Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel – Audio Guide | Tour Upgrade

I have no idea how this tour would’ve been. The day we were leaving, our flight was cancelled and rescheduled causing us to arrive in Rome long after our tour started. Viator was contacted about this and a refund was requested. The tour operator refused to refund us. Despite proof of the flight. Also confusing was the fact that the cancellation policy stated cancellation was allowable within 24 hours. I clearly notified Viator more than 24 hours in advance. I have proof of this also. Again the tour operated refused a refund. We are out about $350 due to the insensitivity of this tour operator. And let’s not forget we were within our 24 hour window. BUYER BEWARE. NO NOT USE THIS PARTICULAR TOUR OPERATOR.

WARNING: They give you two options in the booking summary of what's included but do not share anywhere that you are ONLY booking Option 1. There is no choice. Very misleading. Not worth the price for just skip the line. • PopGuide audio guide in 7 languages (Option 1) • Licensed Vatican guide for the guided tour option (Option 2) • Small group experience for guided tours (maximum 18 travelers) We received several internal email communications through Viator. We were at meeting point 30 minutes early. They suggest 15 minutes early for checkin. The tour guide messaged us in WhatsApp 10 minutes before tour asking if we are at the meeting point. After 10 minutes of messaging, we realize she is the person that has been pacing back and forth and has been there for at least 25 minutes. We checked in after 11am start time even though she had been there for a while. She never once looked up from her phone to find us. She never once had a sign or logo for us to identify her. She never once smiled. Once we connected, she gave us our tickets. Her communication was as if we had all of our questions answered and as if we were already be aware of the process. There was another couple she gave tickets to and told us to follow her. She said she would help us understand the audio guide when we got to the entrance and just turned around and she took off to lead us to the entrance. No conversation and very assumptive that we knew where were going and the streets to cross. We had trouble keeping up. Once at the entrance she led us directly to the entry point. it was very quick. Very easy. When I turned around to ask about the explanation of the app and she was literally gone. Disappeared. Did not respond to our messages asking about how to use the app. I would never spend $50 above the normal price of a ticket for what we experienced. I shared experience with Pointours and they never responded.

I don't indicate. Extremely unprofessional responsible in taking us to the destination. I didn't have all the tickets bought and I didn't have any skill in solving it. Besides being poorly educated and smelling a very strong sweat. She arrived late and then we stayed almost 1 hour to be able to resolve the ticket we had bought and that she did not have in her hands. I requested refund of the amount paid because the delay me not have enough time to do the visit to the desired locations and delayed all my schedule made.

The staff met us at the appropriate meeting place in a timely manner and provided our tickets. As far as skipping the line, it worked like a charm. I was disappointed though, because it was not clear that the audio guide was simply an app on your phone and my kids do not have phones. What is more, the audio tour was junk not very informative and not explaining a lot of pieces. We ended up purchasing the official museum, sponsored audio guide for our children inside the museum for around eight euros which came with a scavenger map and so that worked out. Not sure how worth this tourwas for the money, but I was having trouble buying official tickets for the museum without a tour operator, so this was my only option.

This was my second visit to the Vatican and I brought two first-timers with me. The skip-the-line tickets were genuinely worth every penny — on a brutally hot July day in Rome, watching the regular line snake around the block while we walked straight in was one of the best decisions of the trip. The audio guide was easy to use and well-paced — no complaints there at all. Here's the honest take though: the Vatican Museums are a massive, sprawling maze of galleries and artwork and you get funneled through most of it whether you want to or not. For travelers with limited time in Rome who are primarily there for the Sistine Chapel, it can feel like a long journey to get to the main event. By the end our group was ready to get out — not because the Sistine Chapel wasn't incredible, because it absolutely was, but because the sheer volume of what you're pushed through before getting there is a lot. If I could change one thing it would be the ability to skip directly to the highlights rather than being directed through the entire museum. Worth doing — just set realistic expectations about the time commitment and the heat. Go in with comfortable shoes, plenty of water, and an open mind. The Sistine Chapel itself is everything you've heard. Look up and just take a moment.

Hard to find the point person at the meeting place to download the app, she was not holding up the sign, just holding it under her tablet while she reviewed something. Then we thought she was who was guiding us, and another girl who did not introduce herself or the name of the tour company and was in a regular t-shirt and jeans ended up taking us over to the entrance and gave us directions. It worked out but very unprofessional and obvious both girls had zero customer service training or care. Once inside, the app was difficult to read in the different museums even when making the map larger. We all gave up eventually, walked through - and thankful for the skip the line and opportunity to tour the museum and Sistine Chapel but the rest was pretty much trash for the price we paid. 2 stars for the skip the line.

If I could give ZERO STARS I would. Tour guide was late. Didn’t answer multiple calls then when she finally answered all she said was, “no worries I’m on my way”. Directions provided said arrive at 8:15 which we did only to have our tour guide arrive at 9:00 after MULTIPLE calls to guide. Then when she did arrive she did not have our tickets and had to airdrop them to me (for all six of us). Then she just walked off with no instructions. We followed her through another group. ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!! Would NOT RECOMMEND! Viator would not stand behind tour…. Gave us a 15% refund. Stated they could only refund what tour would allow.

Codino is a wonderful tour guide I’m so happy to have gone on this tour!! Coming all the way from nyc with my friend, we felt safe and very welcomed♥️

This was a horrible scam. I went to the museum. 5:30 five minutes ahead of schedule and couldn’t find the group. At 5:40 they sent me message that I was supposed to meet them somewhere else five minutes before. Apparently the instructions were on the bottom of a PDF. It did not say anything about this on the email itself. I ended up having to buy a ticket to the museum on top of €120 already spent.

The Vatican Museum has so much to offer. It’s huge and you obviously can’t see everything on a tour but we had such a wonderful snippet of the museum that we felt really good about our tour. I can’t say enough about our tour guide, Sarah, she was amazing. She was so informative but didn’t overload us either. The Sistine Chapel is stunning. Take the time to just sit and look at each painting along the walls and what Michaelangelo is portraying. It enhances the experience. Great tour. Great guide.