Small-Group Tour of Roman Catacombs & St. Clement's Undergrounds
Recommended by 100% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Rome, Italy
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Explore ancient Roman sites that most tourists miss with this underground tour that takes you through catacombs and chapels hidden deep below the city. Begin by descending beneath the Basilica of San Clemente to explore its temples and chapels, then head outside the city center to the Catacombs of Santa Domitilla. Venture into the underground warren of chambers and corridors used by the early Christians as worship and burial spaces.
- Take a break from crowds in Rome and discover two hidden gems
- Visit the Basilica of San Clemente’s three underground levels of ruins
- Travel to the Via Appia on board a private minivan to reach the catacombs
- Marvel at early Christian art in the chapels and crypts of St. Domitilla
What's Included
- All entrance and transport fees
- Sterilised headsets to hear the guide clearly
- Full on-site assistance
- Luggage deposit in our office for the duration of the tour
- Live professional guide
- Hotel Pick-up and drop-off
- Optional gratuities
- Food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Via Francesco Giambullari, 4, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Meet us at Via Francesco Giambullari 4, 00184 Rome. The meeting point is in the square in front of the stairs. Please arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled starting time. Look for a member of staff holding a yellow label.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Basilica of San Clemente
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Appian Way (Via Appia Antica)
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Catacombe Di Domitilla
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- An appropriate dress-code is required in order to enter the churches: knees and shoulders should be covered
- This tour is subject to weather conditions and/or liturgic-calendar events. If canceled you will be given the option of an alternative date or a full refund
- This tour will have a maximum of 10 participants
- You will need to be at the meeting point 5 minutes before the starting time
- Not recommended for people with claustrophobia
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 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 31 reviews
Amy_T, Jun 2026
This is a very neat tour but you are not allowed to take photos or videos. This is not the excursion to see skulls or bones.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our tour.
Rebecca_R, Mar 2026
The storytelling style of this tour is perfect for the sites. We learned a lot and were amazed by the discoveries.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Catacombs guided tour!
Nicola_D, Mar 2026
Our guide was excellent made the tour so interesting.
The catacombs were fascinating and st Clements was so beautiful.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed the tour with us!
Scott_C, Nov 2025
While the catacombs were cool, the best part is the undergrounds. It's amazing to be standing in/on a building so old and in such good condition. Worth your hard earned money.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you so much. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Catacombs guided tour!
Christopher_B, Nov 2025
This is a fantastic tour of a true catacomb and detailed tour of San Clemente. The guide, Daniel, was probably the best tour guide I have experienced over the years of using Viator
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Catacombs + St. Clement's Basilica guided tour with Daniel!
We will definitely pass the message :)
Deanne_T, Jun 2025
We enjoyed the tour. The church was our favorite spot. We saw up close the different layers of time under the church and how they built one on top of the other on top of the other. Plus the temperature was very cool on a hot day.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you for your feedback, we are really glad to hear that you enjoyed the tour of the Catacombs and St. Clement's! It is definitely a gem.
Angela_S, May 2025
Good experience and Interesting information. Small group experience was appreciated. Ample time at locations and reliable start and end times.
Donna_S, Apr 2025
Our guide was outstanding. Knowledgeable and friendly. Layers and layers of history to explore. We would highly recommend this tour.
Helen_F, Mar 2025
Erneste, the tour guide, was excellent, and guided us around the two sites expertly. He knew his subject inside and out, and was able to communicate clearly and engagingly and answer the questions that everyone in the group asked. Both sites were fascinating, and gave a real insight into the way that people lived, worshipped and honoured their dead, and the way that each site had developed over time.
The minibus transfer between the sites was smooth, and the vehicle was clean, comfortable and well-maintained.
The radio equipment worked really well, enabling all of our small group to hear the guide clearly.
