Sistine Chapel
 

Has anyone heard of a tour company who has access to the Sistine Chapel during off-hours? We are trying to see if we can get in someway after hours this saturday? Thanking you all in advance...

To go to the Sistine Chapel and forego seeing the rest of the Vatican Museum would make as much sense as going to Washington DC and only seeing the Lincoln Monument.

There is such a company, I think. For all the wrong reasons.

Best wishes,

Rex

excuse me...i did not plan to bore people on the details of WHY I WANTED TO KNOW. but since you were so rude i will elaborate...i have been to the wonderful museum twice and would go again in a heartbeat. i have been shafted by a student tour company and am taking students all the way to rome and greece and they just told us due to their poor planning that we will arrive in rome after admitting time on saturday. it is closed on sunday, we leave for pompeii on monday am and i am just trying to do the best i can for these students. i love this board...but have never seen more people clearly loving to jump all over people asking innocent questions. do you have the name of the company? and yes, i can do searches myself but i have many commitments this week. i turned to the board for help!

Um rex, maybe they have seen it before and are looking for something a little different. There?re are many possibilities as to why someone would do what you would assume to be wrong

Wondering.... just ignore people who irritate you. It's the only way to survive around here. :-) (I know, easier said than done)

very hard at times !!!

I took such a tour 2 weeks ago which was set up by my employer. It was on a weekday and I don't know if Saturday will work. I will give you the name of the company tomorrow. I believe, however, that it was fairly expensive.

thanks SO MUCH!

I really apologize.

Which student tour company is it? I've used several in the past and some were more willing to work out things like this. Call them and push for your group to go on Monday morning(9am) before they head for Pompeii. This should only delay departure 2 hours or so if you only want to see the Chapel. You are probably staying in the Sorrento area for the night after Pompeii so you will still have time to see Pompeii but maybe not as much free time in Sorrento. Even if they say they can't keep pushing for it and if there are other group leaders (from other schools) on your tour get them to call also. I had this happen in 1999. Got to Rome and discovered if we didn't head directly from the airport to the Chapel we wouldn't get to see it. I had to be very insistent. If you have a plan for them to implement then your chances will be better. Example - check out of hotel Monday morning, tour Sistine Chapel 8:45-10:30, leave Rome for Pompeii at 11, arrive Pompeii 2, leave Pompeii 5 etc.

kybourbon: thanks for your advice! the problem is that we go from pompeii to the overnight ferry from bari to greece. the company is explorica and i am reserving judgement until we arrive. at this point nothing they do will surprise me and, believe me, we have been pushing over several travel changes. they have offered a night bus tour in place and i have made it clear that city lights do not replace the sistine chapel!!! the other tour leaders have complained as well and while they told me, no go, they told another they would see if the bus driver could make all the connections. so who knows??? i am thinking now i know why my husband and i travel on our own! i just thought it would be nice to take some students......

and rex- thanks for the apology. i really did have a bad day....

I take it you are leaving this week. What time does your flight arrive in Rome? Most flights get in around 7 or 8 am. If yours gets in that early have Explorica throw your luggage on the bus and take you from the airport to the museum. Last entrance time is 12:20. I just looked at your tour on Explorica - thought maybe you were doing Italy/Greece which gives you a night in Sorrento but it appears you are doing Rome/Greece. I think Monday is still doable if you get there at opening 8:45(tour groups don't have to wait)and take a guick tour through the Chapel you can be out by 9:45 and head for Pompeii. Arrive Pompeii 12:45 or 1 and spend a few hours and then on to Bari. The ferry starts boarding in the afternoon but usually doesn't set sail til 10 or 11 pm. I don't remember how long of a drive it is from Pompeii to Bari but I think it was 3 or 4 hours. Do you know which ferry? Is it the Greek Superfast? If it is you can look up their schedules online and that might help convince Explorica if they think it won't sail til 10 or 11.

I looked at the ferry website and the only one out of Bari to Greece is the Superfast. It has a departure time listed as 20:00 and it recommends checking in 2 hours before departure but also says final check in is 20 minutes before departure. greekferries.gr or superfast.com
I looked at mappy.com and it says it is 2 hours and 39 minutes to Bari from Pompeii. You would only be able to stay in Pompeii a couple of hours and you would still need to factor some meal times in there somewhere. There is a restaurant in Pompeii. They will have dinner on the ferry in the cafeteria.

I would first try to make it on your arrival day in Rome even if Explorica needs to stay at the airport and wait for other groups to arrive you could train in to Termini and catch the metro to the museum.

