The Vatican is huge and can be intimidating, especially if it’s your first time. The lines at the Colosseum are long. The Forum can be a mystery. Which is why this small-group tour is essential for anyone who wants to get the most out of their trip. Skip the line at the Colosseum. Visit the Sistine Chapel before the Vatican Museums open. Learn about the Roman Empire at the Forum. And visit the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon, too. This is the real way to see Rome, in a group of just six.

Small-group tour (maximum six people) with early or skip-the-line entry to the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, St Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum and Roman Forum
Enter the Sistine Chapel before it opens to the public and ogle Michelangelo’s frescoes free from daytime crowds
Skip the main entrance lines at the Colosseum and explore three of its limited-access areas
Enjoy personalized attention from your guide on a small-group tour limited to six people

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Be one of the first in the Sistine Chapel on this tour, which is limited to a super-small group of six.

What's Included

Tour in a Safe and Semi Private Group of MAX 6 people GUARANTEED
Access to Colosseum arena floor where gory battles took place!
1.5 hour Chaffeur Service from Vatican to Colosseum, going through the heart of Rome
Early Entrance to the Sistine Chapel before the daytime crowds
Professional, Local, Expert and Top Rated Guide

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Food and drinks, unless specified
Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Viale Vaticano, 100
Viale Vaticano, 100, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
In front of Caffé Vaticano, on Viale Vaticano 100, across the street from the Museum's entrance. Your guide will be holding a LivTours sign.

Start time

07:30 AM

End point

Saint Peter's Square
Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City

What To Expect

Get up early to meet your knowledgeable guide at the Vatican Museums. After all, you’re getting a peek at the Sistine Chapel that day before anyone else does. Take some time to enjoy the frescos that Michelangelo masterfully painted. Note the different styles — from Renaissance to Mannerism — in the ceiling frescos and The Last Judgement fresco on the back wall. Spend a full hour taking in the masterpiece paintings.

From here, explore the art-loaded halls of the Vatican Museums, gawking at the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Tapestries and the Gallery of Maps, enjoying the priceless art collection that centuries of popes amassed.

Then visit amazing St. Peter’s Basilica, its dome designed by Michelangelo. And don’t miss the artist’s other masterpiece: his sculpture La Pietà just inside the door. After riding in a taxi through the city’s historical center, indulge in the Pantheon, arguably the best preserved structure from ancient Roman times. Stroll through the narrow lanes to the Trevi Fountain, the dramatic fountain that is famed for visitors throwing a coin in it.

Break for lunch (at own expense) and then travel to the Colosseum. Aside from seeing such a wonder up close, one great aspect of the tour is that you get to skip the long line and stroll right in. Descend to the underground level, open only to a small number of people daily and be sure to check out the dungeons where gladiators would prepare for their fights against exotic beasts.

On the arena floor, listen to your guide recount the details about the gruesome battles that would take place here. Finally, ascend to the upper tier of the structure to get a great view of the entire Colosseum.

After, walk up to nearby Palatine Hill, once home to ancient Rome’s elite (and where the word ‘palace’ comes from) to gawk at more ruins before the tour ends.

Please note: A minimum of two people per booking is required.

Vatican Museums

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

St. Peter's Basilica

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Rome

2 hours 10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Colosseum

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Due to extreme weather conditions, the Colosseum Administration may limit access to some or all of the restricted areas(Arena Level) to ensure security of its visitors. No refund will be granted on these rare occasions.
Not wheelchair accessible
It is recommended to wear comfortable shoes. Knees and shoulders must be covered in order to enter places of worship.
Occasionally the basilica may be closed due to last minute private events outside of the tour operators control and often without notice. In these uncommon circumstances the tour will operate as usual and the time spent inside the basilica will be enjoyed by an extended tour in an alternate area
ARENA FLOOR: The access to the restricted areas of the Colosseum may be shared among other participants in the LivTours exclusive entry slot. At times, for safety reasons, logistics and traffic control, the group may be led by one guide. This choice is at the complete discretion of the Colosseum's administration and security policy of that day in accordance to adequate safety measures. Please be aware that this is only for 30/40 minutes of the total duration of the tour. Our max 6 people policy is guaranteed for the remainder of the duration of the tour.

Near public transportation
GENERAL ENTRY: Please note that for safety reasons the Colosseum can accommodate up to 3000 people at once. This could lead to delays in access to the site, even for pre-booked visitors. Please be on time!
Thanks to a very special and profound partnership with the Vatican Museums, we are proud to offer clients a very unique and exclusive 8AM first entry into the Museums’ doors, guaranteed to be reserved only to a handful of other collaborating tour operators. This special entry and tour are designed to guarantee you access and viewing of the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel 30 minutes before other operators and one hour before the general public. We are proud to be able to serve such impressive and extraordinary experience and share it with our clients.
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers

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.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

80 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 80 reviews

Fantastic All Day Tour in Rome!

Nicole_W, Jun 2023

This tour was a fantastic way to see all the great sites of Rome in a day! It was definitely a long day, but we had plenty of time for lunch and a break between the Vatican and the Colosseum. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and helped us navigate each of the sites in a timely manner but it never felt rushed. I would highly recommend this semi-private tour!

Amazing Tour!

Angela_T, May 2023

Had a great experience with Lorenzo! He blew our mind with the facts and information and knew where to take the best pictures 😊

Fantastic and worth the financial investment and time commitment

Pamela_R, Feb 2023

This was an incredible experience and we loved Marco. He was so professional, knowledgeable and provided such historical and cultural context that the sites came alive. He made it so enjoy that You could actually see, hear and smell the events as they occurred in the past. We are HUGE history buffs so of course had already done our research so Marco’s expertise and sense of humor added just the dash of flavor needed to make the private tour perfect. Exhausting day combining both, but with limited time, it was worth the investment!

