Vatican tour companies..Please advise:)
 

Hi Everyone,

I did a search here on Vatican tours but could not get an answer to my questions. Here's my conundrum: I am traveling with my Thai wife, who knows english to a slightly above-average extent, and is educated, but may be bored with a Context Arte Vaticana tour due to the language factor alone. I am up to doing this tour (and translating to my wife), but I don't want to use up 4 hours of the day. Can anyone please suggest either a great alternative Vatican tour company that's not as long, or encouragement for the Context Vatican tour. I love art history (took it in college and LOVED it), btw. Any post will be appreciated!

Regards,

Kurt

I've been on the Context Rome tour and loved it -- and I think it's a small enough group that the leader would be sensitive to the language issue -- but you might want to email them and ask.

Really, the 4 hours FLEW by. It included the Sistine Chapel, a swing through St Peters, and, of course, the museum.

I wonder if you could book a private tour instead.

Don't hesitate to e-mail Francesca Caruso at [email protected]

She's an excellent guide who is in tune with the needs of her customers. She'll work with you on an itinerary. Our group of 10 women absolutely adored her.

Thanks W and Betsy.

Anyone else please?

Kurt

Every tour is going to be long. There is so much to see. We are not really tour people so we picked a really cheap tour. The idea was to get in early with the tour group so we didn't have to wait in line and then ditch them once we were in. We stayed with the group because the guide took us straight to the Cistine Chapel before anyone got there and then went back to the beginning. By the time we got back to the chapel it was packed. We decided the guide was worth the inside knowledge. So bottom line, if your wife is getting bored you can leave the tour group an go on your own. If you are worried, get a tour that is less expensive than Context. Argiletum Tours is what we used. It was only 40 euro including admission. There were only 9 people and the guide was very good.

See my reply to the recent post Rome for ten days.
Maybe this will appeal to you

If you are going on a Vatican Tour you will spend about an hour on the transport and logistics. That's why it is very rare to find a <4-hour organized tour of the Vatican. A private guide might be the way to go for you. That said, if you are an art lover you do NOT want to sample a condensed version of the Vatican Museums. You will regret it. Send your wife shopping and do this right.

Agree w/previous poster that 4 hours fly by. I have to question your expectation that your wife will be bore due solely to the language factor. The pieces and setting at the Vatican Museums are so spectacular that I doubt she will be bored. If she is, then this is the wrong vacation for her altogether!

We were in Italy for two weeks in October. We took four CONTEXT tours and they were fabulous

Thanks everyone! I may give Argiletum Tours a try. Its only 3 hrs and 88euro (vs.144). Will keep you posted.

Thanks again!

Kurt

SDtravels- I just read a review that the Argiletum Tour was awful...simply awful. Does it have the potential to be that bad?

Thanks

Wow, we did not think it was awful. I suppose it depends on the guide. We were really happy we took it. Remember, we were ready to ditch the tour as soon as we got in because we don't like tour groups and we stayed. The tour is advertised as three hours but it was much longer. I think they all have to be 4-5 hours long. We left after 4 hours because they were going into the basilica and we had already been. It was a small group, we had the head sets so we could hear the guide from a distance, he gave us plenty of time to walk around nearby and he was able to answer questions. Maybe we were just lucky.

We did the Vatican Art Tour and our group of 5 had a New Zealander as our guide - I don't think language will be a major problem for your wife if her English is above average.

The tour is excellent, informative and worth every cent. The small group made question asking easy and gave me a greater appreciation of all things artistic in Italy.

Do the 4 hours - it's the minimum time you would need to spend there anyway, I feel. You and your wife will be duly impressed I'm sure, not only by the tour but also by what you see.

Thanks SD and Stormbird. I'm totally confused! I'm not sure which I'm going to choose, but I will probably do Context.

Thanks again!!