Vatican Combo Tour with Sistine Chapel & Dome Climb
4.6
Vatican Combo Tour with Sistine Chapel & Dome Climb
By The Roman Guy
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
About
Lowest price guarantee
Ages 0-99, max of 20 per group
Duration: 5h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More
Highlights
- Early Entry and guided tour of St. Peter's Basilica and papal crypts
- Access to the elevator and stairs to the top of St. Peter's dome
- Skip-the-line entry and guided tour to the Vatican Museums
- Entry to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel
- A professional, fun, English-speaking guide
- Group size of 20 people max
- Entry/Admission - The Vatican Grottoes
- Entry/Admission - St. Peter's Basilica
- Entry/Admission - Cupola di San Pietro
- Entry/Admission - Vatican Museums
- Entry/Admission - Sistine Chapel
What's not included- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food & Beverages
- Gratuities
- Start:
- Largo del Colonnato, 00193 Roma RM, ItalyPlease arrive 10 minutes early. Meet your guide at Largo Del Colonnato. This is the area just outside of the St. Peters Square colonnades, on the right side when looking at St. Peter’s Basilica. Our staff will be there holding a “The Tour Guy” sign standing between the fountain and the green kiosk.
End:- Vatican Museums, 00120, Vatican CityThis tour concludes inside of the Vatican Museums
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 24338P61- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not recommended for travellers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travellers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Not recommended for travellers with claustrophobia and/or vertigo
- Please note there is no skip the line service at the St Peter's Basilica, though due to our early start we are able to avoid most of the day time crowds.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers
- All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 24338P61
From
AU$153.08
per adult
Select date and travellers
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Itinerary
- Largo del Colonnato, 00193 Roma RM, ItalyPlease arrive 10 minutes early. Meet your guide at Largo Del Colonnato. This is the area just outside of the St. Peters Square colonnades, on the right side when looking at St. Peter’s Basilica. Our staff will be there holding a “The Tour Guy” sign standing between the fountain and the green kiosk.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 00120, Vatican CityThis tour concludes inside of the Vatican Museums
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- 768JamesF7680 contributionsProfessional and comprehensive tourThis tour was hands-down one of the best experiences of our trip. Our guide, Eleonora, was phenomenal, professionally knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about Roman history. She struck the perfect balance of being informative and engaging. She made sure to answer questions and highlight aspects that people in our group found interesting. She brought the ruins to life, helping us imagine what the Forum and Colosseum would have looked like in their prime. It made the history feel vivid and real, rather than just a collection of stones. The tour was well-paced, professional, and well-organized. If you’re visiting Rome and want an insightful, memorable experience, this tour, and Eleonora in particular, is a must. Highly recommended.Written 20 March 2025
- RoslynC7650 contributionsA must tour for your Rome visitThis food tour is a Rome must. Dimitri our tour guide was so interesting and took us to some stunning food places. Also learnt loads about the area and we would not have seen these otherwise. So glad we didn’t miss any of these places. My only wish was that we should have done this on our first night. That way we could come back to some of the places we saw.Written 19 March 2025
- elaine b0 contributions12 out of 10 day12 out of 10 day. From our pick up to the arrival to Pompeii to seeing the stunning waters of the Amalfi coast, the trip couldn’t have gone better. Sara our guide, wow, from the moment we met her, the knowledge she shared and how entertaining she was, it blew our minds. I’m not sure how one can speak all day and keep every single person in our group engaged every single second. This trip was perfection.Written 19 March 2025
- elaine b0 contributionsKnowledgable guide and worth the $$This is serious value for money! We swooned past the line with our fast track ticket and our guide Fabrizio was incredibly knowledgable - he made us feel really welcome in his city. This was a really nice welcome to Rome and Italy. Fabrizio also gave us great tips on what to do, where to eat and where to get the perfect gelato!Written 19 March 2025
