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 is not necessarily a review but extended feedback. Firstly I would like to say that the Vatican guides (Marco and Roberta) at both the Vatican and the Pope's Palace were both amazing, particularly Roberta at the Pope's Palace who even stayed with us at the end of the tour to ensure we got back on the right bus back to the train station to return to Rome. I understood that this tour was not conducted (guided) by Walks Tours, but the haphazard way we were treated during out tour did not really meet my expectation of what a Walks Tour would be like (and considering the cost of the tour). We were stopped from boarding the train at the Vatican and made to wait whilst the Vatican staff checked with us repeatedly as to what tour we were on, where were our stickers, how many of us was there - before we were finally able to board the train. The train did not stop and let us off at Castel Gandolfo, but at Albano Laziale. From here we were bussed to the Barberini gardens for lunch. On return to Rome, the train dropped everyone off at Roma San Pietro - this is not mentioned anywhere on your website for this tour. At this station the others on our tour were confused about where we were and how to get back to their accommodation. It was fine for us as we have been to Rome a number of times and happened to be staying on that side of the city, we were fine to find our way home. This tour would be better if it cost more and had a Walk Tours guide with you for the whole day. Again I had read reviews on your website stating that there was no guide and people were unsure what would happen that day. At the very least perhaps you could provide people with a printed sheet with a general run down of the day and what will happen. We enjoyed what we saw but the whole day felt a bit haphazard.

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.