Vatican - guided tour or on our own with audio tour?

I have done both and enjoyed doing both. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. For the guided tour you can see a lot of different exhibits in a short period of time. You can ask the guide questions if you have them and you get to use the "tour door" to exit the Sistine Chapel. Some of the downsides of a tour are your group might be larger than you like, you might be on a tour with people you find annoying and you might get a guide who is hard to understand. Also, depending on the company you book with you could pay a ton of money.
On your own you get to go at your own pace, you won't be tied to a group that can be large and have annoying people in it, you can stay in the museums as long as you wish and if you use an audio guide you can re-play any information you wish to hear again. The downsides are you can't ask more in depth questions and you can't use the "tour door" at the end of the Sistine Chapel. Donna

I did not do the audio tour and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I do wish I had opted for the audio tour though, just so I could have more info. I wouldn't do a guided tour though just because there is so much to see you don't want to be rushed. I took my time and just strolled through looking at it all. It was pretty amazing... a couple of times I also was near a tour group and got to hear a bit of what they were saying about things but overall would not want to be rushed through by any means. I know Rick Steves does many podcasts audio tours as well... but can't remember if he does a vatican tour. If he does you can download it to your phone/mp3 player and proceed as slowly as you want. Also for a heads up, buy the tickets on line and you can then bypass the long line to go right in. I was so happy I had prepaid for it because it was a long long line. Also consider the Roma pass, I felt it was quite worth it for other Rome sights. Especially the colosseum.

Take the printout of your reservation with you. There are two security lines, a (usually) long one for peons and a short (or nonexistant one) for reservations. I was there in February and there were no lines at all except an annoying one to rent audio guides. There weren't many people in line, but for some reason it went very very slowly. Some of the information was quite interesting but I wasn't overwhelmed by it. I would not like to go through the Vatican Museums with a guided tour, as there is so much to see the the groups whiz past. A lot depends on your personal levels of interest and stamina.

Thanks for info. We're thinking we'll buy our ticket on line before we go to Italy (I assume this is possible?) and does this mean you don't have to wait in line when you arrive? We thought we'd reserve the 1st entry time on either the Thursday or Friday of the week we'll be in Rome. Is this entry ticket good for everything? Or if on own do you have to wait in lines else where inside for certain things? I am worried that a guided tour may not spend enough time in areas we would like or, may linger too long on something we'd rather just walk by. That said, I've heard it is overwhelming and you miss a lot if you don't have a guided tour. Have thought about taking a tour, then being able to circle back to things of interest, is this possible? If not, I'm leaning toward going on our own with an audio tour on our iPod if we can find a good audio tour. Any recommendations on that? How does it work at the Vatican? I've read things that hint at not being able to return back to certain areas once you've gone through? And is there only certain times of day you can go in the Sistene Chapel? Can someone describe or provide a link showing the route through it and advise the best order to see things? Are you allowed to bring in your purse, what about water & food? I've read you can spend a full day there so would like to bring in snacks, maybe a sandwich, and definitely water.

Was there 2 days ago. There's an audio guide you can get. We didn't bother with it. Just used 2 guide books. It's impossible to wander off the predetermined route. You even get a choice "quick highlights" or "longer quickish route". Some of the other rooms are empty (Egyptian, contemporary art, etc). It's totally overwhelming and very busy. I'd recommend just having a few things you want to see and soaking up the atmosphere. We got "skip the line" tickets with Dark Rome tours that just took us in and pointed us through security, bought the tickets and pointed us to the stairs - excellent value. I think a guided tour would have been too much. Btw - facilities at the restaurant are fine but the food isn't brilliant.
S

I agree Chani, we prefer to be on our own whenever possible.
We've decided to purchase our tickets on line and rent an audio guide. We also downloaded Rick Steves audio guides for Sistine & St. Peter's. Between the Vatican audio guide and Rick Steves, I think we'll be good. We have an entry time for 9am which was the earliest offered so we can take our time. Looks like we might avoid the line to get in but not the line for the audio guide. Oh well. Thanks for the tip where to enter.

