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‘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
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.
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
2,159 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Great experience
Jonathan S,
Nov 28, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00The small group was great, and the early start time with line skipping really helped. Our guide, Jeb, was very knowledgeable and friendly. He is an artist, and was able to add in some great detail about the technical aspects of various artworks.
The BEST Vatican and Basilica tour!!
kristyo726,
Nov 25, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Daniela was by far the BEST TOUR GUIDE and most informative one we have ever had. This is our second time in Rome and our second time doing a Vatican tour and we learned far more with her than any other tour. We’ve also done many other site tours that have often times been boring or slow, but she provided us with an immense amount of information and made it all so interesting. You could definitely tell she was a historian with a love for history and artifacts. I wish we could request her all the time. Everything was so easy from checking in, until the very end. This is definitely a site where you would want an experienced guide. Thank you so much Daniela. You are absolutely wonderful.!
Had a lovely tour around the Vatican City.
Q2103CFchristopherl,
Nov 22, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our tour guide, Czyntia, who was fantastic, knowledgeable, polite, and incredibly easy to understand. Her excellent English made the entire experience smooth, and we couldn’t be happier with how our day turned out
Alexander family tour
garyaD7787JD,
Nov 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Cinzia, she was amazing, my family was throughly impressed with her knowledge and intelligence of our tour. She is definitely an outstanding person! Gary Alexander, Alexander family tour 11/21/2025
Amazing guide! Amazing experience!
DayTrip17589432048,
Nov 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had such a wonderful morning with our guide Cincia! Her knowledge of all the art and things we saw was incredible! So blessed to have had her guide us on this amazing day!
Great tour!
LoveToTravelKiwi,
Nov 18, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great tour that covered all the important parts of Vatican City. Our guide Yanira was very informative and friendly. It was busy and you do wait in lines but our tour guide made the most of the time and would provide us information so time went fast. I really enjoyed the tour and felt like I got a lot out of it.
Best Experience Ever (English Tour)
Alejandra R,
Nov 17, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00We are on a trip in Rome and we had the privilege to have Cinzia as our tour guide. She was fenominal to say the least. I Highly recommend booking a tour with What a Life Tours who employs knowledgeable tour guides who walk and talk you through it all. Its alot to take in but an amazing guide will facilitate the experience to understand and interpret the art and architecture. This was hands down one of the best experiences I've had on our trip. Thank you What a Life Tours!
Small group Vatican tour
Lee100457,
Nov 12, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Excellent tour!! Our guide, Cinzia, had a depth of knowledge and professionalism that enhanced the tour. The small group setting was conducive to asking questions asking the way.
Spectacular
KLARA A,
Nov 12, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00This was my second tour of Vatican City, and I really appreciated the information Lucia shared during the tour. She was very informative and covered a lot of interesting facts. I’m glad I chose their services over my previous tour company
Excellent time with Elaine!
Pioneer10501002493,
Nov 11, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Elaine was spectacular. She gave a great insight into key points and items to look out for throughout the tour. I was hesitant to book a guided tour, and it ended up Being the best decision!
From €109.00
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