Skip-the-Line: Early Entrance Vatican Tour
Rome, Italy
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
See the artistic treasures of the Vatican Museums without the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds with this early entrance tour. Skip the long queues and enter the museums 30 minutes before they open to the general public so you can fully appreciate some of the world’s greatest masterpieces of painting and sculpture. Experience the serenity of the Sistine Chapel ahead of the tourist throngs, and learn the history of other collection highlights from your knowledgeable guide.
- Optimize your time with skip-the-line entry to the Vatican Museums
- Early access to enter the museums 30 minutes before it officially opens
- Stand inside the Sistine Chapel before it fills with shoulder-to-shoulder crowds
- See other highlights of the vast collection with the help of a knowledgeable guide
What's Included
- Blue Badge guide
- Headsets to hear the guide clearly
- Professional guide
- Guided tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
- Guaranteed to skip the long lines
- Hotel pickup
- Hotel drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Viale Vaticano, 104, 00165 Roma RM, Italy
Viale Vaticano 104, in front of the coffee bar "Da Paolo".
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Vatican Museums
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Sistine Chapel
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
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
- To apply Youth fares you need to provide a student ID card
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.1
based on 71 reviews
Jose_E, Feb 2026
Extremely frustrated and disappointed. Tour operator never showed up at the designated meeting place. Even though I’m expecting a full refund this no show interfered with other activities in Rome. Have not heard back from tour operator over 24 hours after
Richard_G, Mar 2025
It was nice to be able to walk past the long line up. The guide was clear and informative. The Vatican is quite overwhelming. So many treasures. The only down side was that I had not noticed that the tour did not take us into St Peters.We had to walk around which was tiring on sore, old hips and knees.
Teresa_Z, Nov 2024
Great tour! Lots of interesting facts about the Vatican and the art. Our tour director was funny and gave us clear instructions. I would definitely recommend.
Madlen_Y, Oct 2024
Lovely tour. Our guide, Patrick was so excellent, so knowledgeable, so soft spoken and explained everything so well, made it pleasurable.
Veronica_P, Aug 2024
Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the Vatican. He definitely made it a great experience!
Jacquie_W, Aug 2024
We loved our Vatican tour! Alessandra (Alex) was incredible - so knowledgeable and brilliant storytelling, our 9 & 11yr old were engaged the whole time, no easy feat in 35deg and for children looking at art for a number of hours.
The pace was great, she was guided by us on how long we stayed in various parts and it was honestly the best art class I’ve ever had.
I would 100% recommend her anytime for families or just adults.
Bryn_S, Jul 2024
We booked a last minute tour when we discovered there were no tickets left via the Vatican museum website for our day in Rome. Our guide Dina was great! She moved us through the museum efficiently despite the crowds, including the long line to get in. Dina was knowledgeable and was full of helpful information giving us good context on Italian and Catholic history and traditions. She was able to answer all the questions we had and dropped us off at the entrance to the Basilica - that was a nice surprise as the booking said we’d be returned to the cafe where we started from and this meant we avoided that line as well. Just a note that the name of the tour company provided on our booking didn’t match the name of the company, making for a confusing start.
Karen_L, Jul 2024
Tour guide had perfect personality, expert knowledge, small group was A plus, being there early let you immerse yourself in the art, history & culture. Wonderful!
Harsh_R, Jul 2024
I was worried about booking this because of the lack of reviews, but so glad we did. Finding the group was easy, with a coffee shop right outside the Vatican entrance being the meeting point. The pace was good and our guide talked us through all the sights - highly recommend!
Ps: The morning was a great time to explore the Vatican because the crowds weren’t too bad yet.
Cristine_V, Jun 2024
Our tour guide Rosanna was wonderful! It was my and my teenage children’s first time at The Vatican and walking through so many beautiful spaces can be overwhelming if you don’t know the backstory but Rossana is knowledgeable and made this that more amazing.
Alex_V, Jun 2024
Would only see the Vatican this way!! I loved being one of the only people in the Sistine chapel. Our tour guide was very informative and patient
Jessica_H, May 2024
Our guide Peter was excellent and he was very knowledgeable about the art etc. He was great at making sure we understood why we were being rushed by the staff at the Vatican itself and the rules.
Evelyn_G, Aug 2023
It was a wonderful tour. We had predilated access at all times. The guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Explained everything clearly. I loved it.
