Vatican Tours
 

We will be in Rome at the end of May. Could I please have some advice on Vatican Tours. Some companies say you wait in line, but people here say they take tours to avoid lines. Is it too much to see at once or is it better to make two trips? Thank everyone for all the wonderful help I've gotten for planning our trip.

We just returned a few weeks ago & had the following experience that might help you:
Booked the scavi tour before we left. It began first thing in the morning & was a wonderful experience. When we came out, there was a line forming to see St Peters, but we were able to walk right in. The St Peters line wasn't too long & was moving quickly. After we finished with St peters, we saw that the line was really long & the square was getting quite crowded. By this time it was close to noon & we were getting hungry so we went to a restaurant nearby and took almost 2 hours to eat! By this time it was 2:00 & we wanted more time to see the Vatican Museum, so we came back another day. Now, this was during low season so it might be less crowded & you might grab a quick,light lunch instead. The line was pretty long when we came back, but moved quickly also. About 1:30 to 2:00 (can't remember) the guards started closing sections. We think they go to lunch. We just barely saw the early Etruscan exhibit before they started herding us out. All of it was well worth seeing, especially the Sistine Chapel, and this might help you plan it better than we did.

Vickyg215: You posted this same question yesterday.

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Vicky, I was quite pleased with Angel Tours last September -- informative guide, well paced, covered highlights of St. Peter's and Vatican Museum. Skipped long lines at both venues. Headsets helped tremendously, also kept group together. After 3 hour tour, had the option to further explore the museum but I was too tired to do much more (heat, crowd, no place to sit, no water, etc.) Bring a bottle of water and a granola bar along with you. Supposedly, no photographs are allowed inside St. Peter's, but didn't stop many. My regret that I didn't take my camera. Also, be prepared for a security check before you enter -- leave large backpacks in your hotel room. I wasn't able to book the Scavi tour, but I hear it's a great tour. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for the info so far and the tip on how to find my posting. I have never used this and thought I'd done something wrong and it didn't show up as I couldn't find it.