Early Morning Vatican, Sistine, St. Peter's Semi or Private Tour

Overview

Available languages

English

3 hours 30 minutes

Mobile ticket

Get early morning access into the Vatican Museums to admire countless works, and beautiful courtyards! Together with a truly small group of only 6 participants max, or in your very own private group, you will be able to avoid the big crowds and quietly enjoy these wonderful masterpieces. The Vatican Museums is on everyone’s Rome itinerary so you can imagine it gets quite full, quite quickly. This tour guarantees the personalized and intimate feel that is only possible with our truly small group size, or in your very own private group. We believe that having an intimate experience makes ALL the difference! With your expert local guide, make your way through the vastness of the Museums, with the greatest highlights of the Papal art collection, the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Tapestries, the Pinecone Courtyard, and of course the exceptional Sistine Chapel. Finish with the incredible Saint Peter's Basilica.

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Important Notice Jubilee Year 2025: As part of the 2025 Jubilee celebrations, from December 24th, 2024 to January 6th, 2026, St. Peter’s Basilica may experience unexpected partial or complete closures. In the rare event that the Basilica cannot be visited, rest assured that your tour experience will remain exceptional. Your guide will seamlessly adapt the itinerary to include alternative highlights, ensuring the full duration and quality of your tour. Please note that, in accordance with our Terms & Conditions agreed upon at the time of booking, partial or full refunds cannot be issued due to Basilica closures.

Places of worship have strict dress code requirements for entry. All participants are required to have shoulders and knees covered (no tank tops or short dresses) to enter.

Vatican management maintains the right to delay the opening of the Sistine Chapel for religious reasons, in this case the guide will modify the itinerary and extend your visit of the museums to ensure you make the most of your time before access to the Sistine Chapel is permitted.

Photography is not allowed in the Sistine Chapel and all other artwork can only be photographed without flash.

Please be aware that the Sistine Chapel is a Holy Place and talking during while inside the chapel is strictly forbidden. Therefore, your guide will provide a comprehensive overview of the Sistine Chapel before entering and will be able to answer more questions once you have left the space.

St. Peter’s Basilica is an active church and can be closed unexpectedly for liturgical ceremonies. If closed, your guide will provide a revised itinerary including more of the Vatican Museums. No compensation is granted in these circumstances.

Backpacks are not permitted in the Museum.

Guests with wheelchair accessibility needs will find difficulty with this small group tour. To ensure a barrier-free tour with alternative routes, please book the private version of this tour.

Everyone in your group, regardless of age, needs a government issued ID to enter the Vatican Museums.

IMPORTANT: Please advise our team if you believe that a disability qualifies you for complimentary access to the Vatican

Access to the Raphael Rooms is contingent upon crowd conditions, timing constraints, and guard-regulated routes. Including them may not always be feasible. In these cases, your tour guide will exercise discretion to adjust the itinerary, ensuring a comprehensive experience.

Not recommended for travelers with mobility issues

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Skip the long ticket lines

Private Option of this tour is Available!

Tour in a Safe and Semi Private Group of 6 people

Learn from a Professional Local Expert Guide

Enjoy Early Morning Entrance to the Vatican Museums for a quieter experience

Food and drinks

Gratuities (optional)

What To Expect

Vatican Museums

With the luxury of our truly small group size of 6 people max, or in the personalized intimacy of your very own private group, you will be guaranteed to get the very most out of your Vatican experience. This way you can easily navigate through the countless masterpieces with an expert guide, ask all the questions you wish, and have the guarantee of a personalized experience. We trust this makes ALL the difference! Walk through the heavily decorated Gallery of the Candelabras and enjoy the trompe l’oeil in the Gallery of the Tapestries. After you learn about the impressive Gallery of the Maps, continue to the exquisite Raphael Rooms. With your professional expert tour guide, you will be sure to see all the highlights as well as hidden gems! You will not only learn the fantastic history of the powerful Popes but will also delight in the bits of gossip and other little-known stories about life in Vatican City.

2 hours • Admission Included

Stanze di Raffaello

The Papal art collection at its best in the Raphael Rooms

15 minutes • Admission Included

Options

Private Tour

Private Guide: Book this option for your own private group and enjoy a complete Vatican tour with a Private Guide for you only.

