Vatican Tours in Rome

The Vatican City Tours Scandal

2011-10-08T07:33:00.005+02:00

    Fraud. Not something one would immediately associate with the Vatican. A disturbing story emerged on St. Patrick's Day, not about an Irish tour guide (Rome has too many), but an American tour operator (perhaps of Irish descent, perhaps not) who saw fit to sell tickets for the beatification of late Pope John Paul II for £150 each. Ok, we all work on mark ups for the services we provide, but £150 to get into an event which is free rather overstepped the mark. The Vatican City Tours website was already making tens of thousands of euros a month selling Vatican tours online (even though the owner was an illegal tour guide running an unlicensed agency), so why on earth did he defraud others?

    The culprit is said to have been arrested in his Rome apartment where police discovered 15 computers and 21 firearms. Two other websites are also being investigated: http://www.limoservicesrome.eu/ and http://www.italianservices.biz/

   The bottom line is that Vatican City Tours has been purged from the internet for the greater good.

Vatican Tours in the Morning

2011-10-08T07:31:00.000+02:00

Group Walking tours in Rome » Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel Morning tour

If you want to see the best of the Vatican City after a late breakfast in Rome, our mid-morning tour with skip the lines access and an English speaking licensed tour guide is ideal! This tour covers the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel, with an optional visit to St. Peter's Basilica.

The When In Rome Tours Promise

** WE TAKE CARE OF YOUR VATICAN TICKETS WITH PRIORITY NO LINES ENTRANCE
** 45 Euro per person

No hidden costs.
English speaking guides.
Personalized assistance.
Original articles & top stories from Italy.
Free Rome orientation & maps at our office.

What You Will See

Our Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel tour is a morning tour covering the highlights from what is arguably the most important art collection in the world, spanning over 1,200 rooms. Highlights include the Rooms of Raphael, the Sistine Chapel and Ancient Roman and Greek pieces in the Belvedere Courtyard. As the Sistine Chapel is located some distance away from the main galleries, we have outlined the shortest possible path to get you there as quickly as possible with the minimum of fuss (while still covering all the most important masterpieces along the way). Our guides provide a full background on the Sistine Chapel, from before it was commissioned to the finishing touches, while distinguishing between truth and popular legends promulgated by Hollywood and popular books.

Upon leaving the Sistine Chapel, you will have direct access to St. Peter's Basilica which is normally restricted to official Vatican guided tours. All other visitors are forced to exit the Vatican, take the long route round to St. Peters, and line up again to get inside.

Tour Availability

Monday to Saturday excluding religious holidays. To check availability on a specific date, please use the link at the bottom of this page.

Meeting Point

10:30 AM (November to March: 11:00 AM) at When In Rome Tours office on Via Santamaura 21, just one block away from the Vatican Museums entrance. Our office is open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM for tourist assistance.

Tour Duration

2.5 hours

Pricing

45 Euro per person. You will skip the Vatican line. Children 10 and under are free, although children over 6 years will be expected to purchase an entrance to the Vatican Museums.

Current Promotions

Our buy three / get one free promotion is as follows. With three paying adults, one free guest may join this tour. To take advantage of this offer, simply fill out the booking form excluding the free guest from the form. For example, if there are four in your party, enter "3" in the booking form. In the remarks section of the form, enter "buy three, get one free". In the event of six paying adults, 2 may go free. Free guests must however pay for their entry ticket to the Vatican Museums.

Guided visit inside St. Peter's will be provided on a space available basis. The additional cost for a guided tour inside St. Peter's is 10 Euro per person.

Those who wish to tour on their own will be given an overview of the church and then allowed to walk around for as long as they like before leaving the Vatican.

Exclusions

Guide gratuity (optional).
Food, drink, personal extras.

Additional Information

Once your booking is received, you will receive an automatic email from our website. Within the next 24 hours, a second and more detailed confirmation will be sent to you. There is a strict dress code at the Vatican. Shoulders and knees must be covered for both women and men. Capri pants are permitted, as long as knees are well covered. Sandals are considered appropriate. This tour is conducted as a walking tour, as no vehicles are allowed inside the Vatican. As a significant amount of walking is required, in the event of physical disabilities, we ask that you contact us before booking so that we can assess whether or not a wheelchair is needed.

