Our tour guide was absolutely AMAZING!!
Our tour guide was absolutely AMAZING! I wish I wrote down his name, but he spoke English very well, had a PHD in archeology, and was born in Sicily. Ferdinand? He was so super knowledgable and had so many tidbits of interesting trivia along out tour of the Vatican & Basilica, it was the most memorable and wonderful tours we've ever taken (me, my husband, college age daugher, and about 10 other people in our group). Although we had early access before being open to the public, please be aware that Rome is super super densley populated and that other tour groups all offer the same thing. So it won't be as crowded as a business hours ticket, but our 7:15am time was still pretty crowded and still alittle bit of wait time in lines. It's also a shame that we weren't able to go "backwards" through the museum to revisit areas within the Vatican that we zipped by too quickly en route to the Sistine Chapel... I was under the impression our admittance ticket would allow us to have the tour guide's expertise, but that we could go back to other areas at our leisure and back-track a bit. You cannot, which is a real bummer. We missed out on a ton of stuff me & my daughter (a university Fine Arts major) would have loved to indulge in and linger alittle longer in other areas and exhibits. Wear comfortable walking shoes, lots of stairs, dress in layers especially in winter where you will go from colder outdoor spots to indoor areas crowded with people. Despite that dissappointment of not being able to back track through other exhibits we passed, Ferdinand was worth every penny PLUS tip, and we would def recommend him for those interested in a scheduled visit without extra time to stop at other points of interest you might see along the way. This will be a lifelong cherished visit for me and my family, for sure.