Musei Vaticani Privati, Cappella Sistina e Basilica con Pick-up

Vatican City is inherently a stressful place with very crowded conditions. So if you expect a slow paced “private “ tour. THIS WAS NOT IT. For $830 , it was no better than a self-guided tour. The tour guide essentially pushed her way through and expected us to keep up or fall behind.! This can get you into pushing matches and even a fight. Then there was no head phones to hear her. She did try to get into nooks and corners to make the acoustics better but there are no real quiet places in the Vatican. She does speak fluent English but still accented and she speaks quickly.! The guide filled her water bottle but the tour doesn’t give us water. She answered her phone twice during the tour. St. Peter’s church was closed so we would have finished early yet there was no “making up” for the lost part of the tour. I suggested we go back through some exhibits which we did. But she stated she had to go to take care of her husband. This was a terrible waste of money. Minimal customer service. Poor quality explanations. Not cohesive. Save your money , get the self guided head set. Take your time. It’s a beautiful and sacred place. Take time and care to enjoy it. You can do it without a private tour!!

Wonderful. Worth the extra money. Guide was informative and allowed us to move at a pace that made sense for us.

Very comprehensive tour. We saw the museum, sistine chapel and st Peter's cathedral. Our guide Antoneli was superb. Very knowledgeable, answered all our questions completely. Made sure we got in as soon as our time slot allwed. People were waiting for hours, we waited minutes. She also gave us directions for a great restaurant and to the train station. Excellent tour. We loved it

Absolutely worth every cent for the private tour! Tatiana was our guide. She was very knowledgeable but was also very kind and considerate. She watched out for our safety and needs and adapted things as needed.

Absolutely book this tour ! Linda our guide was AMAZING ! It was almost 4 hours ( put your walking shoes on ) we saw and learned so much. She made sure she took photos of us at key areas for memories. Her knowledge is faultless and she knew how to get around the crowds. Thank you for a great experience

Our guide was on time and allowed us to 'jump the queues' having already arranged the tickets. We received an in depth knowledge of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel that covered so much more than simply buying tickets and walking through with the crowd! Well worth obtaining the knowledge of an experienced guide.

Louisa was an incredibly knowledgeable guide who saw to it that we had the most enjoyable and informative trip to the Vatican possible. She was absolutely brilliant!

My wife and I did this tour with Valentina who was a fantastic guide. Very knowledgeable and knew her way around all the back ways of the museums to show us things the average person didn't know to go see. The garage was fascinating, the Sistine Chapel was beautiful but packed and the duomo was amazing. Overall the tour was a seamless journey. Unlike other Viator tours we have done we didn't get contacted prior to the tour so we were unsure if the 9:30 start time was when the driver arrived at the hotel, or if it was when our tour started at Vatican. Turns out it is when the driver arrives at the hotel, but we were ready and in the lobby at 8:45 just in case. Driver was super professional and funny, I have forgotten his name unfortunately, but gave us some good tips about where to go for food and what to have while in Rome as well as navigating the narrow streets during busy traffic. Drop off at Vatican was clean, the driver and Valentina were in contact with each other and he dropped us off into her care, then we stood in line until our tour time started at 10. Security screening was easy and relatively quick, then the tour began. Map room, Etruscan museum, the Vatican garage, tapestries, art, relics, masses of people in Sistine chapel taking pictures and talking (neither of which is allowed). You could spend a week in there and not even know you weren't seeing half of what is there. Things I would do differently now I have been. I wouldn't have spent the extra money for the mosaics, I didn't understand that was not within the museums but was a separate building where we see finished products for sale and a quick demonstration of how they are made. Interesting, but not worth the time or money in my opinion. I would have preferred to end the tour with Valentina in St. Peter's and spent another couple hours wandering around there, perhaps even doing the 300+ steps up to the dome. It would also have been nice to go slightly earlier so it was a bit less busy in the map room, that room was so busy I was getting pushed along by the groups behind me and couldn't fully enjoy the experience. Overall a great day. I didn't know what I didn't know, so can't fault the tour for the minor changes I would make now that I do know.

This was a fabulous experience with the most experi guide we've ever had, Professor Giancarlo--request him. His depth of knowledge is unsurpassed! There was no question he couldn't answer and he knows how to maneuver through the vast space.

Our guide Louisa was exceptional. She was extremely knowledgeable and clearly expressed the information in an interesting and interactive way. Learned so much more about the history and mystery of the Vatican.