My daughter and I will be in Rome the last Sunday of August. We were hoping to tour the Vatican and are looking for recommendations on a simple way to make the most of the experience in a short period of time. Were not sure we want to do a tour but want to get in quickly preferably early morning .
I just got back from 6 nights in Rome, and we used "Walks of Italy" for a Vatican Tour. If you have a Rome/Italy guidebook, you get a 10% discount too.
We did the Pristine Sistine Tour that got us in a little early so we could view the Chapel with a small crowd, and then we went on and toured the museum (did this really fast so really only got to spend time in the Raphael rooms) and then we went into the Basilica to finish the tour. This was a good "intro" tour, but next time we go we will do it on our own for a slower paced, more detailed viewing of the Vatican Museum.
It was worth it to get to see the Sistine Chapel early and with a smaller crowd.
City Wonders offers an excellent tour of Vatican City. City Wonders Vatican City Tour
The last Sunday of August is free Sunday. There are no official tours conducted on free days and I'm not sure they allow private companies to conduct them either.
Because it's a free Sunday there will be no getting in quickly. There is no way to skip the line, which can be hours long. If you have another day on which to go I would suggest booking entry tickets for that day. If you must go on Sunday I would get there before 7am if you wish to be one of the first people inside. If not, plan to wait at least an hour of more in the line.
Donna