This tour is a group tour (average 15-20 people).

Book any three (3) of our private or group tours excluding those to Pompeii & Sorrento, and get one (1) Roma Pass free of charge! (Offer cannot be combined with any existing offers and/or discounts advertised on this website). Obviously this is not per person, it is per BOOKING of three or more tours as above, for which you will be offered ONE (1) FREE ROMA PASS.

For more information about high quality Vatican tours of Rome, please visit When In Rome Tours to browse our Vatican tourism services and TripAdvisor Rome reviews.

Vatican Tours

2011-10-08T07:13:00.001+02:00

    When In Rome Tours are an experienced tour operator in Rome and specialise in Vatican tours. Our travel agency office and meeting point is situated just a couple of minutes walk away from the Vatican Museums. Convenient for our customers who have booked their Vatican tour online to meet their guide and make their into the Vatican City in less than five minutes, and convenient for walk in customers who are in the area and looking for a reputable tour provider.

    There are a number of interesting articles which detail Vatican tour options, Vatican ticket prices and exactly what our customers will experience once they are inside the Vatican Museums with their guide.

    Please visit When In Rome Tours for more information.

Best Vatican City Tours, always rated 5 stars on TripAdvisor!

2011-09-12T17:00:00.006+02:00

Vatican small group tours » Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica & Vatacombs

The best way to skip the Vatican line before taking in all the Vatican Cty highlights! This tour covers the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and the 'Vatacombs' (rarely seen underground tombs of former Popes) in about three hours.

The When In Rome Tours Promise

** WE TAKE CARE OF YOUR VATICAN TICKETS WITH PRIORITY NO LINES ENTRANCE
** 55 Euro per person

No hidden costs.
English speaking guides.
Personalized assistance.
Original articles & top stories from Italy.
Free Rome orientation & maps at our office.

What You Will See

This Vatican City tour covers the highlights of what is arguably the most important art collection in the world, with more than 1,200 rooms. Such highlights include the Rooms of Raphael, the Sistine Chapel, and Ancient Roman and Greek pieces in the Belvedere Courtyard. As the Sistine Chapel is located at the far end of over 1200 galleries, we have outlined the shortest possible path to get you there quickly and without hassles or unnecessary waiting (while still covering the most important masterpieces along the way). Our guides provide a full background on the Sistine Chapel from before it was commissioned to the finishing touches while distinguishing between truth and popular legends promulgated by Hollywood and popular books.

After leaving the Sistine Chapel, you will have direct access to St. Peter's which is allowed only to official guided tours. All other visitors are forced to exit the Vatican, take the long route to St. Peters, and line up to get inside.

Our guide will lead you through the underground level we refer to as "The Vatacombs," a rarely seen area of the Vatican where tombs of the former popes are located. We then head up into St Peter's Basilica, the largest basilica in the world built over what are believed to be the bones of St. Peter. Included in this visit are The Pieta', and famous Dome designed by Michelangelo, the massive Baldacchino sculpted in bronze by Bernini, the Transfiguration by Raphael and other monuments of artistic importance.

Outside the church we cover the history of the Vatican State including its Swiss Guard and the design of St Peter's Square.

Tour Availability

10:30 AM (November to March: 11:00 AM).

Meeting Point

When In Rome Tours office, Via Santamaura 21 as illustrated on the map below.

Tour Duration

3 hours

Pricing

55 Euro per person (skip the line Vatican tickets included). Children 10 and under are free, although children over 6 years will be expected to purchase an entrance to the Vatican Museums.

Current Promotions

Buy three, get one free! With three paying adults, one free guest may join this tour. To take advantage of this offer, simply fill out the booking form, excluding the free guest from the form. For example, if there are four in your party, enter "3" in the booking form. In the remarks section of the form, enter "buy three, get one free". In the event of six paying adults, 2 may go free. Free guests must however pay for their entry ticket to the Vatican Museum.

