Semi-private Vatican Museums Highlights And Sistine Chapel Tour

3 hour tour given by Cris, who was kind, very knowledgable and patient as we had our children with us. We learnt a lot, she was great, highly recommend

A small group and a highly knowledgeable guide with a great sense of humour made the tour a truly rewarding experience

Our guide Chris was exceptional. Her knowledge and passion for art and the Vatican was evident throughout the whole tour. Being in a semi private tour meant we could efficiently move through all the queues of security and gather in small areas to hear descriptions of what we were seeing. We never thought we would do a group tour, but so glad we did. It was certainly money well spent and we believe it made our visit to the Vatican much more memorable and meaningful. Thank you so much.

This was a very good tour of Vatican with Sistine Chapel. Vivi was our guide and she was exceptional. She made the experience enjoyable and very informative. Small group, only 7 of us. It was pricier than some of the others but we got a lot out of it. Our guide certainly gave her all. We highly recommend!

The tour guide was knowledgeable, but she spoke entirely too fast without a microphone directly in front of her mouth (most of the other tour guides held the microphone or had it on a small post so it was directly in front of their mouth) . It was on her shoulder and listening through the devices sound sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher. I couldn’t understand a damn thing. Most others said they had the same problem. She needs a boom microphone. The explanations about the Sistine chapel were very good and done without the microphone. We sat on a park bench and she explained everything with visuals.

Sara was absolutely wonderful! She took us through the entire tour in a way that made it a learning experience that we all enjoyed. My kids 10 and 13 loved the tour as well and said they learned a lot. They were so interested in everything. She was incredibly knowledgeable a great story teller and funny.

Vivi was a great guide. She definitely knows the history. She was very friendly and catered to people who needed elevators and catching up with the group. She took pictures of us, for us, at key locations. The group size was 8 and it was a well managed tour (3 hours). At the end we were directed to St. Peter’s basilica and enjoyed the sights there too. We paid $333 Canadian dollars which was pricey but apparently a good price.

Chris was a wonderful and knowledgable guide. She was extremely thoughtful and very entertaining. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Christina was amazing. Her knowledge of the museum in timeframe was awesome insight. She covered the highlights of her great and gave us background information on the individuals artist.

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

Highly recommended.Short queue and smooth tour with knowledgeable guide. Good to have a guide to bring to attention the history etc.

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.

Monica is amazing, she is the best and most knowledgeable guide, I highly recommend this tour, we learned so much!

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!

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.

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!

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.

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

We were not at all familiar with what to expect at the “meeting point” which was a wide grand staircase with many guides carrying flags and many travelers looking for their tour company. While we worked to located our tour company, turns out there is no fixed station and the “host staff” for this company no-showed. The guide eventually arrived and made it all better with an excellent experience. Kudos for the save!

This was a great experience and ample time for a first trip through a museum that can be both overwhelming and amazing at once. Our tour guide, Vivi, was excellent, well informed, answered questions. I would have welcomed a little more time hearing about, exploring and appreciating the map frescos and a little less time in the "palace rooms".

Absolutely flawless from booking to meeting point to tour. Virna was enthusiastic, informative and very friendly. Thanks for a great experience

Marcelo, our guide, effectively shared his knowledge, helping us understand what we were seeing. He was also skilled at moving us through the crowds at the museum. We will remember certain statues because of his stories, and the way he explained the timeline of the Sistine Chapel was great. The size of the group was perfect.

From the frescoes, the tapestries, paintings, the Vatican museums, and the Sistine Chapel are spectacular in every way imaginable. You have to ask yourself, “ how on earth did they do it”? Pure genius!

Christina was excellent! Great personality and we learned lots of interesting things. Would definitely recommend this tour!

This tour was brilliant, Christina was an incredible guide, very knowledgeable and engaging! She took a good pace and shared so many good stories and history, this enhanced our experience as there is so much to see and do in the vatican and this covered the highlights!

Visited the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with Chris and had a fantastic experience, full of incredible art and history, and seeing Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel was truly breathtaking. Really appreciated Chris,s knowledge and experience. Small group was great

Lots of standing and walking, but guide was knowledgeable and very responsive to group. Bring water and your walking shoes.

