I've heard the lines can be horrendous at the Vatican, so we'd like to go with a tour guide to avoid the wait (I'd prefer to go during the day versus the evening tour).......
We are visiting the excavations under St Peters Basilica from 1:45pm until 3:15pm, so I'm assuming we'll need a morning tour, and we are interested in seeing the Vatican gardens/museum and Sistine Chapel; we'll be able to show ourselves around St Peters Basilica after our tour of the necropolis.
Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Anyone? Should I just get them through the Vatican website?

We just arranged a tour when we arrived at our hotel, but that was many years ago, don't know if things have changed, but iwas very easy. Doing a tour is the right move, we walked right by all the lines and actually got more out of it with a good guide to explain to us what we were seeing. Definitely worth the money.

i am helping a friend with this and would also like to know.

We used Katie Parla as our guide for the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, St. Peters and then the Pantheon. Her website is www.katieparla.com. She was fantastic! Definitely worth every penny!

Perfect, I actually sent her an email earlier today after seeing her recommended on another thread.
Thanks

I think that if you want to see the gardens you must book through the Vatican.

You are correct Lynnaustin, a tour guide I've been emailing with told me that. Thanks