Scavi Tour - How Far in Advance do they Confirm?

[Hyundaigirl]

Hi all - yes....another question about the Scavi tour.

 

We are doing a cruise at the end of September and then spending several days in Rome afterwards during the 1st week of October. I had read that you had to submit your request for the Scavi tour well in advance so I sent my email about 12 days ago ( about 9 months in advance). I got the auto reply from them almost immediately but I'm wondering how long I'll have to wait for a confirmation? It sounds like most people submit their request about 3 months in advance and get a confirmation fairly quickly.

 

For those of you who have done the tour, how far in advance did you send your request and how long did you wait for the confirmation?

 

Thanks

[prish]

Don't believe they confirm very much in advance. We're doing a cruise in June and I'd emailed them in Dec but for some reason I didn't get the auto reply, maybe it went into my spam folder, which I empty every now and then. Am thinking of emailing them again early Feb, you could perhaps wait a bit longer. I was told by one of the Rome destination experts on Trip Advisor that there are only 2 people handling the Scavi emails and sending multiple messages will only clog up the system. BTW, she also told me I'd sent my request too far in advance! Anyway, will let you know how it goes, good luck:)

[dogs4fun]

I sent my request about 6 months in advance and received my confirmation within 2 weeks. :)

[Hyundaigirl]

Thanks - problem is that they don't actually tell you when to send the request, only that you have to send it well in advance. Hopefully we aren't waiting months for a confirmation because it kind of handcuffs you when trying to book other tours.

 

I did get the autoreply almost immediately and then added that address to my contacts so that any further e-mails didn't get caught up in my junk folder.

 

I'll let you know once I her something.

[cmdchiefthom]

I received my reservation with tour time and instructions Tuesday for the tour on 2 May 2014. I sent the reservation request in June of 2013.

[Hyundaigirl]

I received my reservation with tour time and instructions Tuesday for the tour on 2 May 2014. I sent the reservation request in June of 2013.

 

Thanks for that information - that was good to know. So it looks like they confirm about 3 or so months in advance. And I thought I sent my request early! So I'll expect to hear from them around June.

 

Thanks again! :)

[Steirisch]

It's evidently a very popular tour and the fact that so few people are allowed on each tour. I tried in June of 2012 for late October and of the two dates I requested, they were both fully booked.

[crazygirl!]

I sent my request in May for a November tour and I got a confirmation in June (exactly a month later).

[MayasWay]

If it helps to know ... our data points for the Scavi tour:

 

We traveled off season (late October). I was unable to get an email to them with my home email, but using a gmail account it went through with no problems (not sure why that happened).

 

Sent my request (the one that finally went through) on Sep 1 and had a confirmation on Sep 2 for a tour on Oct 28.

 

As I understand, it helps if you can give them more than one date to check, and use your finest pleasantries in the correspondence.

 

Best of luck - a highlight of our trip!

[Hyundaigirl]

If it helps to know ... our data points for the Scavi tour:

 

We traveled off season (late October). I was unable to get an email to them with my home email, but using a gmail account it went through with no problems (not sure why that happened).

 

Sent my request (the one that finally went through) on Sep 1 and had a confirmation on Sep 2 for a tour on Oct 28.

 

As I understand, it helps if you can give them more than one date to check, and use your finest pleasantries in the correspondence.

 

Best of luck - a highlight of our trip!

 

Thanks - I did give them 3 dates so hopefully it won't be too too long before we hear something.

[Lottie_Cruiser]

Wow, don't know how we got so lucky. I emailed my request yesterday afternoon for a June 2014 visit and this morning when I went to read my email, there was a reply. We now have an afternoon reservation for 3 on the date requested.

[prish]

Wow, don't know how we got so lucky. I emailed my request yesterday afternoon for a June 2014 visit and this morning when I went to read my email, there was a reply. We now have an afternoon reservation for 3 on the date requested.

 

Oh wow, that was fast. I sent out my request end Nov and received my confirmation for June last week. Anyway, am thrilled we'll get to do the tour, didn't mind waiting:)

[Hyundaigirl]

So it does look like the time frame for confirmation is about 3 months in advance. Our request is for October so I'll be watching my email and hopefully will get our confirmation in June.

[Cretia]

We traveled off season (late October). I was unable to get an email to them with my home email, but using a gmail account it went through with no problems (not sure why that happened).

 

I have a question for you, please. How do you know you were unable to get through to them with your home email?

 

I'm asking because I didn't get an auto-confirmation. Obviously, I don't want to be annoying them with emails, but I am worried that it didn't go through.

 

Thanks!

[prish]

I sent two requests 7 weeks apart and didn't get the automated reply for either, but later Scavi confirmed our tours, several others have reported the same. So I think if your mail doesn't bounce back you're good. I hear there are just two people handling the tours at the Scavi office, so there's rather a backlog. Good luck!

[Turtles06]

Just to clear up some confusion: have some folks received an auto-reply to their reservation requests? I'm going to send a request soon and don't want to be overly concerned that I haven't received one if in fact they are not regularly sent.

 

Thanks as always for all the great info.

