We have faxed and emailed the Vatican to try and get a tour of the Sistine Chapel and no response. Any other idea how to connect with them. We want a guided tour on Oct 2nd.

We are in the same situation. We even called but they would do nothing except insist on the Fax. We don't even know if they received the fax but it did go through. We are asking for Oct 10. If it does not arrive, we will venture in on our own and one way or the other we will see the SIstine Chapel.

GOod Luck

hey guys, check saps' Italian Honeymoon thread.. he may be able to help. best wishes.

wmandmj, you might send them another fax to check up.

There is an audio-guide which is good if you can't get one of the Vatican guides.

However, IMO if you want a really excellent guide, then you should get a Context Rome tour guide. They are a favorite on this board, and one of mine as well. Very well-informed guides, more expensive than the Vatican guides but worth it. Take a look at http://rome.contexttravel.com.

The only advantage the Vatican guide would give you is that you would not have to wait in line for tickets, but in October you would not find these lines bad, IMO so I would take the Context Rome guide in a minute.

Note that NO tour is just of the Sistine Chapel, they all will include other parts of the Vatican Museums. Worth seeing, its not just all about the Sistine Chapel....

We just came last sunday back from rome. WE took the tour without reservation. We just came to the informatin (when you r standing with your face toward the vatican, on your right) booked a tour (12.30 pm) 35 euro each. the to was allmost 3 hours and it was very good.
enjoy

If you search this forum you will find a few threads about the Vatican Museums reservation process. No one ever gets a confirmation back from them until about 2 days prior to your tour date. It's a pain, but I think it's worked for most people. It's probably the least expensive way to go, it's a good two-hour tour, and you will have a desginated entrance time.

If you'll be away from home at the end of September, have someone forward your fax to your hotel. You will need the Vatican's fax plus your IDs to get in. Good luck.

Hello,

As one of the other posters said, there are no tours of just the sistine chapel. They all last about 3 hours and include other sights. They do include a history of the chapel and some great information about the ceiling and the last judgement. There are tour touts outside getting tours together, these are the same tour the vatican offers (I have done both and there was no difference), and you don't have to wait in the long line. The lines, even in October can be very long. I was there last October, and the line was around the building. We signed up for a tour and were in within 5 minutes. We have also just walked up to the info desk inside and signed up for a tour without a problem. We had to wait about 45 minutes for the tour to start, but we were able to go inside first and have a look around before our tour started.

I guess what I'm saying is if you don't get a confirmation from the vatican, don't worry. You can still get a tour and it will be great.

Have a great time, Donna

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Meanwhile unless it's changed, NO ONE gives a tour of the Sistine Chapel. They are forbidden to talk inside. So instead what happens is you stand outside the chapel and they tell you what you're going to see. Then you go in, observe in silence, come back out and they discuss what you've seen. Frankly -- a book you can take in with you might be even better unless you can remember what to look for and remember what they said about it.

I am part of a group of 6 that are going to Italy in 19 days! (Not that I'm couting or anything!) We faxed the Vatican 30 days before our requested date of October 13th. We requested that they fax our hotel in Rome with the confirmation, as well as our fax number here. Our hopes are that we'll receive the confirmation in one of the places and if not, we'll just do the audio guide as a back up plan.

I'm confused. Stoopswats asked about a guided tour of the Sistine Chapel. Are we also talking about guided tours of the Vatican?

We have decided to wait as well. We did give the name of our hotel in ROme and they may fax their but if not, we will see the museums and the chapel at the Vatican. We will be in ROme from the 8th-13th of Oct. Can't wait.

MJ

What is this? I have never heard of making reservations to see the Sistine Chapel and I have been going for 21 years. Has something changed that I do not know about. Last time I went in 2004, we had no problems at all. Don't hold your breath for a confirmation.