Private Early Morning Vatican Tour With St. Peter's Basilica

Absolutely incredible experience. Julia was an amazing guide and was so passionate about what she was showing and teaching. As a History Major myself, I very much appreciated it.

Our tour guide was excellent. Very knowledgeable & accommodating. I would recommend her to my friends.

Definitely worth every penny. Our guide, Tatiana, was so knowledgeable. And she got us around EXTREMELY long lines quickly. You can never see the entire museum in a week - let alone 4 hours. But she made sure that we saw the highlights.

Vatican City itself is beyond beautiful, from St. Peter’s Basilica, to the Museum, to the Sistine Chapel! However, our guide Tatiana left much to be desired. She was cold, lacked eye contact, was not passionate about the material, was not interested in making our private experience enjoyable, and minimized the information and detail that should have come with a private tour, especially at this price. She left much to be desired (didn’t tell us important things prior to entering St. Peter’s Basilica such as the popes’ tombs opening only at 9 am) amongst other things, and it felt as though we were rushing through the Vatican museum and missed a lot of detail that other tour groups were given. We felt uncomfortable throughout the experience with her, which is truly unfortunate given that we had our two year old with us as well. I would highly recommend booking another tour provider if possible to get a more comprehensive, personable experience.

The tour was good, guide was good. Communication about pickup was very much “trust the process” and it made us late, getting into the Vatican after 8:30A is an absolute wreck.. too just to enjoy a private tour.

Wonderful experience our guide Leticia was terrific. Very knowledgeable and kept us moving. Tour pickup was in time and everything went as planned.

Worth every penny. Our guide Carina was so full of knowledge, took amazing care of us constantly checking that we were good and getting everything we wanted out of the experience. Would recommend her and this tour!!!

It was wonderful. The early morning is great to beat the heat but then the guides can’t go inside St Pete’s basilica. The heat was tough but Costanza was an excellent guide! She is so very knowledgeable.

It was excellent and informative the guide was awesome and very patient specially with the grandkids and was able to explain things at their level.

This tour was worth every dollar. Our guide was fantastic at giving my mom places to rest, and made the entire experience seamless….we walked past hundreds of people waiting in line for tickets to the Vatican and were able to see St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Highly recommend.

Our tour guide Leticia was fantastic. Very knowledgeable and great time management.. we bypassed all lines and went straight through. We could not have gotten a better guide. Her English is prefect. Our hotel transportation was also on time, professional and comfortable ride. Would definitely recommend to anyone and everyone. Thanks!

Private tour is a little more expensive but well worth it. Our tour guide could bypass large groups.

It is best to take the 1st tour in the morning. It’s hard to imagine how quickly the line to get in expands. We took the 8am tour and it took an hour to enter St Peter’s basilica. Our guide did a great job tailoring what we saw and accommodating one of our group who is mobility challenged.

Costanza provided an amazing wealth of knowledge during all parts of our tour of the Vatican museum, St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Our group of four were extremely pleased by her guidance interlacing history, folklore, and humor along the way. Costanza made this tour very special for us.

No value added for the huge price tag. Guide was nice and tried her best, but the tour operator clearly did not tell her that we had kids and elderly. The trip was not planned well at all with way too much walk and waste of time. Same itinerary could have been planned with half the amount of walk and efficient route. There are 1/3 the price tours offering much greater plan and communication.

Great experience, very nice tour, this was a happy birthday gift from my relative, very happy that we have done this.

Absolutely the best way to see the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. Dina was outstanding! She was masterful at narrating the history, artwork and all the unique things about Vatican City in a fun informative way for the whole morning. Every question was answered, personal choices about what we wanted to see listened and just a pleasant experience with her the whole time! She’s a delight and we highly recommend her as your guide for this tour.

Wonderful, great guide, skipped a lot of lines ❤️ Would highly recommend Second time visiting and learned different things

Fabi was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and informative. The Vatican was very crowded but she knew how to move around the crowds.

We had a wonderful driver who picked us up right on time and then we met up with our guide Sonya who guided us around the museum, the Sistine chapel and the main church all while explaining the most important pieces of art. It way wonderful not being in a big group because it was packed! I did have to pay extra to get back to our hotel so that would be nice for them to include in the future!!

