I would rate this 4.9, if I could. The one thing that was a bit negative most likely was beyond the tour company's control. However, I'd like to make them aware.
We did this tour on May 22, 2024
In general, the tour was fantastic. Paolo picked us up right on time. He had the step stool as requested to help us climb in and out of the Mercedes van (these vans tend to have a high clearance). The van was very comfortable, except - the 6 seats faced each other (3 and 3), which meant somebody was always facing backward. This was an issue for one of us; she always faced forward. For those of us facing backward, we couldn't always see what Paolo was pointing out.
Paolo is an excellent driver - a Rome native, he navigated the streets like the pro he is. Truly impressive!
First we stopped at the Pantheon - stunning! The last time we visited there, the whole building interior was covered in tarps and scaffolding.
At the Trevi fountain, Paolo gave us a tip on great gelato that we took advantage of.
Next up was the Spanish Steps - always amazing!
At the Colosseum, we experienced a bit of confusion as to exactly where we were supposed to go, but somehow we figured it out. No time for an actual tour, but that was fine - in 2019 we took an in depth tour. The Colosseum is always awesome, in the literal sense of the word. Super crowded, but that's to be expected.
Next up: lunch! We didn't realize/forgot lunch was included. The default was supposed to be a "taster menu", but since most of us have food restrictions, we all ordered off the menu with no problem. The food was delicious! I had sea bass.
The gem of the day - The Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.
Here we go.
Let me make this clear - I was fully aware that this tour was not fully wheelchair accessible. Though the description on the Viator site did not specify exactly what was not wheelchair accessible, up until the Vatican Museum, I was able to use the wheelchair for everything up until that point. I am not wheelchair bound - I use it for the long walking periods. I can walk and I can do some steps. I do ask to avoid extensive steps.
We met the Vatican tour guide when we entered. Unfortunately, I did not catch his name. Immediately, I felt he was odd. He kept touching my face and arms, even after I asked him not to. He saw me in the wheelchair and told me there would be only one elevator - but after that, it would be flat. For the first time, I asked how many steps would be involved. "Oh, just a few," he said. This became his mantra.
Also, during the tour he kept taking our photos with his own phone. I explicitly asked him NOT to take photos of me in a wheelchair, but he did anyway, sneaking photos when I didn't see it coming.
We did take an elevator to the museum entrance. At some point, he made some reference to steps to the Sistine Chapel, but he was not clear at all.
I was able to use the wheelchair through most of the museum. There was one point where the museum staff insisted I use the elevator, even though the tour guide insisted I take the steps. As we exited the elevator - there were still steps to go down to the hallway! At this point, we could see our group in the distance. We caught up with them; the tour guide was very upset with me because I didn't take the stairs (even though I kept telling him I avoid stairs if at all possible).
We continued on, until we came closer to the Sistine Chapel.
HINDSIGHT: apparently, there *IS* access to the Sistine Chapel by an elevator, but to do that you have to bypass the museum. The elevator takes to you down to the exit of the Sistine Chapel. The path through the museum to the Chapel is one way, so if you take the elevator, you can't go backwards to see the museum.
However, the tour guide did not explain this *at all*. He said we would need to walk down to the chapel, and that wheelchairs were not allowed in the chapel. Before we started down, I asked repeatedly - how many steps are we talking about? 5 or 6? or 45? Because that would have changed my decision. He kept on say, "Oh just a few more, just a few more". Multiple times. "Just a few more, just a few more".
Turns out there were 3 *full* flights of stairs down, probably 50 or 60 steps!! If I had known that at the beginning, I would NOT have gone through the museum at all!
The tour guide "cheered" me on as I hobbled down the steps. I did make it down, but my left knee was already throbbing. There were a couple/3 more steps down to the chapel itself.
And that's when my knee blew out. It felt like someone was stabbing my knee with an ice pick. I could not put weight on it. And I could not use the wheel chair in the chapel.
I had to be basically carried out of the chapel to the exit, so I could sit in the wheelchair. That's where we saw people in wheelchairs entering the chapel from an elevator!! This hadn't had to happen at all!!!
This was the end of the tour - we took the elevator up to the main lobby. That's when I finally understood what had happened. The tour guide hadn't wanted to bother with helping me, because it would have meant changing the usual way he does things.
Once again, I want to make it clear - if I had known about all these steps on the tour before we started, I would have made a different decision. All of this needs to be made clear up front when you enter the museum, not after the fact.
The tour guide kept apologizing, saying, "I'm so sorry if anything I was apart of what happened to you." I replied, "Maybe next time, if someone says they can't do steps, believe them!".
NOTE: there are, in fact, wheelchair accessible tours of the Vatican museum and the chapel, so it can be done. It's possible the tour guide could have modified his tour, but he didn't want to.
All in all, a fantastic day will a bit of a downer ending. I ended up staying on board ship for 2 days resting my knee and taking meds.
So - UrbExcursions - please follow up with this Vatican tour guide. What he did was totally unacceptable.
This was a fabulous trip and we highly recommend this excursion/company. We are a family of 8 (6 adults/2 teens). We were picked up directly from the cruise terminal by Paulo, our driver. It was a 2hr drive to Rome, where we met Francesco, our guide for the day. He was friendly and very engaging. He took us to the front of the line at the Colosseum, told us about the history, took group photos and kept us moving along. Because there were 8 of us, we were split into 2 vans, but Francesco was on bluetooth in both vans and continued to point out points of interest along the route. We loved the sprinter vans because the driver could navigate the narrow streets (tour buses cannot) and we could hop in/out easily. We stopped at Trevi fountain and Spanish steps for about 30 min each. Had an excellent lunch at an authentic restaurant in Rome. They were ready for our group. There was so much food, we thought the appetizer was the main meal! Bottles of red and white wine were included. Our last stop of the day was the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. Again, Francesco was amazing, navigating us through the crowds! This was truly Adventures by Disney type service. We tipped the driver and Francesco for their excellent service! I would request him again!