The Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel are closed on each Sunday except the last one of the month. The Basilica of St. Peter's is always open so you will be able to visit it and if you are lucky enough you might be able to see the Pope since he gives a Blessing on this day. When the Vatican museum is closed it will be replaced with a visit to the catacombs or something else you would like to see. The tour is very flexible so we do not follow a strict itinerary and if you have any suggestion we will be happy to satisfy it.

For those of you who are booking private tours for the first time, perhaps a little clarification would help. A tour driver and a tour guide are not the same. It is to your advantage when booking a private tour to be sure that you understand the difference and know in advance what you are paying for. A tour guide has a license, usually issued by the state / country. He or she has attended school to learn all about the sites you will see. A guide is permitted to go into the historical sites with you and tell you about the history. Naturally, their services will cost more.

A tour driver is not licensed, has not attended "guide" school, and is not permitted inside the site to tell you about the history. Naturally, their services will be more economical. Many drivers are just as well versed in the area history as the guides. The difference of course is that they have to tell you the facts before you go inside.

We offer two different services that of course are quoted differently:
a) Bus with driver and tour guide. A tour guide has a license, usually issued by the state / country. He or she has attended school to learn all about the sites you will see.
A licensed guide is permitted to go into the historical sites with you and tell you about the history. Naturally, their services will cost more.
b) Bus with driver and tour escort , which is training to be a guide but doesn't have a permit.

Honestly their service is more requested since they study a lot and most are still at school, and give more or less the same information the professional guides do. They speak English and are well mannered. However due to strict Italian laws & regulations that protect officially licensed guides, our tour escorts can explain the sights only from inside the vehicle, but are not allowed to do so once they are outside the vehicle. Naturally, their services will be more economical.

Payment can be made in US Dollars, Euro, traveller cheques in Euro or Us Dollars or personal cheques at the end of each tour. NO CREDIT CARD payments accepted!!! The credit card is used to guarantee your reservation but cannot be used as final payment. Please note, that the exchange rate is normally a little higher than the stock market...but for sure better than the one you get in the US/Canada. The banks in Europe add about 7 cents more to the exchange rate. I.e. today exchange rate 1 euro = 1.33 usd; at the bank in Italy it will be 1 euro = 1.40 usd. So we will use the bank exchange fee/rate on the day of the tour.