Would love to hear confirmation if where on the right track or not-

1)Where planning to do only the two hour tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. When making the reservations 30 days in advance of our desired date do we also include a time were interested in or is one assigned for us? Is it better to email, fax, or call.

2) Is this the correct email?
[email protected]


3) How long does it take for the Vatican to reply with a confirmation of the tour and time? Can pictures be taking in both museum and chapel?

3) I'm sure it's a matter of opinion and interest, but would we be missing a great deal if we just did the two hour tour?

4) Can reservations be made in advance for St. Peter's Basiclica (know that it's free, but a fee for the treasury and dome) or should we walk up after our tour is over?

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Other sites

1) Has anyone used www.pierreci.it. to book tickets. We're considering using it for the Colosseum/Palatine Hill and other tickets.

2)What is the reason that you have to visit the Palatine after 1:30pm if you've booked your visit with them?

3)If we wanted to book a reasonably priced tour of the Colosseum, Palatine, etc.. who should we use?

4) Is there a need to book in advance for Domus Aurea, Castel Sant'Angelo, or the Capitolini Museum. I'm not sure how popular these sites are compared to the Vatican and Colosseum.

topping

Congratulations on planning your trip to Rome. I can answer a few of your questions but first it may be easier if we knew when you are going. This would help answer your last question. Both times we have been to Rome, advanced reservations for most sights were not necessary, but we want in March and in December of last year which explains that. Same thing went for the Dome at St. Peters; we just went to the ticket booth after our Scavi tour and had virtually no wait.

When we went to the Colosseum, there were many people milling outside of it offering group tours in English. They were double the price of the entrance fee, but it got us in without a wait. We took one of these and were fairly impressed, but if you want something more in depth a guided tour may be a good idea.

Wish I could help with your other questions but hopefully someone else will post with more details.

Tracy

I did the Vatican tour and faxed them the information for my reservation. They assigned the date and time. I think I did put in a couple of choices for days and either am or pm.

They replied in a few days.

The email address doesn't look familiar but then again I faxed it to them. It was a very good tour and just enough time.

If you do the tour, remember to get to the Vatican earlier than the time of the tour. The tour starts at the back of the museum which is about a 5 block walk from the front of the Vatican.

Cool - The Vatican has already updated their website with the new pope information. I assume you are trying to use the official Vatican website (www.vatican.va)to book a tour and it says to fax for reservations.
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...zi_Visite.html

The website tell how when you should expect to get a reply from them.

Some areas of the museum you are allowed to take pictures but not the Sistine Chapel.

You must get reservations for Domus Aurea in advance as they only allow a limited amount of people in at scheduled times and are tours only. You aren't allowed to just go in and wander around. We stopped by early in the day and booked an afternoon time. I would try to book this in the heat of the day if you are traveling in summer as it's very cool inside like being in a cave.

We were not able to do the Vatican/Sistine since they were closed due to the passing of John Paul II. Heard mixed reviews about the Vatican-run tour from others there who got in before the closings.

We used ICON tours for our ancient Rome tour. They were FABULOUS! Can't say enough good things. They do a Vatican tour as well. Very good prices. Their site is www.icontours.com.

motorcitygirl, I have e-mailed ICON twicw after reading your report I checked out their site. I have not heard back from them, was this your experience with them, ie they take a while to answer. Also did your tour take you into the Colossem or just around it? I read another report where some tours, not sure which company did not go inside and they had to go back later to go in. Thanks.

Thanks for the great info. We'll be going to Rome in June.

I think we'll check Icon tours as I'd rather be able to book for a date/time that I know will happen instead of waiting to find out. The price and duration of the trip seems reasonable as we typically don't do "tours". We'd like to avoid as many lines as possible-learned our lesson in Paris.

Dock- On their website it says " During our visit inside the Colosseum".
Motorcitygirl- can you confirm?

You didn't mention it, but the National Museum near the terminal, which houses the wonderful mosaics formerly displayed across the way at the Baths, requires reservations to view the top floor, where they are kept.

For what it's worth, the Michelin Green Guide will give you a wonderful self-guided tour of most of the sites in Rome, particularly good on the Forum and Palatine Hill.

Seriously,Rome can be done on your own and for alot cheaper than most of these tours will cost you.If you want to tour the ancient part of Rome/Forum,buy the museum pass which is about 21 euros/good for several days and gets you in front of the crowds for the Colliseum line(especially).It can be purchased at the Forum,Colliseum,National Museum or Palatine Hill and really is great!Rome is a city that needs to be enjoyed at YOUR pace not the tour guides.

motor_city_girl

Did i miss your trip report

I hope you had a wonderful time, was Rome all you hoped it would be?

dutyfree- can you send a url where there's more info on the museum pass? do you have to wait in line if you have the pass or just walk in?

I did have trouble reaching ICON by e-mail, that would be my ONLY complaint. I ended up calling them the day we arrived and got right into the tour we wanted.

Yes, we did go into the Colosseum and that was one reason I chose them. I too found many companies who would not take you inside. Sometimes that means they are not licensed to do so.

I read about the museum pass too but doing these sights on your own with out the stories told by a guide does not do them justice. You don't just want to LOOK at history, you want to experience all of the ghosts and secrets.

My trip reports are listed as Rome report and more on our 12 days. Be happy to answer anymore questions.

Thanks. How far in advance did you try contacting them for the reservations that it took them awhile to reply? Were not going until June, but wanted to get these things out of the way in the next week or two. Did you pay only the 20% deposit or full payment when you made initial contact?

Sorry rohani do no mean to intrude on your post, but I ned to ask motro city girl about the CT. Motorcitygirl did you hike all the trails? We are travelling with our 2 boys 11 and 15, are all trails doable. I have read that some are emerely walks and that Vernazza- Monterosso is quite a hike. Any advice? Also my plan was to take the boat from Monterosso in the morning to the beginning (Riom) and hike the first 2 trails which I believe are easy spending time in towns along the route and then train back to Monterosso, our base.

rohani...in their defense it was only a few days. And since I didn't actually talk to them, we just paid in full at the end of the tour.

DOCK...good luck with the boat. That was our plan too but the seas were "too rough". Bummer. Anyways, we trained it from Monterosso to Riomaggiore and hiked to Manarola (lover's lane)...a VERY easy hike. I would call it more of a walk. The path to Corniglia was closed due to a rock slide, so we skipped it and trained to Vernazza. We did not hike Vernazza to Monterosso because we heard the same thing...it is for SERIOUS hikers.

Rohani-I will look through my notes as I got it last year on vacation but you usually just purchase the pass at the first place that you visit. After that you can walk to the front of the line at any of the other participating places. I purchased ours at the National Museum near Termini(it was pouring rain that day and well appreciated). When we went over to the ancient area of Rome there were long lines but since we had the pass we just went right through.

I forgot to add that I still think that the Eyewitness Guide books are the best for self touring through Rome!

Hi rohani.

To answer one of your questions,we used www.pierreci.it to purchase tickets for the Colosseum and it was very much worth it. When we arrived, there were very large lines for the ticket booths but we just walked past them all to the pre-paid window and went straight in. I would recommend it very, very highly.

AR- Thanks for the confirmation. On www.pierreci.it it states that tickets bought in advance by internet must be picked up at the Colosseo, after 1:30 pm you can visit the Palatine ‘till 1:30 pm the day after.
Do you remember or know why you have to wait until 1:30pm to visit the Palatine? Am I reading this incorrectly?