Explore the highlights of the Vatican with significantly fewer people during this 3-hour private tour. Enter the museums a full hour before the crowds with your guide and discover the history and artifacts that kept within its walls. Visit the museums and the Sistine Chapel, with skip-the-line entrance tickets and make the most of your time in Rome.

Discover the Vatican city-state on this 3-hour private tour
Enter the Vatican an hour before the crowds with an early access ticket
See the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
Enjoy a personalized experience with your own private guide

What's Included

Guaranteed to skip the long lines
Professional guide for 3 hours
Private tour
Entry/Admission - Sistine Chapel
Entry/Admission - Vatican Museums

Gratuities
Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Food and drinks

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Viale Vaticano, 100
Viale Vaticano, 100, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
Under the marble door of Vatican Museums, by the steps, viale vaticano 100: your guide will be waiting fo you holding a sign with your family name

Start time

07:30 am

End point

Sistine Chapel
00120, Vatican City

What To Expect

Vatican Museums

2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Vatican City (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
A moderate amount of walking is involved, not recommended for customers with limited mobility.
Stroller accessible
Personal photography is allowed during this tour, except in the Sistine Chapel

If you arrive late you might loose the entrance at the Vatican
Near public transportation
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travellers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

You get an early entry into the Vatican as soon as it opens so no queuing is required, which is wonderful as by 9.00am the queues are down the block.

The private tour is more expensive and worth every penny!

Reviews

5.0

43 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 43 reviews

Vatican

Steven_A, June 2022

Great tour of the Vatican. He was very enthusiastic, extremely knowledgeable, funny and very friendly. He went out of his way to give us a little more and personalize it.

Response from Host, June 2022

Thank you for being part of our private tours at the vatican museums, we are glad that you liked the tour guide and enjoyed the VIP early entrance

Highly Recommend! Amazing experience

John_F, Oct 2021

Our tour guide was amazing! His English was understood with ease and he had so much knowledge! I couldn’t believe how much I was learning while witnessing some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Highly recommend!

Gained knowledge

Donna_G, Mar 2020

This tour was spectacular. We had Chiara to ourselves and could tailor what we wanted to see. Chiara was informative and interesting- she wove history and facts into stories which helped us to appreciate what we were seeing. I walked away with a greater understanding of artworks and felt I learnt something of history rather than just seeing it. The visual guide of the Sistine chapel was much appreciated and it seemed no other tour group got one of these. A very useful resource! Thoroughly recommend this tour.

Response from Host, Mar 2020

Dear DeeGee, Thank you for leaving such a great review! Chiara will be thrilled to read your words! Our team works hard to meet the expectations of our guests and we're happy to read that we've hit the mark with you. Thank you for choosing us and we hope to see you soon again!

Private guide is true only way to go

abuffum, Jan 2020

Having a private guide is the only way to see the Vatican. Our guide was so knowledgeable and engaging. We asked so many questions

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Thanks for your lovely review! next time, please, do not forget to let us know who this knowledgeable and engaging guide was so we can congratulate him!

Wonderful

Anne_T, Nov 2019

My guide was perfect. Her English was great and her education in art history really enhanced my experience. She also led me back to my hotel and pointed out a good restaurant in the area.

Cloudia was a wonderful tour guide of the Vatican!

lisamcallahan, Nov 2019

We took the early morning Vatican tour. Cloudia was early as were we and easy to find. Her knowledge of the Vatican was impressive. As we toured she explained so many facts that we were completely unaware of. I was sure that some of the questions we asked she would not know the answer to but she did. We were raised Catholic. It was my sister and I with my 79 year old Dad. We were worried about my Dad keeping up and navigating stairs. He did skip a few things. Cloudia for saw issues and sent him a different route as he did not want us missing out on anything. She was more than knowledgeable, pleasant and accommodating. You will be lucky if you get Cloudia assigned to your tour

The only way to view the Vatican Museum

204williaml, Oct 2019

Our guide Valentina was awesome. She was knowledgeable, patient, and she made the trip personal. We would not hesitate to book with her again.

Response from Host, Nov 2019

Thank you for choosing to experience the Vatican with Early Entrance!

Vatican with Claudia

Catherine_P, Oct 2019

Claudia was delightful and very informative! We have had other tour guides that were good but not as good as Claudia!

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Thank you for waking up early to enjoy the Vatican with Claudia!

Vatican Early Tour

Gerardo_D, Oct 2019

Our tour guide was Romina, she was very knowledgeable, friendly, well spoken and attentive to our preferences. She was interesting to listen to and a joy to be with. We highly recommend a tour with her!

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Sounds like your Vatican with Early Entrance with Romina went beautifully. Thank you for choosing to book with us!

Highly Recommend!

Voyager574151, June 2019

We couldn't have asked for a better tour guide - Hillary was the best! We are a family of 5 (adult kids) and we ALL loved this tour. Her knowledge of the museums and the history of Vatican City is off the charts. Thank you!

Response from Host, June 2019

Thank you for this beautiful review, it's wonderful to know your family had a blissful tour experience with Hillary!