- eleonoraaB4879VN0 contributionsThe visit to the Pantheon was fantasticThe visit to the Pantheon was fantastic, our guide was super nice and prepared, thanks to this tour I learned a lot about Rome, and not only about the Pantheon which is majestic and beautiful, I recommend this experience to everyone!Written 19 March 2025
- eleonoraaB4879VN0 contributionsHighly recommended for a magical Italian day!I recently took the Pompeii, Amalfi Coast and Positano day trip from Rome and WOW-what an unforgettable experience! The ruins of Pompeii were like a time machine and Sasha made them as if they were still alive, the Amalfi Coast offered breathtaking views and Positano seemed out of a postcard. Our guide Paola was super friendly and full of funny facts. Even if the pace was a bit fast at times, she added only to the thrill. Highly recommended for a magical Italian day!Written 19 March 2025
- motom20250 contributions1st time in Italy, 1st tour. Great experience.The wife and I went for our Anniversary. What an amazing place to visit. There's a lot to take in. Our guide was great his name is Federico. He gave us a lot of useful information in the moment. We got into the Colosseum fairly quickly and got to skip through a line later on for Palentine Hill. If you do this I don't think you'll be disappointed. Federico is a funny guy who enjoys his job, good vibe. Highly recommend this tour. After the tour you can wander around as much as you want. There's so much to see it's truly amazing and mind blowing.Written 19 March 2025
- Shling0 contributionsGreat tour and guide. Gorgeous food. Do it!Great tour. More food than I expected. Thought it would be nibbles at every stop but there was a proper main course. Claudio our tour guide was so lovely and we learned so much from him. Highly recommend this tour. So glad we did it.Written 18 March 2025
- FemskyD0 contributionsGreat pantheon tour for families!my nephew, sister and I had a great time visting the pantheon with Francesca. mostly booked to avoid the long lines we saw while passing by earlier in the week, but really appreciated her insights, absolutely must do when in Rome!Written 18 March 2025
- dulwichsal0 contributionsPrivate Colosseum, Palatine Hill & Forum tour - Giovanni was exceptional we wish we had had him the whole weekendI have done a private our of the Colosseum and surrounding area before (with a different company) but this was far superior. We were a group of four and our amazing guide Giovanni really brought the entire thing to life, and showed us pictures of what it would have looked like at the time. As a qualified art historian he certainly knew his stuff, but at the same time made it very accessible for us to learn and retain the information. The three hours flew by, we skipped the line at all entrances and he answered all our questions with enthusiasm. He knew where to take all the good pictures. Totally worth the money to do it privately and do get up early and take one of the first slots offered as it was busy and this not even high season. Highly recommend.Written 17 March 2025
- sam o0 contributionsFood tour of RomeFantastic tour. Really interesting to wander around lesser known streets of Rome whilst finding smaller restaurants and shops to try out the food. We had a small group which made it even more fun because everyone chatted to each other as we walked along. A really enjoyable evening.Written 15 March 2025
- terrasueb20190 contributionsVarican tour-A+This was an interesting experience. Simona was a good guide explaining what we were seeing and the history behind it. I would recommend this tour.Written 15 March 2025
- Cruiser005560645010 contributionsValuable in experiences and knowledgeUnder very difficult weather conditions (windy and rain) we had the best quide Enza Broccoli. A person that knows Rome so good. Thank you Enza you made our choice to have a walking guided tour in Rome valuable in experiences and knowledge.Written 13 March 2025
- RogD_120 contributionsExcellentFredrico was a great guide and very knowledgeable They very well organised and such an interesting tour, be ready for lots of walking and big crowds.Written 13 March 2025
- D3305LQ_0 contributionsWonderful walking tour of Vatican and the city center. Wonderful guide Elza Broccoli.Everything was fantastic except the horrible weather.It was raining all day. Our guide Elza Broccoli was wonderful. Very interested in the group and especially the older people that had some trouble following the program.Written 12 March 2025
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.6
47 reviews
Excellent
40
Very good
1
Average
1
Poor
2
Terrible
3
Sean D
4 contributions
Sept 2024 • Couples
What a great tour, our guide was fantastic, very informative and passionate about all things Vatican & St Peters Basilica. He was always happy to answer any questions I had, and I loved his folder showing us all detailed photos during points of the tour.
