Vatican - Line how to's?

You might consider doing this the other way around?

Book the 3-hour tour of museums and basilica offered on the Vatican's website. It hits the highlights of the museum, and enters the basilica from a corridor at the back of the Sistine that's reserved for tours, thus saving a long walk around to the church and standing in its security queue. When the tour is finished, you can freely wander St Peter's for as long as you wish.

http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/visita-i-musei/scegli-la-visita/musei-e-collezioni/musei-vaticani-e-basilica-di-san-pietro/visita-guidata-musei-e-basilica-s--pietro-per-singoli-e-gruppi-.html

Tours start at 8:30, and will be available for the 21st of April on the 21st of this month

Another popular option with RS posters is the Walks of Italy "Pristine Sistine" tour. It's more expensive BUT it starts in the Sistine before the general public is allowed in (7:30 AM) thus giving you the opportunity to see the chapel without its usual shoulder-to-shoulder mob. This one also accesses the basilica through the back corridor.

https://www.walksofitaly.com/vatican-tours/pristine-sistine-chapel-tour?gclid=COC3mIa4hdICFcm3wAodGhEL4w

Both options eliminate standing in long ticket queues at the museum. Otherwise, just book a timed-entry slot to the museums, although 9:30 might be advised in case the security queue at the church is long (get there a little early). It's very large and there's a lot to explore.

http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/visita-i-musei/scegli-la-visita/musei-e-collezioni/musei-vaticani-e-cappella-sistina/visita-libera-musei-vaticani-e-cappella-sistina.html

If you take one of the tours, have your hotel hold your luggage (or any other items not allowed inside the church/museums) as you won't be returning to the museums from the basilica.

That Walks of Italy sounds really good - especially skipping the crowds (I HATE crowds)... anyone else taken it?

We had already been to the Vatican Museum a few years ago--bought tickets in advance, and did a self-guided tour. In retrospect, wish I'd have taken a tour because it truly was sensory overload and after a while you don't know what you're looking at.

For our trip to Rome next month, we wanted to simply go to St. Peter's, didn't want to do it too early, wanted to do it at our own pace but wanted to bypass the line. So I booked a Thursday 10:00 appointment on the Rome ToolKit for the 'Fast Track' St. Peter's Audioguide tour:

http://rometoolkit.rgi.ticketbar.eu/en/ticketbar-rome/st-peters-basilica/

Booked it online, downloaded and printed out the tickets. It only cost 15 Euro apiece, so if it's a scam I'm not out a lot of money. But reviews say this is the way to go simply for getting to the front of the line. I know, in March it shouldn't be too bad, but we'll see.

Anybody else do this?

If you do end up standing in line for the Basilica - beware of line cutters. Honestly, it takes a brazen (crazy?) person to do it, but it does happen. A few years back the closer we got to the entrance turnstile we noticed a stranger (man) lurking around to the side. At first thought maybe he was a pickpocket...nope, he was a line cutter. About 20 of us in line (not related to me) all began calling him out, some even pushed him out when he stepped in front of them. He made awful faces and sounds as if the crowd had beaten him...but he wouldn't go away. I know he didn't gain entrance in front of me - but probably in front of somebody behind us.

Some people will go to extraordinary lengths to cut lines and get in front of people who have been waiting hours.

Ah, yes, the nasty line cutters. A middle-aged, very respectable looking Italian woman cut in front of us at the Vatican without the least bit of shame. In fact she looked back at her friends and smirked. I mustered up my basic Italian and told her she was very rude, very unrefined. She went back to her friends.

We did the Pristine Sistine tour recommended. Very pleased with it. Would highly recommend it. Tour itself was very good and we were very glad to not have to navigate and wait on lines

I did the pristine Sistine. It definitely minimizes crowds at the museum - we were alone in the Raphael rooms and there was plenty of room in the Sistine. That was amazing. By the end of the museum part you go back thru the Sistine Chapel (second time, this time just passing through to get to the exit to Basilica) and it is packed solid. Makes you very glad you did the tour!

The only drawback is that by the time you get to St Peters it is extremely crowded. You skip the line, but the basilica is packed because it is around 11AM.

Jay, I don't use RomeToolkit for tickets (I always go to the source versus 3rd party) but this is the provider for audio tours listed on Vatican/St. Peter's 'official' website:

www.voxmundi.eu
http://www.voxmundi.eu/tours/St-Peter's-Basilica-Audioguided-Tour.html

I got this from:
http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_pietro/it/basilica/audioguide.htm

The page is only in Italian, and noted at the bottom:
"A special mention, finally, deserves the privileged path through the gap of access located under the colonnade of Bernini, North side (from the cd. "Constantine" arm), leads directly to the Basilica, avoiding the queues on the square. It is accessed by completing the reservation form that you will find on the site (I've included that page above) or by writing directly to www.voxmundi.eu"

It is a few euros more expensive than what you booked; not sure why. The actual booking page is in English and states an extra € 1,00 fee for earphones if not bringing one's own.

I'm sure what you booked will be fine, though.

I have my own thread going about kid-friendly tours in Rome but wanted to ask --- have any of you done the Pristine Sistine tour with children in tow?

That Walks of Italy sounds really good - especially skipping the
crowds (I HATE crowds).

Thing is, you're only going to skip those in the Sistine (which is the #1 benefit of the WOI tour). The museums + the basilica are going to be PLENTY busy. It just is what it is. Do be aware that guides are not allowed to speak inside the chapel (people are supposed to observe complete silence although that rule is constantly broken and it makes the guards very unhappy) so you'll get a rundown before you enter.

Hey Kathy!

Yes, I try to go straight to the horse's mouth rather than a 3rd party, usually. But in Rome it's so fractured, it's difficult to tell sometimes!

Thanks for that snippet of info. Wondering if my ticket will work for that entrance as well. Guess we'll find out when we get there.

Now to figure out which bus to take over there...

But in Rome it's so fractured, it's difficult to tell sometimes!

No kidding, Jay, and welcome to Italy, eh? Aw, but we love her anyway, right? Just part of the charm. :O)
I don't know how far away you're staying but we love an en route walk over Ponte Sant'Angelo in the early mornings; worth the extra shoe leather. Shoot, I love walks darn near anywhere at ALL in Rome in the early mornings.

Italians routinely cut lines; I remember our first trip 35 years ago when we were in line to climb the tower in Venice and the line kept growing in front of us. Finally 6 Brits and the two of us sort of locked arms and prevented any more line cutting ahead of us. We had to do the same thing in Moscow at the airport this year when Chinese tourists kept pushing to the head of the line in immigration, pushing others aside. (this was a frequent problem -- same thing happened at the Hydrofoil dock in Peterhoff Gardens near St. Petersburg causing our group to miss our sailing and have to take the next boat; everyone was in a long line and suddenly about 20 Chinese tourists broke out of the line and rushed ahead and pushed on to the boat ahead of those who had been waiting for some time; those managing these places don't do anything about it.) We also had Japanese tourists in Florence put one person in a rest room line and then usher 20 people in to join them. The women who had been waiting for the Uffizi rest room managed to raise enough cain to stop that. Americans and Brits queue -- other cultures a lot less -- some cultures not at all.

There is not a skip the line for the Basilica because the line is a security line; unless things have changed since I was there last, everyone goes through the same security line. The Basilica is free so there is no need for tickets and I can't see a need for audio guides if you read up a bit before you go, but to each his own on that.