First, my apologies if this has been discussed recently or if the information I have is very outdated. I frequented these boards when planning our 2018 trip to Italy and a 2020 trip that never happened, but due to Covid followed by health reasons, I have not been engaged in travel planning for about two years…. Until my parents asked me to help them plan their trip to Rome for September 2022!
In 2018, my husband and I did a guided Friday evening tour of the Vatican. We really enjoyed this experience because they only let a fraction of the people they usually let in and we didn’t have to wait in any lines. We booked directly through the Vatican. At the time, this was only offered on Friday nights.
Yesterday, I spent about two hours trying to figure out if this option still exists and I still don’t have a clear answer. I did find a couple external guided tours for evenings at the Vatican, but it looked like they were offered several days of the week, not just Fridays. Also, I did find that 60 days out, you can book entry (but not a guided tour) directly to the Vatican on Friday evenings only. My parents are not quite at 60 days out, but they’re getting there.
So a couple of questions:
1. Are Friday nights at the Vatican still a recommended option to experience the museums with thinner crowds? (I take notes during trips and I have written down that our guide told us that during normal “open” hours, they allow 5,000 guests at a time and during Friday nights, only 1,000.)
2. Are Friday nights still the only day the museums are open to the public?
3. It looks like this may still be an option but only with outside tour companies. What are the recommended outside vendors for Vatican tours? (In my research I found a couple stories of post-Covid horror stories with some of the big name companies)
4. Are there other current tips for beating Vatican lines/crowds? (I told them about the breakfast but I’m not sure I can convince them to shell out 100+€ for it. They are open to paying for a guided tour though and I think would prefer it.)
Thank you in advance!