not allowed, but typical purse type things were. That could have changed, so read your confirmation carefully.

What was a delightful surprise is that we were very, very early arriving at St. Peter's. So, I explained to the guard on duty we hoped to check with the staff to see if there would be any chance we could take an earlier tour, if two spots were open. To our delight, it turned out we could.

Unless St. Peter's itself is closed for a special mass or event, after the tour, you will be able to go up a set of stairs that will have you exit by the altar within the church itself.....pretty magical. But, I would not count on that 100% being your access into St. Peters, as it actually took us three tries (over two separate trips to Rome) to get into the main part of St. Peters. We actually were not allowed to go up the stairs the day we toured the Necropolis, because it was closed due to activities related to the Beatification of John Paul; and, kon a previous trip to Rome, St. Peters was closed for a private mass with long, long, long lines around St.Peter's Square that someone estimated would take 4-5 hours for everyone to enter, once those waiting were allowed to begin entering.

Fascinating experience.

In the truly small world department, a lady in our small group asked if I had been in Greece the year before (I had)...she remembered me from the small ship cruise of maybe 240 passengers. That amazed me!!!

NOTE: If you are part of an organized tour group, such as if you are organizing tickets thru a third party, just follow that firm's instructions. I am also not aware of tickets being reserved ahead for St.Peter's in general, so ditto to follow instructions of any firm thru whom you may be booking a paid tour. I do not recall any cost (but there may have been for the Necropolis reservations), and I know we did not pay to get into St. Peters ( but that was several years ago, and things may have changed). Even on our first trip to Italy via a Rick Steves group tour, we did not have tickets or reservations to St. Peters.......we each (on our own) had to choose whether or not to stand in the really long line.....but again, that may have changed with his group tours now. The Vatican tour was part of our RS Tour at that time, but again, may have since changed.

There is never a fee to enter St Peter's basilica, although there is to access the dome or to tour the scavi (which I'm assuming is the tour you have reservations for).

There is also no single tour for "the Vatican". The complex has multiple parts, and there's no comprehensive tour that I'm aware of which covers all which are open to the public, such as the gardens, museums, basilica, dome, Necropolis of the Via Triumphalis and properties outside of Vatican City (i.e. Palace of Castel Gandolfo).

The scavi tour does not start inside the basilica but it does end at an inside point which allows access to the church unless possibly closed for a service or other event. Assuming you made your reservation through the Excavations Office, these are the directions they provide for finding the starting point of your tour unless you've been instructed otherwise:

http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/modalita-della-visita.html

"Entrance to the Excavations Office is only through the gates located on the Via Paolo VI (outside of the Colonnade, just to the south [left], near the entrance to the General Audience Hall.) Upon arrival, present the Swiss Guards with your letter of confirmation received from the Office which indicates the scheduled time of your visit."

If in question when the tour is over, just ask your guide how to access the main body of the basilica. I believe it ends in the grottos, on a level just below the main floor of the church, and you'll come up the stairs into the sanctuary.

You cannot access the museums from the church but you have plenty of time to book an early-morning tour of those + take a break for lunch before having to be at the gates to the Excavation Office at 1:30 or so.

Still have questions? :O)
http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/contattaci.html

First, the term "the Vatican" is a bit confusing for tourist purposes. There are parts of Vatican City that are free for all to enter (such as St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square). There are parts that can be entered only with tickets (such as the Vatican Museums or the gardens). The rest of Vatican City is not open to visitors.

The Sistine Chapel is inside the Vatican Museums. The entrance to the Vatican Museums is a 15 minute walk from the entrance to St. Peters Basilica. However, if you see the Vatican Museums on a tour (from the Vatican itself, or another agency like Dark Rome, Context Tours, or Walks of Italy), there is a door that leads directly from the Sistine Chapel to the basilica. This "tour door" is a great shortcut, and while some have been able to use it without being on a tour, this totally depends on who's guarding it; reports are that they have gotten stricter. It only works one way (you can't go from St. Peter's to the Sistine Chapel, tour or no tour).

So, seeing the Necropolis and seeing the rest of the basilica at the same time is relatively easy, unless you have an experience like Maggie's where the basilica is closed for some reason. But you have to allow time to get from the Necropolis, or other sections of the basilica, to the Vatican Museums.

Note that while St. Peter's Basilica is free to enter, there is a security check, and at busy times the line can be QUITE long.

EDIT: Cross-posted with Kathy.

just curious given the name you are using

how do you make a monkey cupcake? Is it a cupcake for a monkey or do you have a monkey that makes cupcakes?

Inquiring minds want to know...

But you have to allow time to get from the Necropolis, or other
sections of the basilica, to the Vatican Museums.

True, except they don't really have time to do a museum tour after the scavi. That tour is 90 minutes so if it starts at 1:45, they won't be done until 3:15 and would still have to get over the museums. I haven't looked at all of the better tour options but most are not offered after 2:00 - 3:00 or so, high-season Friday nights and maybe some very expensive, exclusive private options aside.

LOL, Nigel!!!! 😁

Kathy: I did not know the Scavi tour times, and I was cross posting with you, so thanks for that correction.

Thank you everyone for your knowledge and information. It is wonderful to be able to ask questions and receive such comprehensive answers!

Also, for Nigel, there used to be a popular sitcom called, "Everybody Loves Raymond". The main character, Raymond, used the unusual phrase "like a monkey on a cupcake" several times, and I adopted it.