Step into the early days of Christian history on a private, 6-hour tour of Rome’s holy sites, and experience the city where Constantine, St. Peter and St. Paul lived and preached. Discover the 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of St. John Lateran and Pontius Pilate's steps, an important pilgrimage site. See millennia-old relics treasured by saints and Popes, then head to the below-ground Catacombs for a tour of the tunnels where generations of Christian martyrs were buried and remembered.

6-hour private tour of Rome's Christian sites
Enjoy the flexibility of a private tour
Visit churches, relics and the Catacombs
Step back into Christian history
Private tour is operated with just your party and a guide/driver
Free hotel pickup and drop-off included

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Live commentary on board , you visit on your own
Private vehicle for the day
Transport by air-conditioned sedan/minivan

Food and drinks, unless specified
Gratuities
Admission to the Catacombs (approx. 8 euros)
Walking tour guide inside the sites

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Opening hours

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Pickup details

Pick up is at your centrally-located Rome hotel. Please provide address.

What To Expect

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Scala Santa and Chapel of San Lorenzo

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Catacombs of Saint Callixtus

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Basilica Papale San Paolo Fuori le Mura

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 7 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Infant seats available
If you are not ready to depart at the assigned time , we cannot promise to fulfill the mentioned itinerary nor promise to extend the duration of the tour.
Wheelchair accessible
Order of stops may vary.
Your driver is not a licensed tour guide. Due to strict Italian laws and regulations in place to protect officially licensed guides, drivers can comment and explain attractions only from inside the vehicle. Drivers cannot elaborate on the attractions when they are outside of the vehicle.

This is a private service no one will join your party
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
Pleae be aware that on Sundays some Churches have restrictions to the places you may visit.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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

19 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 19 reviews

Delightfully off the beaten path

Rachel_C, Jul 2023

We loved seeing new churches, and our driver had actually been in all of them. He was so courteous and friendly. He was very willing to tailor our tour to what we wanted to see.

Great Basilica tour

Susan_T, Mar 2023

Highly recommend this tour. Our guide, Daniele picked us up at our hotel and took us all over the city to see the Papal Basilicas, Christian sites and anything else along the way we were interested in. He was extremely knowledgeable and we enjoyed our time with him. This is a great additional tour to a Vatican tour.

Basilicas of Rome

Lara_H, Nov 2022

This tour is a good one if you are interested in the Basilicas of Rome and the Catacombs. The area around the Catacombs is quit lovely, but the tour of the Catacombs is somewhat dull. You don’t see any bones or skulls if that is what you expect. Just go underground and few stories to see how the Christians buried their dead. That part is interesting. The Basilicas are AMAZING. All of are viewed on your own though your driver will give you some History before you journey inside the Basilicas

Excellent choice to see Rome!

Anne_P, Jul 2022

Very expensive, but excellent driver/guide in air-conditioned Mercedes Sedan. Our guide was Marco Tabola and he even threw in some unexpected extras - coffee, ice cream, tickets into the Pantheon. I expected a guided tour of all the churches. Unfortunately, that only happened in one, as the driver is not allowed to park and/or leave the car everywhere. There is no additional guide to the driver. That was certainly disappointing, but he did tell us everything that was important on the way to the next place. What he was allowed to guide us through, he did an excellent job. Personable, friendly, knowledgeable. This tour can be entirely customized, just ask for it when in the car driving. Amazing experience!

A true once in a lifetime family adventure

Nathan_P, Oct 2021

David was prompt and so very nice!! He was knowledgeable and very informative. He spoke excellent English and had a great sense of humor. He dropped us right by each Christian point of interest and ensured we got to see the important items around the schedules (lunch or seasonal closings) of each…not one place we got to that was closed. We were traveling with our older parents and children down to the age 10, and this was DEFINITELY the way to allow for seeing these historic and moving sites without exhausting either generation. The break for lunch, based on David’s recommendation, was at a great location, and we wanted to go back for more!! True Italian eatery. This was a blessing to our family and we could not be more thankful for the opportunity it provided us thanks to David and Daniel’s excellent service.

Excellent experience

Boland-R, Mar 2020

Having been to Rome before and touring some of the same basilicas, it was a great experience and extremely cost effective to do it this way. Our driver guide Matteo spoke perfect English and tailored the tour to our interest. And communication with the office through Erika couldn’t have been better. I would definitely use this company again, a lovely experience.

Wonderful

Patrick_B, Sep 2019

Amazing day touring some of Rome's most spectacular and historic churches. Additionally, a visit to the catacombs also included which was also incredible. Very much enjoyed our time with our skilled driver, Damiano and the background knowledge he offered not only on the basilicas but also on a great place for lunch. Highly recommend this tour if you're interested in diving a bit more deeply into many of the churches not on everyone's to-do list, particularly if you want to visit all of the Seven Pilgrimage Churches made famous by St. Philip Neri.

Best way t see the Christian Sites

famdixon, Sep 2018

Davidd was our driver and tour guide he was prompt and very professional during the entire tour. This was our second time to visit Rome, our last visit was limited and we were not able to visit the sites we wanted to. This is the best way to get around Rome. Having your own driver and vehicle makes it easy to get to the sites, and did not have to worry about finding a parking space or long walks. We were dropped off right at the entrance to most sites. We set the time frame for visits at each sites, that way we could spend as much time as we wanted to really explore the sites and get a good understanding about the Rich History at each site. Our driver Davidd also recommended a local place for lunch, and when we arrived we had a table waiting for us. The food and service was excellent. We have taken many tours mostly in groups, but having your own private driver and vehicle is the best way to see the sites you want to see on your schedule. I would highly recommend this tour. .

This was an awesome tour! Would...

Misty L J, Aug 2017

This was an awesome tour! Would suggest to anyone. We were able to go where we wanted and customize as we went. The first thing in the morning our driver, Alessandro, asked what we wanted out of the tour. We were able to visit many places and he even had us at St Peters Square at noon, we were able to here the church bells ring. Beautiful! My son wanted pizza so Alessandro took us to a place he likes to go, not a tourist trap. It was wonderful. We ended the tour at the place I asked, the Pantheon! He dropped us back off at our hotel. This was our last day of a 3 week European trip, what a wonderful end!

Our driver was Damiano. He took us...

beth, Mar 2016

Our driver was Damiano. He took us all over Rome to the Christian sites we wanted to see. He told us a little about each one and then parked us as close as possible. He gave us a certain amount of time to visit each location before returning to him. He took us to a great local place for lunch. We really enjoyed this tour. We spent about 6 hours on the tour, but could easily have spent 8 and taken longer in each church.

We went on a Sunday and because it...

samanthabwilliams, Oct 2015

We went on a Sunday and because it was a private tour we were able to hit things at the perfect time, meaning no lines anywhere at all. The catacombs were inspiring and the churches marvelous. Our tour guide was Max. He was very informative and talked to us like friends. We had a stop at St. Peter's on the list but because the Pope was speaking we told him we would much rather see the Pantheon as it was our last day in Rome and we had yet to see it. Though it wasn't on the list he took us there and gave us tons of information. I would highly recommend this tour to everyone

Manuel, our guide, was out of this...

Melinda A M, Oct 2015

Manuel, our guide, was out of this world! excellent driving, knew his locations/directions/described each stop with great detail, was passionate about his work, had excellent manners. would recomend him to anyone.