Raian_S, May 2023
It was an enjoyable tour with fascinating information on the Vatican and its art by our tour guide. Just a heads up, St. Peter's basilica is closed Wednesday mornings so you may have to go back in the afternoon if you don't want to wait.
Prena_K, May 2023
Alberto was an excellent guide! I would highly recommend touring with him as he brought lots of knowledge and made the tour interactive/interesting.
Mark_L, May 2023
Our tour guide Patrick made an amazing experience that was both breathtaking and very informative. 2 thumbs up! 👍🏿 👍🏿
Charles_S, Jun 2019
I’m glad we did our first visit to the Vatican with a tour. The guide was very helpful in navigating the complex system and buildings. He was very knowledgeable, but not always easy to understand, especially on the head set. I did feel like the museum tour was rushed. I realize there is more to see than you could possibly do in a half day, so choices had to be made. If I go a second time I would do a self-guided tour. The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s basilica was great.
20halaE, Jul 2018
The printout stated to 'meet' by 7:30. Which is different from stating that they will 'leave' by 7:30. They ask you to meet at the tour office. We were 8 min late and they left without us. The group was probably just around the block, we could have caught up to them, but there was nobody at the tour office to help us, door was locked, and nobody answering the phone. 30 min later, someone came to unlock the door and was able to put us on another tour that afternoon, but charged us again for Vatican admission tickets. When we questioned our guide about the paying twice for our tickets, she snapped at me, snatched the ticket out of my hand and ranted about how this is a great deal. Anna was a temperamental and unprofessional woman. Also, her poor quality microphone made it difficult to hear her.
We went on another tour in Rome with another company and we had a much better experience. They used a better quality microphone, a more pleasant and knowledgeable guide and more accommodating to a couple who showed up late. Our group went ahead while another rep waited for them to arrive and brought them to catch up to the group while still in the security line.
Doug P, Jul 2018
The overall experience was acceptable and the guild's knowledge was beyond expectations but the package as falsely advertise resulting in a mediocre rating. There was quite a line to enter the attraction and by the time we arrived at the Sistine Chapel it was crowded with perhaps 600 other customers and guides. This was during peak season on a Saturday July 21st but the description of the tour does not mention any difference in experience during peak season. Lastly from observation of all the historical attractions in Rome, there is not true skip the line. There is only two types of line, one is for groups with tour guides and the other is for individuals without a group. I hope this is posted and helps others choice wisely.
Karen G, Jul 2018
Fabulous attractions, but guide was hard to understand, rushed us through the museum very quickly, and finished early. Too expensive for what the tour offers.
Susan H, Jun 2018
Our tour guide was very good. However, the headsets were not great, and there were still many many people there at the Vatican, and there was still a little bit of waiting. However, overall, it was a great experience!
Julie G, Jun 2018
Solid tour on the art history. Not passionate in delivery but lots of good information.
Monique A, Oct 2017
This tour of the Vatican Museums was superb, because of 2 main reasons. First was getting in earlier than most and getting to see the tour mostly free from the crushing crowd. Second was the theme of the tour by a profoundly knowledgeable art historian: Michaelangelo versus Raphael. It at times was slightly over my head, but piqued my interest in the subject. Our guide was amazing.
We moved pretty fast, trying to stay ahead of the mob. Once it started getting more crowded it became more challenging to keep up and stay together. By the end we were in the soup, but he took us behind the ropes for a bit, and we had the area to ourselves.
I wouldnt see the Vatican Museums any other way! Well worth the price.
nancy h, Sep 2017
Early entrance is key if you want to experience the Sistine without feeling like a sardine. Also our Guide, ERIK, was wonderful...this is his thing and it was so wonderful to hear him share from his bottomless well of knowledge. Thank you Eric for the great lessons and memories. Loved our guided tour of the vatican and Sistine Chapel...Wish we would also have signed up for a guided tour of St. Peters.
