Touring the Crypt at St. Peter's Basilica

I will assume you are referring to the Scavi Tour. You will enjoy it. You will need to go to the Vatican's website and make reservations. You'll indicate the language, date, and time preferred. The cost, if I remember right, is somewhere around 12 euros. The tour is led by a guide for 12-15 people and lasts about 90 minutes.

I did the scavi tour and it is well worth it. you get to see St Peters tomb and actually some of his bones. Make reservations asap, they are hard to get

Judith, do you mean the crypt or the scavi (excavations underneath St Peter)?

The crypt has the tombs of the popes (including John Paul II) and I believe is open in general. Personally, I did not find the crypt particularly interesting.

The scavi is a different story. The scavi requires an advance reservation. It is fascinating and definitely worth trying to visit. You learn an amazing amount of history about the site and the excavations, and how they came to the conclusion that they had found the bones of St Peter. I thought it was terrific. My guide was a young American seminary student.

We went on the scavi tour in May and it was an extraordinary adventure, a real highlight of our time in Rome. Getting a reservation was quite the challenge. I emailed months in advance, sent a fax weeks later, and emailed again just days before we departed. I wasn't too proud to beg and we finally got reservations. I was glad I persisted.

If you're talking about the Crypt at St. Peter's it's free and you walk through it yourself.

Thank you all for your responses. My question, originally, was just for the Crypt at St. Peter's. Your responses have informed me about the Scavi tour, which I would love to take. I have sent an e-mail requesting a reservation but I am not sure if I am doing it early enough. I am going to Italy in September. I will keep my fingers crossed. Thank you again for all the information.

Judith, we are going to be in Rome in about one month and I was able to get reservations for the Scavi tour just a few days ago. Good luck!

I read about the Scavi tour today and it said it somewhat claustrophobic. I thought
I may like to take the tour but now I'm unsure. Any thoughts?

Judith, I hope you get your reservations for the scavi tour, it was a highlight for us.

Judy, We did not find it claustrophobic at all. Neither of us have ever felt that, so I can't answer for you, but we weren't in that small an area. There were a few areas that we ducked to go through an entrance, but then it opened up when we got into the different, for lack of a better word chambers.

I hope you get to do it, and if you do, that you enjoy it!

I would like to report that I did, in fact, receive my reservation. I am very excited about it.

Thank you to everyone who responded. You were all very helpful.

Judy, I get somewhat claustrophobic and was fine. The neocropolis touris something not to be missed, for sure.

We're doing the Scavi tour this coming monday...one of the things I'm really looking forward to about this trip, I've heard nothing but raves about this tour.

As part of the Scavii Tour you will be led through the crypt.