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Scavi tour can we still see St Peter's after the tour


HEINER
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We have tickets for the Scavi tour. After the tour can we stay in St Peter's Basilica for a while?

 

We are also going to book the night time Vatican tour but it does not include St. Peter's Basilica.

 

Or should we just book the day time tour that included everything?

 

We really want to do the night time tour as everyone says it's a great tour with less people.

 

Thanks, for any information you can give us.

Edited by HEINER
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We have tickets for the Scavi tour. After the tour can we stay in St Peter's Basilica for a while?

 

We are also going to book the night time Vatican tour but it does not include St. Peter's Basilica.

 

Or should we just book the day time tour that included everything?

 

We really want to do the night time tour as everyone says it's a great tour with less people.

 

Thanks, for any information you can give us.

 

Yes, at the end of the Scavi tour you are able to go directly into St. Peter's Basilica and you can stay as long as you like (e.g., the tour is over).

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Yes, at the end of the Scavi tour you are able to go directly into St. Peter's Basilica and you can stay as long as you like (e.g., the tour is over).

 

 

That was just the information I was looking for.

 

Thanks

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  • 7 months later...
That was just the information I was looking for.

 

Thanks

 

Heiner, Have you done the scavi tour yet.

We have one booked for 10:30 on the morning that we embark in Civitavechicca.

I'm wondering how long the tour is? How was it?

My DH is very excited about the tour.

We have tried to book the last 3 times we went to Rome and were never able to get an appointment.

 

Thanks

Lois

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Heiner, Have you done the scavi tour yet.

We have one booked for 10:30 on the morning that we embark in Civitavechicca.

I'm wondering how long the tour is? How was it?

My DH is very excited about the tour.

We have tried to book the last 3 times we went to Rome and were never able to get an appointment.

 

Thanks

Lois

 

The tour itself lasts about 90 minutes, not including any time you want to spend in the Basilica afterwards.

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The tour itself lasts about 90 minutes, not including any time you want to spend in the Basilica afterwards.

 

thank you for the info Cruisemom42. we will not be spending any time at the Basilica afterwords. We will go back to our hotel to pick up our luggage, and then head straight to the train station.

Lois

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We have tickets for the Scavi tour. After the tour can we stay in St Peter's Basilica for a while?

 

We are also going to book the night time Vatican tour but it does not include St. Peter's Basilica.

 

Or should we just book the day time tour that included everything?

 

We really want to do the night time tour as everyone says it's a great tour with less people.

 

Thanks, for any information you can give us.

 

At the end of the tour(at least the one we did) you go up a staircase and you are in the middle of St. Peters and the tour disburses from there so you can spend as much or as little time as you like there. It's a very interesting tour and we were so glad we were able to get an appointment for it.

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I have done the Scavi tour and it is indeed very interesting. One word of caution ..... if you are claustrophobic it might not be the tour for you. Our tour group lost about 6 because of tight quarters. There was a tour guide who took them out before it became really tight. Once they left the main group, no one else was allowed to go back. Once we finished the tour we climbed the stairs and were in St. Peters.

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When I did the Scavi tour, our tour guide dropped us off at an entrance manned by two Swiss Guards. The scavi office was right there beyond their post. There was no line at all. We just had to show the guards our confirmation papers for the tour, and we went right in. If I remember correctly, we exited the scavi tour into the papal catacombs and then walked directly to the basilica.

 

The scavi tour is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I would recommend doing some homework prior to going in order to really understand its significance.

 

I am claustrophobic, and even though the humidity is very high down there, I brought a spray bottle of water with me. It helped a lot. It took a few minutes after going down the elevator for me to adjust, but I got through it. I am so glad I stuck it out.

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For those who have already taken the scavi tour, how/when did you incorporate the museums & Sistine Chapel into your planning?

 

We were lucky enough to get a 9am scavi tour, trying to plan the rest of our day.

 

We are only in Rome for a day and half, in addition to the Vatican we want to see the Colosseum.