I would have given this tour five stars, but I'm reducing that to four because the day before the tour we were contacted by the local tour operator to say that "unfortunately, we are currently facing some issues with our tour guide" and requesting that we changed the time of the tour from morning to afternoon. The communication throughout the changes was good, and luckily, we were able to be flexible, but as they couldn't provide what we originally booked I don't feel I can give the full five stars.
Anonymous, Feb 2025
Our guide was informative and spoke English well. He seemed a bit bias in how he thought events occurred through history. He was also late to start the tour.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you for sharing your feedback!
Firstly we would like to apologise for the delayed start!
We hope you have enjoyed the tour nevertheless!
Jillanne_M, Dec 2024
This experience was about understanding humanity through the ages, and a wonderful guide willing to share her passion and detailed knowledge. A priceless experience.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback!
We are happy to hear you enjoyed this experience with us and we hope to see you again in the future on one of our tours here in Rome! :)
Katherine_T, Oct 2024
The private tour of the catacombs and St Clement's Church was excellent. Francesca was wonderful and so professional. The catacombs were a bit cool, so bring a light jacket.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts!
We are delighted to hear you had a good time with Francesca inside the Catacombs and the St. Clement's Church! :)
EMILY_A, Oct 2024
Tour guide knowledge Great experience our guide made it so enjoyable and we learned a lot from him fabulous
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for your positive feedback, Emily!
We are glad you enjoyed this experience with us!
Marti_B, Oct 2024
I think Viator outsourced our tour to another tour group. Would have preferred we stay w a Viator guide.
Our Guide was excellent, though, and very knowledgeable and organized and answered questions well. Transportation was kind of disjointed, having to wait several times. But traffic was not tour’s fault.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback!
We are glad you enjoyed this experience with us and apologise for any inconvenience caused by the traffic!
Christina_O, Jul 2024
Both the catacombs and St. Clement's were interesting experiences enjoyed by the whole family. We had great tour guides for both venues who gave the historical context for the sites in an enjoyable way. Definitely recommend!
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your feedback!
We are very happy to hear you enjoyed your tour of the Catacombs and the St. Clement's Basilica! :)
Judith_M, Jul 2024
This was a 2 part tour. The St. Clement was so interesting. It was a very small group, and the tour guide was excellent. Pointing out many things that we would have missed if we went on our own self guided tour. Well worth the money. A few people joined our group for the catacombs. It was also very interesting and group was still small. I highly recommend this tour for those interested in history of the early Christian Church!
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback!
We are very glad you enjoyed your tour of the St. Clement's Basilica and the Catacombs! :)
Angela_C, Jun 2024
Our guide was so knowledgeable and entertaining. Private tour is the way to go! Very organized and liked they took care of everything.
Response from Host, Jun 2024
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts. We are glad you enjoyed this experience with us :)
Ursula_S, May 2024
Fantastic stories of how people lived centuries ago and the guide was great and very expressive.
What amazed me the most was how organised the people were centuries ago
Response from Host, May 2024
Thank you so much for your feedback! We hope to see you again on one of our other tours in Rome :)
Michelle_B, May 2024
This was without a doubt this best tour we did in Rome. Our guide was amazing, very informative, kind and knowledgeable. St Clements basilica was a hidden gem with her “Lasagna” layers of ancient dwellings and outstanding basilica roof.
Response from Host, May 2024
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts in such detail. We are so glad you enjoyed this experience with your guide :)
We hope to see you again on one of our other tours in Rome!
Nichole_w, Mar 2024
Guide was knowledgable and friendly. Really enjoyed the tour! Lots to see and learn... definately recommend!