Here's the tour group that set up our private tour of the Vatican Museaum & Sistine Chapel:
DMC Olinad
Joyce Menten
[email protected]
phone: 011-39-031-300-327 ext. 223

I wish I read this post before our recent trip to Rome! We went to the Vatican on Saturday because we knew it was closed on Sunday. We were so dissapointed to find that the Sistine Chapel was closed! We immensely enjoyed St. Peters but the Sistine Chapel was something we had our hearts set on. Oh well...reason enough to plan another trip to Rome! Good luck and I hope you and your students have a terrific time!

Rex has a reputation for being ANYTHING but rude, and is entitled to his opinion.

Sorry about the bad day Wondering and enjoy the trip.

Kybourbon,

Kudos to you and all the help you're offering to wondering. To me that's really the spirit of this board. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about others. Seems to me it was not wondering who was having a bad day.

kybourbon and itswoody: thank you for all your help- since we do not arrrive until 1:40 (don't get me started on connections flying!) i have contacted the private tour regarding a 4pm sat tour ( i know cutting it very close)and am awaiting prices..she sounds doable. i just don't know if the student's parents are going to want to foot the price...i would like to charge it to explorica...i will let you all know how this saga plays out...this board really does have the best information available!!!

Wondering, it sounds like you are taking the same trip that my 17 year old daughter is on right now. She left yesterday afternoon and I imagine she is right at this moment strolling around Rome. Her trip was through NETC, but we have also gone to France twice with ACIS and they were very accommodating to changes from the itinerary, as long as it didn't complicate travel connections.

I can't help with the Sistine tour company, but I have been on that after hours tour, which also includes a lot of the Vatican museum. My husband is in the insurance business and fabulous trips are offered as sales incentive, so I've no idea of the cost of such a tour, but I can vouch for the fact that it is incredible.

I hope it works out. Your students are very lucky to have a great teacher willing to take them on such a trip. My daughter is with a Latin and Classics teacher.

I'm a longtime lurker, so I feel as if I know all of you...but you don't know me. I finally registered to post.

momontherun2001 - ACIS and NETC are the "upscale" student tour companies and as such you get a much different experience than traveling with EF or Explorica the "budget" tour companies. One of the many differences is ACIS and NETC will tell you months in advance that your schedule will conflict with openings and are very upfront about it. When you know months in advance you can change to another tour. EF and Explorica will tell you at the last minute and point to their diclaimer info. It helps to read all the fine print and select tours and departure dates that will avoid putting you somewhere on a closed day.

Wondering - I hope you are able to arrange your private tour. Let us know how this works out and the price. I think there are many people that this has happened to that would like to book a private tour as well. Also keep in mind that it is probably upsetting you more than the students. They tend to "go with the flow" and are just excited to be in another country. Make sure Explorica takes you to St.Peter's Sunday morning for the Pope's Blessing. Your students will be thrilled and end up talking about that more than they would the Sistine Chapel. Also take them to Hard Rock on Via Veneto to buy t-shirts and you will have happy kids!

well, thank you to everyone! we will not be going on the private tour after all. the cost for the students is prohibitive and explorica will not pay for it. i tried, as did my co-leader. here for all of you who are wondering is the quote from joyce who was mentioned above (and was very, very helpful regarding timing,and ready to accomodate us in every way possible, etc.)The rate for the private visit is Euro 2.052,00. The rate for a english speaking guide is Euro 124,35 (max. 3 hours - max. 20 pax). then there is admission cost and so the saga sadly ends here. We are only a group of 10 so it is too much.
Re explorica: of course, we knew explorica would have budget accomodations and lousy food, etc. and my cohort and i were willing to rough it. what we did not know about was the company's last minute changes (hotels, itinerary). we are prepared to still have fun (and educate -we teach ancient civ)and will go to the catacombs instead on sunday. i will definitely push for the pope's blessing also. I do not think explorica will be going out of their way for me since i have been in their face about this. we started out very diplomatic, but if i hear that disclaimer one more time!

kybourbon: i know you are right about the students taking it in stride, but that is why these companies stay in business! when we return i will post a quick report for all the parents on this board. i have travelled quite a bit with my husband and always used this board. it is really good as all you have demonstrated again! i am off now to buy a hairdryer! they didn't even put us up in a hotel with hairdryers!we found that out yesterday! we leave tomorrow am with hopefully no more problems! ps the hard rock is indeed a very good idea!

One more suggestion for Rome. We were just there with teenagers and they loved the Colosseum having all seen "Galdiator" It is closer to the center of town than the catacombs and is now open on Sundays. We went from there into the Forum which surprisingly for me, they enjoyed immensely. Have a great trip. My daughter just stayed in a hotel in Rome without a hair dryer and bought one in a shop near the Campo Fiori for $15. Now she says she must go back to Italy to get her money's worth out of it. Not exactly the Trevi Fountain, but it is an incentive.