This is a great tour to see the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. St Peter's Basilica and Square were closed for Easter celebrations. This is a long tour but there is so much to see. Without a guide, we would have missed the significance of a lot of things.

Long. Crowded. Bring food and water. Lots of walking. We learned lots!! The guide took us through all shortcuts/ did not have to wait for anything!

The guide is everything! The crowd is immense. My first booked tour was canceled Sunday morning at 4:30 a.m. booked months in advance. I was able to book with Maximus on short notice thankfully. Our guide Sara was so knowledgable that it was meant to be that the first was canceled. This is my third time to the Vatican museum! Oh how the crowds have changed! I can't imagine navigating without a guide!

Advantages were queuing to get in was quicker and guide was lively. Disadvantages were you only (as advertised) get to see 'highlights', which in reality means a much truncated tour of this fabulous museum. There is a lengthy pre-tour talk which adds very little and is undertaken in the courtyard outside the main exhibits. Our tour guide tried to liven things up by incorporating members of the group in stories but we would have preferred more information and less play-acting. This is our third visit to the Vatican, the previous two self-guided. Perhaps for a first-timer this would be better than we found it - but I doubt it.

Marcello was our lovely tour guide who took us around the Vatican musuems, the Raphael rooms and the sistine chapel of course. Very interesting and so much history to discover. Really enjoyed it.

We found out the morning of out tour that King Charles was in town to visit the Pope. Tour of the Sistine Chapel was not going to happen because of it so we only saw the museum. Crowds were awful.

Excellent tour…..the museum and chapel was very crowded but excellent information and tour. Only difficult thing was taking photos with the crowds

Excellent, knowledgable guide. Took the time to explain in depth. Was able to strike right balance between educating the adults and entertaining the children in the group.

We love Tatiana our tour guide She was very detailed on everything she shows us Very good experience

Oh my gosh, I can’t stop thinking about how beautiful the Vatican is. The tour takes you around to the most beautiful rooms and views. Our guides name was Juicy, and she was super fun and knowledgeable. She knew so much about the history and could answer every question thrown at her. I can’t recommend this tour enough.

The tour was excellent, and our guide Monica was incredibly knowledgeable, helpful and entertaining. We found the Vatican Museums very overwhelming - it was so busy with so many people and so much to see. Also worth noting that the tour is packed so there aren't opportunities to take a break - make sure you arrive fuelled and ready for a busy few hours.

They cancelled our St Peter’s part of the tour a week before saying it was too crowded. Very disappointing. So the guide made up time by showing us Every pope apartment. After awhile it was the same thing. We should have left after the museum.

Monica was an incredibly intelligent and kind tour guide. She was constantly aware of the group and answered all questions that came her way. She was funny, entertaining, and stylish! She was especially helpful with the less-abled members of our group and made sure they were accommodated with elevators etc. The tour itself can feel a bit long if the main goal is to see the Sistine chapel, but it was comprehensive enough that it did not leave us wanting more. The only downside of the tour was that we did NOT get access to St. Peters Basilica at the end and had to then wait in a separate line.

Christina was wonderful. She did a great job! Very knowledgeable and enjoyable. She went at a pace we could follow.

It was very crowded but this is the jubilee so it is expected. Our guide was wonderful and gave us so much information.

This tour was easy to find the meeting point after communicating through whatsapp to confirm that we were in the correct meeting spot. Our tour guide (didn’t get to hear her name clearly 😭) was so kind, answered all our questions and even offered different versions of how to do our tour to see everything!

Well worth the money nice small group and good guide the only thing I would say was the meeting point is a bit difficult to find but leave plenty of time and you will be ok!

Fantastic guide, she worked so hard to ensure we had all the information we needed to help us with this wonderful experience. Some of our group had issues with their health but she looked after them so well. Thank you Tatiana

Had an amazing tour with Cris. She is so knowledgeable and does a great job of keeping the tour fun while teaching so much. She also steered us through the massive crowds while showing us the highlights. I cannot recommend this tour enough.

Knowledgeable guide, but chaotic and rushed. Too much time spent in less interesting areas, and forced everyone to leave the museum after the Sistine chapel even though there was more we wanted to see.

Our guide was wonderful, very busy as the Pope was onsite but Tatiana handled it with grace, humor, and great knowledge.