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
Under 18s aged 0-6 must book as "Child", under 18s aged 7-17 must book as "Youth". This is the age they will be on the day of the tour with us. Failure to book correctly will mean we cannot get your child inside the museums.
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 2025 is the Jubilee year, closures of St. Peter's Basilica can happen anytime without further notice. No refunds are recognized for unexpected closures.
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
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
Complete Early Morning Tour
Reviews
2,168 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
A great experience of fun and learning!
752arianal,,Dec 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Cinzia was a fantastic guide and very engaging. My family and I had a wonderful time learning about the Vatican, couldn’t recommend her enough!
Vatican Amazing Tour!
Catherine T,,Dec 10, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00The Vatican is a must see in Rome and you must see it with our guide, Cinzia! Her love of the art and history were felt by all. She prepped us for the Sistine Chapel so that once inside we knew just what look for. She knows all the great photo spots and graciously took our picture. She is an extraordinary guide so don't miss the chance to see the Vatican with her. Highly recommend!!!
Small comfortable group tour.
brankam328,,Dec 4, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The tour was very interesting and Cinzia was great. She was keeping an eye on all of us and provided great knowledge and guidance.
So much to see! So incredible!
Lisa G,,Dec 3, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Fantastic experience with an excellent story telling guide. So much history and art. Well worth the experience.
Highly recommended for first visit to the Vatican
M2103PJannal,,Dec 3, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our tour guide Daniela enhanced our first visit to the Vatican. The museums are enormous which can be overwhelming. Daniela selected the highlights so we could understand the significance of each collection. She also asked us questions about our interests to tailor the visit to the group. If you wish to visit the collections at your own pace, a tour might feel rushed to you since you can spend hours there. For us it was a great way to see the main attractions in detail. Visiting when the museums open was great to avoid big crowds. Highly recommend!
Pick Mario if you can!!!
Q9593RG ,,Dec 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Mario was honestly the best tour guide I had in Italy. He made the whole experience easy and really enjoyable. Great knowledge on every arts and attractions.
Excellent Overview of Vatican
Robert W,,Dec 1, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Excellent overview. Moved at a healthy pace, it was a great overview of all there is to see without ever getting boring.
Vatican’s best tour guide, Cinzia!
Mary F,,Dec 1, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00I have taken 2 other tours of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel and this was by far the best, due mainly to Cinzia the tour guide. With her vast knowledge, along with props, she taught us so much before we even stepped into the museums. She taught us not only about the various artists, but how they related to each other. She was so upbeat and happy, her energy brought our small group of 10 up to match her excitement! She’s very proud of her country’s history and shared it with us. The company itself made check-in seamless. I highly recommend this tour!
Brilliant, informative and very knowledgeable told with Passion.
Whittersuk,,Dec 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Had a great tour with Cinzia on Saturday morning. Loved her enthusiasm and passion. Really pleased with explanation on the origin of the St. George cross from the tapestry room. Excellent guide, definitely recommend. From Paul & George, father & son from Manchester England. 😁
Perfect Vatican tour! Complete and thorough!
779claudec,,Nov 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was very well organized. Our tour guide was Jeannette and she was excellent. She was so kind and personable. We would highly recommend her! Full of knowledge and spunk! Great personality! Loved her! This tour was complete with lots of details we definitely would have missed had we not had this tour. She took the time to answer questions as well. She was attentive too. The Vatican is a lot and requires a lot of walking. I am so glad we booked an early morning tour. It seemed to get more crowded throughout the day. What an amazing experience! Do not miss when in Rome!
From €109.00
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