from
$652
Private Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica Tour
Enjoy a tailored VIP Vatican experience with timed entry tickets and a dedicated private guide
What's included
The Vatican catered to your interests
Expert English-speaking guide
Timed entry Vatican Museums tickets
Vatican Museums guided tour
Entry to the Sistine Chapel
Privileged access to the Scala Regia (except Wednesday mornings)
Entry to St. Peter’s Basilica (except Wednesday mornings)
Private group experience
Guide tips
Itinerary
Your tour begins at Caffè Vaticano
Meet your private guide at Caffè Vaticano near the Vatican Museums entrance. With timed entry tickets and group access, you’ll bypass the chaotic independent visitor lines, and enter security with your guide.
Enter the Vatican Museums with timed entry
With your privileged entry, begin exploring one of the world’s most important art collections. Listen as your private guide describes why the museums matter and how the popes built them into a global treasure house.
Walk the sculpture halls of the Pio-Clementino Museum
Step into the Pio-Clementino Museum to study iconic classical works like the Apollo Belvedere and the Belvedere Torso. As your private guide connects myth to marble, you’ll also see Nero’s massive red-marble bathtub and hear how emperors used art to project power.
Explore the Gallery of Masks
Continue into the Gallery of Masks, a quieter stretch where mosaics, statues, and portraits feel far from the Vatican’s busiest corridors. With your private guide, you’ll spot the details most visitors miss, including the visual “masks” that give the gallery its name.
Follow your guide through the Vatican’s grand galleries
Next, your private guide leads you through the Gallery of the Candelabra, the Gallery of Tapestries, and the Gallery of Maps, where decorative programs double as political messaging. Learn how these rooms were designed to impress visiting dignitaries and shape how Rome saw the world.
Step inside the Raphael Rooms and Borgia Apartments
Enter the Raphael Rooms to stand before The School of Athens, where philosophy, religion, and Renaissance ambition share one wall. Then visit the Borgia Apartments with your private guide, where papal intrigue and family scandal still cling to the frescoed rooms.
Take in the Sistine Chapel
Before you enter, your private guide explains Michelangelo’s ceiling and The Last Judgment so you know where to look once you’re inside. In the chapel, you experience the hush of a sacred space where speaking is not allowed, with time to absorb the scale and detail above you.
Walk through the exclusive Scala Regia
After your silent visit, follow your guide down the Scala Regia, Bernini’s dramatic ceremonial staircase. This passage, once used by popes and kings, is reserved for guided groups, giving you a special route to your final stop.
Your tour ends inside St. Peter’s Basilica
End your private tour inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where your guide helps you understand the Basilica as a masterpiece of faith and engineering. See Bernini’s Baldacchino and pause at Michelangelo’s La Pietà before exploring further on your own.
For Reference Only. Itineraries are subject to change
Select participants and date
Start times are in the product’s local time
Free cancellation up to 60 days in advance!
Sun, 20 Sep 2026
Meeting and drop-off point
Important Details
Discover what to expect, what's included, and everything you need to know before booking.
Good to know:
Lines: This tour grants you group access to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. While you'll bypass the long line for independent visitors, there may still be a wait to get through security.
Closures: St. Peter’s Basilica is closed on Wednesday mornings until 1:30pm, due to the Papal Audience. Tours during this time will not include basilica entry. Additionally, tours starting after 3:30pm (any day of the week) are not guaranteed entry into St. Peter’s Basilica. During state visits or special religious events, parts of the Vatican or St. Peter's Basilica may be closed unexpectedly and without much notice.
Dress Code: As the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel are deeply religious sites, everyone must cover their knees and shoulders. Guests who do not meet the dress code may be refused entry by security officials. No hats or flip flops please.
Accessibility: As this is a private tour, the itinerary can be accommodated to be wheelchair or mobility accessible. Please contact us to make the proper arrangements.
Please Note: The Sistine Chapel is a place of worship, so visitors are not allowed to speak inside the chapel. Your guide will explain what you'll see in advance.
Time Adjustments: The itinerary of a private tour can be adjusted to your needs. Please reach out if you do not see a start time that fits for your party. We would be happy to check with our ticketing team to see if we can accommodate you.
Bag Policy: Camera tripods and large backpacks are not allowed in the museums, so please leave them at your hotel.
Check-in: Arrive 15 minutes early for check-in at the meeting point so the group can enter sites on time.