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For those who have already taken the scavi tour, how/when did you incorporate the museums & Sistine Chapel into your planning?

 

We were lucky enough to get a 9am scavi tour, trying to plan the rest of our day.

 

We are only in Rome for a day and half, in addition to the Vatican we want to see the Colosseum.

 

 

With such a short amount of time, you'll probably want to plan to do everything at the Vatican in one "go" without having to go back there a second time.

 

I'd leave the Colosseum for the half day (which is not, I assume, the day you have the Scavi tour booked.)

 

I'd plan to take the Scavi tour at 9:00 am, which will probably finish around 10:30. Take Rick Steves notes or podcast with you for a self-tour of St. Peter's after the Scavi tour, since you end up there and it saves you having to wait in the security line outside.

 

After this I would look for a quick bite to eat -- there are a number of uninspiring bars where you can grab a sandwich or get a quick slice of pizza. If food is an important part of the experience, look for the Pizzarium in the vicinity that's often recommended by slidergirl.

 

Make a reservation for the Vatican museum online for whatever time in the early afternoon you think is reasonable (after lunch and getting back to the museum entrance, which is a fair distance from the basilica entrance. Maybe 2:00 pm? If you are a little early, they generally will let you in anyway.

 

Spend about 2-3 hours in the museum.

 

In order to see something else of Rome, I'd plan to eat in the evening near one of the iconic areas such as Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon. These three areas (plus the Spanish steps if you are so inclined) make for a reasonable evening walk either before dinner -- if you eat on Italian time -- or after dinner.

 

Then spend whatever time you have on your half day seeing the Colosseum and perhaps something of the Forum as well, since it's included on the same ticket.

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  • 1 month later...
You should be fine, time-wise. I'm sure you'll enjoy the tour and the cruise!

Will just poke my head in here to say "THANK YOU, Cruisemom" for suggesting the Scavi to us for Apr. 2016. It was GREAT! So very interesting! The best thing we did of all of the tours we did in the 4 days.:)

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  • 4 weeks later...

This thread has been really helpful. I too have booked a Scavi tour that starts at 11:00 am. I was wondering what I could do before the tour and after? I honestly would like a guided tour of the Vatican afterwards. How would I go about arranging that?

 

And lastly, I understand photography is strictly forbidden on the tour, and I will definitely not photograph anything but I would like to carry my iphone with me. Would this cause a problem? Should I not bring my iphone?

 

 

Thanks in advance

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This thread has been really helpful. I too have booked a Scavi tour that starts at 11:00 am. I was wondering what I could do before the tour and after? I honestly would like a guided tour of the Vatican afterwards. How would I go about arranging that?

 

And lastly, I understand photography is strictly forbidden on the tour, and I will definitely not photograph anything but I would like to carry my iphone with me. Would this cause a problem? Should I not bring my iphone?

 

 

Thanks in advance

We went on the Scavi tour last year and it was fine to take iphones. As you said, no pics though. Wonderful tour!!!

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This thread has been really helpful. I too have booked a Scavi tour that starts at 11:00 am. I was wondering what I could do before the tour and after? I honestly would like a guided tour of the Vatican afterwards. How would I go about arranging that?

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Are you just in Rome for the day coming from a cruise ship? Or are you staying in Rome? (I'd give different answers depending on your circumstances...)

 

If you want, you can book an official tour directly through the Vatican site. Count on the Scavi tour taking about 90 minutes. Allow another half hour to get to the Vatican museum entrance afterwards, i.e., don't book another tour before 1:00 pm.

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Any recommendations for a place to grab breakfast before our 9am Scavi tour? Or for lunch following before we visit the museums?

 

 

Breakfast in Italy is sort of a non-event. You can get coffee and a pastry (or to Italians, cappuccino and a cornetto) at many locations -- every corner seems to have a bar or coffee shop.

 

(Note that a bar, in Italy, has a somewhat different connotation -- it's a place that sells drinks but also coffee, and often pastries, panini, and other light food items.)

