Rome

Vatican City After Hour Guided Tour With Less Crowd

Rome, Italy

Avoid summer rush with no line VIP entrance for vatican and sistine Chapel

2 to 3 hours
Offered in: English

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Overview

The Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica house some of the most significant art in Rome, but the wait to enter can stretch into hours. With this tour, save time with priority access to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel and spend more time inside with your guide to view masterpieces by artists like Michelangelo and Raphael. Afterward, enjoy VIP back-door entry to St. Peter's Basilica.

Skip-the-line admission for the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
See the highlights of the vast complex in just hours with a guide
VIP back-door entry to St. Peter's Basilica
Basilica visit to Choose morning or late afternoon start-times to avoid crowds works by Michelangelo and Bernini

What's Included

All Fees and Taxes
Skip the line ticket for The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
A guided tour with live guide
Access to the Basilica (if open)

Foods is not included

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via Sebastiano Veniero, 15, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
please to not miss your entrance check in at least 15 minutes before # not refundable in case of late arrival

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Ticket Redemption Point

Via Sebastiano Veniero, 15, 00192 Roma RM, Italy

What To Expect

Vatican Museums

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Sistine Chapel

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

St. Peter's Basilica

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 18 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

3.5

25 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 25 reviews

Not worth it

Jared_K, Oct 2023

The actual tour guide did a fine job but it was so busy you couldn’t even stop to admire anything or spend any time looking at anything. It was like shuffling cattle through the corals. It’s something to see but I certainly wouldn’t recommend going here. You can see it all online and actually spend time looking at it. We also didn’t get into the Basillica with this tour, which we were not clear about. And the tour operator (not the tour guide) was a little hostile to some of the other guests.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

who told you that you would go to the basilica with this tour? read the description well and buy you things and expect thing as you paid dont look for gold when paid for rock

Excellent Tour Guide

Roy_R, Oct 2023

Our tour guide was exceptional. His knowledge of the art, statues and tapestries was phenomenal. He paced the tour well with a running explanation of all of the highlights. The only negatives of the tour was the difficulty in finding the voucher redemption point, but that was overcome fairly easily. The other negative, not the fault of the tour company, was the sheer number of people. It was crowded throughout the tour. The most disappointing was the total lack of respect shown by the crowd inside the Sistine Chapel. Even after being instructed that talking was not allowed, it sounded like a heard of honking geese. Very annoying and disrespectful to those that just wanted to bask and meditate in silence.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

thanks a lot for this wonderful comments we apprettiate your time and effort to write this to us so happy to see you was satisfied

Disappointed

Gladys_I, Oct 2023

It took to long we didn't get to the vatican to much walking for seniors also they canceled 9:30 tour at 8:20am we were on our way because we weren't sure where to go so we sat an hour and a half waiting the man told us first that we were late we certainly weren't

Response from Host, Oct 2023

hello you came at 9.25 am instead of 9.15 is not that you arrived late ? you can not just look at the other group and say can i join it your group was departed and seniors can not walk than why you bought a walking tour for them ?

Beware

Stuart_W, Sep 2023

I would not use Viator again. From a rude check in agent to long lines hardly a skip the line tour. Guide kept the group outdoors in the heat and sun too long.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

we do everything in our Office where did you found sun there? lying about lines because it is a complete skip the line tour

it was horrible with this...

denise_b, Aug 2023

it was horrible with this company, they split up the family, TERRIBLE tour guide she would not answer any questions from anyone in the group, very rude woman our tour guide

Response from Host, Aug 2023

we dont believe you were part of our group as you are saying we split up your family which is not true in any sense with our groups

Wonderful experience

Vijay_S, Aug 2023

Had a wonderful tour experience with Sylvio as our guide. He is very experience and gave information about interesting facts of the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel all the way to the end.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

thanks a lot for this fantastic comments we apprettiate your time and effort for this feedback

Crisis averted

Laura_O, Aug 2023

I was contacted by my Viator rep a few days before our tour. He let us know that my guide was not available for our time slot, so they offered us a better time for the Vatican tour. I really appreciated all the effort that was made for this. Plus, our tour was exceptional. Our guide was from the Vatican and was very knowledgeable on the museum pieces and the Sistine Chapel. I would go on this tour again. Viator did a great job with letting us know the situation and giving us a solution.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

thanks a lot for this fantastic comments we apprettiate your time and effort

Amazing

Maria_L, Aug 2023

Damiano our tour guide was excellent. Crown tours were very organised and fantastic, I would highly recommend them.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

thanks a lot for this fantastic comments we apprettiate your time and effort

great experience

khalil_k, Aug 2023

Amazing tour with an amazing tour guide...totally recommended. the tour started on time, the tour guide gave lots of information and was very helpful.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

thanks a lot fir this excellent review we are so happy to hear that you liked our tour

Total waste of money!

MarinaMagali_D, Jul 2023

IT WAS A WASTE OF MONEY AND IT WAS NOT WORTH IT AT ALL! You don't even see a 1/3 of what the Vatican entails. Her English was not understandable. We would have preferred to go on our own without the guide and take the time to see all the galleries. We met at 12:30 pm and only at 13 pm we managed to enter the Vatican, remaining only one hour to see the place (which was definitely not enough). They also lied about the amount of people: we were like 30. We do NOT recommend it!!!

