Vatican Scavi Tour

Haven't been on the tour, but you just need to contact the Vatican Scavi office and make the request. If you are confirmed, they will request payment and give you further instructions. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20040112_en.html

It's a great tour. They limit the number of people allowed on the tour so if interested book early. You won't be able to bring any bags into the excavations so get there early enough to check them or leave them at the hotel. Also, they don't allow anyone under 15 on the tour. Be sure to dress properly, shoulders and knees covered for both men and women. Donna

are photos - no flash - permitted?

I just checked my Rome picture file and I have absolutely no pictures between the Swiss guards outside and St. Peter's at the end of the tour. Since I am a huge picture taker, frequently with no flash, I would bet that no pictures are allowed of any kind because otherwise I would have some. We were there in the Fall of 2008 so unless things have changed I would say no. The tour is still an amazing experience, not to be missed if you can possibly get a time. http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/necropoli/scavi_english.html
http://www.stpetersbasilica.org/

I have also been on it. I enjoyed it, found it interesting, but it felt a bit long. My tour guide spoke a heavily accented English (and I am usually pretty good about understanding accents) and would make jokes, it would take all of us about 10 seconds to understand the joke, so we didn't laugh and by then she got frustrated that we didn't laugh at her jokes. Overall I did enjoy it. Not something I would repeat, but definitely worth the tour we did. I did not obtain tickets myself, sorry that I cannot advise on that. I also do not think you can take photos, as I do not have any photos of the tour. It is very dark however, so even with high ISO it would be difficult to get the photos without a flash.

We just did the tour in May on our recent trip. It was one of the highlights of our time in Italy. You'll enjoy it even more if you're a Christian, especially if you're Roman Catholic. Absolutely no photos of any kind are allowed. No exceptions. You can only get tickets through the Vatican, here at this site.

We did the Scavi tour back in 2006 and are very glad we did it. You can only get tickets directly from the Vatican, the link is in one of the responses above. You cannot take photos in the Scavi area.

You cannot take any photos or video on the scavi tour. You must check all but the smallest bags as they are not allowed on the tour. Donna

Thank you all for your advice. I got my reservation and confirmation within 4 days.