 

Lunch in the immediate vicinity of the Vatican is geared to tourists for obvious reasons, so while there's nothing very outstanding, you shouldn't have a problem finding somewhere to grab a quick bite. If good pizza is important to you and you have the time, you can look up Pizzarium, a much-raved about pizzeria (nontraditional) that's nearby.

 

http://katieparla.com/pizzarium-reopens-today-in-rome/

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Are you just in Rome for the day coming from a cruise ship? Or are you staying in Rome? (I'd give different answers depending on your circumstances...) If you want, you can book an official tour directly through the Vatican site. Count on the Scavi tour taking about 90 minutes. Allow another half hour to get to the Vatican museum entrance afterwards, i.e., don't book another tour before 1:00 pm.

 

I am staying in Rome for 5 days :D. I plan to see most of the Vatican the day of the Scavi tour. Do the tour starting from 11:00am, then tour the Vatican Museum, wondering how long we should spend there, I don't want to rush anything. St.Peters Square and going up to the dome. If there is anything else you can suggest, I am open to all ears.

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I plan to see most of the Vatican the day of the Scavi tour. Do the tour starting from 11:00am, then tour the Vatican Museum, wondering how long we should spend there, I don't want to rush anything. St.Peters Square and going up to the dome. If there is anything else you can suggest, I am open to all ears.

 

If your Scavi tour starts at 11 AM it will end in the basilica shortly before 2 PM. The last entrance to the museums is at 4 PM, allowing time to walk the half mile from the basilica to the museums and get through security, I'd want to be leaving the basilica no later than 3:30. That's probably not enough time to visit both the basilica and climb the dome, so I would plan on climbing the dome in the morning, before the Scavi tour.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just bumping this thread so I can tell y'all my plans and hopefully they are correct. At 8:30 am go into the St.Peter's Basilica, (go through security check points) and then look for the line for going up to the Cupola, which I believe is on the right of the entrance in the Basilica. Go up to the Dome, spend time there, then at 10:30 am come back down and go to my Scavi tour which is scheduled at 11:00 am, the tour is about 90 min and it ends inside the Basilica. Look around and then make my way to the Vatican Museum. Spend about 3+ hours there.

 

Now my concern is the Scavi tour does not allow cameras, backpacks, is there a place inside the Basilica that I can put these things on hold? Like a bag checkin place?

 

Thanks in advance for answering my questions, every one here has been so helpful.

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Just bumping this thread so I can tell y'all my plans and hopefully they are correct. At 8:30 am go into the St.Peter's Basilica, (go through security check points) and then look for the line for going up to the Cupola, which I believe is on the right of the entrance in the Basilica. Go up to the Dome, spend time there, then at 10:30 am come back down and go to my Scavi tour which is scheduled at 11:00 am, the tour is about 90 min and it ends inside the Basilica. Look around and then make my way to the Vatican Museum. Spend about 3+ hours there.

 

Now my concern is the Scavi tour does not allow cameras, backpacks, is there a place inside the Basilica that I can put these things on hold? Like a bag checkin place?

 

Thanks in advance for answering my questions, every one here has been so helpful.

 

 

Just at the entrance steps of the Basilica, in the same area as the entrance to the dome, there is a free baggage check.

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  • 1 month later...

If we do a private entrance early morning Vatican tour at 730am, would we have time for a Scavi tour if we want to do a VIP Colosseum Tour at 2p. We only have two days in Rome coming from a cruise the day prior. This is would be the second day. After the Colosseum Tour we head to the airport for an overnight and the out early AM.

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If we do a private entrance early morning Vatican tour at 730am, would we have time for a Scavi tour if we want to do a VIP Colosseum Tour at 2p. We only have two days in Rome coming from a cruise the day prior. This is would be the second day. After the Colosseum Tour we head to the airport for an overnight and the out early AM.

 

That would depend on when your Scavi tour is? Did you request a tour on the date that you will be in Rome?

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