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VIP Vatican, Sistine Chapel & Basilica Tour with Vatican Grottoes

Name: VIP Vatican, Sistine Chapel & Basilica Tour with Vatican Grottoes
Brand: Maya Tours
SKU: 7356P16
Price: 82.94 USD
Rating: 5 (691 reviews)

Recommended by 95% of travelersBadge of ExcellenceRome, Italy

V I P Small Group Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel Tour

From $82.94

per person

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

3 hours (approx.)
Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover the best of the Vatican on this comprehensive small-group tour. Avoid the crowds with skip-the-line tickets and make the most of your time in the sacred city-state. Visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel and listen to informative commentary from your guide. See masterpieces from Michelangelo, Raphael, and Caravaggio, and head into the grottoes of St. Peter's Basilica to see the Papal tombs.

Visit the highlights of Vatican City during this small-group tour
See the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
Learn about the history and artifacts that are kept within the its walls
Enjoy a personalized experience with a small group

What's Included

Skip The Line Priority Access Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Tickets
Small Group Tour Experience with Expert Official Licensed Vatican Guide
Skip The Line St.Peter's Basilica Entry (when possible)
Introduction to the highlights of St.Peter's Basilica with a guide
Free to explore in the Basilica and Papal tombs after the tour has finished

Location Pick Up & Drop Off
Scavi / Necropolis
On Wednesday mornings St. Peter's Basilica may be closed to the public due to the Papal Audience
St Peter’s Basilica is subject to last-minute closures for religious ceremonies, with no warning

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via Germanico, 16, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
Once you book, we organize everything. Just show up and check-in at the Maya Tours office (VIA GERMANICO, 16) at the correct time (Please arrive 10 minutes before your booked departure time) and your guide will escort you inside the Museums & provide you with your ticket.

End point

St. Peter's Basilica
Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City
St. Peter's Basilica

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
The tour reservations have strict timing. To join the tour, you are required to be at the meeting point at least 15 minutes prior to your tour departure time.
If you arrive late for the meeting time, it will not be possible to join the group or reschedule. As per "No Show" rules you will not be entitled to a refund.
Due to the Jubilee, some monuments or areas may be under restoration and subject to last minute closures. Please pay attention to any messages we may send regarding potential changes.

The Basilica is subject to last-minute closures for religious ceremonies, with little to no warning and in this case, the tour will conclude in the Sistine Chapel. We are unable to provide refunds as the Basilica is free to enter and not included in the tour price
If you purchase a reduced ticket and you are not under 16 years old or a student under 26 years old with a valid student photo ID, the Vatican will deny your entry and you will not be able to visit the Vatican or join the tour.
Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women to enter the Sistine Chapel.
Please be aware that large bags/backpacks/suitcases are not permitted in the monument/ attraction.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not suitable for those with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair. Please be aware that large oversized bags/backpacks/suitcases are not permitted in the monument/ attraction.
It is not possible to contact guides when they are inside the Vatican museums, it is the clients responsibility to stay with the guided tour group, if you lose your guide inside the Vatican, there is nothing we can do in this case.
Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not suitable for those with walking difficulties or using a wheelchair.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

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

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.8

691 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 691 reviews

The best tour guid we had so far in Europe 🙌

Delon_S, Jan 2025

We had an amazing tour guide, Christine took the time with us, she had a wealth of knowledge about the history of the Vatican.

Highly recommend

TanyaJ, Jan 2025

Excellent tour! Our guide Christine was very thoughtful in how we went through the tour, warm and enthusiastic to share her knowledge. Did her best to find quiet areas to talk and kept things moving.

It was the best narration...

Liliana_W, Jan 2025

It was the best narration of a historical site I have ever experienced. Our guide was very knowledgeable and upbeat. She answered all our questions and was friendly and kind. I highly recommend Maria, especially for a tour in Spanish. She is very easy to follow, full of fun facts, interactive and engaging, and speaks the language very well!

Great visit to the Vatican!

Desiderio_G, Jan 2025

Our Tour Guide, Christina was great! She made it very interesting and was very thorough in her explanation of the history and relics of the Vatican.

Great tour and fantastic guide.

Barbara_N, Jan 2025

The tour was amazing, it’s definitely worth to do it . The guide Meggie was funny, but also much informative. She told us many interesting details from the history and anecdotes. The tour was very smooth, it was worth to pay for skipping the ques. I was very satisfied with this offer.

Antonio who speaks Japanese 100%

Carly_B, Jan 2025

The was the best tour we’ve been on. Our tour guide was Antonio who speaks Japanese, he was AMAZING. I wish all tour guides were like him. He made everything interesting and we learned so much. 10 out of 10 for this tour!

The Guide Makes the Difference!

Rachele_K, Jan 2025

Christina with Maya Tours was amazing. She took our group aside before we entered each building and gave us an art history lesson. She was funny, engaging and knowledgeable. The guards at the Vatican all knew her and kindly welcomed our group. We were traveling with an 82-year old and an infant. Christina was incredibly accommodating to all tour participants and we loved every minute!

