I know this topic has come often in other posts, but still not sure which is the best way to go. We will be visiting the Vatican Museums on a Saturday in May. It now opens at 10 am. Should we do a private tour (are they worth the extra $), or just go early on our own and stand in line? If we go on our own, how long will we be standing in line approx? Would we have better luck going in the afternoon? Will a private tour get us in faster? Any recomends on private tour companies?
Thanks...

Hi

We went in the afternoon around 1 or 2. Didn't have to queue. If you do go in the morning I would take a tour to avoid queuing. I recommend a tour anyway as there is so much to see and you don't really know what you're looking at! The Vatican has tours but can't comment on how good they are.

The tours done by the Vatican are great. The cost is only about 10 euros more than regular admission.

The negative is that you fax in your request and then wait with fingers crossed until the day before you are scheduled to go for the fax back.

No lines, about 20 people in the tour, headphones, a well informed guide. I'd do it again in an instant.

dave

Our recent experience in the Museums was so bad we resolved not to return until the reservation system goes into effect, if then. Guided tours only add to the problem, further clogging the jammed halls. If you have been before I'd advise you to skip it. If you think you might return in the future, skip it. It's that bad. If it's once in a lifetime, go for it. Before this visit I ridiculed the after-hours private tours, now I'm thinking, what's a grand or two? (And wishing I could truly say, "What's a grand or two . . . since the museums are that good.)

We did a Vatican/St. Peters tour with RomeWalks in February and to be perfectly honest I was quite disappointed with it. We did St. Peter's first which meant we didn't get to the Vatican until about noon. We scarcely had a chance to see anything before the guards started shutting the rooms down--our tour guide didn't even realize that the museum shut early (1:45 I think) which really surprised me. It was expensive (55 euros each I think) and I felt we could have seen WAY more if we had done it on our own. Our tour at the Colosseum (again with RomeWalks) was much more worthwhile but I really regret seeing the Vatican with them.

I took Angel Tours in September 2006 and was very pleased. We were able to jump ahead of lines, the guide was very informative (the headphones helped a lot in hearing over the din of other tourists) and if I recall, it only cost 10 Euros (entrance to the Museum was extra). Well worth it.

It's my understanding that only the official Vatican tours are allowed to skip the line. You go to the guard at the door and show him your reservation.

May is busy, and I would consider the tour for this reason.

I faxed our reservation request to the Vatican last week for a tour on March 17th. I got a fax back from them today, here in the states, confirming the reservation for that date. I was not expecting anything until the day before, so I'm really surprised and pleased.

Two years ago we did a fantastic four hour tour of the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, St Peters etc with Scala Reale, now Context Rome. I dont' have a bad word to say about it. It was expensive, but only 6 people, great docent and altogether a far superior experience than if we had shuffled around on our own.

el344 -
What website did you use to find the tour description and fax number? We are going in June and would like to arrange for a tour, but I haven't found the right website yet.

The Vatican changed entrance rules for tour groups and the general public in January 2007.

The website for their tours is www.vatican.va.
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...zi_Visite.html

Thanks Kybourbon -
We are a family of 6, do we book individual or group? Wasn't sure about that...

arabianjedi do you have website or other info on how to contact CONTEXT ROME. thanks

rome.contexttravel.com. They merged with Scala Reale who we used 3 years ago when we were in Rome and have nothing but high praise for them. At least when we booked with them, the docents weren't tour guides, but academics who were knowledgable in the subject of the tour. Also, having a group of 6 max was great. We actually had the docent to ourselves for one tour.

I have found the rented audio tour to be good and I can fit it to my schedule. My next visit will most likely be with a private guide for the four of us.
My last two visits to the museum were about 1 pm and there were no lines.
I'm not sure if the new changes will cause the lines to start later and stay longer.

I made individual reservation for four of us. I would assume a family of 6 would book the individual tour.

el344-Did you get the fax number for the VATICAN tour off the VATICAN Website? How much does this tour cost?

Thanks,...