Home » The Best Vatican Tours To Take in 2025 and Why + Maps
The Best Vatican Tours To Take in 2025 and Why + Maps
Sean Finelli
You already know that a trip to Rome is not complete without a visit to the famous country within the city: Vatican City. But there are so many different tour options, so how do you choose? It all depends on your travel interests and schedule. In this guide, you’ll discover our best Vatican tours and which one’s right for you.
Pro Tip:
Bookmark this post in your browser along with our article on the best Colosseum tours.
All Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica Tours
All of our Vatican tours include skip the line access and an English-speaking guide — whether you’re visiting the Museums and Sistine Chapel or, in the case of the Basilica Express Tour, heading straight into St. Peter’s. The right Vatican tour for you will depend on your interests, whether you want to see the Sistine Chapel after hours without any of the crowds, and how much time you have to soak up all this beauty.
To help you find your perfect Vatican experience, here is a link to our Vatican tours, followed by more in-depth descriptions below.
In an hour, your guide walks you through Michelangelo’s Pieta, the Papal crypts, and Bernini’s towering altar. Then you are back outside with time left for a proper lunch or something stronger.
Vatican at Closing Time with Sistine Chapel
Some people don’t like to wake up early on vacation, and I get it. Maybe you had a long night out exploring the town and prefer to sleep in with your significant other. Whatever that reason is, we offer this tour to experience the Vatican in a different setting- in the evening.
It is generally cooler and you will miss some of the crowds that come through during the daytime. Also, I really enjoy mixing it up and seeing museums in the evening. We set up our tours, so they finish just in time for dinner. This Vatican at Closing Time Tour perfectly set up to enjoy a well-earned dinner in Rome, reflecting on the incredible art and history you just witnessed.
Not ready to book a tour? Check out our Vatican Guide for more info.
Ultimate St. Peter’s Basilica Dome Climb and Tour
Looking for the best views in Rome? We take you to the top of St. Peter’s Dome the moment it opens, before the lines and before the heat kicks in.
You will climb straight into the sky and look out over the rooftops of the Eternal City. Then step inside the Basilica itself while most people are still on their first espresso.
This is the best way to see St. Peter’s without wasting your day in lines. Fast, focused, and unforgettable.
Privileged Entrance Vatican Tour with Sistine Chapel
Everyone knows the Vatican Museums come with a price: hours of your life wasted in line. We do not do that. We have a direct deal with the Vatican and enter through a separate line reserved for tour operators.
Most people have about two hours of museum energy before they check out. Do not spend it sweating on the sidewalk. Follow a guide who knows exactly where to go and why it matters.
Of course you will see the Sistine Chapel. It still hits hard. And you will get there without wasting half your day earning it.
Private Skip the Line Vatican Tour with Sistine Chapel
Not a morning person or just tight on time? This Private Skip the Line Vatican Tour lets you choose the hour and skip the line entirely.
With flexible start times and direct entry, you get in fast and explore on your terms. No waiting, no stress, just you, the art and your private guide.
With multiple start times throughout the day and skip-the-line tickets, you’ll find a time that’s just right for you and get straight to exploring.
This tour also includes St.Peter’s Basilica. After the museums, you slip through a side door into St. Peter’s Basilica. The crowds outside will still be waiting while you are already inside.
Start your morning above the city, looking out from the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica before the crowds show up. Then follow your guide to a skip-the-line entrance into the Vatican Museums.
You will hit the top highlights without wasting a second. And yes, you will end inside the Sistine Chapel, looking up like everyone else, only less exhausted since you didn’t have to wait in lines.
Rome in a Day including Colosseum and Vatican Museums
Our Rome in a Day Tour is one of our most popular tours and gets you to all the major highlights in one day. Vatican Museums in the morning, Colosseum & Roman Forum in the afternoon, with the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Trevi Fountain in between.
You will cover more ground in one day than most do in three. We even handle the transport from the Vatican to the city so you can focus on what matters.
Yes, it is a long day. But by the end, you will have earned your dinner and seen the best of Rome with none of the guesswork.
This is the Vatican Uncovered: A Private, Detailed Tour, uncovered and unhurried. With five hours inside, you will see the Pio Clementino, Raphael Rooms, Sistine Chapel, Painting gallery and more in depth.
Led by a private guide, you skip the lines and get the kind of detail only pros are looking for. This is not a quick pass through the highlights, it is the entire story.
If you want to experience the Vatican completely, this is how you do it. Masterpieces, galleries, and St. Peter’s Basilica without missing a step.
Exclusive Sistine Chapel After Hours Small Group Tour
Picture this: The doors close, the tourists vanish and the Vatican isn’t a museum anymore. It’s a sanctuary.
This is how you’re meant to see it. No selfie sticks. No tour groups shuffling past. Just you, standing beneath the Sistine Chapel in complete silence. Imaging standing underneath Michelangelo’s masterpiece, uninterrupted.
This isn’t some VIP line or early access gimmick. The Vatican is actually closed during this tour. And you? You’re inside. Wandering gilded halls. Running your hand along cool marble. Hearing nothing but the quiet hum of history. Your guide doesn’t need to shout over the crowd. They’re here to tell you the things most people never get to hear.
Most visitors see the Vatican packed like a subway at rush hour. You’ll see it as it was meant to be seen. Empty. Sacred. Alive. Only a handful of people will ever experience this. Are you one of them?
With the entire Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel reserved solely for your private group, this exclusive after-hours tour immerses you in the art and history with no crowds, just unparalleled access.
Guided by a charismatic storyteller, you’ll uncover the masterpieces of the Vatican in complete serenity, culminating in an intimate, uninterrupted viewing of the breathtaking Sistine Chapel.
Want to explore the Vatican Museums at your own pace but with the benefit of skip-the-line tickets? Then reserve your own tickets with our privileged access that lets you bypass the crowds.
You’ll meet our helpful attendant near the Vatican Museums entrance, where they’ll escort you past the general line and into the reserved group entry. There you’ll go through security and be free to explore the Vatican and Sistine Chapel as long as you like.
We are currently looking at all the various tour possibilities. Do you have tours which cover one or more of the restricted hidden areas of the Vatican Museums; namely the Bramante Staircase, the Niccoline Chapel and the Cabinet of Masks? Thank You.
We are currently looking at all the various tour possibilities. Do you have tours which cover one or more of the restricted hidden areas of the Vatican Museums; namely the Bramante Staircase, the Niccoline Chapel and the Cabinet of Masks? Thank You.