This is the third time in the last 5 years we have taken a different grandson, all under 10, on a private tour of the Vatican. Our guide Marlene was superb and it takes a special guide to captivate a 9 year old. Her enthusiasm for all she was describing was a big part of that. We learned new things as well and thoroughly enjoyed our 3 hours with her.

We were picked up at our apartment like royalty. We were met by our private guide, Chiara, who paved the way through the throngs of people to make it into the Vatican Museum. We needed a wheelchair for my husband and Chiara made sure we got it. Everything we requested, we received. Yes, the museum and Sistine Chapel are incredibly crowded. So we know there was no other way for us to be able to have this experience. Grazie Chiara!

We had a really really nice guide, Everything was explained beautifully and fully and she managed to steer us through the crowds very successfully Thanks for a great morning.

All as promised. The driver was in time for us and took us to the meeting point. My mom uses cane and our lovely guide suggested to ask for a wheelchair for her. We never had to cue for anything, not even the bathroom as she found the lady who has the keys for the wheelchair bathrooms. She always took care of us and gently explained to us rules so wet didn't messed up. She was very patient and nice. It was an unforgettable visit.

What a beautiful tour from our guide Aina . We learned so much from her. There was no waiting for lines at all. We highly recommend this tour.

Great tour with an enthusiastic host. We enjoyed the early morning Vatican tour. Crowds were minimal and we were able to enjoy the Vatican museums,Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica without the massive crowds. It was well worth the cost to have this experience with my family. Incredible is an understatement. Amazing. Words don’t do this tour justice. Just do it.

Julia our guide was absolutely fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed everything about our experience. Good value👌

Our driver & our guide were both incredibly informative & interesting. They took very good care of us and made our experience special. Exceptionally efficient & organized.

They where very knowledgeable explained all the details and also the ride was very professional very secure

We had a bit of an issue at the onset of our tour. We thought we were to be picked up at one time with an advanced entrance to the Vatican. When we arrived, there was already a long line and advised we would need to queue like regular entrants. My son has cerebral palsy and standing in a long line isn't really possible. And this wasn't our understanding of the tour we'd purchased. I spoke with the supervisor and didn't get very far. Thankfully our tour guide spoke to the guards, and we were able to enter without standing in the long queue. Throughout the tour she requested a seat from the guards to allow my son a chance to sit and rest a bit. She made the tour! We were very grateful to have her as our guide.

Our guide, Frederica, was simply amazing! So kind, helpful, and informative. She was able to answer all our questions and take the tour at our own pace. A great way to tour the major locations in the Vatican.

Sistine Chapel was terrific as always and not crowded!. Didn’t like the obvious stops at gift shop Certainly wasn’t skip the line

Excellent tour with Elisa who was lovely .Very knowledgeable who made the whole tour come to life.Customiised the tour and covered everything we wanted without feeling rushed .would definitely recommend

My mom and I were in Rome exactly one year ago. We decided to book the early morning tour, including the pickup from the hotel. Both the driver and guide were on time. We were able to enter the Museums at 8am, before the opening to the general public (at 9am). The guide was very knowledgeable and friendly, he guided us through the magnificent galleries, Sistine chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. Overall great experience. Even the concierge recommended us this tour agency, but we were lucky enough to have found it on our own before the trip, trusting all the positive reviews, and we’re very glad we did. I highly recommend this company, they are professional, honest and passionate about what they do.

This tour rates 100% in all aspects. We were picked up on time from our BnB, breezed through into the Vatican with no waiting. Our guide David was very informative, but also very charming and funny. He didn't rush us through our visit, but managed to keep us ahead of all the hordes. Loved every minute of the tour and would recommend this to everyone (ages in our group from 24 years to 60 years)

This was my 4th visit to both places and all I can say is this is the ONLY way to do it! No crowds!! Unbelievably organized. And our tour guide was the best tour guide we have ever had... and my wife and I travel the world. So informative, so convenient, such a pleasant way to experience! Our time and pace in the Sistine Chapel was incomparable to any other experience.

This was the the first time going to the Vatican and we wanted to make sure we saw the major highlights. The private guide had excellent communication and very knowledgeable. The hotel pick up was on time, clean and very friendly. The guide himself had an an excellent understanding of the Vatican and all the different aspects. He made sure we were able to see the highlights, without being caught in the herds of people with large groups. The level of explanation in all areas of the tour was exceptional. The amount of items in the Vatican is overwhelming and really can't been seen one visit. This will be one of many visits I hope in the future. It was money and time well spent, without all the hassle of informal/crowded tours with everyone else.

