What a Life Tours

A group of four of us were approached by this tour company outside the Vatican and semi-​aggressively pressured into a tour. We thought the tour started at 2:30pm, however this was just the «free introduction» portion, which is about an hour long in which 25% was filled with bad jokes, 50% some historical facts about the Vatican, and 25% of talk to fill the time. We walked around the Vatican assuming that we would go straight into the Vatican museum, however we ended up at the tour company’s office, which was pretty frustrating since we felt like we had just wasted an hour. I did feel like we were mislead in the beginning about what was going to happen. The actual tour started around 3:30pm and lasted 2 hours long – the tour itself was fine, passing many tour groups, ours didn’t seem any better or worse than others. The price was 46 euros per person, in which I have no comparisons so I’m not sure what this compares to the average. All in all, I would recommend this tour company only if you are sure exactly when you will get into the museum – I did not like the fact that we wasted a lot of time, something I think that was done on purpose to encourage us to buy the tour.

We booked a tour with these guys for the Vatican a few weeks before our trip and the overall experience was superb. The communication from email to the tour itself was clear and concise and we had an excellent time.
The 9:30am tour only had 8 people for Easter Weekend so it was cool to have a small group. Obviously one of the perks was to skip the f’n line, which made the price totally worth it. We were able to easily understand our tour guide and she pointed out many things we would have missed. The first 1.5 hours or so felt a bit rush, but that was ok since we all know the grand daddy of them all was waiting for us, the Sistine Chapel.
One of the benefits with signing with a respected tour company is many of the tour guides are familiar with the Vatican staff. So we had an idea of when the Sistine Chapel or St. Peters was going to be closed early or not. If you plan on multiple tours, make sure to ask for a discount!

Very good tour operator! We wanted to see the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica.
With a group of 12′ we figured we better have an escorted tour and this company was great.
Early access, separate lines, knows all the shortcuts and all the great history.
We were able to take pictures of some amazing shots without the crowd of tourists. This made it worth it.
They even made sure we walked through one of the Locked Doors that was open for his Jubilee year which is every 25 years. Our guide then told us where the other three doors were and off we went.
Great service, great help and great prices.

There’s a reason as to why this tour group has such high marks, because it really is that good.
We didn’t plan on seeing much of the Vatican as we knew the lines for the museum would be huge and the earliest tickets for the Sistine Chapel were in the late afternoon, that wouldn’t work for us. So as we got out of the cab, we were approached by one of the tour guides selling the tour saying we could skip all the lines going in. As my family was speaking with him, I quickly looked up the tour group and saw the great reviews, so we decided to go with it.
Long story short, it was worth every penny. Our guide, Marcello was a fantastic and knowledgeable guide who was very thorough and still added humor and made the tour fun. Not to mention being able to skip the line for the museum that went on for blocks was a big plus too!
If you like learning about history, you’ll love this tour.
TIP: Where you initially pickup your headphones, there is a bookstore right behind it where you can buy bottles of water for €.50. Go there and pick a few bottles up before you head into the Vatican.

Want to thank Marc Anthony for a wonderful tour of the Vatican & the 16^th Chapel
He gave us so much information & answered all our questions
Thank You Marc!

Very glad to have added What a Life Tours to our Rome/​Vatican vacation! Our guide Angelo was very entertaining and interactive with the people in our group. Angelo was very informative about the history of the Vatican City. Angelo put this history into perspective and related it to the times of our present day life.
I noticed at times there were visitors from other tour guides looking in our direction and being entertained by Angelo. Needless to say, it was worth every penny. My girlfriend loved it as well! Highly recommended. Also, don’t forget to ask Angelo about the restaurants where the locals go. we went to every one! It wasn’t just a tour guide, it was an experience!
Thank you Angelo!!!

A trip to the Vatican can be overwhelming, but with Angelo the Italian-​American serving as the voice in your head, an otherwise hectic – possibly even chaotic – place, is easily digestible.
So there you are, on the approach, St. Peter’s basilica in sight, when a man approaches you. This man says – correctly – that tickets are sold out, and, unless you want to stand in a ridiculous line for three hours (it really it is that long). Listen to him, as long as he is from What A Life Tours, the only tour company that doesn’t employ ridiculous flags to keep everyone in a group.
You a guided from the square, for what seems to be a long distance, to their office. This walk is long and hot on a sunny day, but is necessary either way as their office is directly across from the entrance to the museum. Yeah, I bet their rent is high.
Angelo then guides you through the museums for the next two hours, seeing only about 15% of the place but it does include the gorgeous Sistine Chapel. The bulk of his tour builds to the chapel, discussing museum pieces which inspired Michaelangelo on his own tours of the museum and are reflected in his creation of the Sistine Chapel. Pretty incredible stuff. Art history for the layman, and a true value-​added element of the tour.
Angelo had an obvious passion for Roman history, and his tour was both informative, funny, and personal. He provided a nice dose of reality in an otherwise surreal place and tied it all together for us in a nicely wrapped, satisfying package.
Even though the price is more than double the ticket of entry to the museums, it is absolutely worth the cost. Make sure you go with these guys.

Took the Ancient City Tour with the company. Their guide Thomas Patridge was absolutely awesome. Brought great depth and insight the Roman forum and Coliseum. Best three hours of fun and education I’ve had on a vacation in a long time.