Early Morning Vatican Tour in Rome, Rome

5.0 (22 reviews)
Show all photos
T
Toby F.
Oct 21, 2024
Our guide was great. The crowds were horrific though.
Melissa
Melissa U.
Oct 20, 2024
Very thorough and informative
Karisa
Karisa W.
Jul 11, 2024
Very happy to skip the long lines on a hot day
Maria Natasha
Maria Natasha T.
Apr 23, 2024
Love love love this! Please take this if you are planning to go to Vatican! Then you won't have to queue for long to visit the... Read more
Marissa
Marissa P.
Apr 18, 2024
The group was small and our guide Veronica was amazing. With a smaller group it was easier to navigate through the big crowds.
Previous Next
See all reviews

Overview

Discover the museums of the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel with an early-morning tour of the city's incredible art and history. By visiting the Vatican Museums early, you'll give yourself a one-hour head start on the rest of the crowds! A guide will lead you through the Pio Clementio Museum, Gallery of the Candelabra, Gallery of Tapestries, and Gallery of the Geographical Maps. Learn about the art that has fascinated countless generations and influenced the origins of western civilizations.

Continue through the museums to the Raphael Rooms, where you can admire the frescoes before entering the incredible Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. The Sistine Chapel contains one of the greatest and most famous frescoes in history. Michelangelo’s masterpiece tells several stories, and your guide will help you experience the allure of Renaissance art by divulging secret details and untold facts throughout the tour. 

Your guide will leave you with some free time inside St. Peter’s Basilica to walk around and view the Papal Tombs or climb to the top of the dome for amazing views. Don’t miss Michelangelo’s dramatic statue of the Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica, a depiction of the Virgin Mary holding her dying child in her arms. Conclude your Vatican tour by walking around Bernini’s celebrated Piazza San Pietro.

You can extend your tour with a fresco and mosaic-making class! Learn the beautiful craft of mosaics and create a work of art to take home with you. Let the professionals of fresco making teach you about the mastery and the masters of the Renaissance.

Read more about unique experiences in Rome.

Like what you see?

Chat with our local specialists and let us help you customize your trip with experiences like this.

Get started

Traveler photos
See all photos
Travelers often mention

Summarized by AI based on kimkim traveler reviews

Knowledgeable Guides

Many reviews praised the guides for being knowledgeable, engaging, and informative, making the tour more interesting and enjoyable. (7 mentions)

Hikaru
“We gained much knowledge about Vatican and the artwork that adorns their buildings.”  — Hikaru P.
L
“Really knowledgeable tour guide that made this more interesting than I expected it to be.”  — Lauri F.
Melinda
“Donata did a fantastic job with our tour through the Vatican.”  — Melinda F.
Time Constraints

Some reviews indicated that the tour felt rushed due to the vast amount of things to see, suggesting that more time is needed to fully appreciate the experience. (5 mentions)

T
“3 hours in the Vatican area is a lot.”  — Tina A.
S
“while there is no way of covering all of the art and history of these two places in three hours, she chose well which pieces to focus on and gave us both historical and religious perspective”  — Shane B.
A
“Was not enough time - even at 3.5 hours”  — afshine g.
Small Group Advantage

Reviewers appreciated being part of a smaller group, which made it easier to navigate through the crowds and have a more intimate experience. (3 mentions)

Allison
“We had an amazing small group tour of the Vatican”  — Allison H.
L
“Small group was appreciated”  — Lynn L.
Skip the Line

The skip-the-line feature was highlighted as a major benefit, allowing visitors to avoid long queues and make the most of their time. (3 mentions)

Maria Natasha
“Then you won't have to queue for long to visit the Basilica”  — Maria Natasha T.
Stephanie
“Thank goodness this tour was a skip the line tour.”  — Stephanie H.

Traveler reviews

22 total ratings, 20 with reviews
5.0
Feature ratings
Quality of Experience
4.8
Guides, Drivers and Staff
5.0
Transport
4.9
T
Toby F.
Ashburn, VA | Reviewed on Oct 21, 2024
Our guide was great. The crowds were horrific though. Read more

Our guide was great. The crowds were horrific though.