Since November 2018, I've been in Rome twice. Out of the 10 tours in total, this is the ONLY tour that was disappointing. I had toured the Vatican Museum in November with City Wonders, but I booked a tour again for my friend who joined in April. I thought this would be a special one, since it was a private early morning tour. However, I felt as though we were rushed through the Vatican museum. I specifically asked if we could stop at the Vatican museum store, which I went to last November so that my friend could buy something very specific, and once we left the Sistine Chapel, your guide showed me the the small store store outside of the museum. It didn't have the same merchandise at all. And she was going to completely skip over the Raphael exhibit in the Vatican Museum. I had to question her as to why we were jumping the ropes (with securities permission) to the Sistine Chapel. It's almost like she didn't want to take the long way around. Then we zoomed through St. Peter's Basilica, and we were done 1/2 an hour early at 10:30. Plus, both my friend and I couldn't really understand what she was saying because her accent was so heavy. And she was a bit confrontational whenever I would ask questions. I spent $566 for the two of us, which is so not worth it. I would never recommend this tour company to anyone. City Wonders is the way to go!

Excellent organization, fabulous guide, each of us would recommend this absolutely wonderful morning tour unequivocally!

I had only few days to spend in Rome so I talked to the agency to find the tour that could fit me better. Finally I visited the Vatican museums and Borgese gallery and I had also a private driving tour through the highlights of Rome. During all the visits I had a licenced guide leading me through the masterpieces of the sites I chose. It was wonderful. Great agency and very good staff! Thank you

Our guide didn’t seem to understand that when we booked the early morning tour that meant we didn’t want to stand outside the Vatican and talk about it. We wanted to go inside. We did try to explain this but she was not receptive. Tour ended very abruptly in St Peters Bascilica after our guide received a phone call from a coworker or manager - we were told she needed to leave immediately Cost of the tour was $748 usd. We regretted booking.

Driver was on time. Tour guide very knowledgeable and interesting. Ten stars ⭐️ .... it was all it was represented to be.

This tour was amazing as was our tour guide Georgia! She offered interesting facts about everything we saw! Getting there early is a must to avoid the larger 1000+ crowds! The Sistine chapel is the highlight, but don’t miss St. Peter’s Basilica as well! We got a real treat seeing the cardinals come out of their meeting & linger around St. Peter’s square! A truly special experience!

<p>Awesome! Fantastic! This tour is to be recommended! A private tour with an art historian - cannot be beaten! If you want to miss the queues, this tour is for you. The hotel pick-up made everything so easy and our guide was waiting for us at the entrance to the Vatican. Unfortunately I cannot remember his name but what a lovely young man - learned, experienced and patient - a well of information and passionate about his subject. My aged mom accompanied us on this tour - the guide really took her into consideration. Everything was bigger and much more impressive than I imagined - the WOW factor in overdrive! Visit the Vatican as early as possible or if you are able to, take a private tour before or after hours. There is so much to see and learn, which potentially can be lost when in a crowd. Well worth a 5-star rating!</p>

Definitely the best choice to see the Vatican with an expert guide. We will see you again next time in Roma.

Punctuality and friendliness of the driver in the hotel pickup. The Guide attentive and with precise explanations. Very attentive to us at all times. Great experience, worth it,

La experiencia con la guía fue muy buena, Sonia es una persona con muchísimo conocimiento de historia y arte, lo cual hizo del recorrido una experiencia muy enriquecedora. Lo que no estoy de acuerdo es que se promocione el tour temprano en la mañana para evitar mucha gente en el sitio, ya que estaba igual o más lleno que en ocasiones anteriores en las que visité el Vaticano. En ese sentido fue simplemente un tour privado.

They were fabulous, they provided us with a unique experience... our guide Marica was formidable, it is certainly an experience that we recommend to everyone.

Det beste er KUNNSKAP til guiden. Vi lærte mye med en guide som hadde selv interesse. Punktlighet og pålitelighet mht det som var bestilt og det som ble levert. Alt overgikk våre forventninger og har gitt oss uforglemmelige minner.