We will be visting Rome for the first time on the last week in July, and I am leaning towards selecting the Friday night Vatican Tour option offered by the Vatican ticket office website. I feel that he Museum will not be as crowded at night than it is during the daytime. Trying to decide which option to select, either the Vatican Museum Guided tour or the self guided ticket option for the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel ticket.
Posted by
169 posts
You might consider this, not just for the Vatican and Sistine Chapel but for other parts of Rome.
They are all wonderful:
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
Both are good options. The self guided tour will let you go at your own pace while the guided tour will offer you more information. It's really just a matter of personal preference.
Donna
Posted by
St. Louis, MO
251 posts
I used the Rick Steves audio guides for the Sistine Chapel and thought it was wonderful. If you want the opportunity to ask questions, then a guided tour may suit you better than a self guided tour.
Posted by
23 posts
I vote for the tour!
We did one through the Vatican office and still used Rick Steves Audio guide during the Sistine part. The Vatican is a zoo. It is so crowded and having our tour guide route us through it all and St. Peter's was great.
While we might have missed a few things, we saw what we wanted to see. We were able to spend extra time at the end exploring more of St. Peter's and the tombs too. Go for the tour and arrive early.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
1385 posts
We did the same thing as ejwaves. The guided tour kept us on pace, saw all the major highlights with good commentary by a pleasant guide. No guides allowed in the Sistine Chapel. We used the Rick Steves Audioguide, took,our time, waited for seating and enjoyed the view. After we exited the Chapel, we could have explored the VM further, but we were tired and satisfied so we called it a night.