Has anyone taken the 2 hour tour offered through the Vatican? We are going to Rome in mid September. Would you recommend taken a tour to avoid the lines? Any other tour companies you would recommend for the Vatican?
Posted by
Northborough, MA
636 posts
Recent consensus seems to be that, since the Vatican made adjustments to their opening hours, lines are less of an issue this year than in the past.
That said, there is still value to a guided tour. Some folks have reported that the one provided by the Vatican is very good and have recommended it. However, it does not include St. Peter's.
The most frequently used seems to be Angel Tours (they offer both skip-the-line and not), and reports have been very positive. Earlier this summer, we used 3 Millennia (not skip-the-line, but, as they said, the line was not an issue at 1:00), and we were extremely pleased, and we would recommend them highly.
If you search through the Helpline, you will find many, many discussions like this one.
Posted by
Seneca
60 posts
We did the Vatican tour and we were glad because there was a VERY long line in July. It was fine for us, we would have been lost without it. We learned a few things along the way. We reserved it on line the month before we left. They will not do it any sooner. I have heard wonderful things about Angel Tours and did their free Pantheon tour offered daily at seven thirty pm. Have a great trip!!
Posted by
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
122 posts
We were there a couple of weeks ago and I had a tour booked with Angel Tours. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the schedule and the tour guide didn't show up --- but I noticed that the infamous lines were really non-existent so we joined the line and were inside the museum within 5 minutes. I had downloaded the Rick Steves tour and we used that on our iPod and it was wonderful. Frankly, in the end, I was happy that the guide hadn't shown up - we used the money we saved on a bood bottle of wine later that evening! :) We did have a guided tour of the Necropolis at the Vatican earlier in the day and that was an outstanding tour - if you have the chance to do that, I wouldn't miss it!