Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

Duration:

3.5 hrs

Offered on:

Mon, Thu, Sat at 8:00am

Meeting Point:

Caffe Vaticano in front of Vatican Museums

No wait in lines!

All our prices include tickets and reservations

Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

Enter the Vatican Museums 1 hour before the general public - beat the crowd

Early Entrance to the Sistine Chapel - no waiting in line

Enjoy a VIP tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica

Get a personalized tour with a maximum of 6 people guaranteed

Learn all about Renaissance masters like Raphael & Michelangelo

“Early Entrance Vatican
Small Group is a must. You beat the
crowds. Alessandra, our tour guide,
was a super star. She got us to the
most critical areas before the crowds
and allowed us to experience the
Vatican and St Peter Basilica in
amazement. Thank you LivItaly, you
ere the highlight of our European
vacation!”
– Linda – New York

LivItaly’s Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour is ideal for people who want to get an early start on their day and get the very best of Vatican City. Just as the name suggests, people who sign up for this tour get to enter the Vatican Museums one entire hour before the general public. Take in the majesty of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel in total peace before the crowds start pouring in. Since all LivItaly small tour groups have no more than six people, you will have plenty of time to admire the Vatican’s many treasures with your local guide navigating through this 9-mile long museum so you get to see the highlights and recommend rooms and collections to save for a later date. Your tour will end in the most famous church in the world – St. Peter’s Basilica.

This small group tour is perfect to experience the best of the Vatican without having to battle hordes of tourists.

About Your Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

Your tour begins at 7.30AM near the Vatican Museums entrance. Here you’ll meet your expert tour guide who will let you into the museums one hour before they officially open and you will be immediately guided through the empty Vatican Museum hallways straight to the first stop – Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Since this chapel is the number one attraction in the Vatican, LivItaly believes it’s important to give guests the time and space they need to fully appreciate it. You’ll get a rare opportunity to admire Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes and Last Judgment without having to deal with the surge of crowds by your side.

“Wow! We not only saw
the Vatican, we experienced it. Our
guide Daniela was so knowledgable
and a natural story teller. There were
only 6 people in our group which
made it easy to have one-on-one
time with our guide to ask questions”
– Sarah – Dallas, Texas

After you’re finished learning all about Michelangelo’s masterpiece, your guide will loop you back into the Vatican Museums to the beginning of this amazing art collection and discover the highlights of the Vatican Museums with a stop at the Pinecone Courtyard followed by the Octagonal Courtyard to learn about the greatest statues of antiquity,from the mysterious composition of the Greek statues of the Laocoon, the Apollo Belvedere and the inspiring Belvedere Torso.

The small group tour of the Vatican led buy your expert LivItaly guide, will then walk up the stairs to the amazing galleries, from the Candelabra, to the Tapestries up to the world-known Gallery of Maps, the Renaissance version of Google Maps. A Vatican Tour cannot be complete without the Raphael Rooms of the apartments of Pope Julius II. Your small group of max 6 participants will be able to slip through the crowds easily and be in awe at the majesty of these newly cleaned Raphael frescoes.

Once you’re done in the Raphael Rooms, your guide will take you through the Sistine Chapel one more time before heading into Saint Peter’s Basilica. Admire the spaciousness of this basilica, which is the largest Catholic church in the entire world. A few of the glorious works of art you will get to see up close include Michelangelo’s Pietà and Bernini’s Baldacchino Altar. Before you leave St. Peter’s Basilica, your guide will tell you about the Papal Tombs, the Memorial of Pope Alexander VII, and tell you how to climb up to the top of the Dome. Conclude your Vatican tour by walking around Bernini’s celebrated Piazza San Pietro Square.

Highlights of Vatican Early Entrance Tour

As you could imagine, both the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel are crowded with tourists every day they’re open. It’s almost impossible to fully appreciate these masterworks as you’re being pushed and pulled by hundreds of visitors. That’s why this small group tour is such a great opportunity. You’ll get the space and time you need to soak in the majesty of Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes and the major works by Raphael. With your tour guide by your side, you’ll learn all the juicy stories behind the composition of these great works of Western art.

This Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour is ALSO featuring exclusive access to the RAPHAEL ROOMS before they open to the general public. Guests will be privy to some of the most important artwork and rooms in the entire museum – all without the rush of crowds around them. The sixteenth century Raphael Rooms were painted by the great High Renaissance artists by Pope Julius II to adorn the walls of his apartment with the Vatican. Your LivItaly Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour will take you through to see these and right after the glorious Sistine Chapel so you see the most important Vatican highlights before the museum even opens!

Why Book Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

Privacy is a luxury in the Vatican Museums. Since Vatican City houses so many treasures, it’s understandable that this area gets flooded with tourists daily. Luckily for you, there’s a way to beat the crowds and enjoy works of Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini in relative peace. LivItaly’s Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour was designed to give tourists the best possible experience of the glories of Vatican City. If you’re serious about getting a premier tour of the Vatican for an exceptional price, book your spot on this excellent small group tour today!

COVID-19 SAFETY REGULATIONS
LivItaly’ group size of max 6 participants is and always has been based on sustainable travel and especially in these new times, we are proud to be at the forefront of the innovation, changes, and challenges that are presented to us during this post-pandemic time. At the moment, due to COVID-19 safety regulations, the museums and sites visited on this tour require wearing a mask while on the site. Please bring one for every participant over 6 years of age.

Please note: Due to new health and safety regulations, the Vatican currently opens at 8:30 rather than 8:00am. Despite the later start, our early entrance tour is in all other ways identical to the 7:30am tour. By arriving 30 minutes before Vatican doors open, we get you into the museums first, so you can go directly to the Raphael rooms and the Sistine Chapel before the crowds and enjoy them with as few people as possible.

Due to these unprecedented times and ongoing safety and regulation changes, some sites may have limited accessibility if the venue can not guarantee social distancing which may lead to unforeseen tour modifications. Thank you for your understanding.

PLEASE NOTE:
St. Peter’s Basilica is an active church and can be closed unexpectedly for liturgical ceremonies. If closed, the time inside the Vatican Museums will be extended.

*Wish to tour the Vatican Museums in the afternoon? Check our our Vatican & Sistine Chapel Small Group Tour offered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2,30 pm here.

*Guests with wheelchair accessibility needs will find difficulty with this small group tour. In order to ensure a barrier-free tour with alternative routes, please book the private version of the Vatican Tour with Early Entrance.

*Please be aware that the Sistine Chapel is a Holy Place and talking during your visit inside is strictly forbidden. LivItaly’s Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour begins at 7.30AM, however the first 30 minutes of the tour are held outside of the Vatican Museums in order to give you a comprehensive explanation before entering the chapel.

LivItaly Tours is proud of our collaboration with the Vatican Museums, which allows us access one entire hour before the museums are open to the general public. We are however aware that the Vatican Museums are selling at maximum capacity to accommodate an extremely high demand in what is already high season. We have absolutely no control or insight into the number of collaborations the Vatican Museums deals with nor how many people it chooses to give early entrance to. Access into the museums a full hour before entry during high season is nevertheless highly recommended considering the immeasurable crowd sizes admitted once the doors open to the public.

We are firm in our mission to giving every one of our guests an entirely unique and comfortable experience, maintaining small group sizes to make it easier to navigate through this very busy (and sometimes overcrowded) period.

ABOUT OUR 6 PEOPLE SMALL GROUP POLICY
When you book a LivItaly Small Group Tour, you are guaranteed one tour guide per group of 6 people. Please bear in mind though that in order to accommodate traveling families and friends, we do on rare occasion make the exception of adding an additional one to two guests in order not to split groups who are traveling together. On that same note, you may find yourself on tour with less than six people. As we accept bookings in multiples of six, math doesn’t always work in our favor to help accommodate individual travelers and their families when on the same tour, so we hope you understand and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Our Early Entrance Tour lets you & your guide enter the Vatican Museums 1 hour before the general public!
See one of Raphael's most talked about masterpieces before the busy crowds - The School of Athens
Our top-rated guide will take you through the Vatican Museum pointing out all of the highlights.
Beat the busy crowds and get to see the Sistine Chapel without masses of people around.
Take your time to admire the beauty of Michelangelo's greatest work of art - the Sistine Chapel.
Your small group tour will end in the world's largest church - St. Peter's Basilica.
St. Peter's Basilica is home to Michelangelo's The Pietà, depicting Virgin Mary holding Jesus.
Lovely selfie taken by our expert guide Luca at the end of our tour!

