Flash Falasca Loc: Beverly Hills, Florida

Do the $125 and buy some photo postcards in the gift shop !! I resorted to this years ago on a trip to Niagara falls and none of my family would be in my photos so I went to the gift shops and bought beautiful professionally taken shots !!

Gianfranco47 Loc: Senoia GA

I read with not many pleasure all your comments about Vatican City and Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina) , i'm asking sorry for all the people that paid big sum of money to see those wonderful things , if you want to skip the line there is an official way - take the ticket on internet paying only 21 euros .
You cannot take photos inside but as you know with very small cameras or smartphone everyone can take a couple of photos.
Pay attention for a cost of tickets , i'm italian living in US i heard some case that people pay thousand of dollars to see these two sites , use official tours not private guide
thanks and regards
if you want some other info on Rome pls write me in private message , i can suggest how you can save money and see everything

Gianfranco

FotoPhreak Loc: Whittier, CA

Our family went to Europe in 2013 and we visited the Vatican. We showed up expecting to get in line with the thousands of other tourists to get in. Multiple touts approached us with offers for a tour similar to what you described. I don't remember the price, but it was somewhere around $50/person, not $500. Looking at the hours wait in the regular line we opted to take the tour. We were quickly lead through the museums. Photography was allowed except for the Sistine Chapel. It was possible to take photographs when they stopped to tell the group about the artwork. Otherwise you had to keep moving with your group, but I did get some descent grab shots. We went through the Sistine Chapel as a group but the Chapel was packed with people. It was my understanding the photography was strictly forbidden there; they had Vatican police to make sure no one took pictures. The tour ended at St Peters Cathedral and at that point you were on your own. I spent about 2 hours taking pictures in St Peters and got some very good pictures. The crowds sometime limit your photo opportunities if you don't want people in your pictures. Other than possibly being able to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel (I would verify that you could before forking out $500), we got the same tour as you described. I am not Catholic, but I enjoyed touring the Vatican. I would highly recommend the tour, but I think you can get the same tour for a lot less.

FrankR Loc: NYC

It’s the original, cleaned up. Restoration is not reproduction.

fotoman150

Hell yes!

dave_roe Loc: Rome Italy

It is simple. I live in Rome and my advice to folks who ask about the tour is this..... do not come in months known for high tourists visits. Summer (June-August) will be hot, humid and lines will wear you out. August is our holiday month and outside of the tourist traps a lot of places are closed for the entire month or a week or two.

As for the Vatican tour, they strictly enforce no picture taking in the Chapel. It is not the best place to take photos without the right lens, and tripod. The rest of the Vatican is open to shoot away.

Crowds at the museum are normal. It would seem every one is only there to see the Chapel. (like there is nothing else to see -not)

One tour few take is the Scavi Tours under St Peters. Tickets must be done well in advance as it is a very limited tour but it will give you a whole different look at things.

Are any of the jump the line tickets, official tours worth the price...... all comes down to your expectations, budget and time in Rome. If you have the time beak the Vatican into parts and take all the time in the world to enjoy the place.

eagle80 Loc: Kutztown, PA

Looks like the Catholics are still money hungry.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I think that is uncalled for and inaccurate. We spent hours touring St. Peter’s, from the roof to the catacombs and paid nothing.

SonyBug

Thank you to all the photogs that responded. At present, we have the Jump The Line tickets (125.00).

We are flying to Rome on my 80th birthday, October 28, and arrive Oct 29, 2019. That should be low season, and some of the early tours are actually cancelled the week before we get there. The ideas here are good, and my consideration is not so much about the money, but the time we have to be there. We would have to get up at 4:30 or so, try to find some coffee, and a cab to get there by 5:45 a.m. and then get on the tour. This visit to Rome is in conjunction with a Cruise on Celebrity Edge re-position to Ft Lauderdale. So, the cost of the tour is about 10% of the whole thing if we do it. Therefore it is not earthshattering for the cost, but will my body stand the screwed up hours. But, then, when am I going back to Rome???

My camera is a Sony a7III and with a Tamron 28-75 2.8 Lens, I have really good low light capability. Even shooting up as high as 12,000 ISO, there is little grain.

So, the jury is out. But I have applied for the Scavi tour that I did not know about. Thanks, Dave Roe!

Either way, I will post some of my pics when I get back. Thanks again all.

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

I’m looking forward to the pictures you post and your story of the tour. We were there with the crowd and did not take pictures. The sign said no. I am a rule follower. If I had known there were rules for other groups allowing photos I would probably have done what others were doing on our tour.

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

Is it of value to you? Can you afford it? If the answer to both is yes, then do it.

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

Yes, and I would probably do the same (and have) for other historical places and spaces.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Holy crap, NO. No tour (no matter where) is worth that "kinda" money!

gazoobie Loc: Lombard, Illinois

[quote=dyximan]A Once in lifetime Experience Priceless? Yes/ no[/quote I sure the guide gets a better fee but I’m also sure the permit for that timing is much higher Than the mass tours.

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

Would you pay $750.00/person to see the silver back gorillas for one hour? I did along with my wife and if we had the strength to do the climb up the mountain again, we would do it again! $500.00 to tour the Vatican seems pricey to me as we did that tour too in 2015 and paid $100.00 for the two of us. Guess inflation has got worse than I thought in Italy.