St. Peter's Basilica and Papal Grottoes Guided Tour
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Rome, Italy
- 1 hour 10 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
St. Peter’s Basilica’s sheer size and number of artistic and religious treasures can make visiting on your own overwhelming. Instead, see and discover more with your guide than you could alone, all thanks to this insider tour. With your guide in the lead, admire the church both above and below ground as you learn about its history and architecture. Marvel at Renaissance masterpieces, and even explore the underground tombs in the Papal Grottoes.
- Your guide's facts and stories help bring the history to life
- Cover both St. Peter’s Basilica and the Papal Grottoes in one tour
- A budget-friendly group tour that won’t break the bank
- Have enough time left over to continue your Rome sightseeing
What's Included
- All Fees and Taxes
- Headsets to hear the guide
- Official Guide
- This tour doesn't skip the line
- Transportation not included
- Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
- Dome access at St. Peter's Basilica is available for an additional 10 euros at the entrance
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Via del Mascherino, 88, 00193 Roma RM, Italy
Meet your guide 15 minutes before, outside the activity provider's office in Via del Mascherino 88. The meeting point is just a 2-minute walk from St. Peter's Basilica.
End point
- Saint Peter’s BasilicaPiazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City
St. Peter's Basilica, with its rich history, architectural grandeur, and spiritual significance, serves as the ultimate endpoint for pilgrims seeking fulfilment of their faith and connection to the Catholic tradition.
Itinerary
1
St. Peter's Basilica
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
2
St. Peter's Basilica
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- The tour duration depends on the security check line. If it takes a long time, the tour will last longer.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 131 reviews
Alan_M, Mar 2026
We took the guided tour around St Peter's Basilica and grottos. The queuing time was around an hour; our guide Romina was amazing, using the waiting time to give us loads of background information and history about St Peter's Square and the Vatican in general. Once we accessed the basilica she showed us around all areas with more fascinating insight. Romina was very knowledgeable and happily answered questions as we went around.
All in all, a really interesting tour and a great day.
John_B, Mar 2026
Alishba is a wonderful tour guide who has it down and entertains any questions you might have. She’s sweet and kind even when faced with rude guests. Her knowledge and expertise knows no bounds, and we’ll ask for her leadership again. Thank you!
becky_o, Mar 2026
The best value for money tour we did during our trip and the best tour ‘period’ - Karen was simply brilliant, engaging and educating us for at least 45 before we even entered the Basilica. (Everyone has to queue for security) she was truly inspiring too, bringing religion home in such a considerate way throughout the tour - I would give six stars if I could.
Ciaron_I, Mar 2026
Expect queueing to get into the Basilica as the tickets don’t guarantee skipping the line. However, the tour guide (Kelly) was very knowledgeable so it is worth this part.
Carrie_L, Feb 2026
Was great. On time and had a lot of info and history. So much better than if we had tried it on our own.
Sandra_R, Jan 2026
Saint Peters is just an amazing place. The tour guide Alishba was very informative, pleasant and came across very professional. The administration staff at the office were very helpful too. Thank you.
Wenche_P, Jan 2026
Guide Ana was very professional and her english language was perfect. She had a lot of intersting stories and knew the history of st peters church very well. We can highly recommend this guide. We did not have any boring moments during the whole tour.
Mathilde_S, Jan 2026
Kelly is a very cheerful and friendly guide who gave us a wonderful tour! We learned lots about the history and other details about St Peters basilic Vatican.
Patricia_D, Dec 2025
Fabulous guide ushered us on this beautiful trip sharing facts, stories & kept a great pace! Her lovely Pakistani voice was clear & kind to all in our group. 5 stars!
Christine_S, Oct 2025
Be patient with the crowds! The guides are fantastic and will get you into the Basilica no problems. We had a wonderful guide “Alexandra” who really knew the history and was great. Well
Worth the visit
Beata_B, Sep 2025
If you interested in history, it was amazing
tour worth every penny. The biggest difference made our guide “Titi”. She was incredibly knowledgeable and did amazing job keeping everyone entertained and involved.
Mathew_E, Sep 2025
Sara was a fantastic host teaching us a lot about cuisine and not making us feel awkward and spent additional time helping understand more about the dishes
Enrique_E, Aug 2025
We had Anna as our tour guide. Her way to give you the tour keeps you interested during the whole tour, done many tours in the Vatican and so far this is the best one.
We also departed on time, many other tours they ask you to be 15 minutes before the time and you still start the tour late. Not this one.
