Vatican city; Tour or go-it-alone?

For us the 2 hours was just enough time and enough information, not information overload. One of the best things about the tour was after it was over we had the option of going directly into St. Peters or going back into the museums for as long as we wanted then going into St. Peter's. The best of both worlds.

Donna

If it's your first time to the vatican museums I would say to take their 2 hours tour. It covers the most popular rooms and ends at the Sistine chapel. The tour will allow you to bypass the line.

If you decide to do it on your own you can book entrance tickets through the vatican itself that allow you to bypass the line.

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do

Just an F.Y.I, not all tour companies have skip the line privileges. If you book with a private company make sure to ask if they bypass the line or if they have someone waiting as a line holder. You could still end up waiting in line even though they claim to skip the line. The best solution is to buy directly through the vatican.

Donna

When we went to the Vatican we booked our tickets in advance, went first thing in the morning and had a very short wait in line. We used the tour in Rick's Rome book to ensure we didn't miss any of the highlights. I'm glad we did it on our own because we spent about 4 hours and I think a 2 hour tour would have been pretty rushed.

For a first time, I would take a tour, whether you use the Vatican tour or a private tour. The tour given by the Vatican can be a crap shoot. Our first go-round we had a very good tour guide who took time for us to view what she was talking about and never lost us in the crowd. My second tour, the guide rushed us through the hallways without stopping. The place was so crowded that no one could keep up, and most of the time we lost her radio signal and missed what she was saying. I call this a "forced march". The Vatican Gardens tour does not actually take you THROUGH the Gardens (too much wear and tear), but it takes you around and inbetween along the service drives. Still, I found it interesting and got a lot of really good photos.

Booking a tour puts you at the front of the line and you don't have to wait to get in. You will have to wait a short time inside until your tour begins however.

Cheri,

The day we went to the Museum which was early in the morning on a weekday, the reservation line was just as long as the ticket line. There were a number of Tour Guides working the street,they would approach people, me included standing in ticket line, and for 50 euro, which included admission they could get you to the front of the line and start your tour.

I had been standing in line for almost 2 hours, one of these street guides with 4 clients tried to butt in line in front me and friends.

Nothing like a loud public scolding directed to the guide to put an end to line jumping.

We saw all we wanted to see in 3 hours, that was enough.

Greg

Canada

Cheri, we took the Vatican guided tour and we really enjoyed it, around 2.5 hours, no waiting (well for us anyway) and it was very educational.

2 1/2 days in rome with a 9 and 1 2yr old. should we schedule a vatican tour or do it on our own? AAA scheduled us for 292.00 us for 4-
it seems really expensive and not sure it will be worth it. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! beidlemans in pa

How much are the vatican tours? Booked through the vatican itself.

Cheri the ticket for the guided tour of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel is 31 euros, you can reserve it here

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do

you can reserve then only 60 days before your visit.

I agree with Donna...if it's your first time there, the Museums can be overwhelming. I've been in the Museums over 100 times and I still find NEW things to see! These TIPS may help you!