We just booked a VIP private tour with Vatican Tours Inc. http://www.vaticantoursinc.com

This company came highly recommended by a number of folks on this and other travel boards. For 270E (paid in cash at time of service)two of us get picked up at our hotel at 8:30 in the morning, have a timed entrance (no line waiting)at 9:00AM, and a private tour of the Vatican museum, Sistine chapel and St. Peters.

They offer group tours for less money, I think also with a VIP entrance, but I know it will still be quite crowded with other tour groups and we wanted to be able to see the parts we were most interested in and be able to hear the guide clearly and be able to ask questions etc.

Personally, I would have paid the 250 euro per person for an after hours tour through Italy With Us if they had it available the week we are going to be in Rome. It seems that this is the only way to really see the vatican without hordes of people and have a clear view of all the mazing art.

We thought about the arte vaticana tour with context rome, which is 65 euro per person for a group of a maximum of 6, but you have to wait in line with this tour and you have to share the tour with others, albeit a smaller group, but you still have way less say in what parts of the museum you focus on. We decided it was worth the extra money for the ease of getting picked up at our hotel,(no trying to figure out where the entrance is, where to meet the guide etc)no waiting in line, getting a personalized tour and having an hour in the museum before the general public is allowed in.

eleanorw - I think you have misunderstood the tour information for the Vatican. The Vatican changed their admission rules in January and only tours companies are allowed in between 9 am and 10 am. In the past, everyone was allowed in at 9. They doesn't mean they are "official Vatican guides/tours", they are just tour companies that are registered in Rome or with the Vatican. I think there a dozens of them (perhaps many more), not just a few, that can take tour groups in at 9am.

I would think it would be less crowded to take an afternoon tour. Since this will be the first summer with the new rules, it's hard to say when it will be the least crowded. In the past, after lunch has been the least crowded.

For official Vatican tours provided by the Vatican, you must book with them by fax.
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...zi_Visite.html

yes ky, you're right. Certain tour groups have access to the early entrance. What I meant by "official" is that they've been allowed access to these slots. Context Rome, which is often recommended on this site, somehow isn't one of them. We received the same recommendation as plafield and have booked them for not much more for a group of 4, same conditions (290 EU cash at time of service). I have no idea which way is better since I've never been, it's just an option.