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Thank you so much for your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed this experience with us and hope to see you again on one of our other tours in Rome :)
Danielle_C, Mar 2024
Paul was an endless font of knowledge, who seems to love what he does. I only wish I had a notebook with me! So much information about major ancient historical events.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts in such detail. We are so glad you enjoyed this experience with Paul and hope to see you again on one of our other tours in Rome :)
Mark_H, Jul 2023
Took this tour as i was interested in the history, paintings and frescoes found in the Catacombs and the Basilica. Samuele my guide was exceptional. We discussed my interests at the start of the tour and my interest in the art work. The tour started with a drive to the Catacombs of Domitilla. There was good narration / question and answer all the way there. At the catacombs Samuele took care of everything. From beginning to end shared all the important information regarding the burial site. He wove in a lot of knowledge regarding the art present in the underground system. We returned to St. Clement's Basilica and had the same experience. He shared all the important information regarding the tiered structure and wove in all types of details regarding the paintings found in the building. It felt like sharing time with a PHD of the two areas we toured. He picked up on the fact i had traveled all night on an overnight flight and graciously repeated things i didn't hear through my tiredness. Overall a great experience and would recommend Samuele as a guide.
Sarah_S, Jun 2022
We had a wonderful experience with Sara as our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and interesting. By happy accident we were the only people signed up for this tour so our family had a private guide! We saw and learned so much about the catacombs, the artwork in and around some of the burials, and the history of the region. I had chosen this catacomb tour because I had heard St. Domitilla were the best in Rome, despite others being, perhaps, more popularly visited. They did not disappoint! And we loved that they were less crowded than others as well. We ended our morning with a tour of St Clement's church which surprised us as one of our favorite churches in Italy. This was largely due to having Sara to explain what we were seeing in the frescoes and the significance of all the three levels of history encompassed by the church and it's underground. We would not have gotten as much out of that church without having a guide with us. We probably would not have known to visit it at all but it was well worth it.
Patricia_B, Nov 2024
Es war sehr gut organisiert, spannend und informativ. Der Transport verlief problemlos und der Guide war pünktlich.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Vielen Dank für Ihr Feedback!
Wir freuen uns sehr zu hören, dass es Ihnen gefallen hat und freuen uns, Sie in Zukunft wieder begrüßen zu dürfen! :)
Alessandra_M, Oct 2022
Esperienza decisamente interessante: Chiara, la nostra guida molto competente ed esperta, non ha esitato a rispondere alle nostre numerose domande e curiosità, ha saputo catapultarci nella Roma Antica e farci vivere, per qualche ora, un’esperienza culturalmente unica.
Likely to Sell Out
From $137.88
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Likely to Sell Out
Small-Group Tour of Roman Catacombs & St. Clement's Undergrounds
31
3 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$137.88
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
- Skip the line Tickets
- Attractions & Museums
- Museum Tickets & Passes
- Historical Tours
- Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises
- Tickets & Passes
- Cultural Tours
- Rome
- Skip the line Tickets - Vatican City
- Attractions & Museums - Vatican City
- Museum Tickets & Passes - Vatican City
- Historical Tours - Vatican City
- Attractions & Museums - Lake Bracciano
- Historical Tours - Lake Bracciano
- Historical Tours - Isola d'Ischia
Attractions in Rome, Italy
- Hadrian's Villa (Villa Adriana) and Villa d'Este in Tivoli Tours & Tickets
- Aqueduct Park (Parco degli Acquedotti) Tours & Tickets
- Rome Via del Corso Tours & Tickets
- Palazzo Altemps Tours & Tickets
- Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mura) Tours & Tickets
- Colosseum Tours & Tickets
- Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola) Tours & Tickets
- St. Peter's Basilica Tours & Tickets
- Piazza Farnese Tours & Tickets
- Column of Marcus Aurelius (Colonna di Marco Aurelio) Tours & Tickets
- Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore) Tours & Tickets
- Villa Doria Pamphilj Tours & Tickets
- Ponte Sisto Tours & Tickets
- Testaccio Tours & Tickets
- National Roman Museum (Museo Nazionale Romano) Tours & Tickets
- Vatican Grottoes (Grotte Vaticane) Tours & Tickets
- Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia (VIVE) Tours & Tickets
- Pincio Gardens (Pincio) Tours & Tickets
- Baths of Caracalla (Terme di Caracalla) Tours & Tickets
More attractions near Rome, Italy