Exclusions

Guide gratuity (optional).
Transfers to / from the Vatican.
Food, drink, and personal extras.

Additional Information

Once your booking is received, you will receive an automatic email from our website. Within the next 24 hours, a second and more detailed confirmation will be sent to you. There is a strict dress code at the Vatican. Shoulders and knees must be covered for both women and men. Capri pants are permitted, as long as knees are well covered. Sandals are considered appropriate. This tour is conducted as a walking tour, as no vehicles are allowed inside the Vatican. As a significant amount of walking is required, in the event of physical disabilities, we ask that you contact us before booking so that we can assess whether or not a wheelchair is needed.

This tour is a group tour (average 15-20 people). See our private Vatican tours options for more information on private guide service to the Vatican. Our office is open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM for tourist assistance.

Visit Rome Explorer for ideas on what to do in Rome after your Vatican tour!

Book any three (3) of our private or group tours excluding those to Pompeii & Sorrento, and get one (1) Roma Pass free of charge! (Offer cannot be combined with any existing offers and/or discounts advertised on this website). Obviously this is not per person, it is per BOOKING of three or more tours as above, for which you will be offered ONE (1) FREE ROMA PASS.

Choose When In Rome Tours for the best Vatican tours in Rome!

Help for start up Rome tours and Vatican tours providers

2011-07-13T14:22:00.010+02:00

    When In Rome Tours are now offering newcomer webmasters and more established website owners in the business of Rome and Vatican tours, the opportunity to earn generous commission payments by reselling our tourism products and services.

    Year on year, many new Rome tours websites crop up on Google. They list a great number of activities and we do wonder how on earth they manage to get hold of licensed guides, procure all the necessary legal paperwork and licenses required by law to operate a tour agency in Rome (which cost thousands of euros), and take care of every other aspect as regards working in Rome tourism. Perhaps they don't know what they are letting themselves in for, or they just don't care and are happy to walk the line.

    We tow the line, but while we don't plan on bailing out the competition - who will be undone by the authorities sooner or later - affiliates will be able to build web pages marketing our tour products, or add our tours to existing websites and be paid 20% of what we earn from the referral.

    We're already advertising on Google Adwords. For more information, contact: info@wheninrometours.com

Vatican Tours and the Mafia connection

2011-04-14T09:44:00.000+02:00

    With Vatican tour agencies in Rome still reeling from the news that Vatican City Tours are no more, it has come to pass that owners Thomas Burdick and Charlene Mitchell wrote 'Blue Thunder', which investigates the murder of Donald J. Aronow in February 1987. The story involves former Vice President George Bush, Chicago mobsters and a client list which included Red Adair, Evil Knievel and Ayatollah Khomeini.

    The plot thickens in the knowledge that Burdick used to write for Playboy magazine, where he began researching the Aronow story. Don Aronow is accused of leading at least one double life, somewhat ironic in that Burdick lived out a similar duplicitous life here in Rome under the guise of a legitimate Vatican tours agency.

   More news to follow about the Burdick / Mitchell story and of course our own Vatican tours, which are proving popular on Trip Advisor Vatican tours pages.

Vatican Tours for Schools and Colleges

2011-03-21T11:30:00.001+01:00

    When In Rome Tours are now offering special Vatican tours for groups of school pupils and college students. This tour covers the entire Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Vatacombs, St. Peter's Square and Basilica in approximately 4 hours.

    Our Prices are very reasonable and can be calculated per person as follows:

    Up to 15 students + a maximum of two adults: 400 Euro
    16-29 + a maximum of 3 adults: 570 Euro
    30-50 + a maximum of 4 adults: 920 Euro (enquire about larger groups)

    To read more Vatican tours news and other articles about sightseeing in Rome, visit us at http://wheninrometours.wordpress.com/

    To read about the trials and tribulations of living in Rome while working in the tourism industry, check out our main blogspot (over 150 articles) at http://wheninrometours.blogspot.com/ or for specific blogspot news about Vatican tours, http://vatican-tours-vatican-tickets.blogspot.com/