Renee C, Jul 2017
The guide, Lorenzo, was a serious art expert and extremely knowledgeable. We met at 7:30 at their office which is a block and 1/2 or so away from the entrance to the gallery. We waited outside the Vatican Museum entrance with other groups until the doors opened at 8. I had assumed that our early admission would enable us to gain access before most of the crowds, but it took quite a lot of time for us to even get into the galleries. We were in the Vatican Museum, but outside the building itself, looking at some of the views, and finally looking still outside at La Laocoön at 9:45 am which left us far less time on the tour to finally get inside for the extensive and major works. Finally I asked about getting into the Sistine Chapel before the hordes of other tourists and was told that it everyone thinks it's better to go there first, and it is better not to, as that's when it's really jammed. Well, by the time we got there, the Sistine Chapel was completely jammed with people, there was constant calls from the guards to the large crowd to be quiet. If you think you will have an advantage to gaining early and less crowded access into the museum and specifically into the Sistine Chapel, this is not the way to do it. I do wonder if the guides have arrangements with the Vatican so as to control how many people actually go to the Chapel first. I don't know if there is another way to avoid this problem, possibly the very expensive 400-500 Euro evening tour?.
Lorenzo was by far the most educated art historian we had on our tour of Italy, and I highly recommend him. With the plethora of companies offering skip the line tours, some very expensive ones, be sure you know what you are getting. Joining a tour at whatever time of day to gain you access without standing on long lines is a good idea, but the early entrance here didn't help us avoid large crowds. There are lots of skip the line tours offered for many sites around Italy, and for the most part I think you can avoid paying very high fees and plan your entrances or reserve on the official museum sites without paying exorbitant fees.
Jennifer S, Jun 2017
We choose this tour after finding information about it online. I have to say, it was absolutely wonderful!! Tonia was our guide and she was simply fantastic. Very knowledgeable, funny, and engaging, she showed us a great side of the Vatican. One we would never have seen on our own. I HIGHLY recommend this tour if you want to get into the Vatican early and be able to spend some quality time seeing the amazing Sistine Chapel and all of the outstanding pieces in the Vatican museum. It was more than worth the money we spent. Thanks for making this a fabulous visit, Tonia and Italy With Us!
Alison B, Jun 2017
Our guide, Erik, was fabulous. So knowledgeable and so good at explaining different aspects of the art and the buildings. Loved the early entrance as it was awesome to see the Sistine Chapel with only a handful of other people milling about. Would have loved a bit more time in the museums. I have to admit I felt like a gibbering idiot as all I could say was wow at everything we saw
Andrew_Z, Mar 2017
Wow, what extensive knowledge of such an important historical part of history. I would strongly consider this tour as it made our visit so easy and enjoyable. I'm almost speechless and the quality of the guides here in Rome, and going in early to beat the crowds is a MUST as it gets very congested. You don't know me, but I urge you to take this tour these guys are so informative and are real pros and getting you in and out. Thanks for being part of my family's trip of a lifetime!
Mary_H, Nov 2016
The skip the line feature is fantastic and so is the Sistine chapel. But to my knowledge, we didn't see any secret rooms and our tour guide was in a hurry to get to his next booking. I don't feel like I saw anything at all in the Vatican museum except for a rushed walk through of the map room and the Sistine chapel.
Lara K, Nov 2016
Before I review the actual tour, let me just give kudos to this fabulous tour company! Due to one bad thing after another debit card not working, lost on way to train station, missing train by one minute happening, we were late. The paperwork for the tour says to be there at 730am sharp and it was 10 til 8 when we got off the train near the vatican. Someone from the office came and found us and ran us to the entrance and sweet talked our way in because it was after 8am and they didn't have to allow us to enter! This was definitely beyond what they had to do for us! We were so appreciative! Now for the tour itself, our guide Cesare, he was amazing! He was very easy to understand. Also they give you an earphone to hear him even when you are a ways away from him. He quickly walked us to the Sistine chapel before there were too many people there. He left us for 20 minutes or so to absorb and appreciate the beauty of the place! I didn't understand what he meant by later it will be VERY crowded but I did soon enough! So glad he took us to the chapel first! Once we left there, I could appreciate being able to have room to move in the Sistine Chapel! Cesare has a passion for art and the history of this place and knew SO MUCH and was ready for any question! This tour is a lot of walking and there are some stairs...wear your walking shoes for sure! The vatican was amazing and I feel as though I know so much more for having been on this tour! You will see Raphaels rooms, the sistine chapel, the crypt and St Peter's Basilica, you will be ready for a sit down at the end but it will have been well worth it! After the tour is over you can go into the Jubilee area at no cost and even sit in a quiet room that holds John Paul II's remains. The room was supposed to be quiet but not everyone in there respected the rules. This has nothing to do with the tour but it, even with the chatty people, was something I was glad I did! Plus you can rest your feet for a few minutes in the peace of the place!
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