Susan, were you there in the morning or afternoon?/// ta

TJ, Yes, you can pre-purchase entry tickets or book a tour online before you go directly through the Vatican website, no need to pay an outside vendor a fee when you can buy the exact same tickets for less. Both will allow you to bypass the lines outside. The entry tickets for the museums are only good for the museums. There are no tickets required for the basilica. If you wish to climb the dome you'll pay separately for that as well as the tour of the gardens if you wish to visit them. If there are lines to climb the dome you'll have to wait in it. Also, if you visit on your own you'll need to wait in the security line for the basilica but it moves very quickly. You don't miss anything if you do it on your own. In fact, you can visit exactly what you want to see and not have to be on someone else's agenda. You have more freedom to visit the rooms you wish when doing an audio tour or using a guide book. If you do take a tour you are able to revisit any parts of the museums as long as you don't exit them. You are not allow to re-enter if you exit the museums. The Sistine chapel is open the entire time the museums are open. You can visit any rooms that are open but there is a progression, a path to the chapel. For a map of the museums visit the vatican website. If just going to see the chapel you should just follow the crowds. Most are heading there. You are allowed to bring in a purse. there are snack bars and a restaurant inside the museum. It says you can deposit food in the cloakroom but you must pick it up before closing. I don't know if they will allow you to bring food or water into the museums. The site doesn't say you can but it also doesn't say it's prohibited. Donna

Hi Nigel 10:30 entry. Was fine for queues but think we just were ahead of masses - a few school trips started to arrive soon after us. There was a lightning metro strike but taxi no problem. Inside the museum was quite busy (the corridors are relatively narrow in places) and the Sistine chapel was mobbed. Big queue for security at st peter's (approx 20 mins). But went to colesseum with Roma pass. Walked straight past security. Very few there. (Approx 9am weekday last week).
S

Thanks all. I've purchased tickets directly on the Vatican website, it was really easy. I've downloaded my Rick Steves' audio guides and will rent the Vatican audio guide when there. I'm still planning to bring my food & water (all of which will fit in my purse and/or light jacket) so we'll see on that I guess.
Regarding the predetermined path that you walk, I've read that some go through St. Peters first and then the museum after. How are they doing this if the path is predetermined and you cannot circle back to the museums? also, according to the websites for the Vatican and St. Peter's the Vatican Museums don't open until 9am but St. Peter's opens at 7am...does anyone know how you get into St. Peter's at 7am if the entrance to the Vatican is not open until 9am? Looking on St. Peter's website, they do show a route to get to St. Peter's but I couldn't find any mention of where you actually enter.

TJ, I think you are confused. I suggest getting a map and looking at the layout of the Vatican. The basilica is on one side and the museums on the other. You cannot enter the museums through the basilica. You can only enter the basilica from the museums if you are on a tour. This is why it's possible to enter the basilica before the museums at 7am. One has nothing to do with the other. You don't pay to go into the basilica. If the audio tour starts there then you just go around to the museums entrance after that portion of your audio guide is finished. You must pay to enter the museums. Once you are in the museums you can re-enter them after exiting through the door in the Sistine chapel but if at that point you exit and go into the basilica you won't be allowed to re-enter the museums without paying again. I'm not sure which audio guides start in the basilica but you can always forward it and start in the museums, then just rewind for the basilica part after you are finished with the museums. To enter the basilica first thing in the morning just look for the long security line outside and follow the crowd. This line moves very quickly. For the museums you'll need to walk all the way around the wall to the right (as you look at the basilica) to get to the entry of the museums. Here is a map of the Vatican which shows the basilica and the museums. http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Pics/Maps/Vatican-area-map.jpg The red arrow towards the top is the entrance to the museums and you can see the basilica on the bottom. Just follow the wall to get to the museums entry. Donna