Disappointing guide and tour

Melissa V, June 2019

I will refrain from listing our guide’s name here, but she was highly disappointing. This was a private tour with just my family of four. She made little effort to customize the tour to our interests. In fact, she didn’t even ask our names or where we were from for almost an hour. She was very proud of her 20+ year career as a guide and spend an unusually great amount of time telling us about tour logistics and her relationships with the authorities there at the Vatican. Her style was not a good fit with our family and she didn’t try to match our style at all. She was giving a master class in a art history while we were just trying to understand the basics about how the Vatican is it’s own country. As you can imagine, our teens tuned out after a short time. The other big disappointment had nothing to do with our guide. The description of this tour offers early access ahead of the crowds. This should have been clear that early access simply means you are entering when it opens, not earlier than the standard opening. We met at 7:30am. The Vatican opens at 8:30am. The early access got us in with the earliest guests, but it was just at the standard opening time. When I questioned our guide about this, she had to read the description I showed her to even understand what I was talking about. Then she asked to read the whole thing so she could make sure she delivered whatever it said. She contracts with these tour companies and has no idea what’s being sold to her guests. Overall very frustrating and we were eager to have it end. We met her at 7:30am, entered the museum at 8:30am and she departed at 10:15. Poor value for our money and I would choose a different company and vetted guide next time.

Response from Host, June 2019

Hi, Melissa! I am very sorry to learn about your experience and that you felt your tour was less than personalized and not engaging to your teens. As you probably already deduced from our reviews, it is an exception as we always aim to provide personalized experiences. As for the Vatican opening times, please note that the Museums open to the general public at 9:00 AM so you did indeed access the Galleries in a privileged setting before their opening to the general public. We have passed your feedback on to the guide as we were able to identify your booking. Thank you for taking the time to let us know about this.

Amazing sights

Mary_H, June 2019

Organized an efficient. Guide was knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. Noise inside Sistine Chapel surprised me but wasn't surprising given the guards were loudly chatting while standing next to a sign that said "Silence." On an up note, we had the added bonus of catching a Priest and opportunity for confession just before making our exit. I would likely not book this for two people again given the cost.

Response from Host, June 2019

Please note that the price of this tour is so we can provide you with a more exclusive experience that you cannot have with the regular tours. I am very sorry the Vatican guards were chatting loudly. Thank you for appreciating your experience nevertheless!

Private Vatican Tour

Mark K, May 2019

Lucrezia was our guide. Thorough, flexible, professional, with a massive amount of knowledge. Saw the Sistine Chapel with very few people and really enjoyed that. Great tour start to finish,

Response from Host, June 2019

We thank you, Mark, for taking the time to review our : Private Tour: Vatican with Early Entrance and for loving the time spent with Lucrezia enjoying her explanations!

Great tour guide!

Julie F, May 2019

Our guide, Valentina, met us at the entrance of the Vatican Museum. She knew just how to navigate the museum and basilica to make sure we got to see all the important works. Even though it was crowded, we were in all the right places at the right times. Valentina’s knowledge was impressive, having been an art history major in college. The Vatican is home to so many famous works of art, we feel we were able to see as much as is possible in a 3½ hour tour.

Response from Host, June 2019

Thank you, Julie, for this lovely review of your Vatican tour!

Vatican private tour

Sean_H, May 2019

We had an excellent tour - our guide was incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to see the Vatican. Skipping the line was a very big plus.

Response from Host, June 2019

Thank you for this excellent review!

Great guide made for a great day

Nicole H, Feb 2019

I highly recommend organising a private tour of the Vatican, whether it's your first time or your fourteenth. One tip is to clarify your meeting point ahead of schedule. Most tours meet across the road from the Vatican at the small coffee shop but on this occasion we met directly in front of the ticket office. (which wasn't really clear on the email and necessitated a bit of running around). In any event, all good as we had the lovely Lucretia as our guide. You get an early entry into the Vatican as soon as it opens so no queuing is required, which is wonderful as by 9.00am the queues are down the block. We were able to view the various corridors and artworks at our leisure and at a pace that suited us. The main bonus was visiting the Sistine Chapel with barely anyone else in there. The ONLY time I have ever heard it so quiet....St Peter's is always packed but a private guide again gives you the chance to see what you want when you want for as long as you want. I absolutely recommend seeing the Vatican this way.

Great tour

Adam H, Jan 2019

Great tour with super guide. Very helpful to have someone show you around and explain everything and point out the highlights. Saves so much time.

Great tour, this place is so much...

Brandy H, Oct 2018

Great tour, this place is so much bigger than you expect though so please give yourself extra time to check out more of the museum!

Private Vatican tour

Richard_H, Sept 2018

Our guide was Gabrielle. What an interesting young man. He never referred to any noted, he was quite a historian. He talked about the different artists, their talents and abilities, and even the rivalries between them. He snaked us through huge group tours so we could stand at the best vantage point to see a tapestry, a painting, or a ceiling. We actually skipped several exhibits, he explained their significance, and then we moved on to something else. His enthusiasm was contagious, we couldn't wait to see where he was taking us next. The private tour is more expensive and worth every penny! With Gabe and his easy banter and story telling ability, I got a better understanding of ancient Rome and how the Pope(s) affected it.

Vatican Tour

Ashwin_H, Aug 2018

Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and told us stories about historical times and events throughout the whole tour which was awesome. We did have to wait a little to get in but we were one of the first groups to get in once they opened the doors. It would be impossible to see and learn everything there and our tour guide made sure we got the essentials and she was very detailed. Would definitely recommend!