Vatican City Tour Stops

To avoid crowds, find out when the papal audiences are. THAT is when you want to go to the Museum. We just stumbled upon this, so not sure how you would find out, but it just so happened that the Pope was doing a public address in St Peter's Square. That attracted all the tourists like flies, and the Museum was practically empty. By the time we spilled out of the Sistine Chapel and into the Basilica, the audience was over, and all the crowds had run behind us to the Museums, so we had the Basilica to ourselves too. It was amazing!

I appreciated a tour of the Vatican Museum because without it I would have had no understanding of what I was looking at. I have no spiritual beliefs or interest but I became fascinated with religious history and its consequences thanks to the tour. That tour actually helped give me a better understanding of other sites in other countries; especially England during the Tudor years.

By the time we spilled out of the Sistine Chapel and into the
Basilica, the audience was over, and all the crowds had run behind us
to the Museums, so we had the Basilica to ourselves too.

Recently, you have to be on a guided tour which specifically includes access to the basilica via the internal passage from the Sistine. That is not available to independent visitors anymore nor even on the museum tour offered by the Vatican itself. Even guided tours which offer that benefit can only use that passage on Wednesdays if timed to end after the pope's address.

xyzsail, I don't know what video you watched but here's one of Rick's from 10 years ago in a mobbed Vatican Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JoywjLaiWA

If willing to do the basilica on your own, the Vatican's own 2-hour museums tour is an economical choice and will shepherd you through some of the highlights. Tickets become available abt. 60 days in advance at a total cost of € 40.00 for 2 adults.

People with selfie-sticks? Those are not allowed in the museums, along with umbrellas and camera tripods/monopods. The only 'sticks' allowed are those needed for walking, such as canes. Photography is also not allowed in the Sistine. Also realize that not all of the treasures in the museums are Christian or otherwise religion-themed, such as its collection of Roman and Greek sculptures, Sarcophagus of St Helena, hallway of 16th-century maps, etc. Faced with artwork that is Christian-themed, focus on the techniques employed by the artists? I'm not at all religious either and approach such art from historical/technical/narrative perspectives.

Thanks for your replies Darrenblois, Allan, and Kathy. Good thoughts. Kathy, here is the RS video I watched...I think it's RS Europe's best kept secret Museum Quiet Hour, from about a year ago, so it's at least relatively recent.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=980781683434007.

Hello all!
I'll be visiting the Vatican on Sept 7th (Saturday).
Looks like I have 3 choices for a tour: Self-guided (following RS free audio tour); the Vatican audio guide (rental); or the Official Guided Vatican 2-hr Tour for 40 euros.

Pros? Cons?

I'm visiting with my 22 y.o. daughter. We love to walk and love art/history. I would prefer to save the 80 euros for our tickets IF the other options are comparable in terms of content.
Please help me out!
Thank you!
Maria

As above, it's a total cost of € 40.00, not € 80.00, for two adult tours via the Vatican's website. The breakdown of that total is:
Group Tour - Earphones - 1.50 x 2 = 3.00 €
Reservation Fees - 5.00 x 2 = 10.00 €
Guide - 13.50 x 2 = 27.00 €

I would guess that few if any posters to the forum have taken the Vatican's tour, the RS audio tour AND the Vatican's audio tour so are able to make comparisons of all three. What I will say is that Sept. 7 is approaching quickly so if you want prefer a particular option and time slot, I'd book it now, as they are bookable now for a selection of still-open time slots (I just looked.) Oh, and bring your passports (which you should always have on you anyway) as the website states that starting August 1 they are checking the validity of each and every ticket/tour purchased online at the entrance. Tickets are required to be nominative so that's what they'll be checking: the name on your ticket against your ID.

Hi Kathy, Thanks for the post. Yesterday, I ended up booking a tour with Walks of Italy - the Pristine Sistine Late entry - I guess I'll see if the Vatican area is as much better after 4 pm as RS says! I hope that it's true; it kind of makes sense that if most people try to get in at the opening, the crowds MAY have dwindled by 4 pm, but I'm not counting on that! ;-)

xyzsail, sounds like you're all set! Walks of Italy tours, while pricier than the basic one offered by the Vatican, are reported to be very good. Skimming the reviews, I do see some complaints from customers who said that the museums were still very busy at the later time, and some which were clearly not about this tour (eg. climbing the dome, St Peter's etc.) but the majority were positive. Whatever the case, I'll cross fingers that you have a quality experience and don't feel overrun! Could you come back and give us your comments about it after you've come home?