Skip The Line Vatican Sistine Chapel And St Peter’s Basilica

Had an AWFUL experience with the TOWNS OF ITALY tour company. We booked a 7:45 AM tour, with hopes of skipping the major crowds. We arrived at 7:30 as the company recommended. However, our guide was 30 minutes late. After this, we were waiting in an extended line, as the other 7:45 groups had already moved along and gotten in. We made our way into the Vatican museum, where we then had audio problems with our headsets. Our guide took more than 30 minutes to get a new microphone (leaving the group standing outside in a crowd). By the time the tour started it was 9:45AM and the museum was jam packed with other, later, tour groups. I paid for a 3 hour tour, starting at 7:45 and ending at 11:15, we still were done by 11:15, so I’m sure you can imagine how rushed the tour was. Luckily for me, I booked using GetYourGuide, and complained to them after the tour. They reached out to the Towns of Italy, who completely denied my complains, saying the guide “perfectly” did his job. I was able to be refunded by GetYourGuide for 1/2 of the price, but received absolutely nothing from this joke of a company. I am 100% positive almost everyone in my group that day would have complained, as we were all talking it during the tour. However, the company took 0 accountability for their mistakes, and instead said I was lying. I would never recommend using TOWNS OF ITALY as your tour guide, just book with any of the other many options.

This was the perfect tour! Our guide, Milicia, was the best!! So smart and she provided us a wealth of information and background as to what we were seeing. She was entertaining, funny, and very knowledgeable! The company provided excellent communication so we knew where to meet, and they were there prepared and organized for our group. The headsets provided were helpful so we could hear everything our guide was saying even when not right near her. The tour itself was well paced, we never felt rushed, and we got to see all of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St Peter’s Basilica. When the tour ended, we were able to stay in the Basilica and continue on our own. We also went downstairs into the crypts to view that area. And then finally to the gift shops before exiting. It was a wonderful experience- our favorite part of Rome, and I highly recommend this tour.

Kate was awesome, and super knowledgeable! The tour through the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel were just amazing!

I paid extra money for this tour thinking it would give some better value but disappointed. The guide was very ordinary from the start with no name, the detail of her story telling and facts questionable, losing members of the group and abandoning the group b4 St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s telling when most of the group were Americans and only one person tipped her 🤔

We opted for the earliest tour of the day, meeting at the Caffe Vaticano meeting point at 7:30 am. Our tour guide was Tatyana. Unfortunately, this experience didn't match the enjoyment of other tours we've taken on this vacation. While I don't doubt her knowledge of the Vatican, Tatyana struggled to make the tour interesting and engaging. She would abruptly shift from one topic to another, often getting distracted. Her delivery lacked captivating anecdotes and felt more like a dry lecture aimed at students preparing for an exam. She occasionally stuttered and inserted Russian words, also sharing unrelated stories about her child or she spend so much money studying during her younger years that didn't connect with our tour. Tatyana tended to talk excessively about aspects not directly related to the paintings and sights within the Vatican. She frequently repeated phrases like "I told you earlier," “I like I said” “see I told you” which became frustrating. Although knowledgeable, it would have been more engaging if she could stick to one topic and complete her thoughts before moving on. We chose the earliest tour to avoid crowds, but unfortunately, we found ourselves packed into the too crowded in the golden ceiling room due to lengthy digressions, it’s like we took the afternoon tour. Despite this experience, I still believe in the value of guided tours to avoid ticket hassles and gain deeper knowledge. However, I would prefer a different guide next time. During our tour, one family even opted to leave in the middle of Tatyana's talk, returning their earphones, as they found it too dull to continue.