Vatican tours

I'm just starting to research the topic, but can anyone offer advice as to the different Vatican tours Lonely Planet offers vs. the official Vatican tour? Thank you

I wasn't aware that LP ran tours - to the Vatican or anywhere else.

But that aside, prior to booking any tour, it's worth considering just doing it by yourself. The Museums are extensive, and of course absorbing in so many ways ... I think I would probably find a guided tour too fast, too slow, or way too much information.

It's quite okay to take about four hours and just stroll around at your own pace too.

Thank you for your help. Yes, Lonely Planet lists a large number of tours to Vatican alone, enough that it's hard to distinguish the differences between each! Or to compare them to the tour the vatican itself provides through their own website. Thanks again!

It sounds more reasonable that they list Vatican tours, which is rather different to offering them, which is why the question was raised. And this is generally not a review forum, but advice of a different type ... there are many review forums out there.

Good point, it may be 3rd party vendors just listed through lonely planet. That may explain why there are so many similar options.

I have been researching the same thing - and there are many companies that offer various tour types. I was looking for a tour that started early before the official opening. We are taking my 79yr old mother and I thought it would be a good idea to get into the Sistine Chapel before the crowd builds up - the rest of the museum will not be an issue re crowds, nor will St Peters. So far the cheapest I could find was iatlywithus.com at 60 euro each.

I am still looking into this and have not yet booked - I was also looking at a night time tour of the Colosseum - the Italy with us company did not have any availability for October for this tour, but other companies do - I am not yet fully convinced that the tour will be worth the 80 euro each it will cost.

On our Museums visit, we arrived before opening time, and there was already a very long queue waiting to buy tickets. With our pre-purchased tickets we literally just strolled in as soon as it opened - it made me curious as to why all the people queuing hadn't done the same.

Anyway, we had been advised to head straight to the Sistine Chapel, which we did without stopping or dawdling. We viewed the Chapel for a long time ... it wasn't quite empty, but nearly so. We then headed out the left-side exit and backtracked maybe 300 metres, and looked at all the museums we wished to see.

By the time we reached the Sistine Chapel again (about 12:00 I guess) it was unbelievably packed - quite dangerously so we thought - almost impossible to enter, and even harder to exit, via the narrow right-side exit that is a "short-cut" entry into St Peter's Basilica.

So we were were very pleased we had visited the Sistine first off. I have no idea at what time it tapered off and calmed down. I have heard if you start after lunch (1:00 pm or so) it's not as bad as the morning peak.

I am not yet fully convinced that the tour will be worth the 80 euro each it will cost.

I'm reasonably confident that it would highly likely not be.

Our day-time ticket for the Colosseum included the Roman Forum, which we felt was by far the more interesting and overwhelming part of the combo. The Colosseum is impressive, but just DIY you have access to large parts of it ... not sure what value the tours add - even with greater access to the lower levels.

Could you guess-timate how many people were in the Sistine Chapel with you, Ian?

Several years ago, I did that exact same early bird tour. It was a bit cheaper then, I think (45 euro?), it included the price of the ticket and I thought it was well worth it to share that space with oh, 4 widely spaced clusters of about 10 people each. as opposed to hundreds and hundreds later in the day, many of whom are loud and flash photo-happy (despite the signs that say no photos and the piped in requests for respectful silence).

In short, an entirely different experience of that space and sure to be so even if the popularity of early bird tours has doubled or trebled in the intervening 5 or 6 years. Oh, this was in early May, which might also make a difference.

But, if you can have a comparable experience by buying timed tickets for first thing in the morning, I'd consider it. Though I'm not sure how much of a beeline your mum will be able to make. The Chapel is at the very end of the line, as it were.

The Colosseum also has its own guided tours during regular hours. This allows you to skip the ticket line, but not the "we already have tickets" line. A good compromise might be to check if there are any evening events--concerts, etc.--scheduled during your stay.

the Roman Forum, which we felt was by far the more interesting and overwhelming part of the combo

Interesting. The Roman Forum does nothing for me whatsoever. If they decided to turn it into a car park for Colosseum visitors, I wouldn't bat an eye. Perhaps I lack the required imagination: "See this stump of a marble column? it used to be a whole darn temple! This one too and that one and that one..."

Barbaric, I know...

Yeah ... the Forum is a bit of a mess ... and they've had 1600 years to fix the place up.

Regarding the Sistine Chapel, I would think (strictly from unreliable memory) that your figure is a bit low - let's say at a rough guess twice that (80) ... it felt quiet and sparse, and there was plenty of places to sit on that long wall bench down either side. It was more than nice.

The guards were calm and relaxed ... later that day they were in a lather of crowd-wrangling.

Ah, deja vu! I think i've asked this of you before.
But I forgot the answer, so thanks.

