Vatican Inside & Out: Sistine Chapel, Papal Train, & Summer Palace Lunch

We were told to be there at 730. Our tour guide showed up at 8:05. The Vatican was extremely crowded which was not the tour guide’s fault. We had to stay at a steady pace so we had very little time to view the pieces of work. We could have benefited a bit more on the history/meaning of some things. Where it fell apart was at the train. Nobody told any of us the itinerary once we got on the train. The lunch left a lot to be desired. I appreciated going to the Vatican on a tour but there is a lot of room for improvement.

This tour would have been great except for one no small thing. We were met by our guide who provided an excellent tour of the Vatican grounds and the Sistine Chapel. We thought she would be our guide for the rest of the day. We were then taken over to the train station and put on a train. After a short train ride, when we got off, we were received by a set of buses and handed over to a driver who took us to the papal summer grounds. When we were dropped off at the train station, we were never explained what to expect or who would be meeting us on the other side. We got off of the bus with no idea what to do? or where to go? We were dropped off in front of a restaurant / concession area and just assumed we were supposed to go inside. We were served lunch, spoke to other travelers who were also trying to figure out "Now What?" After lunch and great conversations with fellow travelers, we got up and just assumed we were now on our own to walk around. We were then later intercepted by a lady who told us she was our tour guide for the next portion of our trip. (this was a 2.5 hour gap without knowing what to do or where to go) - like I said "No small thing" If our initial tour guide stayed with us for the whole day like we assumed, rode the train with us, ate lunch with us, & returned with us, this would have been an excellent tour. When we paid for a "small PRIVATE group tour" we thought this is what were going to get. Technically there were only four of us in our group so technically this meets the SMALL We never imagined we were just going to be handed off like some piece of meat or something.

This tour was well worth taking. Guides Kinga (in the Vatican) and Patrizia (at Castel Gandolfo) were very welcoming and informative. The lunch was pleasant, too.

This was a long 10-hour tour - not for the fainthearted. But it was also super-rich in detail and cultural significance. I had been to the Vatican before, but learned a lot of new things on this tour. Being able to explore and experience Castel Gandolfo was a highlight and it's something not a lot of tourists have had access to before. If you want a closer glimpse into life within the Vatican, then this is the tour for you.