Best of the Vatican: Fast Track Highlights

Badge of ExcellenceRome, Italy

Skip the Line Early Entrance Vatican Small Group

2 hours 30 minutes
Offered in: English

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Skip-the-Line: Vatican Tour With Sistine Chapel & Basilica

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Overview

Maximize your time in Vatican City on a guided tour that takes you straight to the highlights of the enormous Vatican Museum collection. Beat the crowds by starting early, and enjoy priority access so you can spend more time admiring the artistic treasures of the Sistine Chapel, Belvedere Courtyard, Classical Antiquities galleries and more. Learn the history and legends behind the masterful frescoes, sculptures, maps, and relics from your highly knowledgeable guide as you stroll through room upon room of world-class art. Enjoy Fast track entry to St. Peter's Basilica to explore on your own.

Morning tour of the Vatican Museums
Head straight for the highlights of the massive, world-famous collection
Hear the stories behind the Sistine Chapel and other artistic treasures
Avoid the tourist rush with early entrance and skip-the-line access

What's Included

Skip all lines at the Vatican and get ahead of everyone else
Rooms of Raphael and Sistine Chapel
Full-immersion guided Vatican Museums experience with an expert Vatican tour guide
Belvedere Courtyard, Greek and Roman Sculptures
Priority access to St. Peter’s Basilica

Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via Sebastiano Veniero, 19, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
Via Sebastiano Veniero 19, nearest metro station is called Ottaviano / San Pietro / Musei Vaticani on Linea A which on any Rome metro map is coloured orange.

End points

This activity ends in a different location. See details below:

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What To Expect

Vatican Museums

1 hour 45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Sistine Chapel

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

St. Peter's Basilica

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

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
On days immediately surrounding religious holidays at the Vatican, alterations to tours may become necessary due to partial closings of areas normally included in this tour
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
Maximum 20 travelers on this tour
Due to the route covered and/or the means of transportation used, it is not possible to participate in this tour using a wheelchair, scooter, or other aid. Please contact us to inquire about customized tour options for guests with mobility challenges.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 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

4.5

86 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 86 reviews

Great toue

Michael_K, Apr 2024

Very comprehensive and interesting tour. Maria was great and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Make sure you book such a tour before you go because queues are horrendous for doing it yourself. Very good. Thank you.

Best of the Vatican

Robert_M, Apr 2024

Our tour guide Fredericka was pleasant and shared lots of interesting facts and information. It was a small group also which we preferred.

Prepare to be herded

Jonna_P, Apr 2024

Our guide Nadiya was fabulous. She was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. That was all that kept me going. Way way way too many people let in at same time. Herded like cattle. No one seems to follow directions of no talking or photos in Sistine chapel. It was beautiful but they seriously need to rethink the number of people they allow at each time. Not pleasant and would never ever do again.

Great tour

Michael_H, Apr 2024

The pure beauty of it all, great guide very informative. Really enjoyed the information and how organized the tour was. The guide filled us in and was easy to ask questions

Vatican visit

Patricia_B, Mar 2024

The history and beauty of the Vatican was incredible! Our guide was knowledgeable and entertaining. Terrific experience!

Great guide but not what we ordered.

Jude_B, Feb 2024

Great guide and interesting tour but not quite as described. We also booked a colosseum tour through Viator which was not as described - and now having requested a refund which wasn’t approved I am unable to write a review for it. Such a shame.

Great experience

Elena_B, Jan 2024

Our guide was fantastic! She took us smoothly through the Vatican museums and led us to the Sistine Chapel. She was very kind and knowledgeable and although it was a Wednesday she got us through to St. Peter's Basilica which for us was a blessing. Thank you so much! Do buy your tickets in advance so you can enter without wait.

Amazing Highlights Tour

Danielle_F, Oct 2023

Thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the museums and Sistine Chapel with the guide who was very knowledgeable. We did St Peter’s Basilica on our own because we were pressed for time and it worked out perfectly. It was a good way to enjoy the highlights of the Vatican if your time is limited.

Way to many people

Julie_H, Sep 2023

Our guide was very good but they are letting way to many people in to the Vatican. Very very crowded. Had to walk so slow with all the people. Trip ran over we had to leave early because of other plans

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Dear Julie, Thank you for your honest review. As you can imagine, sadly the number of visitors allowed at the Vatican Museums are beyond our control. We do hope that your trip to Rome was nonetheless enjoyable despite the crowds! Sincerely,

Our guide was amazing,...