Once booked we were given very clear instructions how to find the meeting point, and on the day we were given plenty of time to find your group, introductions, get headsets and given an itinerary of what we would be seeing and timescales.
Nearing the end of our tour we were given the option to carry on looking around the Vatican on our own, as still lots to see, or end with our tour guide, which we did but we still went back inside St Peters Basilica as we could just for another quick look around at this magnificent building, but really good you can have this option to stay if you wish and explore on your own either the Vatican or St Peters Basilica.
I would highly recommend booking this tour.
Once booked we were given very clear instructions how to find the meeting point, and on the day we were given plenty of time to find your group, introductions, get headsets and given an itinerary of what we would be seeing and timescales.
Nearing the end of our tour we were given the option to carry on looking around the Vatican on our own, as still lots to see, or end with our tour guide, which we did but we still went back inside St Peters Basilica as we could just for another quick look around at this magnificent building, but really good you can have this option to stay if you wish and explore on your own either the Vatican or St Peters Basilica.
I would highly recommend booking this tour.
Written 11 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for the fantastic review! We’re thrilled to hear that you had such a great experience with your guide, and that their passion and informative approach enhanced your visit to the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s wonderful to know that the clear instructions, detailed itinerary, and flexibility at the end of the tour contributed to a memorable experience. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and we’re glad you had the opportunity to explore further on your own. If you have any more questions or need assistance with future tours, feel free to reach out!
Written 12 September 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
carryon101
Omaha, NE60 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
Highly recommend. All instructions were clear and we easily found our guide, Samantha, to start the tour. We were some of the first to enter St Peters Basilica and had a very short and quick moving line to enter before going to the top of the dome. The many stairs are winding and strenuous but worth every moment as the view from the top is wonderful. By the time we made our way back down the crowds were very intense and we were delayed briefly for a mass procession but then resume our tour of the basilica and papal crypts. Then we went back outside and walked right past extreme lines of people waiting to bypass those lines and easily enter the Vatican museums. The crowds inside were massive so there was not an opportunity to leisurely absorb all there was to see, but Samantha did a great job keeping us informed and moving. The Sistine chapel was part of this tour and amazing as expected. It was disappointing that so many people ignored the rules of silence and no photography in the chapel, but it was still worth the crowds to see. It was a whirlwind and the only way to go and see these things in those kinds of crowds. We were early enough to get lots of pictures of the Vatican/basilica before 1000s filled the area later in the day.
Written 8 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kami
3 contributions
Jan 2025 • Solo
An incredible tour! Serena was filled with knowledge and I took more photos than I know what to do with. The climb to the top of the Dome, while a lot of steps (and some pain the next day), was absolutely worth it for the view over Rome. I might have liked a little more time to marvel at every nook and cranny of the incredible St Peter's Basilica but there was still so much to see that we had to keep everything moving. The ability to 'finish' the tour just before the Sistine Chapel, but still inside the Vatican Museums, meant I was able to go back through the Museums to see all the wings and areas we'd gone past separately - and lengthen my time inside the fabulous Vatican. A brilliant tour that I really enjoyed. Thank you!
Written 22 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear that Serena’s knowledge and the climb to the Dome were highlights for you—what a view, right? We totally understand wanting more time to appreciate St. Peter’s Basilica; it’s truly an awe-inspiring place. It’s great that you were able to explore the Vatican Museums more after the tour as well! We’re so glad you had an amazing time and hope to welcome you on another tour soon!
Written 24 January 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Curious59391021560
10 contributions
July 2024 • Friends
Booked a 5 hour tour of the Vatican museums and St. Peter’s and its dome which I thought was the most comprehensive tour out there. Out of the 5 hours there was active instruction by the guide of maybe an hour. The dome is a complete waste of time. It’s about 2 hours to wait in line and go up and down. Rome is flat so it’s not interesting to see it from above and you get similar views in other places in Rome without 2 hour lines. Then we were rushed to the museums had about 20 min of instruction at most while walking to the Sistine chapel, not seeing much else in the museum and then that’s it. The information given on pieces was minimal short and not too interesting. I’m sure an audio guide would have been much better, more comprehensive, and didn’t cost almost $200. The tour guide was nice but she made no attempt to really guide us through the history the art the architecture. Super disappointing.
