voyagefemme

When is the best time of the day to visit the Vatican? Is the morning busier because of the tour buses? I heard it's best to get there early while you still have energy but I'd rather go when it's not as crowded (if there is such a time).

hazel1

I think that the worst time to go is the morning, with all of the tour groups. We had an excellent experience going at lunchtime, when the line was extremely short and we got in within 10 minutes.

LJ

I have friends who swear by 'the last possible moment approach': but when we went most recently, we were there when the doors opened and left when it got crowded. But that was February which is the lowest attendance of all months, I believe.

chevre

I think within the last 2 hours of the day is best for crowds. I was in Rome last year and we happened to walk over to St. Peter's in the early evening. The line was minimal and took only a few minutes, (you need to go through security now). Once in the Basillica was quiet and all ours. This was during a crowded time of year. The next day after visiting the museum we thought we'd go in again. That time the line was ten times longer.

galelstorm

How I wish I had posted this question before changing my Vatican time from 2:30 to 10:30! I thought that 2:30 would not allow us enough time to see everything. And I think they only let you change your reservation time once. I didn't think about tour groups going in the AM. Oh well...

voyagefemme

Is it necessary to make an advance reservation? We plan on visiting on Saturday, Sep 19th. Does making a reservation help you avoid the lines to get in or do you still have to wait like everyone else?
Also, how long does it typically take to tour the museum considering you want to see all the major displays?

galelstorm

My understanding is that by making an advance reservation/purchase you avoid the lines. I have read that you could be there for four hours and still not see everything but the tour itself lasats approximately an hour and a half. Here is the link to pourchase tickets if you would like to:

http://www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm

joannyc

If you are also requesting tickets to the Scavi tour then you'll want to wait until you hear about those tickets before purchasing the museum tour reservation.

And, if you request tickets for the Papal Audience on Wednesdays... you'll want to schedule your tours after that.

Cries_Van_Notebook

I made our reseveration for the Vatican Museum for 2 PM, Friday, Sept. 4.

Thin

galelstorm

I faxed the Scavi but heard nothing. Just now e mailed and received the automated reply immediately. I did this backwards in purchasing the Vatican tickets first but will hope for a confirmation from the Scavi and then see if I can change the Vatican reservation time.

MichaelT

I've done a couple of visits recently... a morning at opening on a Saturday (in September) and a couple of weeks ago (in July) at 1:00pm on a Monday. The Saturday AM was an hour + wait and very crowded. The Monday at 1pm was less than 5 mins to get in (mainly getting through security, no ticket line) and much less crowded.

galelstorm

MichaelT- Wow, so my hope is for a confirmed reservation from Scavi for the AM and hopefully change my Vatican tickets back to the 2:30 slot. We are trying for September 22 or 23.

Ian

I had a totally opposite experience. Monday May 25 this year with a 2pm Vatican tour. It was an absolute zoo. We got in fast via the group lineup but inside it was so crowded we left our tour in the map area & walked ahead to escape. The Borgia was packed. The Sistine was jammed. Thankfully we had seen it before year previously.

Ian

joannyc

galelstorm, are you going to get tickets for the Papal Audience on Sept. 22?

galelstorm

Ian-glad to hear that perhaps a 10:30 slot might not be a bad thing. I keep reading here that noon time is a bit less crowded. Did you enjoy the Scavi? As you can see above my patience ran out and I went ahead and booked the Vatican first. Hoping for the best! Did you also do the Borghese when you were there in May?

Ian

Yes. We did the Scavi in the morning & museum in the afternoon. The Borghese we visited the day before. A tip for the Borghese: Since everybody enters at approx the same time, we went directly upstairs & did that 1st in relative peace & quiet. The bulk of the people started downstairs & moved in a crowd.

Trip report: http://members.rennlist.com/imcarthur/sicily.htm

Ian

MichaelT

Ian brings up a good point based on his experience... I guess it's all a roll of the dice and how many groups are booked for any given day. You can always opt in for the fast ticket version but that only gets you inside faster but has no control over how many people are really in there when you are.

I've also read about some after hours tours here on Fodor's but I have no experience with them. I know there are several posts about them so that might be something to research and consider. They are only offered on certain dates and none of them have ever worked on our visits.

Good luck with it... no matter what it's certainly a great experience!

voyagefemme

Thanks to all for their replies. I'm still a little torn on what time to go. I just don't want to be waiting in line for an hour to get in. That's wasted precious time!
Ian: thanks for the tip on the Borghese gallery. I've made reservations for that and like the idea of going upstairs first to avoid the crowds.
I haven't heard anything about the Scavi tour. What is it? I guess I need to pick up a guide book.

Ian

The scavi is a small group tour of the excavations under St Peters's basilica. Late Roman era & paleo-Christian tombs that were 'built over' by the Constantine church & later St Peters. It takes about 2 hrs.

See http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/in...040112_en.html for booking

You must pre-book in adavnce & they are somewhat tardy in response time.

Ian

Ian

I should take more time for spelling . . .

Here is an info site on the scavi:

http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/Scavi.htm

And you can see some pics on my site above - btw pics aren't normally allowed but we had a nice guide.

Ian