Fast-Track Vatican Guided Tour with Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's

Posted By : Christina_T
Our guide was knowledgeable, but a bit too slow in moving the group to each location. Our tour was scheduled at 4 to start with directions to arrive 30 min before, but when we arrived we were told to wait and come back a little before 4. Then with no explanation, the tour didn’t get started until about 4:20. Entrance tickets showed a 4:30 start time. Recommend updating the site to reflect the correct time for expectation management.
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Posted On : 2024-05-20 03:30:30

Posted By : RRMERENDINO

Disappointing experience with the Skip the Line: Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel with St. Peter's Basilica Access tour. The tour title promises more than it delivers. The meeting point was confusing, with vague directions provided instead of clear instructions. Our tour guide lacked proficiency in English and had minimal knowledge of the sites we visited.

The tour felt rushed, focusing solely on fast-tracking us through the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We spent minimal time in the Sistine Chapel, with just a brief ten-minute stay, before being released into St. Peter's Basilica to explore on our own. Much of the tour involved standing in a courtyard outside the museum, enduring the heat while the guide read from informational panels.

For those seeking a leisurely exploration of the Museum and Chapel, purchasing tickets directly from the Vatican at a fraction of the cost is recommended. Alternative means of accessing St. Peter's Basilica are also available, making this tour an unnecessary expense.
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Posted On : 2024-05-19 16:12:09

Posted By : Carla_G
The guide was funny but very informed on the historical information regarding the Vatican. I would do it again, such a great experience.
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Posted On : 2024-05-18 12:57:19

Posted By : Judy_F
Guide was nice and very knowledgeable, however we spent way too much time standing outside of the museum looking at pictures and hearing him describe what was inside va going inside and taking in the museum. Was very frustrating. Too detailed on history which we can read about. Wanted to walk more halls and keep moving not stop every 50 feet and listen for 10 minutes.
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Posted On : 2024-05-11 03:31:06

Posted By : johnzZ3108ST
The sites were beautiful the tour guide horrible. First he showed up 45 minutes late. Extremely rude. We did the English tour and it was so hard to understand him. When we asked to stop to take pictures we were told there is no time. We had 1 guide with 21 people.
We had the museum and Sistine chapel tour. We had to give a 20 dollar deposit (cash only) to use the radios. After the museum portion which he rushed through we got to see 3 out of 12 museums. He returned the 20 dollar deposit and 16 of the guest left bc he was rude to everyone.
I have done many tours on this trip in 9 different countries and this was the worst.
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Posted On : 2024-05-10 08:39:13

Posted By : Konrd_H
Vatican is huge but despite the size we were able to see the Museum: the amazing gallery of maps, the Laocoon group and of course the Sistine chapel and more… our guide gave us a very thorough insight about the chapel and Michelangelo’s work and with this it was a very cathartic experience to be there. At the end we could explore St Peters on our own. Great guidance, fully recommended! Thanks Chiara!
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Posted On : 2024-05-05 14:21:38

Posted By : 262blandinec
Group visit of 16 people. The guide was really great, passionate and fascinating! The visit lasted 2.5 hours, with little waiting to access the Vatican Museum and then the Sistine Chapel. I absolutely do! Thanks again to the guide!
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Posted On : 2024-05-05 13:42:50

Posted By : Fraser_N
Our tour guide was excellent and did an amazing job with what he had to work with. Engaging, funny, made sure that we saw the highlights and didn’t lose anyone from our group, despite this tour company often seeming to loose people. Unfortunately, he was let down by the disorganisation of the actual tour company. The tour was nothing close to the advertised length, almost to the point that I’d label it false advertising. We spent at least the first hour of ‘the tour’ waiting around outside the shop for the tour company to get themselves organised, and then more time queuing to get into the Vatican. It was advertised as a 3 hour tour and I suspect the actual tour was 1.5 hours at maximum.

We only booked this tour as there were no general tickets left for the Vatican museum, and I suspect this is why most people were on this tour. If you are too late to get general tickets and accept that this tour is a way of getting into the museum at a massive price premium, then that’s fair enough. I certainly wouldn’t recommend this tour company otherwise.
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Posted On : 2024-05-02 14:01:57

Posted By : Meera201
Would not recommend booking the Vatican tour with City Rome Tours. In our conformation email we were told to arrive at designated meeting spot 30 minutes prior to our tour. When we arrived 30 minutes prior to start of tour we were initially ignored by the man at the desk and then treated very rudely. He told us to return 10 minutes prior to start of the tour. When we returned the small office appeared very disorganized. We waited outside with other people who were also on the 12:30 tour. Eventually another person came out and called names and handed out entry tickets. This person was more helpful and explained that we would be taken to the Skip the Line entry spot and would have a 5 to 7 minute wait to get into the Vatican Museum. The line went quickly and we gained entry in timely manner. However we did not get a Guided Tour the tour was on our own.
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Posted On : 2024-04-24 21:21:45

Posted By : Shahnee_N
I had a frustrating experience with City Rome Tours. The ticketing process was unclear, leading to confusion at the tour start. I missed important information buried in excessive details on the website, emails and confirmation. The staff took no responsibility after failing to ensure all participants were ready before proceeding. The 10.30am tour guide was dismissive when I encountered issues and lacked compassion. Although they offered a later tour after this mistake, it was inconvenient, and the 2.30pm guide's unclear speech added to the disappointment. Overall, the service felt more transactional than customer-oriented.
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Posted On : 2024-04-24 13:03:49