Response from Host, Jul 2023

who told you you gonna go with private tour ? did you paid for that ! we always go with 24 people group and price is fixed for that . and i think you lied about our guide said bad english but not at all because we have chosen all our guide after examined their english .

Too little time to appreciate.

Andy_C, Jul 2023

The tour started 15 minutes late and then felt rushed throughout. The guide gave us little time in each area, which with a large group means that if you wished to study anything for more than 10 seconds you fell behind. It also included the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica but our guide left at the end of the Vatican museum (not entirely sure whether this should have happened).

Response from Host, Jul 2023

we give st peter as complementary skip the line where does it written its includes tour in basilica ? why you just lie ? thats s church and always free and to avoid other people next time pay 10 times more to have a private tour

Vatican Tour

Jane_C, Jul 2023

Booked an early morning tour many months in advance knowing it would be very hot later in the day. Was contacted the day before that they had to cancel. I could get a refund or go later morning. Took later morning since we were a group of 8 and couldn’t last minute get another early tour. That morning bumped again to early afternoon. Tour guide was pleasant and very nice but she left at the end of Sistine Chapel to turn in head sets and never returned to guide us to the cathedral.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

sorry fir the change we needed to but all travellers fo the cathedral by themselves and its free to our guides show the way to enter without line so complaints about this is unfair

Worth the experience!

Kristine_L, Jul 2023

Was organized and left on time, and the tour guide was very knowledgeable. We did not get a tour of the Basilica… That was a self guided thing.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

thanks for this fantastic review we apprettiate your time and effort to write this for us

Amazing experience

Stephanie_H, Jul 2023

Amazing experience! Our first tour time got canceled and this tour company was amazing in getting us into an even better time on the tour day before public opening. Company was very responsive. We were guided into the front of every line and also provided an amazing tour guide from the Vatican. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and knew exactly where to stand and navigate so we didn’t get caught up in the crowds. Loved this tour. Very highly recommend!

Response from Host, Jul 2023

thanks for understanding our service and this wonderful review !!

Great for art majors, not a good fit for us

Michele_S, Jun 2023

The night before our tour, the tour operator messaged to say our tour time was cancelled and we could either take a later slot or receive a refund. This was very unnerving. We went to Rome in a post cruise extension solely to go to Vatican City and do this tour. We took the later slot as what were we going to do with less than 24 hour notice to schedule something else? This completely threw our day off at the things we had planned to do before and after we’re changed or cancelled. Others had conflicts arise with other tours they had booked and had to make tough choices. The Vatican Museum was chaos. Not the operators fault, just reality of what the visitation is. Wall to wall people. Bumping, pushing. We were given a 30 minute briefing by the guide on what we would see in the Sistine Chapel with picture references. The Vatican Museums are so much more than the Sistine Chapel and I would have appreciated a hand out instead of spending time on this. Too much to see and not enough time to see it. You are pushed through the Sistine Chapel as quickly as possible and spend less than five minutes in there. Again, not the operators fault. If you have a high interest in art, this is a great tour for you! The guide was primarily concentrating on art and not a lot about the historical components. After the museum walk through, you are on your own in the Sistine Chapel. At the conclusion you have two choices, left back into the museums to explore on your own or right to Saint Peter’s Basilica. There was no information on the Basilica given by the operator and we found out by accident there is an option to go up to the dome. The basilica was an incredible experience.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

if the museum is busy what we can do with this !

Knowledgeable but cranky guide

Kasey_D, Jun 2023

They moved the time of our tour, changed the actual tour from small group express to regular length large group and the guide was cranky and rude. He also just had knee surgery so the tour took twice as long as it should have. Overall, we will not use this tour company again.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

you seems rude to me not that guide who was pepe and had a small problem in leg

Great experience

Kellie_F, Jun 2023

The tour was great. The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable and was able to guide our entire group through the crowds with ease.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

thanks a lot for this wonderful comments

Not satisfied

Alan_G, Jun 2023

Was not able to accommodate our time that i already paid in advance. Had to pay extra on tour for semi private Euro 195. Also the tour guide stated tour was supposed to start at 930a but I was told at 10am. Also got upset at us for using the restroom.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

you choose the private tour for your 13 pax which cost originally 300 euro mire we have made a discount even still nit happy ! group tour cost and private tour cost are not same and if there is a line in restroom what we can do with that

Good way to see Sistine Chapel

Neil_T, Jun 2023

Whilst the process of redeeming the voucher for a ticket was a bit convulted & chaotic with multiple tours happening from a small office all turned out great. You do get rushed through the museo but that is more the museum staff because of the total visitor numbers. We had a great guide, very knowledgeable & sense of humour. Very happy we did this tour.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

thanks a lot for your wonderful feedback we apprettiate your time and effort sir and so happy to see you loved our tour

Your was great - other tourist are meh

Halle_M, May 2023

The guide was great and gave us a good beat of everything not too many details that I would forget but just enough that I can carry with me. I would say the other tours around us were a bit annoying especially when we got to see the Sistine chapel - there is no talking or photos and folks are just not listening to the rules so it kind of took me out of it

Response from Host, May 2023

thanks for this great honest speaking review hope others can understand apprettiate your time and effort writing it