Shared Tour max 6 people

Semi-Private Tour

Vatican Key Master Upgrade

End your exclusive VIP tour with a delightful breakfast in the Pinecone Courtyard.
Duration: 2 hours: Join the Vatican’s Key Master to unlock the empty galleries and the Sistine Chapel in total privacy. St. Peter's NOT included

Reviews

4.90

3,705 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

3500

115

Our guide was wonderful...
Susan K,
Nov 13, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Our guide was wonderful very knowledgeable. Very pleasant. I would highly recommend her to everybody. Thank you.
Vatican City, Sistine Chapel plus a Whole Lot More
Thomas D,
Nov 13, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Absolutely outstanding & moving experience at Vatican City! Our tour guide Serafina was amazing, it was the most educational and spiritual tour I've ever taken of a famous site. I am glad I did this tour!
Great Tour!
laurieb725,
Nov 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We had a great experience on our early tour & appreciated the small group of 6 people. Our tour guide was knowledgeable, professional, fun, & maneuvered us with ease through the very crowed St Peter’s Basilica. She explained the paintings we would see at the Sistine Chapel, so when we arrived at the Chapel we had the knowledge of what we were looking at which was so appreciated. Would definitely recommend this tour!
Amazing Early Morning tour of Vatican
Footprints104629,
Nov 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
It was amazing and going early and skipping the lines was the only way to go .Our guide was amazing and so knowledgable . Really great experience and our guide was there to make sure our tour was memorable !
Superb tour and guide!
Q5620ETrobertv,
Nov 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
This was a fantastic experience! Massimo (Max) was an excellent tour guide who seemed to know everyone at the Vatican. It made you feel like you were getting the insiders tour and he was funny as well as educational. The tour itself turned out to be better than expected. The museum is huge - and an entire day could be spent there and still not see it all. But I felt like our guide hit the highlights and gave us enough information on what to go back for if we were so inclined. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful but small. Then we had a hiccup - the doors to St. Peter's were closed for some reason - but our guide whisked us outside in through the exit (I think) bypassing the lines and into the chapel. And we found out why the doors were closed - the Pope was doing a blessing ceremony. St. Peter's is huge and beautiful but is was so cool to have it filled with the voices of the Cardinals as they entered. Our guide was again right there to help us get to he best position to see Pope Leo. Absolutely recommend this tour with Liv Tours and our guide, Massimo.
Great tour with knowledgeable and fun guide!
Angela D,
Nov 13, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Elena was a fabulous and knowledgeable tour guide. She was flexible and able to answer various questions as we went- unlike other tours I’ve had where the guide tries to stick to their script. She was humorous, moved things along at a good pace while packing in lots of information, and made our visit to the Vatican low stress despite the crowds. I would highly recommend Elena!
Memories For A Lifetime.
Francine E,
Nov 12, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Wow! A guided tour of a lifetime. If you are going to tour the Vatican and the Vatican Museum, go as early as you can and use Viator and be certain to ask for Barbara. Barbara made this experience come to life. Her knowledge, professionalism and passion for the art, history and spiritual nature of this very special experience will make this tour live in your mind for a lifetime. Pick Viator and Barbara. You won’t be disappointed.
Great tour with Massimo!!
Ashley H,
Nov 12, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
My sister and I booked this semi-private tour and it was a great experience! Massimo was our guide - he kept us laughing and engaged the entire time. I’m still so blown away by the incredible things we saw. I was literally in tears by the end. I’m always leery of reviews and if they are real, but this really was a 5 star experience.
Incredible experience
Kelly S,
Nov 12, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Amazing experience with Massimo. Incredibly funny and knowledgable. Highly recommend LivTours and wish we’d booked all of our tours through this organization. Will be booking exclusively with LivTours for future travel.
Amazing Vatican Tour with Laura P!
san2smd,
Nov 11, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our tour of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica with Laura P was outstanding! She was incredibly knowledgeable, engaging, and passionate about the history and art. Laura kept the group organized, answered all our questions, and made sure everyone had a great experience. We learned so much and never felt rushed. If you’re visiting the Vatican, don’t hesitate to ask for Laura P — she made our visit truly unforgettable!