Vatican tour-Walks of Italy
 

Looking for opinions....
First time to Rome and we have decided to take a guided tour of the Vatican to get more out of it then going there by ourselves.

After reviewing on Trip Advisior I think we are going with Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine Tour which has really good reviews. The only downside I can see is that
It starts at 7:35am.

How would suggest we get there at this time in the morning?
We are staying near Piazza Navona.

Also any experience with this tour company or would you recomend others?

We have 2 1/2 days in Rome. The first day will be arrival day from the US (1/2 day)-would you do the tour the 2nd or 3rd day? I am a little concerned about the early morning tour and jet lag.

Grazie for any advicel

We took a taxi to the Sistine Pristine meeting point since it was so early. Picked it up at taxi stand near our apartment in the Campo - there were 3 taxis there at that time in the morning- so no worry about availabilty. I would do the tour the 3rd day.

I took the tour with them, and I also took a cab to the meeting point. I was also staying near Piazza Navona, and my cab fare came up to less than 10 euros. It was well worth it for being able to get up later and not stress about public transport routes. I just took a screenshot of the map on my phone, then showed it to my driver. Just a light-hearted warning that Rome taxi drivers are quite wild!

Also, the Pristine Sistine tour was completely amazing. If you get Jowita (she's Swedish) or Claudia (Italian), you're gold. They're both extremely knowledgeable and they really take care of every member of the group. I got Jowita for my tour and we were really lucky to be the only people in the Sistine Chapel, apart from the guards. Worth every minute of getting up that early. The rest of the tour was really good, too.

However, are you going very soon? Because the Sistine Chapel might currently be closed for the conclave.

thanks for your advice....
Taxi and last day in Rome it is...

maccabee my trip is not til mid June so conclave over and new Pope should be on the job by then...

<<<First time to Rome and we have decided to take a guided tour of the Vatican to get more out of it then going there by ourselves.>>>

Because of the way you said "get more out of it" I'd like to just mention this.

I have not taken that 3.5hr tour which correct me if wrong includes the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica?
And I'd add that tour does get excellent reviews here I recall.

I have taken ContextRome's also excellent 4hr tour which visits the same sites.

Because of the time limitations of 3.5hrs to visit 3 seperate although connected sites how much time can actually be spent in the Museums?

So on these type tours you can only hit a few museum highlights but *in detail* with a knowledgeable guide.

But "going there by ourselves" with an audioguide you can visit everything and see things that might hold a special interest to you or the other part of "ourselves":-) that would be skipped-over on a tour.

Just a thought, as both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Another recommendation for Context Tours. We were a group of only 8. Easily met our docent at a nearby restaurant. She gave us an overview prior to entering the museum,and a more in depth tour of the Sistene and St. Peters.

I highly recommend it. Our tour director was a museum curator, so well versed in what we wanted to know.

http://blog.contexttravel.com/vatican-tour/