Wondering,

It's a shame about missing the Sistine Chapel.


Something that your students might find interesting is the church of San Stefano Rotundo, a round church with the walls filled with huge frescoes of the martyrdoms of various saints.
Most of them are what the young people I know would call gross and/or cool. The church isn't well known; our taxi driver had never heard of it but followed us inside and wandered around gazing at the pictures in a bemused fashion before shaking his head and going back out to his car.

Wow! That's a pricey tour. Sorry it isn't going to work out for you. Explorica shouldn't have any problem taking you to the Sunday Blessing since St.Peter's is part of your intinerary that day. I'm not so sure you will have time for the catacombs as you are also scheduled to tour the forum and coliseum on Sunday. I don't think the catacombs are open very long in the afternoon.

Kids don't pay attention to details so make sure they get a card from the hotel so they will know where they are staying if they get separated from the group. I'm always amazed at how many don't have a clue about their hotel.

Have a good trip! I love 3 of the places on your tour - Rome, Pompeii, and Delphi. Spring in Italy - what could be better?

just an update for all you helpful fodorites! in the end we were offered our choice on monday morning to go to either the sistine chapel or pompeii. the tour group split up and took separate buses to the ferry in bari. we chose pompeii, as all of our group had decided we would at some time return to rome on our own. one word of caution: do not go to rome during holy week if you can avoid it. the crowds were unbearable. our tour leader was a native of roma and she had never taken a group in such a crowd. we had fun anyway--although the metro, which i find nerve-wracking any day, was a bit scary with teens from california! thanks again for all your help and feedback. i would do a studnet tour again with explorica despite this mishap.

p.s.i would do a student tour again with explorica if i could have the same tour guide. she was absolutely fabulous and we did not have an easy group to please! she has agreed to do a "best of italy" with us, but i do know you can never be sure with explorica. all our guides at each sight were excellent.the hotels were from very nice to poor, the food was from adequate to excellent...all in all, it was a good bargain.....

Wondering, my daughter arrived home from her NETC trip on Good Friday and had the time of her life. They arrived in Rome early enough the first day to spend the day wandering around the Vatican (their hotel was within walking distance) and they stumbled upon a youth gathering in St. Peter's square, so spent the afternoon with teenagers from all over the world....and saw the Pope give a speech. She was close enough to get pictures of him. She also has hundreds of pictures of ruins of Greek and Roman theatres for her IB Drama portfolio. I'm curious about the difference in cost for your trip since someone pointed out in an earlier post that EF and Explorica were considered the budget student tours. Our school system always uses either NETC or ACIS after being displeased with the hotel locations on an EF tour. Her trip cost $2200 from Atlanta and she spent less than $200 for lunches and "stuff". She did end up buying a lot more film--she used ten rolls.

Glad you had fun--I've decided I'm going next time when my younger daughter goes with this teacher. She is an IB Latin student, and she's already saving her money. Guess I'd better start saving mine!

HEY! Maybe Rex was having a bad day, he's 99% of the time very polite and
helpful. He has help me alot on many
of my questions.
bye.!

momontherun2001- You can compare prices of the various student tour companies on line. In the past NETC has not listed their prices on line but will send you a catalog. NETC is much more education oriented than any of the other student tour companies. They arrange hands-on in-depth activities that the other companies just don't provide. Think of NETC and ACIS as Ritz Carlton and EF and Explorica as Motel 6. You get what you pay for. As you compare the companies you will notice that ACIS and NETC include high-speed trains and chunnel transfers instead of ferries etc. They also include admission to places that cost as opposed to all the free places that EF and Explorica include.

The web sites are:
www.acis.com high quality
www.educationtravel.com high (NETC)
www.passports.com mid quality
www.cha-tours.com mid
www.eftours.com budget
www.explorica.com budget

I would stick with NETC, ACIS, or CHA.
The most recent complaints I am hearing about EF and Explorica are the terrible flight connections. Students aren't arriving until late on day 2(as late as 6pm) and missing a day of touring. So a 9 day tour ends up being 3 days of travel.

You do not have to be a teacher to use these companies.

mom on the run: our tour from sdiego was $1795- the acis equivalent from sdiego is about $1,000 USD more-we did have paid entry into all the sites and specifc guides at each site (that part i was very happy with...also our tour guide taught us italian and greek and gave history lessons on the bus , so we felt our kids got plenty of education) in light of the significant pricing differential you can see why we went budget...

Prices for 10 day Italy/Greece for May out of Cincinnati
explorica - $1725
cha - $2119
acis - $2579
These prices don't include air taxes, registration fee but will give you an idea of the difference in price between the companies.