Mary_E, Jul 2025
The young man who was our guide previously worked at the basilica.He was very well informed and knew things that perhaps other guides did not know.He was youthful energetic and gave us great background on everything we saw.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you very much for your review see you again
Samantha_D, Apr 2025
Alexandria our guide was excellent! Very informative and it was the best idea booking a guided tour.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
"Thanks for the fantastic review! We're so glad you enjoyed the scenery and our guide's insights. Your recommendation means the world to us."
Cherr_P, Apr 2025
Our tour guide, Alishba was awesome. Very informative. She was knowledgeable. Learned so much from her.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
"Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled you had a great experience on our tour. It was a pleasure having you with us, and we hope to see you again soon!"
Maria_E, Apr 2025
Very Good tour. The tour guy was wonderful and explained everything that we were looking at. The tour guy was very knowledgeable at everything he was telling us he was describing everything to the point.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you so much for your review
David_N, Mar 2025
The guide was very knowledgeable about the St Peter’s Basilica, but shared some uncomfortable personal information that could have been omitted.
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you so much
Philip_P, Nov 2024
Our guide gave us an excellent tour of the papal grottoes and St Peter’s Basilica. He provided much historical information and led us through the site effectively. Not his fault, but the Piéta was not available for viewing and there was a lot of scaffolding in the Basilica due to preparations for the upcoming Jubilee Year celebrations. This tour was a very good value.
Lisa_D, Oct 2024
Valery is the best tour guide. We were lucky on a Sunday not to wait too long.
Great tour with good information.
Unfortunately we could not see the original Pieta’.
sarah_s, Aug 2024
Excellent guide who was very knowledgeable. Enjoyed listening to him talking about St Peter’s square whilst waiting in the queue. It made the time pass quickly. The queue to see the dome was over an hour long so we couldn’t face waiting.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Thank you very much
Anthony_D, Jul 2024
Tour guide was very nice and knowledgeable and he kept it lively. Pointed out the important parts of the church.
Kathie_M, Jun 2024
Our tour Guide was very good knowledgeable an keep the tour going... The basilica was beautiful... would have liked a little more time.
PaulDaniel_B, Jun 2024
I've been to St. Peter's on my own, and with this tour. I found the tour added a lot of interesting insights, but I would say that it is not necessary.
The detailed information clearly states that this is not a Skip-the-Line tour. So we spent the first hour (I timed it at 65 minutes) in line. Our guide filled the time with facts, history, and interesting stories, although his understanding of Christianity varies from mine a bit. Once inside, he pointed out things that I probably would not have noticed. He had a great energy and engaged with the group very well, referencing the different countries where we were from.
Della_S, May 2024
May 4, 2024 8:30 tour, male guide. Several of us expressed great disappointment in the “guide.” He failed to lead the group; he stayed at the back of the group chatting a few ppl up rather than be at the front overseeing/making sure we were all together; strangers joined our group and he didn’t even notice. Waste of money. You’d be better off going early and line up on your own. Wait time was 2.5 hours as it is not a skip the line.
Response from Host, May 2024
We are sorry for inconvenience. Could you please tell me name of the tour Guide.Let you know nobody can skip the line for st. PITER'S Basilica. This is the only way to see the baslica. Thank you
Magdalena_M, Mar 2024
Tara was an amazing guide with red hair, lovely and enthusiastic and full of knowledge. We did learn a lot from her, and you can see in her eyes how much she loves Rome, art and history. It was all worth!
Bjorn_S, Apr 2026
The guide Alexandra was very knowledgeable and told insightfully and with empathy about the story with many exciting episodes and details. Despite the long queue, she kept everyone’s spirits up and inside the church she guided us to the most important places.
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Diogo_N, Feb 2026
Good, it's worth going. A different and innovative experience. For those who are religious or love history.
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Pauline_P, Nov 2025
We were looking forward to this visit and just couldn't make it. When we arrived, we were not registered in the right group. So we were dragged away until we joined a group (late). Approaching the Basilica, a gigantic line (Wednesday, Mass in the morning so everyone enters at the same time) the guide tries to negotiate with the police... the group is dissolved and caught in a crowd bath. We lost (patience) and the others and finally could not get in! After contacting the supplier, simply no response or compensation gesture. I had already visited this same Basilica with another company, everything went perfectly. Profit before human experience!
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Lilian_K, Aug 2025
Very informative tour of St. Peter's Basilica and the tombs of the popes. Cornelius is a super tour guide who has told not only a lot of interesting things about the cathedral and the popes, but also about the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Anyone interested in church history and the Vatican has a great narrator in Cornelius. We were quickly in the church and almost didn't feel the great hustle and bustle of the tourists. Thank you, Cornelius
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From $23.89
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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