Overall it was...

Berto_M, Jan 2025

Overall it was interesting. However, I missed structure in the explanations and more historical context.

Our tour guide Debra was...

Peter_E, Jan 2025

Our tour guide Debra was terrific! Fun and informative. The skip the line tour is the only way to do the Vatican. We’d still be standing in line if we did the regular tour

Guide was amazing

Liuaki_F, Jan 2025

I wish I remembered our guides name - she was wonderful and knows how to work with a large group and manage large Vatican crowds. Very engaging and knowledgable. Would recommend this skip-the-line tour as it gets very busy. Thanks for a great day!

You Should Probably Rent An Audioguide Instead

Austin, Jan 2025

My wife and I went on this tour during our 3-week vacation across Europe. Over the course of the 3 weeks, we went on about 8-10 tours. All of them, except for this one, were both extremely informative and thoughtful. Unfortunately, this one was pretty underwhelming. Our tour guide spent a lot of time making jokes and talking about herself. At first, it was funny and engaging; however, after it continued throughout the tour, it felt like she was practicing a stand-up comedy routine. Don’t get me wrong, I love comedy, but when we’re cramming in a short tour of the Vatican Museum, which is HUGE, I’d like to learn as much as possible. Also, some of her jokes came off as though she had PTSD from going to Catholic school growing up. I’m sure this would make for a great comedy skit, but given the Vatican is probably the most holy place for the Catholic Church, this probably isn’t the right venue for that. Also, the information quality of the tour was pretty high level. We learned the basics of the art, but our tour guide did not appear to be an expert or highly knowledgeable. We ended up leaving the tour early, and we're happy we did because the rest of the tour group missed The School of Athens, which is probably one of the museum's most famous pieces of artwork. All that said, to be fair, I do think some people would enjoy this tour. If you’re primarily interested in quickly checking out the Vatican Museum and would be happy if you see a few of the major highlights and learn a thing or two, then this tour is probably great. However, if you’d like an expert guide who has a deep understanding of the art, tries to teach you as much as possible in the short tour, and can answer questions, perhaps another tour would be better. If we were to do it again, we’d rent an audioguide.

Christina the Great

Irwin_A, Jan 2025

Christina was our tour guide and she was fabulous! She was not only extremely knowledgeable but she was engaging, warm, funny, and energetic. She understood our needs from our perspective making sure to place our group of 10 in the right place.

Vatican tour with Christina

Brenda_O, Jan 2025

Fantastic tour with host Christina. She was outrageously knowledgeable and a joy to listen to !! Loved every minute of it.

Lost the tour guide

Anna_G, Jan 2025

Lost the tour guide from the beginning and could t find her but overall she explained really good about the art but I couldn’t attend skip the lines so I had to walk away all the way to the exit …

Excellent experience!

Tiffany_M, Jan 2025

Christina was a wonderful guide. She took the time to preview everything we would see on the tour and it made the experience even more enjoyable. Excellent tour!

Fantastic

Grant_M, Dec 2024

Our tour guide Maggie was super efficient with our time. She was very kind as well and made our whole group feel included. Would recommend the VIP small group tour. We learned so much about the history, and even got to see the grotto below the basilica!

Good Guide. Good Tour.

Julia_V, Dec 2024

Our tour guide was very good. She clearly knows her stuff about art and art history, generally kept a decent pace, and gave clear directions. Personally I would have liked a bit more of the social and political history mixed in, but that’s a matter of personal taste I suppose. The meeting point was easy to get to (especially since we took a taxi right there) and there was a little bit of waiting space where you could buy postcards and drinks and use the restroom before setting off. My only complaints are nothing the tour company can control… it can get crazy busy in the museum so people are constantly bumping into you and you may not actually be able to see things on both sides due to crowds. And, when I came to the Vatican 20 years ago, there were spots to sit in the basilica. At the end of 2.5 hours of essentially milling, which can be hard on the feet, it would be nice to be able to sit and just take in St Peter’s for a bit.

Money well spent

Sheridan_O, Dec 2024

Tia was a warm, funny, knowledgable guide with a sense of what we would find most interesting. Our group was small, as described, and the pace of the tour was comfortable. It is worth booking as not only do you skip a very large queue but the knowledge of the guide will maximise your enjoyment and learning. As the Basilica was closed (it was NYE), Tia kindly took us through Raphael‘s rooms. Highly recommend! Thanks, Tia and Maya Tours :-)

Highly recommend this...

Larissa_k, Dec 2024

Highly recommend this tour. Christina was very knowledgeable and covered a ton of information. The VIP tour is the way to go

Vatican

Ingram_J, Dec 2024

Great, thorough, and engaging guide. We covered all significan parts of the Vatican and its history.

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