Skip the Line Private Tour: Vatican Museums Walking Tour

Rome, Italy

Receive the Papal treatment with your very own private tour of the Vatican! You'll receive personalized attention from your guide, and by booking ahead you won't waste any time waiting in line!

Accompanied by your expert guide, you will enjoy an intimate, personalized tour of the Vatican Museums, which were originally meant for the sole enjoyment of the Pope. This lavish, intricate labyrinth is made up of 2000 rooms that stretch over almost nine miles. In fact, it is said that if you spent 60 seconds looking at every item, it would take you 12 years to see everything! With your own private guide to lead the way, you'll discover the beauty and secrets hidden within the masterpieces lining these rooms.

A highlight of the private tour of the Vatican Museums is experiencing Michelangelo's famous Creation of Adam fresco as you explore the Sistine Chapel and wander through Raphael's Rooms. After taking in the Vatican Museums, you will encounter another of Michelangelo's masterpieces, La Pieta, in St Peter's Basilica. For a fascinating finish to your private walking tour, stop to admire magnificent St Peter's Square, as your guide points out Bernini's ingenious use of optical illusion.

USD $97.17

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Michael W	April 2012
This tour was fascinating. To see inside the Vatican Museum is something you will never forget no matter what religion you are.The enormity of it all was stunning and the collection of works was truly magnificent. This tour is a definite must do even if you have travelled to Rome before

Review by: David W	March 2012
Our tour of the Vatican Museum conducted by Paulina was the highlight of our trip and excellent value..We cannot speak highly enough of her - her knowledge was outstanding but it was imparted in such a relaxed manner that whilst the time flew by ,we can remember so much. Viator's entire set-up is flawless from the easy booking to the punctual and convenient meeting arrangements. Will use them again.

Review by: Robert G	January 2012
The tour was simply amazing and our tour guide was exceptional. Our tour guide met us at the appointed time and place and was extremely polite. I walked down to confirm my tour information with her and while I was doing this she took the time to introduce herslf to my mother. This made a huge impression on us as it showed a common courtesy that is not often demonstarted. Her knowledge was outstanding and her ability to point out the subtle details of the vatican and the museums truly made for a remarkable experience. Also, her patience and willingness to engage in discussions on the various artifacts made the vsit even more rewarding. Many could not understand why we would be willing to pay for the private tour but having a doctoral student in art share her passion with us and her one on one attention made us feel like royalty in the Vatican. I will definitely use Viator tours again. Understand there is a more than average cost with the tour but its by far worth it. Gain my personal thanks to our guide.

Review by: Neema J	January 2012
All aspects of the tour were fantastic. Our private guide, Michelle, was extremely helpful, informative, and nice. She was also accommodating to our slow pace (group included pregnant women, someone with a bad back, and a child). Michelle was also on time and the meeting point was easy to find.

Review by: dina v	November 2011
It was great. We had a wonderful guide named Rafella which made it so good and informative.

Review by: Mary T	November 2011
Fantastic tour. Highly suggest taking a private tour. The guide was tremendous and gave us a very personalized tour. She knew all the guards and was able to get us around many long lines. This is the only way to see the Vatican

Review by: Mairead	November 2011
We enjoyed the tour. The place itself was worth seeing. Our guide was quite nice but we were interested in hearing more of the historical stories. Nothing to do with Viator but I felt the access to the Sistine Chapel for disabled people is a disgrace. We had to descend 7/8 steps and for that my father had to put his mobility scooter onto a lift and descend, then exit the lift on the steps but there were lines of people trying to use the same passage and they were totally unaware of people using the lift. Surely there must be a way of providing a proper elevator into the chapel - considering the crowds of people visiting the chapel everyday I thought it was a lazy method. We enjoyed our tour but considering how much it cost per person I think it was expensive for what we got.

Review by: Warren H	October 2011
Our guide was wonderful. Full of knowledge and made us feel as insiders. A great tour.

Review by: Kerry C	October 2011
Wow - Martha was the best tour guide we could have ever gotten. She knew so much about every piece of art, sculpture, mosaic, etc. and the politics and stories behind it. Not only that but she has an excellent sense of humor. We learned a lot, saw a lot, and had a great time. We'll never forget the Vatican and we'll never forget Martha for making it so real and relevant.

Review by: Toni R	September 2011
The tour guide was great. She explianed everything clearly and accomendated our needs as far as when to rest and what we wanted to see the most. I would highly reccomend her to anyone

Review by: Maureen S	August 2011
What an amazing tour. We had a private tour with a guide called Annalisa. She was amazing, very knowledgable and very friendly. Gave us a great tour.

Review by: Peggie F	August 2011
My guide, Annalise, was fantastic! Well informed and very fun.

Review by: kevin m	July 2011
my wife and i had a private tour by tiffany and it was worth every penny she was wonderfull

Review by: Pamela R	July 2011
The private tour of the Vactican was worth every penny. Our Guide was excellent and very informative. Being able to skip the lines was a great plus as well.

