Vatican tours

I've taken the official tour a few times and always been happy with it. They offer two tours. The one with the basilica fills up quickly so if you wish to book you should keep an eye on the site and book as soon as it becomes available. There is also a free tour of the basilica if you can't get on the tour that includes it. http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do Donna

I've taken three tours of the Vatican Museum/St.Peters. The last one (Oct 12) let us off outside St. Peter's not inside it. There was a two hour wait in line. Entrance to the museum was fine but crowded as, well, hell. Viatour offers a very early morning tour of the museum ahead of the crowds and then take's you inside (well, at the entrance into and ahead of that horrible security line) to St. Peter's. $125 or so and way worth it. This is one of those pound wise penny foolish deals. Sometimes you just have to pony up. You will not be disappointed. I think this tour leaves from in front of the museum entrance at 0800. Cab to the meeting point from your hotel. Taxi's are a good deal in Rome if you figure in time vs. money. The metro is good for a lot of travel but when you have to be at X at 0800 take a cab. Your hotel can call a cab (with an extra 2.5 E charge - easier than wandering around looking for a taxi stand).

The security line at the basilica moves very quickly and even when very long never takes more than 20 minutes at the most. It has never taken anyone 2 hours to get inside the basilica. Now the museums are a different story. The line easily reaches 2 hours long and more during peak seasons and during the slow season can easily be an hour long or more. As I've said, just book entry tickets or a tour directly with the Vatican. You'll skip the outside lines and the tour will allow you to use the "tour door" and go directly into the basilica without waiting in the security line again. There is no reason to spend 125 per person when you can get the same tour for 35 euros per person. By the way, Viator is a tour re-seller. They don't conduct any tours themselves, they are a booking agency. They put you with a tour company. In order to find out if the tour is any good you need to find out which company will be conducting the tour and then find reviews on that company. Donna

I've used Context Rome on a number of times, including tours of the Vatican, and they are great. No more than 6 in the group, so you can move quickly and easily (which is so helpful in a crowede venue). Well educated, interesting guides. I toured the Vatican with a woman who taught Baroque art at university level in Rome, an American married to a Roman. I had been there a number of times before that tour and knew a fair amount about St Peter's and the museums, yet I learned so much. I highly recommend Context Rome.

We used Presto Tours for a 3-hr tour and were very pleased. The tour guide was very informative and the tour was the right length in my opinion. As you can imagine, the Vatican Museums can be very overwhelming due to the sheer size & volume of artifacts and the guide focused on the main areas/items of interest and kept it from being overwhelming.

I highly recommend Francesca Pagliero {[email protected]}, an excellent, fun, warm, engaging tour guide that we used last week for the Vatican, and for Ancient Rome. Francesca is an art historian, specializing in the Renaissance. She was fabulous!!
Valerie

I was disappointed in the art history knowledge of the private guide I hired for the Vatican Museum, but I did get one great tip from him that I have used several times since. The lines for the museum are awful, no matter how early you queue up, BUT if you will wait until about 1PM, the lines are gone! That still gives you almost four hours in less crowded rooms, enough to get almost anybody to their saturation point. But please post again if you do find a great guide.