Private Guided Tours of the Vatican including the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Last Judgment, Raphael Rooms, St. Peter's Basilica

Private and Semi-Private Guided Tours of the Vatican The Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Last Judgment, Raphael Rooms and St. Peter's Basilica

Please read this urgent message about your tour

Private Tours
Semi-Private Tours
Early Entrance to the Sistine Chapel

Available in English or Spanish. St. Peter's Basilica is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in winter and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in summer. The Museums are open Monday through Saturday (except religious holidays), 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. (doors close at 4pm). Click here for a calendar of religious holidays. Due to Papal Audiences, tours are never available on Wednesday morning. Tours are always private, for your group of 1 to 15 people. We regret that we cannot combine groups or combine individuals to make groups, or arrange to include the Scavi in your tour*. You will be met by a driver at your hotel, or you may choose the lower-cost solution of meeting at a simple pre-arranged spot near the start of the tour. If you are not staying at a hotel with a front desk, you must choose the low-cost option. Either way, your guide will be waiting at the Vatican and will have pre-booked your tickets. If there is a portion of the described tour that you prefer to stress or minimize, please tell your guide at the beginning of the tour and he or she will be very happy to accommodate your wishes. Be aware that you are welcome to linger after the tour in the basilica (but not in the Museums), in case you would like to climb to the cupola or have devotional time on your own. Dress comfortably and wear good walking shoes. For the basilica, both women and men must wear clothing that covers their shoulders and knees. If you are planning a tour on the same day you arrive in Rome, please account for extra time in case you arrive late, because we cannot guarantee that we will be able to offer you a last-minute time change and in that case, the tour is totally non-refundable. Cruise passengers, please click here for rates that include pier transfers.

The basic tour lasts three hours from the time you meet your guide at the museum; the in-depth tour lasts four hours. Prices include private car transfer as described, and personal tour guide. Meals are not included. Entrance tickets to the Vatican Museums are extra. Tickets cost 25 Euro/person, including the special priority pass fee that insures you will be in the priority line. Please be sure to have Euros cash on hand because tickets are paid in cash during the tour (your tickets will be pre-booked by the guide, and ticket prices may vary slightly without notice). You may have to wait briefly before the museum doors open but you will not have to go to the end of the long line. If your group includes at least two adults plus children, up to two of the children under 18 years old pay nothing for the tour except for tickets (children pay 15 Euros/person). If you have more than two children, all the others pay the adult price for the tour no matter their age. If your group numbers more than 7, you will hear the guide better if you purchase audio headsets at the door for 2 Euro/person. Very occasionally, the Vatican may make changes that may affect your tour. Your guide will do everything possible to make appropriate adjustments but if it is impossible to complete a part of the tour we regret that no compensation can be offered.

Click here to see a Photo Album of the Vatican and St. Peter's

Click here to see what days the museums are closed

Calendar

The Vatican tour is also available for the sight-impaired and their guide dogs.
Please click here if you need to bring your guide dog with you on the tour.

* - The Scavi tour is run by the Vatican itself. They accept applications and confirm the tour only the day before. Unless you are planning an extended stay in Rome, you will have trouble arranging this tour.

** - Because of the extremely unique nature of the crypt and the cemetery, they are occasionally closed due to visits by foreign dignitaries, pilgrims and so on. We regret that it is not possible to know this in advance, and so it may be impossible to include these areas in your tour. Be assured that this is a very brief part of the tour and in the unlikely event that you are not able to do it, the length of your tour will not change.

Click here for information about Papal Audiences

Semi-Private Three-Hour Guided Tour of the Vatican

The semi-private three-hour guided tour of the Vatican is a great alternative for small groups of one to three people.  It covers the same areas of the Vatican as the private tour, but is more economical. Tour groups number no more than 10 people, and tours are guaranteed with a minimum of two people. The semi-private tour starts at 10:00 a.m. outside the Vatican Museums and is available March 1-November 15, December 20-24 and December 27-31, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Afternoon tours are also available at 2:00 p.m., but only March 1-September 1. Children 6-18 pay 65 Euro/each. Children under 6 are not admitted. We suggest families with children book the private Vatican tour where the guide can gear the tour towards the children's interests.

Entrance tickets to the museums cost an additional 25 Euro/person, including the special priority pass that insures you will be in the priority line. Please be sure to have Euros cash on hand because tickets are paid in cash at the beginning of the tour (your tickets will be pre-booked by the guide, and ticket prices may vary slightly without notice). For semi-private tours, your guide will wait 15 minutes if there are any latecomers, so the start of your tour may be slightly delayed. Very occasionally, the Vatican may make changes that may affect your tour. Your guide will do everything possible to make appropriate adjustments but if it is impossible to complete a part of the tour we regret that no compensation can be offered.

Click here to see a Photo Album of the Vatican and St. Peter's

Click here to see what days the Vatican museums are closed

Calendar

Early Entrance to the Sistine Chapel

If you are willing to get up early one morning, here is a unique opportunity to start your tour at the Sistine Chapel, before the crowds arrive. Your driver will meet you at your central Rome lodgings at 7am and take you by private vehicle to the Vatican, where you will meet your guide, enter the museums and go straight to the Sistine Chapel. After 45 minutes viewing the exquisite frescoes and learning about their meaning, their creators and the techniques they used, you will head back to visit the Museums and then end up in the Basilica. The tour lasts four hours in all.

Entrance tickets to the museums cost an additional 35 Euro/person. These include the special reservations and priority pass. Please be sure to have Euros cash on hand because tickets are paid in cash at the beginning of the tour (your tickets will be pre-booked by the guide, and ticket prices may vary slightly without notice).