Yeah, 80 people wouldn't be a drop in the bucket in that space.
Later in the day--and not too much later, I would think--the bucket is filled to the brim.

Were there considerably more people in the chapel as you were leaving compared to when you arrived?
Which I assume might be a 9:45, 10:00 exit time?
(Taking into account the 10-minute dash to get there in the first place).

Were there considerably more people in the chapel as you were leaving compared to when you arrived?

Indeed ... we walked in with pure joy (thank you Michelangelo, and your sponsors of course) given the quiet access we had.

As we left around 10: 15 or so I guess, it was definitely starting to fill steadily - but nothing more than a modestly busy railway platform.

On Saturday wife and I had a day in Rome - we like being tourists occasionally! - and decided to visit among other spots Santa Maria Aracoeli - if we had been before I think we would have remembered, it's quite impressive, and there was a wedding with an interminable sermon (I hear that wasn't the only one last Saturday). Leaving by the side door, you walk down steps leading to the Campidoglio, but turn the opposite way as you enter the piazza and there is an excellent view over the Forum. I tend to agree, the Forum leaves me a bit cold too, it isn't easy to visualise what was there, but that view was worth the extra 10 minutes or so

Leaving by the side door, you walk down steps leading to the Campidoglio, but turn the opposite way as you enter the piazza and there is an excellent view over the Forum.

Well spotted Mike ... CFC and I are the two (or at least two) on here who (a) have enjoyed the view from that terrace, and (b) in fact mention it on here for the cheap seats who don't want to pay for a full ticket to get in to the Forum.

And I agree it's a great view of the Forum ... CFC only likes it because it's free.

There are two separate questions going on here (Vatican and Colosseum/Forum/Palatine) with two separate situations as traveling with the 79 year-old parent is a bit different than not.

Vatican: I saw the Sistine back in the early 70's in relative peace. Took the Husband there in 2007 and it was a madhouse. It's reported to be even worse now. Whether to take a tour or not depends on exactly what you want to see and how you want your information delivered. Some tourists feel the early-opening tours were worth the price to see the Sistine without the crush/waiting in a queue to get into the chapel, having a guide navigate some highlights throughout miles (yes, miles) of stuff in the museums, and to have their information delivered by a human. Guided tours also assure that you can take that shortcut into the basilica: access is not a given for independent visitors as it's up to the whim of the guards on any given day.

The Museums also offer late openings (Friday nights only) from April- October that are reported to be less of a crush and not as overly warm in the galleries during the summer season. Not all areas of the museums are open and there's no access to the Basilica but the usual highlights - including the Sistine - are accessible. You can do it either DIY or with the tour. Available for bookings on the Vatican website.

Wheelchairs for the elderly are available at the museums but it would be difficult to see over the crowds in the busiest parts from that level.

Colosseum/Palatine/Forum:
Again, whether to book a tour or DIY yourself depends on how much you want to see and how much info you'd like delivered from a human versus your own research/guidebooks. Inexpensive tours of the Colosseum Underground/Belvedere offered through the official coopculture website can be a pain in the arse to try and snag as they come up for sale one day of the month for the following month, 9:00 AM Rome time (middle of the night for us North Americans) and sell out within minutes. Personally? I don't think it's necessary to see/access those extra parts but that's just me. They offer a really cheap tour (5 euro + general admission+ reservation fee) of just the arena (see the coopculture )or DIY.

http://ecm.coopculture.it/index.php?option=com_snapp&view=event&id=E6A1B5B3-BFDA-AC94-6929-0161B2E3A0C0&catalogid=23A77243-5FAB-1393-11A5-0161B2E6158E&lang=en

Palatine and Forum are different animals as a human guide can be a plus so you know what you're looking at. Again, it's up to how you want your info delivered: by a person or via your own research, guidebook or online downloaded audio to your own devices. Audioguides may also be rented at the Colosseum and Forum but I don't believe they're available for the Palatine although I won't swear to it.

A couple of details? "Open" tickets (no specific entry times or tour) are good for two consecutive days: you may visit the Colosseum on one and the Palatine/Forum on the next (those two must be visited together) or vice versa. You will not be able to skip security lines at any of these - which applies to some tours as well - and those can be long at the Colosseum. Also, "open" tickets sold on June 1, 2018 or later will not allow access to the Colosseum until 2:00 PM (14:00) or later. This is a very new development and does not appear to apply to the Forum/Palatine.

I don't believe tickets for night tours of the Colosseum include the additional entry to the Forum/Palatine on the next day.

Apologies for going off topic a bit, but take this opportunity to mention we walked past the Pantheon to see whether the entry charge has been introduced. Well, it has, and guess what- there's a queue now there as well. Late afternoon last Saturday it was probably no more than 10 minutes or so - we didn't join - but several marshalls keeping everyone in order, and as regular visitors to Rome know, the area in front of the Pantheon is very exposed to daytime sun.

