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Skip the Line Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Tour | Small Group & Private

Badge of ExcellenceRoma, Italy

From $120.05

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
Rome Tours
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Audio Guides
Kid-Friendly
Likely To Sell Out
Unique Experiences
  • 3 hours (approx.)
  • Offered in: English

Overview

See the best of Vatican City on this small-group tour of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica. Skip the long lines at the Vatican and go straight to the remarkable art and architecture, including galleries, the Julius II apartments, the Raphael Rooms, and Sistine Chapel. This intimate Vatican tour is limited to six people for a personal experience and individual service from the guide, and includes all entrance fees.
  • Visit the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica
  • See galleries, courtyards, and papal apartments
  • Take in the Sistine Chapel
  • Interior access to St. Peter's Basilica
  • All entrance fees included
  • Skip the line
  • Small group limited to six people

What's Included

  • Tour in a Safe and Semi Private group of MAX 6 people GUARANTEED
  • Enjoy Skip the Line Access
  • Professional, Local, Expert Guide
  • Private Option available!
  • Food and drinks
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • 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, just across the street from the Museum entrance. Your guide will be holding a LIvTours sign.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Meet a guide at a central location near the Vatican at the pre-arranged time, then skip the line to get into the Vatican Museums to see the highlights of the vast collection. Exploring the museums with a small group, you are able to maneuver the crowded galleries at a comfortable pace, with plenty of time to ask questions.

Pass through a series of gardens and terraces, where you find early Renaissance architecture and an exquisite modern art piece, then see the collection of Roman and Greek artifacts in the Octagonal Courtyard.

Visit the Muses Room, the Round Room, and the Greek Cross Room, then take in the maps and tapestries in the galleries on your way to the Julius II apartments and the Raphael Rooms, part of the papal apartments.

Enter the Sistine Chapel through a tiny door, with time to take in the brilliant frescoes that the ceiling and walls. From the Sistine Chapel, continue to St. Peter’s Basilica through an interior passageway—this allows you to skip the exterior line—and finish the tour in the enormous Catholic shrine, which contains masterpieces of design, sculpture, and artwork.

Vatican Museums

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

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
  • 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 made up elsewhere on the tour
  • Please note that tours selected on Wednesday mornings at 10 am can be periodically effected by the closure of St Peter's Basilica due to last minute decisions by the Vatican. Please be insured the lost time will be compensated with other areas of the museums.
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • 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

