>> The information on this page relates to Tickitaly's three hour pre-booked group tours of the Vatican. We also offer a two hour guided tour (not taking in St Peters), private Vatican tours, and straightforward Vatican tickets. <<
Visitor information for various sites of the Vatican City, Rome
About tickets, admittance, dress code and more ...
TICKITALY - GROUP VATICAN TOURS AND QUEUEING:
[Click here to begin the booking process for Tickitaly's group Vatican tours]
2008 UPDATE: Another year, and still there are
issues. In the past we used to recommend booking tours in the morning
- not so now. Several enormous tour operators have begun to block-book
the early morning tours, and are being allowed to do so; consequently,
the Vatican has started to shunt forward other early morning tours,
sometimes by one or two hours. They don't always do this, but if
they do they'll do so with total disregard to previously booked dates.
Should this occur, and should it affect one of our bookings, we will
give notice, via email, at least 15-20 days before the tour date.
We are therefore now advising that you try to opt for afternoon tours, where
there is less chance of timings being shifted. Note we said less chance
- the Vatican does what the Vatican wants, and there can be no absolute guarantees.
Please also note that we would recommend avoiding Saturday if at all possible
- some level of queueing seems inevitable if the first few months of 2008 are
anything to go by.
The visitor management aspect of the Vatican attractions is not like other Italian museums, and it is for this reason alone that we CANNOT GUARANTEE that there will be no queuing prior to starting your tour. We can say that off-season you're pretty much certain to be able to walk straight in. We can say that if you opt for afternoon tours, the chances are you may have to wait a couple of minutes, perhaps not even that. What we cannot say is that there will be no need to queue should you opt for any tour, especially a tour on Saturday, especially in peak season.
However, if you do find yourselves queuing, the average wait is 15 to 20 minutes, and it is very rare that you'll need to wait for more than 30 minutes. We cannot stress enough that this is totally out with our control, that it affects ALL Vatican tours, and it is not something we can predict - the Vatican makes arbitrary, last minute decisions, and seldom gives any notice. There is simply no way around this issue, but, again, it doesn't affect all tours, and is of limited impact when it does.
So, how best to avoid the possibility of waiting in a small queue? Tickitaly strongly advise you to opt for an afternoon tour. There are less 'block' bookings in the afternoon, and therefore less chance of having to queue. Saturdays are obviously always going to be busy and, in peak season, you are almost certainly going to have a queue to deal with.
In passing, if you are yet to finalise your Rome hotel, we're happy to point you at ahotelinitaly.com for a wide range of Rome hotels, all with instant online reservation.
A couple of other points: everyone entering the Vatican museums needs to pass through a metal detector - there is no 'preferred status' here, and there may be a small wait at this point.
Persons with disabilities
or those of very advanced years will never have to queue at any
point (in fact the Vatican has won an award in this area), but
they can only be accompanied by one person, others in such a group
will
need to queue regularly, unless a paid tour is booked for these
people as well.
Wheelchairs are supplied free of charge inside the Vatican, but
the tour here follows a different route, and more than 2 people
may not
accompany the person in the wheelchair. If a group is larger than
this, they'll need to book a disabled tour and a non-disabled tour,
unless they choose to take the person in the wheelchair along with
them on the standard route and carry the chair themselves when
necessary (stairs).
Finally, please do supply us with a mobile/cell phone number, as well as your hotel number in order that we can contact you should we do receive any warning of last minute changes. The Vatican is a separate legal entity from the rest of Rome, and all bets are off when it comes to schedule changes and random decisions (suddenly closing one of the principle entrances, for example). We are not trying to scare anyone away, obviously, but clearly feel bound to make you aware of all contingencies. Vatican tours are one of our more recent (and very popular!) additions, and we're refining things where we can, especially in light of the explosion of visitors that Rome is enjoying in recent years.
We'll do everything that we can to accommodate your requests, and we'll obviously work with you to arrange an alternative should a tour become unfeasible due to Vatican-originated changes, but we cannot accept any responsibility for such changes. Finally - please do remember the Vatican dress code, all too easy to forget when the sun is high; you'll need to be wearing clothes that do not leave your shoulders/arms or lower legs bare. No shorts, short trousers, short skirts, sleeveless shirts or bare shoulders.
On this page you'll find information on opening hours, practicalities (dress code, disabled access and the like), the 'Whisper' audio system that must be used by groups of 8 or more people), and some background information on the tour guides themselves.
[Click here to begin the booking process for Tickitaly's group Vatican tours]
Quick booking links:
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