I know there has been a lot of discussion about best tours for the vatican. But I still can't decide - my dilemma mainly concerns my dad being on the tour. He is in his late 80's and will be using a walker with seat rest. Both tours have said this is fine, since it can quite easily be taken up and down stairs. He is also hard of hearing - do the headphones really make it possible to hear well? Debating between 5 hour Through Eternity and the vatican offered tour including St. Peters (about 2.5 hours). Are these tours very tiring? Do you stop often? Are the guides for both easy to understand?
Thanks Krystal
Posted by
Seattle, WA, United States
64 posts
Krystal,
I can't answer questions specifically regarding hearing quality. But I just did a 4 hour Context Rome tour (Vatican and St. Peters) with my wife who was 5 months pregnant. I must say she barely made it the full 4 hours. If I had to make a recommendation for bettering your odds of having a good experience, I'd say:
1) GO IN THE MORNING: We did this starting at 1PM, after doing a lot of walking in the morning. Bad idea. Should have done this first thing in the day.
2) PICK THE SHORTER TOUR: 5 hours is pretty grueling, regardless of what age and physical condition you are in.
Posted by
Boynton Beach, FL, USA
13 posts
Which tour group did you use?
Posted by
Raleigh, NC, usa
76 posts
We used Through Eternity last November for 3 different tours. They were an excellent group to use - on our tours there were 3 different guides and each one was wonderful. The Vatican tour was long, however, it was GREAT. Hearing was no problem - they limit the number of people in a group and the earphones worked great. We did not find the tour of the Vatican to be tiring -- they stop for lunch and I would highly recommend this group. Susan,Raleigh, NC