Vatican and St. Peter’s Accessible Shore Excursion

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Vatican and St. Peter’s Accessible Shore Excursion

Like all of our accessible Rome excursions by train, this Vatican accessible shore excursion includes accessible train tickets, reservations for assistance to board the train, accessible bus transfers in Rome, and an officially-licensed local tour guide. The Vatican and St. Peter’s Accessible Shore Excursion spends 3 hours visiting all the highlights inside the Vatican city walls: the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Vatican Museums.

The Vatican accessible shore excursionwill visit all of the popular sights in the Vatican including the Vatican Museums, the Raphael Rooms (including Raphael’s famous painting The School of Athens), and the Sistine Chapel. You will finish with a St. Peter’s accessible guided tour where you will see Michaelanglo’s Pieta, Bernini’s Canopy, and the tomb of Pope John Paul II.

Accessible bus tickets and accessible train tickets are included in the price of this excursion. The Vatican entrance tickets are free if the client can produce a medical certificate with states 75% disability or a driver’s license which has a D marked on it. Disabled tour participants should carry some certificate or document stating their disability. Otherwise getting a free ticket in the Vatican is a matter of luck on what the officer at the ticket counter has to say.

Your actual itinerary at the Vatican will be adjusted to avoid crowds based on the timing and date of your visit. You might visit the St. Peter’s Basilica first or you might visit the Vatican museums first. The schedule has been optimized to give you a great day of sightseeing in Rome. Times below are approximate.

7:45 – Disembark cruise ship and travel by bus or walk/roll to Civitavecchia train station
8:41 – Depart Civitavecchia train station
10:00 – Tour guide greets you at Rome’s Termini train station
10:30 – Arrive at the Vatican
13:30 – Finish tour of the Vatican
13:30 to 16:45 – Explore Rome on your own using John Sage’s Rome Accessibility Guide
16:45 – Arrive at Rome’s Termini train station
17:10 – Depart from Rome’s Termini train station
17:55 – Arrive Civitavecchia train station
18:30 – Board cruise ship

At the end of the accessible Vatican tour can decide to either 1) have the tour guide escort you back to the train station via an accessible bus or 2) explore Rome on your own using John Sage’s Rome Accessibility Guide. If you choose to explore Rome on your own, be sure that you allow plenty of time to arrive at Rome’s Termini train station 30 minutes before your scheduled departure.

If you would like to spend more time at the Vatican, you can choose the Vatican City Handicapped Shore Excursion. If you would like to visit other parts of Rome in addition to the Vatican, the Best of Accessible Rome Cruise Excursion visits all the highlights in Rome.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
– It will take approximately 30 minutes to get from the cruise dock to the Civitavecchia train station.
– You will need to arrive at the Civitavecchia train station 30 minutes in advance to get assistance onto the train. We will reserve assistance boarding the train and your accessible train tickets.
– Note that there are no tour refunds if you miss the train. Consequently, you may want to build in at least 30 minutes of extra time to get to the Civitavecchia train station.
– If you miss your scheduled train, you will need to call your tour guide. You might be able to take a later train and still take part of your tour.
– The cost of the guided tour is non-refundable if you are unable to meet the tour guide on time. This includes unexpected delays from cruise ship delays, train strikes, and accessibility changes. If you do not want to worry about the port shuttle and the train, you can book one of our Rome accessible van cruise excursions and the guide will meet you at the ship.
– If your cruise ship arrives earlier than 8:00 and you would like to get an earlier start, please let us know so we can book you on an earlier train.
– If your cruise ship departs earlier than 19:00 (many depart at 18:00), please notify us so we can book you on an earlier return train to Civitavecchia

Tour Highlights

– Vatican Museums
– Roman and Greek Statues Gallery
– Gallery of Tapestries
– Gallery of Maps
– Raphael Stanzas
– Sistine Chapel
– St Peters Basilica
– St Peters Square

Accessibility Description

The Vatican and St. Peter’s Accessible Shore Excursion has a 3 Star Sage Accessibility Rating because it is accessible to wheelchair users although they may need assistance at the Civitavecchia cruise dock getting onto the port shuttle. If all of the port shuttles had wheelchair ramps, it would get a 4 Star Sage Accessibility Rating.

Your excursion begins with disembarking your cruise ship and getting onto the Civitavecchia port shuttle. It is a low floor bus but does not have a wheelchair ramp (photo of bus shown below on the left). The photo on the right shows the wheelchair accessible exit to the Civitavecchia cruise port.

The route between the port exit and the Civitavecchia train station is shown below. You can wait for a bus or walk/roll the 600 meters (usually quicker).

This Vatican accessible cruise excursion utilizes the accessible entrance to the Civitavecchia train station (shown in the photo below on the left). It includes a wheelchair lift to get onto the train at the Civitavecchia train station (shown below on the right). We will reserve assistance for you to get onto the train….you just need to give one of the train station staff members your name!

We will reserve handicapped accessible seats for you. They will be located on the train car that has an accessible toilet.

When you arrive at Rome Termini train station, a train station staff member will meet you with a special vehicle to transport you the 850 meters to the Sale Blu office. Your officially-licensed tour guide will meet you at the Sale Blu office.

Your tour guide will bring you to one of the wheelchair accessible buses that travel to the Vatican. Your guide will have already purchased your bus tickets.

This Vatican accessible tour enters using a ramped entrance to the Vatican Museums and multiple elevators.

A wheelchair lift and ramp is used to bring you into the Sistine Chapel.

To get between the Sistine Chapel and the St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican accessible shore excursion participants will need to circumvent the flight of stairs used by most tours by exiting the Vatican Museums and walking/rolling outside the 1 km Vatican walls to the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The accessible Vatican tour will finish with an accessible guided tour of St. Peters accessible. Disabled access at St. Peter’s Basilica is possible by an elevator and a ramp.

Tour Details – This tour is not currently available

Tour duration: 4 hours with tour guide. 7 hours including round-trip train transportation.
Cost: 515 euro for 1 or 2 people. 590 euro for 3 or 4 people. 665 euro for 5 or 6 people.
* 50 euro off if booked as part of an accessible cruise & excursions package.
Days of the week the tour is offered: Every day except Sunday (Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums are closed)
Meet-up time: You need to catch the 8:41 am Civitavecchia to Rome train. The tour guide will meet you at the Rome Termini train station at 10:00 am.
Meet-up place: Sale Blu disabled passenger office in Rome’s Termini train station.
Dress code: Covered knees and shoulders
Maximum number of people on tour: The train and bus can fit two wheelchairs and many able-bodied passengers.
Entrance tickets: Not included. Some entrance tickets are free for disabled visitors if they have an ID card from their home country stating the percent of their disability.Otherwise, the Vatican admission fee is 27 euro for adults and 15 euro for students and children.
Cancellation policy: 80% refund with at least 7 days notice, 50% refund with at least 4 days notice, and no refund with less than 4 days notice. Tours run rain or shine.
Not included: Entrance tickets, snacks/meals, and gratuities.

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