Vatican Group Tour or Private Guide?

You might try contacting the Pontifical North American College, which is where some American seminarians are educated. For the cost of a ticket, and perhaps a meal afterwards, you might get a tour guide.

We have a seminarian (friend of a friend) going with us next weekend. He's from another seminary, but it might be worth contacting the PNAC and see if there's a seminarian from your locale studying there and willing to go through with you.

Look up Frederica D'Orazio, she's wonderful

I highly recommend Katie Parla. www.katieparla.com. We used her as our guide for the Vatican and St. Peter's and the Pantheon. She was terrific.

Yes, we used the thrifty Vatican group tour offered on the official Vatican website for our family of 5 on May 31. The tour was just great and we were very happy with Elizabeth, our guide. We printed out our reservation form at home and had no problem getting in quickly. Our tour ended at the entrance to the Sistine Chapel and we did not have a tour of St. Peters. However, Elizabeth spent considerable time with an illustation of the Sistine Chapel before our tour, so we were prepared when she left us. The extended tours including St. Peter's are only offered on Saturdays by the Vatican. Be aware that the official Vatican tours do not begin near St. Peter's but all the way around the back of the walled city. Arrive early. Also, don't go on Monday as we did. The Vatican is mobbed as all other museums in Rome (and most of Italy) are closed on Monday. And, we took the 2 pm tour!

My wife and I used Through Eternity tours and thought they were fantastic. The group was small - about 10 of us - the guide was an Expat who was very knowledgeable and made it come alive. Not too fast or too slow and took time to answer questions. It wasn't just a standard, robotic tour. Have fun!

The Vatican Tour is a crap shoot. I have had good tour guides and bad ones. The bad ones rush you through the halls crowded with other groups at breakneck speeds leaving most in the dust. The goal is to shuffle you to the entrance of the Sistine Chapel as quickly as possible. If I had it to do all over again, knowing what I know, I would opt for a private tour.

Just returned home from Italy. While we were in Rome, 2 members of our group took an after hours tour of the Vatican Museums with "Dark Rome"

http://www.darkrome.com/exclusive_limited_edition_vatican_museums_sistine_chapel_after_sunset_night_tour.aspx?id=52

They totally enjoyed it. It was only 69 Euro per person which is a bargain for only 15 people in a group and very few people in the Museum at one time.

We're big fans of Through Eternity tours. Two weeks ago we took the 5-hour tour and our guide, Brandon, is a Canadian working on his PhD at Oxford in art history and Latin. We had 7 people in our group. Brandon took very good care of us. Because it is hard to hear with all the crowds, we all wore headsets and listened to Brandon speaking to us via microphone. this is a huge advantage given all the noise and crowds. With 3 kids, I would recommend the shorter tour offered by Through Eternity. It was well worth the money as they will give you extra insights about the art and facilities, and make your visit meaningful.

I, too, would recommend Through Eternity Tour Group. While in Rome, we actually took three of their tours and enjoyed each one tremendously. Each of our guides was very knowledgeable and made the history come alive. We loved the fact that our group was only made up of 8-10 people. They limit the number in a group which is nice. Enjoy!!!!

We used the Roman Empire Tours and it was fantastic! Jimmy, our Irish tour guide, was an Art History major. We were there late May with our young adult children (college age) and our kids listed the Vatican tour as their favorite part of a fabulous trip. Jimmy was funny and full of insight! We met up with him outside a souvenir shop--easy to find and meet up with him!

We just toured the Vatican a couple of days ago with Angel Tours. I believe our guide's name was Simon. The tour was excellent I highly recommend them.

I agree with Gail. Try to book a tour with Federica D'Orazio. Your family will love her.

Marie, you might want to look at the web site of Context Rome. I did their tour of St Peters and Vatican Museums with Elizabeth Lev. There were only 6 people in the group (max they allow), and she teaches Baroque art at local university programs and did a wonderful tour. Learned so much, even though I had been many times before. And she adapted the tour to the interests of the group. Small groups make such a difference in crowded sites like the Vatican Museum. I've used Context in Rome, Florence, and Paris, and have only had wonderful experiences. And I noticed they currently have a tour that take you to the museum at night, after closing, which would be a wonderful way to do it. With 5 people, you could probably form a private group, which wouldn't be more expensive than hiring a private guide.

My wife and my two children were on a tour 2 weeks ago with Roman Empire Tours and we found them really great. They kept not only the kids entertained but my wife and I learned an awful lot aswel. We found them on tripadvisor as there reviews were fantastic. Check out there website and reviews aswel. Promise you wont be disappointed!

I wanted to post a review about our Tour Guide for the Vatican. She was referred to us by a friend who had taken several day tours with her. We typically don't do tour guides, but we didnt want to miss out on all of the facts and history about the Vatican so we decided to invest. Federica was absolutely a great investment. She is not a typical tour guide that gives you 'fake' or 'skeptical' historical facts, nor does she give you 'boring' dates. She keeps her tour light and engaging...and throws in a comedic fact now and then as well. She also comes with a bag full of 'show and tell' items...which was perfect for the paintings on the sistine chapel...this by far was the best part of her tour. She is also very responsive via email and providing much needed factoids about what to wear, where to meet, best time to go, etc prior to the visit. I regret not booking her for the other sights in rome. She can be reached at: [email protected]