Super Full Touring Day In Rome

Peter_M, Sep 2022

A true citizen of Rome, Mr. Dario was the complete professional tour guide. His high level of knowledge and ability to focus on the highlights in presentation of our first stop, the tour of the Vatican Museum was memorable. The same for our visit to St. Peter 's and then fitting in a stop at the Patheon and Spanish Steps with a seem less transition. After lunch at a nice outdoor pizzeria we bid him farewell. Our next tour guide gave us a very comprehensive tour of the Roman Forum, and underground in the Coleseum. We thank them both for an incredible day in Rome! Could not be better than this!! Ciao!!!

Vatican and Colosseum

JOhn_L, Oct 2019

Truly outstanding because of the extremely good knowledge of antiquity and the Renaissance by my tour guide Dario Bartoli. He was truly a joy to be with and to learn from and I was saddened to have to leave him.

Tour of Rome with family

Mnohar_D, Apr 2019

Amazing tour with 2 amazing guides. Luca P in the morning covering Vatican was extremely knowledgeable and brilliant. Sergio P in the afternoon covering colosseum and Ancient Rome was extremely knowledgeable and brilliant as well. Kids found it amazing and we all learned a lot.

Amazing

Michael_F, Oct 2018

David was wonderful and so knowledgeable! I would highly recommend this to friends and family. I could not have asked for more.

So the Vatican is way too big to...

robin w, Sep 2017

So the Vatican is way too big to negotiate yourself and understand anything but the flip side is that you do a tour and get talked to death! I was hoping for something in the middle. Doing the Vatican and the Colesseum all in one day should not be tour as it is way too much for one person to digest when they are on vacation. This tour should also come with a warning. Didn't have much fun, too much preaching!

This tour was amazing as was the...

Allan_C, Sep 2017

This tour was amazing as was the guide who was extremely passionate and thoroughly entertaining, the guides historical knowledge was impressive, perfect way to spend a day and well worth the money..

As it was our first time to Rome...

Jeffrey D, Sep 2017

As it was our first time to Rome, visits to the Vatican and the Colosseum were a priority. This tour exceeded expectations. Our day began in Vatican City and ended at the Colosseum. We had unexpected stops at the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain and Palatine Hill. Built into our day was lunch and gelato. Our tour guide Luca was friendly, insightful and full of knowledge at every stop. Although appropriate attire is expected in Vatican City, comfortable shoes are a must. The private van for transportation was incredible but you will be walking throughout the day. Our July day was very hot as well - always have water. Thank you Luca!

This was the most amazing tour...

sharonlavi310, Jul 2017

This was the most amazing tour possible! We had an incredible guide - Luca - who was incredibly knowledgeable, charming, and witty. We traveled throughout Europe for three weeks, and this tour was the highlight of the entire trip. The tour started at the Vatican where we got early entree to explore for about an hour I believe before the general population. Because we were such a small group - 6 people only - we moved quickly to all of the highlights and often found ourselves in rooms/sections alone. After seeing the Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica, we were driven by a private driver to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and our lunch spot. After lunch, we continued our tour of the Colosseum where we skipped the line and got access to the underground cells and the very top upper tier. This tour was worth every penny. We have already recommended it to our friends!

Our tour guide was what really made...

Marie D, Jun 2017

Our tour guide was what really made this tour for us. She was very knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble. She had also organized a lovely place for lunch, which turned out to be a godsend as most restaurants/cafes had a long line of people waiting for tables. Our group had 6 people and was the perfect size for us. The Early Entrance doesn't get you into the Vatican any earlier than anyone else, you just get the early to meet your guide and get in line before the other tourists get there.

This was an amazing tour. Our guide...

Danielle R, May 2016

This was an amazing tour. Our guide, Luca, was extremely knowledgeable regarding history and art history and was very funny. This tour is a full day and includes lots of walking, 15 miles. We were the only two that had the full day tour and other groups of two met us for either the Vatican or the Colosseum separately so there are options if you don't want to do it all in one day. For us this all in one option was perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better guide. Definitely recommend!!

We had a fantastic day with Paulo...

Sharon H, Feb 2016

We had a fantastic day with Paulo. He was a veritable font of knowledge and we learnt so much! The whole process was so very easy. We would highly recommend it, you spend time seeing the things you really want to see, without spending it all queueing. Thanks again! Mark and Sharon

Amazing tour! We were so glad that...

rondayus, Dec 2015

Amazing tour! We were so glad that we booked this tour together to see both the Vatican and Colosseum. The tour guide was amazing. We were with her at the Vatican and because our group was so small compared to other groups she really kept track of us and we had plenty of time to get all our questions answered. The sistine chapel was incredible! We had plenty of time to sit or stand and enjoy the awesome artwork. We had early entrance into the sistine chapel which was well worth the money. She made sure we were one of the first visitors to enter the chapel. She got the taxi to the Colosseum and helped us to find a great little place for lunch. The Colosseum tour was incredible! Seeing underground and hearing about the history made the tour amazing! We were able to skip the lines at both places which is so worth your time and money and get right up close and personal with all there is to see. When we return, we will book this tour again with the same company! We had other tours in Rome with big tour groups and we have decided for future travels we will be booking with this tour company. The experience is unmatchable!

Great tour. Our group was only 6...

Matthew B, Oct 2015

Great tour. Our group was only 6 people and it was very nice getting a personalized tour. Our tour guide was great and knew what he was talking about.