Thanks 14 &15 for reminders that there is now a security line for the Colosseum and a charge (?) to enter the Pantheon. This last is a bit surprising. It's one of my favourite buildings in the world, so I'm sure I'll pony up to see it again. But you'd probably be hard-pressed to spend 30 minutes in it. Unless, like Ian, you take time to search for the interior corners.

"But on the outside, it's rectangular!"
"Yes dear, come along now..."

Also, Ian: I think you and I should co-host a travel show.

I think it is €2 - a lot of queue for just one coin.

Also, Ian: I think you and I should co-host a travel show.

Grumpy and Crotch ... Expensive Europe for the Very Cheap

I can't believe there's a charge for the Pantheon ... it's not Rome's, it belongs to Western Civilisation!

Well, it's a really old thing, and old things need their bits attended to lest they fall to pieces. It's expensive.

(Just ask this old thing with failing bits)

To quell further debate about the specifics - we will take the morning tour to the Vatican museums and buy a normal ticket for the Colosseum and book in advance if we can. The Colosseum tours get you onto the arena floor, and lower ground areas, but really once you have seen one dungeon you have seen them all. It is cheaper during the day, which also includes the Forum.

The only time I have been to the Vatican museums was in June 1998, and the Sistine was packed to the gills then. The queue for the Colosseum was not that bad, but I anticipate that it will wrap around these days. You could argue that it is more impressive from the outside, but since we want to go the the Forum/Palatine I figure we should pop in to the Colo as well. And get the photo with the "gladiators" outside.

Grumpy and Crotch ... Expensive Europe for the Very Cheap

I was thinking of something along the lines of Top Gear, except for travel.
You of course would be the big pompous blowhard character, and I'd be the smartass little gerbil guy and um, maybe we could recruit lucapal as the guy who actually knows what he's talking about. Or maybe in a silent role, sort of The Stig of travel. Or both, in an ironic twist! Maybe we could superimpose cartoon thought bubbles over him. Maybe not.

Hmmm, a silent character... I may have to reconsider role assignment.

All sounds good ... Top Gear was my model as well. And Luca would be ideal in the third-man role.

And we could add unsubtle political texture, for more colour ... I would spout bolshevik solidarity with the workers and peasants, and cast class-warfare aspersions on every grand palace, outrageous villa, and expensive church that you insist we visit.

You on the other hand play the wide-eyed unschooled Yank from Toledo Ohio, who thinks every piece of tat put together by eons of self-indulgent European aristocrats and papists is the height of sophistication. I would pour scorn on the "great art" that we visited, much to your on-going chagrin.

Of course we would have a culinary bent, where my preference for a simple plate of pasta or pizza is counter-balanced by your unbridled snobbery, and demands that we get down with locals food-wise, at every opportunity, or spend vast amounts in classy joints of dubious heritage.

There needs to be a distinct female angle as well, to cover all the glam, goss, bling, and frocks ... a few candidates come to mind. It should b e a winner!

Sorry to open this thing up again but regarding the Pantheon? Recent reviews of the thing on TA report that it's still free entry. I wonder if they tested the concept, it didn't go well for one reason or another so they're still working out bugs?

No there is now a charge - I mentioned it a few days ago. See #15 above.

Yeah Mike, I saw your post and don't disbelieve you but very recent posters on TA are still saying it's free. Doesn't mean they all visited within the past week but it's odd that there isn't a single mention of an entry fee in the first 5-6 pages of reviews. Also, a poster on RS was just there two days ago (complained about the crowd size/queue) and reported that entry was still free. Weird.

I was there a week last Saturday. There was a notice up about being open late that evening (2245 if I remember correctly) and having been on several previous occasions I didn't bother to join the queue. I read somewhere that charging was due to commence on 1 May. Perhaps someone else can check it out - I don't expect to be back in Rome until late summer!

Yes, i can find articles about the plan to begin charging a fee.
But I haven't seen any about that plan actually taking effect.
And I think that would be news.

I guess the issue is: where to put a ticket office?
I hope they don't end up doing anything too terrible to the building. Or the piazza.

I guess the issue is: where to put a ticket office?

There is already a ticket-box as you go through the right (IN) side of the big front entrance. But that would be very inefficient ... and slow. Probably 50% of the punters would either not want to wait, or wouldn't want to pay for a quick look-around.

You don't need a ticket office just a coin operated turnstile.

The last time I was there the problem with the queue was not the volume of people but that just about everyone would stop at the top of the entrance line to take a photo. We had to squeeze past a number of people doing this to get in - and this was in July.

But to make it worthwhile, wouldn't they want to charge a bit more than a couple of Euros?

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