[Cretia]

I sent two requests 7 weeks apart and didn't get the automated reply for either, but later Scavi confirmed our tours, several others have reported the same. So I think if your mail doesn't bounce back you're good. I hear there are just two people handling the tours at the Scavi office, so there's rather a backlog. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the confirmation. I didn't get a bounce back, so I won't bother them for a while.

 

Thanks!

[nemini]

Data point: I mailed my request in Oct 2013 for early June 2014. I got an auto-confirm, which went straight to my Spam folder, possibly due to the inexact English syntax. (I found it a month later, when searching for something else in there.) I received my confirmation on Feb 14, which said I needed to reconfirm (I.e., making sure I was still interested in the time given, I suppose) within 10 days. I responded a few minutes later, then received a final confirmation the next day to print out and show to the Swiss Guards to get to the Scavi office.

 

So yeah, about 3-4 months looks to be about right.

[prish]

I think the auto-reply is kind of hit and miss, some get it and others don't. What I'd suggest is to add Scavi's email id to your contacts when you send out your request, that way you're sure the reply won't go into spam. Once you get you spots you have 10 days to confirm your participation. They then send back a confirmation which you need to take with you for the tour, along with id, you pay just before the tour.

[vmarq]

We will be in Rome in May. I emailed them 2 days ago and was SHOCKED to get a reply confirming our tour the very next day. I wasn't expecting a reply so soon. We were only able to give them 2 dates and were delighted one of them was confirmed.

[workintocruz2]

hi all

we are on the Ufficio Scavi tour May 3 and want to tour the rest of the Vatican on our own after this tour. Does anyone know if we bought tickets online for the museum/Sistine Chapel if we would be able to avoid the lineup and go right from the Scavi site to see the rest? I read that it is quite a distance between the two areas, but if buying our tickets in advance would shorten our wait time.

[cruisemom42]

hi all

we are on the Ufficio Scavi tour May 3 and want to tour the rest of the Vatican on our own after this tour. Does anyone know if we bought tickets online for the museum/Sistine Chapel if we would be able to avoid the lineup and go right from the Scavi site to see the rest? I read that it is quite a distance between the two areas, but if buying our tickets in advance would shorten our wait time.

 

The Scavi tour generally ends at a point where there is easy access to the basilica (St. Peters). There is no easy way or "shortcut" to the Vatican museums, you just have to walk around (to the left, with the basilica behind you) to the museum entrance.

 

Buying a ticket online in advance will certainly help you to avoid any line-up at the museum entrance, however. I was just there (for the new Via Triumphalis necropolis tour), and they have set up several different lines (divided by ropes) outside the entrance. Let them know you have a voucher and you can bypass the ticket purchase line.

[workintocruz2]

The Scavi tour generally ends at a point where there is easy access to the basilica (St. Peters). There is no easy way or "shortcut" to the Vatican museums, you just have to walk around (to the left, with the basilica behind you) to the museum entrance.

 

Buying a ticket online in advance will certainly help you to avoid any line-up at the museum entrance, however. I was just there (for the new Via Triumphalis necropolis tour), and they have set up several different lines (divided by ropes) outside the entrance. Let them know you have a voucher and you can bypass the ticket purchase line.

 

 

thanks Cruisemom

since you were just there,maybe you could give me an idea if we are even going to have enough time to see everything. our Scavi tour is 145 - then we will see the Basilica. from what I understand, the Sistine chapel and the museums are included in one ticket. we are short of time as we arrive in Rome that morning and are trying to fit in as much as we can. If we can only see one or the other, I would pick the Sistine Chapel over the museums.

[cruisemom42]

thanks Cruisemom

since you were just there,maybe you could give me an idea if we are even going to have enough time to see everything. our Scavi tour is 145 - then we will see the Basilica. from what I understand, the Sistine chapel and the museums are included in one ticket. we are short of time as we arrive in Rome that morning and are trying to fit in as much as we can. If we can only see one or the other, I would pick the Sistine Chapel over the museums.

 

You have no choice -- the Sistine chapel can ONLY be reached by going through the museum, which in itself takes time.

 

The Vatican is notorious for changing the pathway through the museum, but when I was there two weeks ago, there were two "routes" marked by signs -- a quick route to the Sistine and a longer, more comprehensive route that takes in more of the museum.

 

But even on the "quicker" route, you still have to walk through some of the Roman sculpture, the tapestries, and the maps before you get to the Sistine chapel. And if it's crowded, you can only hurry so much....

 

I just re-read that you arrive in the morning. If possible, you can try to get to the Vatican early enough to visit the Basilica BEFORE your Scavi tour, then you would have enough time to go through the museum and Sistine afterwards...

Edited March 12, 2014 by cruisemom42

[Turtles06]

 

Buying a ticket online in advance will certainly help you to avoid any line-up at the museum entrance, however. I was just there (for the new Via Triumphalis necropolis tour), and they have set up several different lines (divided by ropes) outside the entrance. Let them know you have a voucher and you can bypass the ticket purchase line.

 

Hi cruisemom, welcome back! I've been awaiting your review of the new necropolis tour (which I assume you'll post on the thread you began about the opening of this new tour), and your thoughts about choosing between this and the Scavi tour (assuming a visitor can only do one on a given trip and hasn't ever done either).

 

Thanks so much!