We are considering a private tour of the Vatican (we'll be in Rome in the first week of December).

Have read some excellent reviews of Italy With Us after hours tour - but it is a bit pricey (Euro 175 per person).

How crowded is the Vatican likely to be in December?

Hi,

We just got back from Rome & toured the Vatican on Tuesday. We used Roman Odyssey Tours and there was 6 people in our group. The tour guide was excellent and she stayed with us from 9 Am to 2 PM & we paid about 50 Euros total which included admission fees. The Vatican was very crowded. It took us about an hour of standing on line for us to get in.

Just to clarify, it was about 50 Euros per person total.

Thanks rutgers77,

The one I am referring to is an after hours tour and starts at 5:30 PM. Therefore, no crowds at all.

I am trying to determine if this is really worthwile in December - I can imagine there being multitudes of people in the summer, but not sure about December.

By the way, when you toured the Vatican, what sort of crowds did you experience?

thanks again,

Ahmed

For a recent review of the private tour, here is a link to a trip report. Scroll down to days 7,8,9 of the report.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34871283

I think there have been a few times this tour has cancelled (not enough people sign up?), so make a back-up plan. I think I've read that Helen gives as much early notice as she can, if she has to cancel.

Hi,

The Vatican was crowded. I think the crowds come from limited hours during the winter so the people are jammed into a smaller timeframe. I had read that Tuesday has less crowds which was why I went on Tuesday. We were on line for 40 minutes before we got into the Vatican. I think that is considered a "good" line. Our tour guide talked to us the entire time we were on the line. I think the reason our tour went so long was she did not have to go back to do another tour later. You must also make certain that whoever you go with speaks English as their first language. (This was why I choose this tour company. ) Some of the "pick-up" tours have Italians who speak with a heavy accent narrating the tour. These tour guides can be very difficult to understand.