Private Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Dome Climb Complete Tour

Private Vatican

Great tour. It was nice to pass the crowds and get the history that you would otherwise not get on your own. Well worth the cost!

Perfect tour for our family of 4

Deciding on a private tour was the best choice we could have made. It was a very busy day and we were able to skip the lines and walk around with a very knowledgeable tour guide. Raffa was great with keeping our teenage boys interested.

Fantastic!

Francesca was warm, knowledgeable, and sensitive to our family’s specific needs. Would give her ten stars if I could. Thank you, Tour Guy!

Wow!

St Peter's Basilica needs to be seen to be believed. It is amazing! The dome climb was so fun, and walking inside the Basilica was absolutely incredible. I don't think one can appreciate the scale without being there. An early start was essential. Even at 7am there were already lines forming. For example, we had a 20 minute wait for the dome climb, despite arriving on site at 7:15am. It was no problem though, as the dome and basilica experience did not feel rushed at all. We had plenty of time and space to take it all in. Raffa, our knowledgeable guide, was available to answer all of our questions along the way. This is a long tour, so although we avoided the crowds for the dome climb and the basilica, by the time we got to the Vatican museum, the lines were around the corner. Yes, we skipped the line! But, the crowd in the museum was overwhelming. We went on a Saturday in April, so this was certainly a factor. You could not reasonably stop to admire any of the works, the foot traffic was just too congested. We mostly just kept shuffling straight through the museum. I would highly recommend the dome climb and the basilica. It's amazing! But temper your expectations for the museum, if it is a crowded day, or a weekend.

Excellent Private Tour of Vatican - Family of 4

We had a wonderful experience touring the Vatican with Raffa as our guide. She was very knowledgeable, friendly and truly engaged our two teenagers. Our 13 year old said this tour and the Vatican was his favorite place we visited. Climbing the dome was also a highlight for them. Raffa was great, moving through the crowds with grace at an excellent pace.

Private Vatican Tour with Kate

My family loves to travel but because work and school schedules limit the time we are away, so we feel we have to make the most of every day. We have done several private tours from cities in the USA but also in several other countries. We have never been let down yet but Kate was the absolute best yet! Hands down, no better guide. She made learning the information interesting and was repetitive enough to help us remember and to tie all of the stories together. She guided us through the maze of people in a gentle manor and took time to answer our questions. Our tour was to be 5 hours and I think it went over but none of us noticed because we were enjoying it so much. I also noticed hour the security and employees of the Basilica and museum knew Kate and communicated well with her like she was a friend as well as other guides. To me that is also a sign that she is truly a nice, kind person!

Knowledgeable & Friendly

We had Loretta as our guide and couldn’t have had a better experience! She was expert in her knowledgeable of art and history and added local curiosities and facts too. Our group of 8 was well taken care of and she personally adapted to our group. Great day and great guide.

This Tour is Fantastic!

One of the best tours of my life. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, very capable of navigating around the crowds on Good Friday & very adaptable to our pace. Highly recommend!

Private Vatican Tour with Marina

Our family of 3 loved our private experience with Marina, to be able to climb the dome, and learn about different parts of the Baslica, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Marina was very helpful navigating the crowds and lines, making this a very smooth experience for us. Definitely recommend!!!

Good tour with Rafa

This was a pretty good tour. Especially in the Vatican museum art tour guide Rafa pointed out some very interesting paintings and things about various art. She also pointed out and explained things about items in the Basilica, and on our climb when we were at the first terrace, she explained how large the lettering was it would’ve been nice to have a little bit more time in the Basilica also we had to wait a while while they change tickets because we wanted to walk up, but that could be easily avoided in the future by requesting to walk up both parts. The walk up was really easy. The Sistine chapel and the Basilica were absolutely amazing as was the view from the top of the dome. Our guide also described how the dome used to be lit by candlelight, which is amazing and somewhat dangerous.

UNREAL!

If you are visiting the Vatican, do yourself a favor and request Bogden. We spent five hours exploring the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica, and the time absolutely flew by. Here is why Bogden is in a league of his own: Expert Knowledge: Calling him a "guide" feels like an understatement. Bogden is more knowledgeable than a college professor, weaving complex history and art into a narrative that is actually easy to follow. Family-Friendly & Relatable: It’s no easy feat to keep a 13-year-old engaged for five hours, but Bogden and my son, Henry, hit it off immediately. He has a gift for making ancient history feel relevant and fun for younger travelers. Thoughtful & Observant: What truly set Bogden apart was his emotional intelligence. He noticed my husband’s knees were bothering him and subtly navigated us through the crowds, finding the most efficient paths to minimize strain without missing a single highlight. Bogden provides a world-class experience that is as compassionate as it is educational. He comes with our highest possible recommendation.