Vatican Museum Tour

You will be pushing it to do your Scavi tour and then go to the Vatican Museums. I have been on the Scavi tour and it is at least an hour, probably more, then with the shorten times for the Museum in the winter it will be close. If all you want to do is run through the Museum and see the Sistine Chapel then you may have time to do that. Could you go to the Museum before the Scavi tour?

Hi Kathy,
We were in Rome in September and did the Scavi tour. You didn't say what your plans were on seeing St. Pete's itself. I hope you are planning to do that.
The Scavi tour will end up showing you the different level of St. Peter's grave. They took us to see Pope John Paul's grave. Are you planning to spend the morning in the Basicilaca? Make sure you do. Go early and enjoy being in the square in front. Go in and see the Pieta and feel the grand magnifence of the Catherdral itself. Visit the side chappels for a moment of silence and peace. See the altar and the Dove stain glass window behind represting the Holy Ghost. If you have enough time pay and take the elevator to the first inside of the dome and look down at this incredible creation then go outside on the roof and if you feel enegetic enough climb the remaining step to the top and gaze out at the Vatican gardens and the city of Rome. (continued)

After the Scavi tour, which made me realize I had seen St. Peter's from the very top to it's orgins, you can walk over to see what the lines are like at the Vatican museum. We did the Scavi tour and St. Peter's on one day and the Vatican and Sistine Chapell the next day, but for us in Sept the crowds at the Vatican Museum were awful. My husband thinks the Vatican should ask Walt Disney World how to make the Vatican and the Sistene Chapel a better experience for all interms of crowd control. Maybe Feb is different.

Yes, you can visit the Vatican Museum after the Scavi Tour. The Scavi Tour takes about an hour. The Vatican Museum has new hours for 2008: Mon-Sat 8:30a-6p, last entry at 4p. Visit St Peter's before the Scavi Tour.

how and when did you apply for the scavi tour..when you apply how long does it take to get a response .thanks

Joann:

I am going in June and just recently sent the email requesting the tour, and received a response within a few days. I have heard that you generally need to request a tour 90 days in advance. Last time I went to Rome I requested a tour about a month before and received no reply. If you're going in 90 days or more, you should email them with as many possible dates for the tour as possible. If you don't receive a reply within a week or two, perhaps they are already booked at that time. The key thing is to give them multiple dates to work with.

Joann, I agree with Bryan. Request for the scavi tour as soon as you know the dates you will be there and give them multiple dates.

Last year, I requested in February for dates in May. I immediately got the auto-reply message that my email had been received. However, I did not get a confirmation for the tour until 2 weeks before I was scheduled. So if you don't hear back right away it does not necessarily mean that you won't get the tour. I was already in Italy and very happy that I stopped at an internet cafe and saw the tour confirmation. It is a great tour and well worth it.

I requested a scavi tour 1 month ago for May 2-6
I received a response from them stating they received the request but have not heard back again. Any ideas