I would like to understand the difference between a Vatican-led guided tour & a tour with a private company (i.e. Pristine Sistine)? It is much more expensive for us to do a private tour, so I'm leaning toward the guided tour tickets that you can purchase through the Vatican website. Is there something I'm missing? Has anyone done both and can speak to why I should go with a private tour company?
-Diane
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4629 posts
I suspect a private tour will be more tailored to what you want to see while the Vatican's tour will likely be pre-written and rehearsed for mass audiences. If you were to ask me about small independent company group tours vs. the Vatican group tour, I'd likely lean toward the private company. I can't help but think that the Vatican's tour may be heavily slanted in favour of the version the Catholic Church wants you to hear. Our private company tour guide (small group of about 8 people) was an art history major and she told the history of religion and art; Catholic warts and all. It had me hooked on guided tours ever since.
Posted by
Washington DC
28249 posts
I don't think Diane is asking about a private tour, but rather about a public tour offered by a commercial tour company.
I haven't taken anyone's tour of the Vatican Museums. Walks of Italy's "Pristine Sistine" has nearly always gotten highly favorable reviews here, but I don't know how much of that was due to being able to see the Sistine Chapel before the general-entry folks got inside the building. That is no longer possible because of the new schedule at the Museums.
I confess to puzzlement at how many people choose the higher-cost commercial tour over VM-operated tours running on a similar schedule. I haven't read anything negative about the Vatican's tours, or any comparisons between those and tours offered by Walks of Italy and other tour operators.