Rome & Private Vatican/Sistine Chapel Tours???

[Bo1953]

Hello all - I Am sure quite a few of you have done this and I want your input as to which company would be the best to use...

 

There are tours which include an Audience with The Pope and I presume it is a 'Public Audience' as the fee is very reasonable... LOL

 

TIA, grazie and bon voyage

[wisteria1019]

Following 

[cruisemom42]

Well since no one else has answered, I'll start. I'm not a huge user of tours or guides in Rome as I mostly am staying there for a few days and prefer to do things on my own. However, if you are interested in small (usually 6 people) private tours with great guides who provide in-depth detail, I can recommend Context Rome. They primarily offer tours IN Rome but I think you can also arrange for transportation to/from Civitavecchia -- warning, it's quite expensive.  

 

I believe what you're referring to are the tours that will allow you to attend the large Papal audience and blessing that takes place in the square in front of St. Peter's every Wednesday that the Pope is at the Vatican (with a few exceptions).  It's not clear from your post -- is that something that's important for your visit?  Also, are you just visiting Rome on a port day from the ship and need transportation, or are you going to be staying in Rome for a few days?

 

If it's the former, there are lots of recommendations just on the first couple of pages here of operators who specialize in shore excursion type trips, getting you to Rome and around Rome comfortably and then back to the ship on time. On the minus side, the quality of information imparted can vary widely -- they are drivers, NOT guides, and usually lack in depth knowledge.  They oftern will offer to arrange for a private guide for a couple of hours for places like the Vatican Museum or for a tour inside the Colosseum. Of course, you can also make those arrangements directly with the facilities themselves for guided tours (however, they will have far more people in the group).

 

Up to you, and it's hard to make recommendations without more of an idea of how you like to roll....

[mar214]

We booked our own tour of the Vatican/Sistine Chapel through a tour company- it was called "Pristine Sistine". It was the very first tour of the day which absolutely helped us avoid crowds. There was about 20 of us in the Sistine Chapel. It was awesome. I'm sure this kind of tour is being still offered. We also submitted a request for tickets to attend the Wednesday audience well in advance of our trip. We received an email letting us know we could pick up the tickets  at the Vatican the day before that Wednesday. There was no charge and again, that was awesome. We got up super early that Wednesday to get good seats. Be sure to plan ahead and you will have an amazing time!

[GreenFamily]

On 12/2/2022 at 6:50 PM, cruisemom42 said:

Well since no one else has answered, I'll start. I'm not a huge user of tours or guides in Rome as I mostly am staying there for a few days and prefer to do things on my own. However, if you are interested in small (usually 6 people) private tours with great guides who provide in-depth detail, I can recommend Context Rome. They primarily offer tours IN Rome but I think you can also arrange for transportation to/from Civitavecchia -- warning, it's quite expensive.  

 

I believe what you're referring to are the tours that will allow you to attend the large Papal audience and blessing that takes place in the square in front of St. Peter's every Wednesday that the Pope is at the Vatican (with a few exceptions).  It's not clear from your post -- is that something that's important for your visit?  Also, are you just visiting Rome on a port day from the ship and need transportation, or are you going to be staying in Rome for a few days?

 

If it's the former, there are lots of recommendations just on the first couple of pages here of operators who specialize in shore excursion type trips, getting you to Rome and around Rome comfortably and then back to the ship on time. On the minus side, the quality of information imparted can vary widely -- they are drivers, NOT guides, and usually lack in depth knowledge.  They oftern will offer to arrange for a private guide for a couple of hours for places like the Vatican Museum or for a tour inside the Colosseum. Of course, you can also make those arrangements directly with the facilities themselves for guided tours (however, they will have far more people in the group).

 

Up to you, and it's hard to make recommendations without more of an idea of how you like to roll....

Thank you for the recommendation of Context Tours. I found some that are exactly what I’ve been looking for.

[Bo1953]

On 12/2/2022 at 8:50 PM, cruisemom42 said:

Well since no one else has answered, I'll start. I'm not a huge user of tours or guides in Rome as I mostly am staying there for a few days and prefer to do things on my own. However, if you are interested in small (usually 6 people) private tours with great guides who provide in-depth detail, I can recommend Context Rome. They primarily offer tours IN Rome but I think you can also arrange for transportation to/from Civitavecchia -- warning, it's quite expensive.  

 

I believe what you're referring to are the tours that will allow you to attend the large Papal audience and blessing that takes place in the square in front of St. Peter's every Wednesday that the Pope is at the Vatican (with a few exceptions).  It's not clear from your post -- is that something that's important for your visit?  Also, are you just visiting Rome on a port day from the ship and need transportation, or are you going to be staying in Rome for a few days?

 

If it's the former, there are lots of recommendations just on the first couple of pages here of operators who specialize in shore excursion type trips, getting you to Rome and around Rome comfortably and then back to the ship on time. On the minus side, the quality of information imparted can vary widely -- they are drivers, NOT guides, and usually lack in depth knowledge.  They often will offer to arrange for a private guide for a couple of hours for places like the Vatican Museum or for a tour inside the Colosseum. Of course, you can also make those arrangements directly with the facilities themselves for guided tours (however, they will have far more people in the group).

 

Up to you, and it's hard to make recommendations without more of an idea of how you like to roll....

Our cruise ends in Civitavecchia and will need to make arrangements to travel to Rome...

 

There is one (1) tour I saw which arranges for a group of 12 to help close and lock The Sistine Chapel, then tour The Museum and finally have cocktails in one of the The Gardens... the same company indicated there is a tour which will include a Papal Audience. I did email to find out if it was the 'Public Audience' or not.

 

Most in our group would prefer small group tours while there, if possible. We are a group of 13.

 

Any suggestions and input you have are very welcomed...

 

Still trying to research hotels.

 

Grazie and bon voyage

[cruisemom42]

The Vatican museums can be some of the most crowded rooms in the world. A private tour during regular hours will not do anything to mitigate the hundreds upon hundreds of other people making their way through the rooms (which are basically a one-way thoroughfare).  You are wise to be looking at tours in the evening. Another option is an early morning tour -- some serve breakfast.  A few tips:

 

-- Read the descriptions of tours carefully. Focus more on what you will actually get to see (such as the Bramante staircase, the Cabinet of the Masks, the Tapestry Room, and of course the Sistine Chapel) and how long you'll have to see it, rather than on things like the cocktails (or breakfasts) which I've heard are nothing special. 

 

-- Be aware that if you go on one of the nights where the museums are open late (usually Friday nights during peak tourist months), you still won't have the place to yourselves. The Vatican ticket office can sell as many as 5,000 entry tickets just to individuals. Of course, there are about 25,000 visitors daily, so....

 

It's allowed to post tour companies to get feedback on them. I rarely do tours unless it is for a site that I cannot get into any other way. However in the past I've had good experiences with Context Travel (their small group tours are for 6 people but they also offer private tours for groups).  I also have friends who've highly praised Livitaly and Through Eternity for tours of the Vatican.

 

There's a great thread on hotels pinned at the top of this forum, with many different hotels in various areas and price ranges discussed.  My feeling is that Rome is one place where you really want to be in the center of things. If you are, you can walk almost anywhere and walking is half of the fun -- you see so much more.