Vatican on Monday or Saturday?

Bliss,

Do you arrive in Rome @ noon or at the airport @ noon? Either way, a 2:30 tour seems overly optimistic

ohthebliss, I am nowhere near "Rome Expert" but am researching for our trip Sep 16-20!
I am reading that the a.m. tours are always the most crowded, since that's when a lot of the school tours and the cruise tours get in, so yes the afternoons are supposedly less crowded.
There is also the option of booking an early admission tour, where they get you in an hour earlier before the Vatican museums officially open. I submitted a question to trip advisor forum trying to decide between the Friday night tour and the early admission tour, and decided to go with the night tour.
Those who've taken the early admission tour say that it's lovely to have the Sistine chapel to yourself with no crowds, but after that initial hour you're hitting the peak crowds when you visit the other areas.
The early admission tours are also quite a bit pricier.

Bliss, I'd echo Bob's question: are you arriving at Rome at noon via train (which station?) or at Fiumicino or Ciampino airport? It makes a difference where time is concerned. And it's really difficult to know what the crowd level will be at the Vatican on any given day and time. It's just BUSY during all of high and shoulder season.

You only have two full days in Rome plus whatever hours are available after you get into the city and checked into your apartment: I wouldn't plan on that being a speedy process so committing to a 2:30 time may be risky.

The Borghese is closed on Monday so you need to make your reservations for Saturday or Sunday. You could see some rain in the fall so I'd keep the options open where a Segway tour is concerned.

It seems that Monday would be a better day to go vs. Saturday. Since there doesnt seem to be a significant difference in the business of Saturday afternoon Vs. Monday--we will not rush to go the day we get there (Saturday) and just go on Monday afternoon.
Bob-We will be arriving in Rome from Orvieto on Train. The exact time is not set in stone yet.
Dirtdogs- Tours are always nice but we have budgeted already for our tours during this trip. Thanks for the idea though :-)
Kathy- We plan on a Sunday afternoon Borghese reservation. We have not bought train tickets yet. I was thinking then to make it an aim to get to the Vatican by 2 on Monday. Have you heard of travelers in the past having issues with the segway tour & rain? I would hope the tour company would make it up to us in the event that it gets "cancelled".

Thanks everyone :-)

Weather policies depend on the individual Segway operators so I'd read any fine print.

Mondays do tend to especially busy days at the Vatican Museums as they're normally closed on Sundays, and the National museums - like the Borghese - are closed on Mondays. Make SURE you pre-book a reserved time slot!

You need to arrive at the Borghese a half-hour early, so that's up to 2.5 hours (not that you have to stay for the whole two hours). The early a.m. Vatican Museums tour will be one of about a dozen early-entry groups, so there will be several dozen people in the Sistine Chapel with you; still much better than later in the day.

I took a friend with limited time to the Vatican Museums and the Galleria Borghese in the same day, it almost killed her.

Yikes! Cruel and unusual punishment, Zoe.
How long did it take her to forgive you?