Vatican Tour Guide

[omalley]

We are visiting the Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel. Looking for recommendations on if a tour guide is needed or can a good guide book provide similar information.

 

Omalley

[cruisemom42]

We are visiting the Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel. Looking for recommendations on if a tour guide is needed or can a good guide book provide similar information.

 

Omalley

 

I've written about this a lot on these boards. Many people will tell you it is absolutely necessary to have a guide. I say it depends on you.

 

For the Vatican there are a lot of options besides just going with an expensive private guide. Here is a recent post where I tried to list all the pros and cons of these alternatives:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=23709065&postcount=8

 

I know that I personally would opt to do it on my own with a good guidebook or two, even if I'd never been there before. I already know a lot of history and art history, and I do a lot of research (because I enjoy it) before traveling. If that's you -- or even if you just prefer to wander and see things on your own, you might consider one of the other options besides a guide.