Prices checked on Sep 12, 2026Things to do in Rome
Explore the crown jewels of Rome with an expert licensed guide on an intimate semi-private Vatican tour (max 10 guests). Fast-track your entry past general public lines to maximize time inside the world's most renowned art collection. Navigate the Vatican Museums, including the Pinecone Courtyard, Gallery of Maps, Gallery of Tapestries, and Candelabra Gallery. Admire Raphael’s Rooms before entering the breathtaking Sistine Chapel to behold Michelangelo’s legendary ceiling frescoes and The Last Judgment. Enjoy direct access to St. Peter’s Basilica (when open) to stand before Michelangelo’s Pietà and Bernini’s Baldacchino. Key Highlights: • Small group (max 10) for a personalized, unhurried experience • Skip-the-line ticket reservation saves hours of waiting • Engaging commentary from an expert art historian guide • Headsets provided for crystal-clear audio
We tour the highlights of the Vatican Museums; the largest collection in the world.
Greek and Roman Statues come to life in the Gallery of the Candelabra.
Explore the extent of the Papal kingdom meticulously mapped hundreds of years ago.
See the works and optical illusions woven into huge tapestries.
Enjoy the masterful works of Raphael
Here we enjoy Michelangelo's amazing fresco's including the 'Creation of Man' on the ceiling and 'Last Judgment' on the alter wall.
The tour will finish in St. Peter's Square, directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica where the guide will give you an introduction to the basilica from the outside.
Semi-Private Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Tour lasts about 3 hours. The itinerary has 7 stops.
Prices start at $51 per person for this Rome experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
The meeting point is You will find your Vatican tour guide 'at the very bottom of the Stairs' of Via Tunisi, holding signs that say MAXIMUS TOURS. These stairs are directly opposite the entrance of the Vatican Museum. (We DO NOT meet on the steps of the Vatican Museums entrance you must cross the street). . Hotel pickup is not part of this experience.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 10 participants.
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.5 out of 5 across 623 verified reviews; it is run by Maximus Tours. Most-mentioned highlights: Professional guide; Entrance fees; All Fees and Taxes.
It’s a lot to take in, but our guide Sarah brought out the highlights with humour and deep knowledge, shared lightly. Much better to have done this as a separate visit to St Peter’s Scavi tour
Dear Piers Thank you so much for your lovely review! We’re delighted Sarah made the experience engaging, informative, and enjoyable. We truly appreciate your feedback!
Highly recommended.Short queue and smooth tour with knowledgeable guide. Good to have a guide to bring to attention the history etc.
Dear traveller Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re glad you enjoyed the smooth tour and found our guide knowledgeable and helpful. We truly appreciate your recommendation!
Cris, our tour guide was excellent. Her knowledge, explanation and details to the things we were seeing along the tour was very educational. She has the gift of a great teacher.
Dear Mercy Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re delighted to hear that Cris made your tour so informative and enjoyable. We truly appreciate your feedback!
Monica is amazing, she is the best and most knowledgeable guide, I highly recommend this tour, we learned so much!
Dear Elizabeth Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that Monica made your experience so enjoyable and informative. We truly appreciate your recommendation and are so glad you learned so much on the tour!
I booked two tours with this company. We would highly recommend it! Angela took us around the colosseum telling us so many interesting facts and information while helping us find shade in the 95 degree heat! We got so much out of the walking tour and it was a very small group so we were able to move along quickly. Josephina navigated us through the crowds of the Vatican at 8:30 in the morning describing all we saw and giving so much background to the art that was all around us. She had a wealth of knowledge and led us down an exit where the masses do not go without a guide!! Highly recommend!
Dear Danielle Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed both tours and that Angela and Josephina helped make your visit to Rome so memorable. We truly appreciate your kind words and recommendation, and we hope to welcome you back again in the future!
Loved having the tour guide and small group. Our guide was amazing and gave great information. She really made it enjoyable.
Excellent tour with a very knowledgeable guide. A lot of time is spent moving from place to place and standing on hard surfaces which was challenging for some members of our group. Our guide did a great job preparing us for what we would see in the Sistine chapel, and that made the visit much more meaningful.
Dear Stephen Thank you for your kind review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour and found your guide’s insights valuable, especially the preparation for the Sistine Chapel. We also appreciate your comments regarding the amount of walking and standing involved, as this can be helpful for future visitors. Thank you for choosing us!
So glad we did the guided tour to get a brief overview of each part. Our guide, Tatiana, was exceptional, so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about history!
Dear Brittany Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed the guided tour and that Tatiana’s knowledge and enthusiasm helped bring the history to life. We truly appreciate your kind words!
Our tour guide was nice but because it’s such a crowded tour, and there are so many people around, it was very hard to hear and follow her English. You really had to strain to hear and understand her. The point of a tour is to add information to what you are seeing. Unfortunately we didn’t feel like we learned much at all.
Dear traveller Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that the crowds and noise levels made it difficult to hear and fully follow the tour. The Vatican can be extremely busy, and unfortunately the audio devices provided by the Vatican do not always perform as well as we would like. We hope this was brought to the guide’s attention during the tour, as they are always happy to help resolve any issues where possible. We’re pleased to hear that you found your guide pleasant, but we apologize that the experience did not meet your expectations and that you felt you did not learn as much as you had hoped. Your comments are appreciated and will help us continue to improve our tours.
Her depth of knowledge was unbelievable, historical dates, details and nuances of all the art works was pointed out and she unique way of explaining the pieces. She has an infectious personality which she used to its full advantage with the security and staff throughout the tour and was very protective of our little group which was six., We were guided out after the tour to a long corridor no one else on it and felt very special to skip pass long queues into the Basilica which we toured on our own. We are 62yrs of age and found the 4 hours enough to do in one go. You would need to plan a lunch break if doing a follow up tour. I would highly recommend Maximus tours, a little more expensive than others but worth it if you want to fully understand the art and history of the Sistine Chapel. We heard one group near us with a different company, looking for their headsets to be told they weren’t on a guided tour and they looked disappointed
Dear traveller Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear how much you enjoyed the tour and that the experience helped bring the art and history of the Vatican to life. It’s fantastic to know you appreciated the small-group atmosphere and the detailed explanations throughout the visit. We truly appreciate your recommendation and your kind words about our tours.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-Private Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Tour | 3 hours | 4.5 (623) | $51 | |
 Rome: Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill 3-Hour Tour | 3 hours | 4.8 (2,045) | $22 | View |
 Rome: Colosseum Guided Tour with Roman Forum and Palatine Hill | 2–3 hours | 4.7 (3,501) | $49 | View |
 Skip-The-Line Vatican Museums,Sistine Chapel & Optional Basilica | 1–3 hours | 4.7 (1,233) | $58 | View |
 Skip-the-Line Group Tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica | 3 hours | 4.6 (15,144) | $24 | View |
 Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill Guided Tour | 2h 30min | 4.6 (10,484) | $58 | View |
 Rome 3H Private Golf Cart Tour with Pick Up and Drop Off Included | 3 hours | 4.5 (939) | $52 | View |