Rome: Complete Early Morning Vatican Tour | Small Group
Overview
Available languages
3 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Meet at our comfortable offices less than a block from the museum entrance. Join our small group Vatican tour in the early morning with a top-notch tour guide and get the earliest entrance available to the museums, Sistine Chapel & Raphael Rooms. In a small group, you will be able to discover with no rush the extraordinary abundance of history and art.
Your guide will tour you through these corridors and halls, pointing out the exhibits on display. Once through, the Sistine Chapel awaits you.
The finale of our early entry Vatican tours culminates in St. Peter’s Basilica. Majestic and inspired, it is the perfect place to come full circle on the morning’s itinerary. Feast your eyes on Michelangelo’s Pietà and admire the stunning interior of the dome he designed, as well as Bernini’s massive bronze baldachin sitting over the Pope’s private alter directly above St. Peter’s tomb and other little-known details that can only be spotted when inside!
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
MEETING POINT IS VIA SANTAMAURA 14b, What a Life Tours
The ticket is valid only for the date and time reserved. We are unable to accommodate late arrivals due to a time entrance of the Vatican Museums tour voucher. Missed tours or tickets due to late arrivals are non-refundable. Please allow extra time to reach the meeting point as Rome's streets can be confusing. Meeting time is 15 minutes before the start time of the tour.
A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. ALL participants MUST cover their knees and shoulders. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements.
While the Vatican Museums are equipped with elevators for wheelchair access, they are not conveniently located on the group tour route and only give access to specific sections of the Museums. As a result, we cannot accommodate wheelchairs/walkers on this tour.
Please remember to bring with you a valid ID document for all participants.
We cannot accommodate service animals.
Please notice that we are not responsible for the number of visitors the Vatican Museums allow inside.
Large umbrellas are not permitted, please leave these at your accommodation.
No pictures, videos, or even speaking is allowed in the Sistine Chapel.
We recommend that you bring your own headphones as the ones provided by the Vatican have a single earpiece only, and you may prefer to use both earbuds to hear the guide better.
St. Peter's Basilica is an active parish and therefore subject to last-minute closures due to mass or other religious events. In these cases, we will offer an extended tour of the Vatican Museums (including areas normally not part of the tour). Please note that closures of St. Peter's Basilica can happen anytime without further notice. No refunds are recognized for unexpected closures.
Between January 12 and March 31, 2026, the Vatican Museums will carry out an extraordinary maintenance project on Michelangelo's "Last Judgement" fresco in the Sistine Chapel. During that time, the entire wall featuring the fresco will be covered by scaffolding, leaving the artwork temporarily out of view. The Sistine Chapel will remain open to visitors.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
The activity starts directly at our office located conveniently very close to the Museums' entrance.
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums feature many works of art that belonged to the different Popes and are full of artistic beauty. Here is a glimpse of some of the most beautiful things to see in the Vatican Museums. Rooms and Galleries of the Vatican Museums, as the Greek Cross Room, the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries, Raphael Rooms and much more! From a relatively small collection of statues brought in by Julius II, it grew into a gigantic museum to a point that nobody even knows how many items are kept in the vaults and galleries of the Vatican.
What‘s Included
Meet your guide at our comfortable offices near the Museums' entrance
Skip-the-line access to St. Peter’s Basilica
Headsets to hear the guide
Entry to the Sistine Chapel
Small group
Expert English-speaking tour guide
3.5-hour guided tour
Early entrance guaranteed
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Options
Complete Early Morning Tour
Sistine Chapel & Pinacoteca
Duration: 3 hours: Admire the amazing Vatican Pinacoteca in this Wednesday's Special itinerary.
Museums & Sistine Chapel: Please note this tour does not include St. Peter's Basilica but will go to the marvelous Pinacoteca instead.
Before the Crowds Early Entry: EXCLUSIONS:
-St.Peter's Basilica
Reviews
2,192 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Incredible tour
johnsV1330BA,,Jan 5, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Absolutely a great tour! Elaine was incredible. She is knowledgeable and entertaining. It seemed overwhelming at times, trying to absorb all the information she conveyed. If you are lucky enough to get her as your guide for the Vatican tour, you will not be disappointed.
Terrific Vatican Tour!
MikeVDCSC,,Jan 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Elaine was an amazing guide through the Vatican. She was incredibly knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. Would highly recommend!
An excellent morning!
Y3047GNmartinm,,Jan 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Elaine was an excellent guide, delivering a lot of inpatient information in a friendly and humorous manner. Highly recommended!
Guided tour of a lifetime!
Y5735PIashleyc,,Jan 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Incredible experience. Guide was incredibly knowledgeable and personable. She’s the best tour guide I’ve ever had! Elaine provided historical context that brought all of the art to life!
AMAZING 100/10
laurencH2650FO,,Jan 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Elaine was AMAZING!! The attention to detail was above and beyond. Along with all her wonderful jokes. You can tell she loves what she does. Would recommend her to anyone and everyone!!!
Best guide ever
Voyager00950171688,,Jan 2, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very good and thorough explanation and guide of the Vatican. Very funny with great insights and very personable. Couldn’t have asked for a better guide.
27 DEC 2025 in Vatican City
Marne M,,Jan 1, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00The Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican offer volumes of history, knowledge, art, stories, architecture, and people. Marcello navigated the AM rush, crowds, and weather to provide insight and info nuggets that made our tour informations and memorable. He even spun the globe on the Vatican grounds. Thank you for this opportunity to learn!
Enjoyable experience
701maryjanep,,Dec 31, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00It had been over 20 years since I last been to Vatican City but it was the first time for my 2 sons. We all enjoyed the tour. Appreciated the fact that it was a small group and you start early in the morning. By the time we got to the Sistine Chapel, there were already quite of tourists there. The Vatican Museum is enormous and appreciated getting highlights from our tour guide, Luisa. I really appreciated the audio guides they provided so you can hear our tour guide clearly directly through the earphone.
Request Mario as a guide
mike222brown1,,Dec 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Mario was a one of the best tour guides we’ve ever had on any trip. Our tour was 3+ hours, but His stories were very informative, factual yet were full of feeling and put you back in time. The other tour guides and Vatican employees all smile when they see him or overhear his discussion, for instance, “Is this statue Greek or Roman?” made a stern-looking employee smile. You’ll have to take his tour to find out the answer and why it would make people smile. A friend is coming in May and I’ll strongly recommend that he take THIS tour with MARIO!
Knowledgeable, Witty, Fun - Best Vatican Tour
580duncanc,,Dec 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Elaine is one of the best tour guides i've had the absolute pleasure of being led by! One could spend an eternity in the Vatican collections and not see everything, but we felt we had a great introduction to the highlights. I especially appreciated her wit and trivia about every artifact or artwork we paused at, going deeper than your average tour guide. Her breadth of knowledge of both the artifacts and the inner workings of the vatican is immense. I also really appreciated her politeness with other tour groups and guides, emphasizing etiquette to our whole group throughout the tour. I'm going to recommend this to others—we had an amazing time!
From €109.00
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