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Traveler Tips

I highly recommend this tour and would suggest that without a guide you would need a whole day to try to navigate through this massive facility.
We were on the 10 AM tour and I recommend the earlier, the better for the crowds in late September.
It was hard to hear at times due to the immense crowds but I guess that can be expected when you’re touring such an amazing place as the Vatican.
Reviews
5.0
1,256 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 1,256 reviews
Great Vatican Tour
cgivich, Mar 2023
My husband and I enjoyed our small group (6 in total) group tour with Laura. She was an excellent guide - amusing, knowledgeable, friendly. She was one of those great guides who makes you feel like there is no where else she would rather be and no one else she would rather be with. It was crowded - always is - but very manageable with our small group. The Basilica opened late because it was Wednesday which meant that it opened as our tour ended, but she gave us a very good overview and map beforehand so we could visit on our own. I actually preferred this as we could spend as much time as we liked. All in all, I would definitely recommend this tour.
Don’t miss this trip!
Carolyn_C, Mar 2023
Barbara was a superb tour guide. The queues for the Vatican museum were very long and the entry process seemed quite confusing but Barbara whisked the four of us straight to the front. She gave us an insight into the tour as we were going to be shown the highlights. She was very informative throughout and ensured all our questions were answered. After the museum Barbara took us into St. Peter’s - showed us the main features- as well as the exit before leaving us to enjoy it ourselves. Highly recommend this tour
Superb!
Charlotte_D, Mar 2023
Paola was a wonderful guide, so knowledgable and friendly! Well worth paying a little more for the smaller group and skip the line with LivTours. Would highly recommend!
Great tour
Rosanna_T, Mar 2023
Our tour guide was great! She provided great information and history while also answering any of our questions. Well worth it.
Amazing experience
Tracie_S, Mar 2023
Gio was extremely thorough, passionate and so knowledgeable. She is an unbelievable tour guide! We feel so lucky to have gotten her, we learned so much from her tour and enjoyed every bit of it. She is really the best guide of all the tours we have taken on our trip in Italy.
Fantastic Historical Tour
Kim_F, Mar 2023
We entered so easily with this ‘skip the line’ tour. It was just my family since no one else showed up and it was a 6 person max anyway. We moved seamlessly through the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel was breathtaking, and St Peters Basilica-Gorgeous!! Our tour guide, Selenia, was so knowledgeable and adept and getting us to the next viewing area around the crowds. She was perfecto!
Amazing private tour of Vatican
Joseph_S, Mar 2023
Great private tour with Massimo. Very informative, helpful and knowledgeable. Traveling with older member of family and he made all efforts to make sure she was comfortable.
Vatican Small Group Tour
Rchard_S, Mar 2023
This was a wonderful tour. Our guide, Gio, was amazing. Her depth of knowledge and enthusiasm made this tour a great experience. We highly recommend this tour and Gio.
All three facets of the...
Kevin_W, Feb 2023
All three facets of the tour were incredible. -- St. Peters Basilica, and the Vatican Museum. Giusy our tour guide with LIV tours was outstanding.
Vatican museum St Peters small group tour
Robert_K, Feb 2023
Our guide Sev was a wealth of knowledge..no delays in negotiating the large crowds on other tours.The meeting point at the entrance to The Vatican is chaotic and poor...Dont buy Ice Cream there !!! Not a cheap your but worth it...highly recommended 👌
Excellent ! Extremely...
Kissel_G, Feb 2023
Excellent ! Extremely knowledgeable guide and friendly ! 100% recommend ! Very informative and made sure that we got to see all the important areas . Small group and got to answer all the questions.
Response from Host, Feb 2023
We're so happy you enjoyed your Vatican tour and we really appreciate your review and recommendation. Thanks also for endorsing our small group policy and the intimate atmosphere that is created with the guide. Thanks again Angelo and Kristin
"Must See" Tour in Rome!
Gregory_M, Jan 2023
The art in the Vatican Museum is exceptional, followed by the Sistine Chapel itself. A "must see" tour and site on your Rome touring list!
Knowledgeable and fun
Nohely_P, Jan 2023
Raffy was great! We got a little lost before the tour and were running a few minutes behind and she was so nice and patient about it. She was very knowledgeable and made the entire experience very fun!
Vatican City Tour with Sarafina
Jalen_B, Jan 2023
Sarafina was incredible. She was so knoledgable about the contents in the Vatican Museums and overall Vatican city. She was very engaging and definitely catered the tour to our interests. I am so grateful to her for making this experience so great for me and my family.
An amazing experience with the fabulous guide, Laura Sensi!
Yuliet_P, Dec 2022
Laura Sensi is the most fantastic tour guide! Vatican was our first tour and we requested to go back with her for our Colosseum tour. Funny, happy, informative, fun, very attentive to each member of the group. She makes you feel safe and like family and clearly loves her job!And when she takes a picture for you..look out! She knows all the right places for the perfect picture to take with you and enjoy! When we go back to Italy, Laura will be our #1 choice for a tour guide!
Engaging and Informative
Lindsey_L, Dec 2022
Analisa was a great guide. Very informative and kept the tour moving and the kids engaged. I liked that it was a small group, just us and one other family. This tour was also a good way to avoid a lot of long lines.
Breathtaking
Leisha_S, Dec 2022
The entire tour was amazing. The museums the Vatican and St Peter’s church were all breathtaking Our guide was so knowledgeable and patient with our questions
Total info download.
Peter_W, Dec 2022
very interesting. Would have enjoyed more detail in the modern art hall. The tapestries were totally fascinating, then of course the Sistine Chappel - so, so special.
Thanks Azzurra!!!
Chantelle_M, Dec 2022
Absolutely fantastic tour!!! Azzurra was so nice and so knowledgeable!she was a absolute fantastic guide!!!!
Great private way to share with family and friends.
Camilla_G, Dec 2022
Amazing guide Serafina . She was informative and sensitive to our timing and interests. Her English was impeccable and easy to understand. She made the tour enjoyable for everyone.
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