Allison_H, Sep 2023

Our guide was amazing, she made it all come to life and she was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The museums are incredible but it was her who made it such a wonderful experience

Past brought to life

Andrea_O, Sep 2023

Our tour guide Zoya was the best, funny and her knowledge amazed us, We loved her so much. Would recommend this tour to anyone that goes to Rome. We would also take this tour again.

Great tour

Yu_K, Aug 2023

The guide was very informative, we got to see the highlights of the museum. It was a great tour and we had fun.

Not a fast track… but knowledgeable

Emily_S, Jun 2023

Our tour was moved to a later time (no explanation why) and we had to board a cruise so luckily they got us into an earlier time slot. Our guide was truly very knowledgeable and nice but it didn’t feel like a fast track tour which is what I wanted. Every other group was seemingly going straight to the Sistine Chapel but we stopped and slowly talked about so many details. For those who wanted a deep Vatican experience it was great but I wanted a fast track to Sistine Chapel and did not get that. My family was bored to death for almost 3 hours. We then didn’t even have time to go to St Peter’s Square nor the basilica because we had just spent three hours in the museum and didn’t have any more time.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Dear Emily, Thank you for your honest review. We are very sorry that our tour did not live up to your expectations. Although we would like to clarify that you booked a guided tour of 2 hours to the Vatican museum , the sistine chapel is the last gallerie we visit as outlined on your tour description. Your previous booking was made at 9:00 o'clock and we rescheduled your tour earlier so we do not understand why you did not have the time to visit the basilica as you were accommodated in a tour that starts more than one hour before your previous. We appreciate your feedback though,hopefully we can do right by you in the future. Sincerely,

Great way to see the highlights

Kristy_M, Jun 2023

We booked this tour last minute after another tour company cancelled on us and it was the perfect way for us to see all we wanted to see a the Vatican. Frederika was a great guide who was very knowledgeable.

Best of Vatican Tour - When in Rome

Kiran_A, Jun 2019

Great tour, our guide was knowledgeable, patient and explained everything well. We were a smaller group compared to a lot of other tour companies, so the individual attention was great and worth the fees charged.

Excellent

Kelly_O, May 2019

Tour guide was excellent in giving the history and guiding us through the Museum and chapel. Plus we were able to skip the long lines.

Great tour.

Hokieslee, May 2019

Would have given 5 but a little more explanation about progression of the day would have been good. Several of us wanted to take pictures but no time at all. Just a couples seconds would have been great here and there. Guide a little abrupt at times. I do appreciate her keeping us on track though. We saw a lot and guide very knowledgeable! Easy to understand and funny at times. Overall great tour and would do again.

Great Guide/Excellent Tour

bekahandphilippe, Oct 2018

Our visit to the Vatican was one of the highlights of our mini trip to Rome. Christina is a great guide! One thing that makes the difference is she is certified by the Vatican as a guide, therefore, she has access to these great touch screens inside the vatican to help explain the sistine chapel. My husband is not really into history and art (to say the least) but the screens and Christina's way of telling the story captured his attention. We had a great time. Highly recommended.

The meeting place was very easy to...

Taylor R, Oct 2017

The meeting place was very easy to find, we waited about 20 minutes and our group of 10 set off to tour the vatican. It's super crowded and confusing but our tour guide took us through the lines and security smoothly. Once inside we were given ear buds so we could hear her speaking even from a distance. We went at a quick pace through the highlights of the vatican museum, focusing mostly on Michelangelo's inspiration for the Sistine chapel. It was a lot of information, but presented in a linear and logical way so we could all comprehend. We arrived at the Sistine chapel and spent 20 minutes gazing along with a thousand other people. It's spectacular and a must see. We exited at the front of Saint Peter's Basilica and toured it without a guide. It was a very informative and efficient way to visit the vatican. I highly recommend a skip the line tour and would not do it any other way in the future.

We were fortunate to have an expert...

alexa, Oct 2017

We were fortunate to have an expert guide Ciara for our tour. Her knowledge was excellent, as was her charming manner. My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed our tour and would recommend it very highly.