Looking for some insight…
I’ve been looking at the official Vatican site for tickets for the museum and Sistine Chapel. They are offered to purchase @ different times.
Looking at other sites there are “ skip the line” tours which cost a bit more then the official Vatican site.
I’ve also read in other none Vatican sites if you purchase in advance you may still have to wait hours to enter UNLESS you purchase “ skip the line”. Would anyone know which is correct?
Thanks in advance
daadee97, ALL pre-purchased tickets to the Vatican Museums (the Sistine is IN the museums and do not need a separate ticket) on their official website are by designated day and time slot so the line that avoided is the TICKET line. No one at all - tour or individual - skips the security check line. Those "other sites" like to justify their higher prices by making it sound like they offer some sort of line-skipping privileges that can't be had by booking more inexpensively with the Vatican's own website. That's just not the case.
Now, there are more expensive tours offered by outside companies that last longer than what is offered by the Vatican, or have some other sort of benefit so I'm not referring to those, and even they have to pass through the security checks.
So, if you wish to avoid the ticket line - which is the ONLY queue you can bypass - just book your desired tour or general entry ticket on the Vatican's website. You'll be choosing by which day and time slot entry tickets or tours are still available for (they can sell out). Do plan to arrive at least 15-20 minutes before your appointed time slot to pass through the airport-like security check queue, and best not to have anything on you that needs to be left in the cloakroom.
https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/organizza-visita/consigli-utili.html
To add? I've just seen this on one of your other posts:
Arrive in Rome @ 8 am ( stay 2 nights in Rome)
Unless you've change your itinerary to add more time to Rome, this pretty much leaves you just one full day for the Eternal City, and that is the one you'll need to dedicate to the Vatican. You do NOT want to take on the vast, HOT and crowded museums all jet-lagged from an international flight (if indeed you will be coming from a different continent). As well, airline schedules have not been exactly trustworthy lately, and many airports have been sort of a mess. You don't want to book anything for arrival day that you might not be able to make due to flight cancellation, late arrival, delayed baggage issues, long immigration lines, etc.
Since you plan to be arriving late August, I'll assume that you know that the museums are closed on Sundays except for free entry/shortened hours on the last Sundays of a month: definitely not a day I'd try to go even though some tours are available through the Vatican's site for that day.
https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/organizza-visita/consigli-utili.html
Kathy.. thanks for the info! :)
We did one of the external companies and regretted it. It was very expensive and too long, and they said it included things which it didn't actually include. I do recommend booking for the earliest time slot you can get.