Written 4 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your feedback. Since you're using an anonymous nickname, we're unable to trace the specific details of your tour. To help us address the issues you've mentioned, please email us at support@thetourguy.com with your booking order number and reference this review.
We were aware of an unexpected youth pilgrimage from Germany in Rome from August 1st to 3rd, which affected the experience for many clients and guides. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your feedback, which helps us prepare for similar events in the future.
Written 5 August 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Audrey G
5 contributions
June 2023 • Family
I booked a 5 hrs tour starting at 7:30am, it was reduced to a 2 hrs tour by the tour operator because they said St Peter's Basilica is closed on the day we booked. They only refunded 26% of the money we paid. Not only that, when I checked on the official Vatican website, it says St. Peter's Basilica is open until 12 that day only the dome is closed. We missed out on a major site we were looking forward to visiting.
Written 13 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elisha T
7 contributions
Mar 2023 • Solo
If you can, ask for Kate because she is the BEST guide I've ever had. I travelled alone and my entire group was 13 people in a very crowded destination. Kate was running around getting devices, checking on lines etc, to make sure that we are all comfortable. Her energy and genuine interest in the sights are very high and you can just feel how much she enjoyed sharing more about the Vatican City with us. Her pacing was excellent too, I didn't feel like I was rushed through anything or got bored at a spot. I also appreciated her pointing out where to get rosaries, holy water, post office, and even a pasta place within walking distance. Kate MADE this tour awesome.
This is a hard tour though - there's evidently a lot of steps and walking through all other sights. There's no where to sit down or eat other than a 15-min cafe. You definitely want to be well rested before going on this.
This is a hard tour though - there's evidently a lot of steps and walking through all other sights. There's no where to sit down or eat other than a 15-min cafe. You definitely want to be well rested before going on this.
Written 8 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil A
29 contributions
June 2024 • Couples
A six hour tour with an amazing guide. Her knowledge and expertise shown through. The views from the top of St Peter’s are stunning. She guided us around the basilica imparting information to enhance our visit. The 12 minute presentation on the Sistine Chapel brought the artwork to life. Our guide ensured that we saw the highlights. Six hours is not enough to do everything. However, you leave enriched by the whole experience. Learning about the Pope, the architecture and the artwork. A real value for money tour that I recommend. I would advise taking the early tour to avoid most of the crowds. Ours started at 07:15.
Written 15 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GoPlaces705046
1 contribution
It was a great tour thanks to our amazing guide Lya (Lia). She was very friendly, knowledgeable and attentive to our questions/concerns. The whole tour is a bit much though duration wise especially if you’re with teens. Recommend splitting it if you have an opportunity otherwise just push through, it’s worth it:)
Written 31 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leah R
3 contributions
Aug 2023 • Friends
This was truly an amazing tour of the Vatican! Our tour guide Maria was fantastic! You could really feel her passion for what she does! She answered all of our questions and made sure to point things out that related to questions we had asked earlier in the tour, remembering who asked what. Overall, we had an absolutely amazing time and will be recommending to all our friends who plan to visit the Vatican!
Written 31 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MichelleFC
Katonah, NY47 contributions
This tour was wonderful for us. We really enjoyed all of the aspects of St. Peter’s Basilica and our tour guide, Maria, was fantastic. Her great knowledge of the Papal history was explained in a very interesting way that kept all of our attention. We even got to go underneath to see the Crypts. The 2nd half of the tour is at the Vatican Museums. Again, she held our interest with stories and history. Although we left the tour a little early (wrong shoe choice for me!), it was a super valuable day for my family and I.
Written 24 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hallo, ist die Führung auf deutsch?
Grüße Christina Schmitt
Written 26 March 2022
Showing results 1-1 of 1
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.