This Tour includes:

Sistine Chapel (twice)

Pinecone Courtyard

Muses Room & Belvedere Torso

Octagonal Courtyard & Belvedere Palace

Lacoon Priest of Troy & Apollo Belevedere

Round Room

Gallery of Candelabra

Gallery of Tapestries

Gallery of Maps

Raphael Rooms

St. Peter's Basilica

Reviews

Early Entrance Vatican Small Group Tour

The only way to see the Vatican Museum! We went straight to the Sistine Chapel and without the crowds, it was possible to truly experience the magnificence! Afterwards we toured the rest of the museums which after 9am in peak… read more

Cathy Hoff |
Perfect Early Entrance Vatican Small Group Tour

Perfect experience in every way. Great guide, knowledgeable, smart, and funny. Getting in ahead of the crowds was a terrific idea, we were in rooms in the Vatican Museum that were empty of people. Would highly recommend this company. read more

Donald Oravec |
LivItaly exceeded our expectations!!

We (a group of 4) set up four small group tours with LivItaly. I can not begin to say enough good things about our experience. All of their tour guides are incredibly knowledgeable and experienced and more than willing to… read more

Lynne G. | USA
Early Morning Vatican tour

My 15 year old daughter and I took the early morning Vatican Tour. Getting up early was worth it! we were in the Vatican museum without crowds and empty Gallery including Rapheal's rooms. We got to enjoy the Sistine Chapel… read more

Stephanie & Maddy Terrill | Canada
Early Morning Vatican Tour

Our tour guide Andrea was fantastic, he was extremely knowledgeable and answered every question, along with knowing bits of trivia about every location. His English was also great, we understood everything and he gave us plenty of time to soak… read more

Sara J. | United States

Price Explanation

Each participant

Adults

18
and over

... 104€ 166.4$ 93.6£ 124.8$

Students

18-26
with valid Student ID

... 99€ 158.4$ 89.1£ 118.8$

Teenagers

13-17

... 94€ 150.4$ 84.6£ 112.8$

Children

3-12

... 84€ 134.4$ 75.6£ 100.8$

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Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

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Duration:

3.5 hrs

Offered on:

Mon, Thu, Sat at 8:00am

Meeting Point:

Caffe Vaticano in front of Vatican Museums

No wait in lines!

All our prices include tickets and reservations

Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

This Tour includes:

Reviews

Early Entrance Vatican Small Group Tour

Cathy Hoff |

Perfect Early Entrance Vatican Small Group Tour

Donald Oravec |

LivItaly exceeded our expectations!!

Lynne G. | USA

Early Morning Vatican tour

Stephanie & Maddy Terrill | Canada

Early Morning Vatican Tour

Sara J. | United States

Price Explanation

Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

Book Now

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Home > Tours > Vatican City > Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

Duration:

3.5 hrs

Offered on:

Mon, Thu, Sat at 8:00am

Meeting Point:

Caffe Vaticano in front of Vatican Museums

No wait in lines!

All our prices include tickets and reservations

Vatican Early Entrance Small Group Tour

This Tour includes:

Reviews

Early Entrance Vatican Small Group Tour

Cathy Hoff |

Perfect Early Entrance Vatican Small Group Tour

Donald Oravec |

LivItaly exceeded our expectations!!

Lynne G. | USA

Early Morning Vatican tour

Stephanie & Maddy Terrill | Canada

Early Morning Vatican Tour

Sara J. | United States

Price Explanation

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