Tips for future travelers

Let them know its wall to wall people at this time of year.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Melissa
Melissa U.
Denver, CO | Reviewed on Oct 20, 2024
Very thorough and informative Read more

Very thorough and informative

Tips for future travelers

Get there early, there will be lots of people, probably the most you will find if any attraction. Don’t schedule anything immediately after, depending on volume of people and how the staff lay out the buildings, the tour may run long. Ours was an hour longer than scheduled, which was very generous of the guide.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Karisa
Karisa W.
Seattle, WA | Reviewed on Jul 11, 2024
Very happy to skip the long lines on a hot day Read more

Very happy to skip the long lines on a hot day

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Maria Natasha
Maria Natasha T.
Singapore | Reviewed on Apr 23, 2024
Love love love this! Please take this if you are planning to go to Vatican! Then you won't have to queue for long to visit the Basilica Read more

Love love love this! Please take this if you are planning to go to Vatican! Then you won't have to queue for long to visit the Basilica

Tips for future travelers

Yes!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Kudos to Carlotta, she's amazing
Marissa
Marissa P.
Canada | Reviewed on Apr 18, 2024
The group was small and our guide Veronica was amazing. With a smaller group it was easier to navigate through the big crowds. Read more

The group was small and our guide Veronica was amazing. With a smaller group it was easier to navigate through the big crowds.

Tips for future travelers

I would choose this tour because of the smaller group size.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Veronica has so much passion and a fountain of information!!
S
Susan K.
Chico, CA | Reviewed on Oct 23, 2023
This tour was very informative and interesting. It was also very crowded, but that was the only way to really see the sights. Read more

This tour was very informative and interesting. It was also very crowded, but that was the only way to really see the sights.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Douglas
Douglas P.
Bay Shore, NY | Reviewed on Oct 13, 2023
Amazing to see. Too much to see. Requires more time. Read more

Amazing to see. Too much to see. Requires more time.

Tips for future travelers

Visit when less crowded.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
knowledgeable , humorous
Transport
Helpful
Robert
Robert T.
Hopatcong Hills, NJ | Reviewed on Oct 05, 2023
Amazing tour of the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica with Giovanna. It's so impressive, with so much more than just the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (which of course was awe-inspiring, as was Michaelangelo's Pieta). Superb time. Read more

Amazing tour of the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica with Giovanna. It's so impressive, with so much more than just the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (which of course was awe-inspiring, as was Michaelangelo's Pieta). Superb time.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
T
Tina A.
Kansas City, MO | Reviewed on Jul 29, 2023
Our guide was very knowledgeable. It was a great tour however if I were to do it all over again I would try to find a shorter tour. 3 hours in the Vatican area is a lot. The amount of people being hoarded through is crazy. After a few hours its just a lot. Read more

Our guide was very knowledgeable. It was a great tour however if I were to do it all over again I would try to find a shorter tour. 3 hours in the Vatican area is a lot. The amount of people being hoarded through is crazy. After a few hours its just a lot.

Tips for future travelers

Maybe ask if you can tailor it down to a shorter experience. I would have paid more for a personal tour guide to walk me through and highlight the areas I needed to experience.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Comfy, on time
Melinda
Melinda F.
Herriman, UT | Reviewed on Jul 12, 2023
Donata did a fantastic job with our tour through the Vatican. She was fun and engaging while sharing with us the cultural and artistic history of the museum. We were able to go through a restricted portion of the museum, and it was wonderful to see some of the sculptures and mosaics without the crowds. Donata did a great job preparing us with things to look for and notice within the Sistine Chapel. Otherwise it can be an overwhelming experience! Read more

Donata did a fantastic job with our tour through the Vatican. She was fun and engaging while sharing with us the cultural and artistic history of the museum. We were able to go through a restricted portion of the museum, and it was wonderful to see some of the sculptures and mosaics without the crowds. Donata did a great job preparing us with things to look for and notice within the Sistine Chapel. Otherwise it can be an overwhelming experience!

Tips for future travelers

Check the Vatican's schedule before booking your tour. On Wednesdays the Pope makes his address from St. Peter's Basilica, so it is closed to tourists during that time. It would typically open about the time our tour was ending, which would have been perfect, but we didn't account for the fact that we were there the day before the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, so the Basilica was closed longer in preparation for that. We ended up killing some time eating lunch before going back through the museum and into the Basilica.

Quality of Experience
The museum was very crowded and most of it isn't air conditioned. Definitely not anything the tour has control over, but it did decrease the quality of the experience.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Donata was fantastic!
Transport

Like what you see?

Chat with our local specialists and let us help you customize your trip with experiences like this.

Get started

Itineraries with Early Morning Vatican Tour in Rome

Previous Next

Rome Experiences

Show more Rome experiences
Previous Next

Italy Experiences

Show more Italy experiences
Previous Next

Best of Rome

Best of Rome
Previous Next

Trip Planning Essentials

Previous Next