Your tour includes:
Expert English-speaking guide
Entry and guided tour of the Vatican Museums
Access to the Pio-Clementino Museum
Visit to the Raphael Rooms and Borgia Apartments
Entry to the Sistine Chapel
Privileged access through the Scala Regia (except Wednesday mornings)
Entry to St. Peter’s Basilica (except Wednesday mornings)
Private group experience
What to bring:
Comfortable walking shoes
Government-issued ID
Water bottle
Clothing that covers knees and shoulders
Camera
See what people are saying
4.98
439 Ratings
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Gayle N.
September 17, 2026
Thank you for the private tour. I didn’t realize when I booked it that my mom would not be able to do the final location, but we did the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. It was wonderful.
David M.
September 10, 2026
Private Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter’s tour
Jessica L.
September 10, 2026
Roberta was fantastic!
Vatican Tour
Michael J.
September 04, 2026
Outstanding tour. Marina was so knowledgeable and delightful to follow around. Highly recommend doing this tour to see the Vatican.
Family of 9
Robin F.
August 27, 2026
Roberta was great. We have done this tour before but Roberta was fantastic and our whole family enjoyed her
Private Tour was Awesome
Julie D.
August 22, 2026
My mom has a wheelchair and we had wonderful service. Our guide was very knowledgeable in all the art and history of the museum rooms. It was a very hot day and to visit St Peters would have required a 20 minute walk. We elected not to visit St Peters and spent more time in other areas. The private tour allowed us one on one service and the option to focus on our interests.
rachel J.
August 20, 2026
Amazing
Lanese N.
August 19, 2026
Bogdan did a wonderful job as our guide. He was enthusiastic and had so much great information to share. We learned a lot and enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend this tour.
Brandon A.
August 08, 2026
Marina was a spectacular guide! She was so knowledgeable and provided tons of information about what we were seeing, yet made the tour not feel overwhelming at all. The three hour just flew by. Our three teenagers really enjoyed her as our guide! Thank you Marina!
Palvinder D.
July 27, 2026
jeriann S.
July 23, 2026
So personalized and organized ! Highly recommend we are a family of four and it was the perfect way to see these beautiful sites. Easy to communicate leading up to the tour with any questions we had.
Jon-Paul R.
July 20, 2026
Tiffiny Z.
July 14, 2026
Vatican Private Tour
Tim W.
July 12, 2026
Our private Vatican tour with Roberta was excellent. She had tons of information to impart to us and was excited to answer any and all questions asked. She truly seemed to enjoy telling us about the art and artifacts that we saw, which made the tour that much better.
Mary M.
July 12, 2026
Vatican
Kenneth S.
July 11, 2026
Leia was outstanding! We had walked about one and a half miles to the Vatican meeting point in scorching heat. A few of our party were not feeling well. Leia was sincerely concerned and got our entire party inside a bit early where we were able to cool off and recover. Her knowledge of the Vatican, sculptures and, paintings was excellent! She tied things together with her story telling of Popes and Emperor’s. We had a wonderful experience of knowledge and fun!
Amazing tour!
Karen C.
July 11, 2026
We had 8:00 private Vatican, cistine, chapel, & St. Peter’s tour for our family of 8. Wonderful! Breaks when we needed. Pace based on my husbands mobility issues. Highly recommend.
Very Informative!
Cindy A.
July 05, 2026
Yesterday we went on a tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica. Rosy was our tour guide. Although it was very crowded, Rosy was able to navigate through the crowds to show us all of the interesting sites and explained it all really well! She was knowledgeable and answered any questions we had.
Great guide for a private tour with teens!
Geovanna H.
July 04, 2026
Fabrizio was very professional and courteous guiding our family. We got right into the Vatican and saw the main attractions with Fabrizio sharing historical context and some other fun facts. Worth every penny.
Lovely day!
Bonnie F.
July 04, 2026
We had a great time on our tour despite the heat! Our guide did a great job accommodating our kids and avoiding all the crowds. Thank you!
Ashley L.
July 03, 2026
David F.
July 03, 2026
Fotinie M.
July 03, 2026
Fantastic Tour Guide!
Michelle M.
June 29, 2026
Our guide was amazing! (I feel terrible that I can’t remember his name. I blame it on the heat!! He loves lapis if that helps to identify him!) He was very knowledgeable and kept the information fun and interesting. He was very considerate of some limitations I had regarding a previous ankle surgery, and made sure I was comfortable and able to sit when possible and take elevators. He gave us fantastic tips on where to enter for the general audience to see the Pope the next day and we had amazing experiences both days! 15/10!!!
Chad R.
June 27, 2026