Review by: James M	June 2011
Laura was great. Great personality as well as well informed. Would recommend her to others.

Review by: George K	June 2011
Our tour was excellent. Our tour guide Simone _br/_ was very informative and provided an enjoyable_br/_ experience. Simone's English is outstanding._br/_ We will keep Viator in mind for future travels.

Review by: JIM M	June 2011
Tour exceeded our expectations. Guide answered all questions and made the experience truly memorable.

Review by: Meghan E	June 2011
fabulous... we had a private tour... worth every penny

Review by: Janet	June 2011
I purchased 6 tours through Viator during my recent visit to Europe--this was the most expensive and THE BEST!!! Our tour guide, Francesca, is getting a phD in Art History and was bubbling over with enthusiasm to lead us around. All of our tour guides through Viator spoke fluent English and were prompt and thorough on every tour. By far, this was the most fun. I don't consider myself a huge "museum person" but this tour was worth every nickel.

Review by: jonldn	June 2011
We took the private Vatican Museum tour on 24th May and were very pleased with the arrangements and content of the tour - our guide was informative and extreemly caring towards my mother (who is in a wheelchair) and catered for our needs really well. The more leisurely pace of the tour was enjoyable and worth the money - certainly a highlight of our time in Rome

Review by: Kathy H	May 2011
The private tour was outstanding for 2 couples. One person in our group has significant hearing loss so the headsets were important to us. Angelo slipped us through crowds and supplemented his dialogue with references and diagrams on his iPad. We had used Viator for a tour of the Vatican (same tour with early admittance, 8 people) and still saw new and different things, especially in the museum. Angelo was terrific and the tour was fantastic. No problem finding the meeting place. No problem with documents. Will continue to use Viator.

Review by: Kristen C	May 2011
This was my first time using Viator. I will definitely use them when i travel again. We had a private tour of the Vatican. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, spoke great English and made the entire experience fun.

Review by: Michael A	May 2011
This was worth every penny! Skipping the long lines at the Vatican was priceless. Our guide was kind and knowledgeable. While one of us was taking pictures she was pointing out other little things to look for. She knew tons about every inch of the Vatican. I would recommend this tour to every single person wishing to see the Museums.

Review by: Thomas G	April 2011
This was an amazing experience. Our Tour Guide, Daniela, made our time at the Vatican Museums exceptional. I was in need of wheelchair assistance which our guide took care of immediately, we didn't not wait in any lines, asked us if there was anything in particular we wanted to see and we wereon our way. Daniella was educated, informed, pleasant and never in a hurry. Thank you Viator for an absolutely grand time, well worth the extra money. Thank you again.

Review by: Amy H	January 2011
I would highly recommend this tour especially with Sarah as your tour guide. She was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and so flexible to meet your interests of the museum. Plus she has a great personality and sense of humor. She was great!! Skipping the lines was also key as it was the holiday season with extremely long lines. We were short on time while in Rome and made a great investment by deciding to take tis tour. We'll be back for more next time we are in Rome. Thanks!

Review by: Frank G	January 2011
Our guide was great, was a private tour just our guide with our family. Many visitors would come up to him and ask him questions because he was such a good guide. Focused on the highlights of the museum.

Review by: Joseph D	January 2011
in the whole of our 10 week a tour this was the best tour. It was excellent in that since it was a true private tour it took you to the things in which you were interested. went at the pace we that suited us.

Review by: Quentin B	October 2010
I loved my tour of the Vatican. Our tour guide was really knowledgeable. I am glad we decided on the private tour. It makes a big difference having your own tour guide especially in such a crowded place like the Vatican Museums. One of my favorite highlights in Rome. Thank you Viator!

Review by: Cristin A	October 2010
Our "private" tour of the Vatican was great (individual tour guide, walking with us through the crowds)! Our guide, Adam, MADE the experience! Adam was highly knowledgeable about the history and the art, including how some of the politics of the Vatican came into play in the different works of art and commissioning of the artists. Adam was very personable and clearly highly enthusiastic about the information he presented. He clearly enjoyed conducting the tour and presenting the information, which only made the tour more enjoyable for us. Although we already had some knowledge of various subjects due to previous education, reading, and a recent Florence tour, Adam was able to provide additional information and go into greater detail if we asked. He related various aspects of the history to modern-day situations and scenarios, which kept things interesting throughout the tour. Adam also expressed some of his sense of humor, which was entertaining and enjoyable. He was a great fit for us and we thoroughly enjoyed our tour. The only downside was the Monday crowd -- worse than usual, we were later told. I would HIGHLY recommend this tour to anyone, but maybe Tuesday through Friday instead.

Review by: Eileen O	October 2010
Well, never having been to Rome before we were terribly late in finding where we were meant to be & finally arrived half an hour late! Convinced we'd missed our tour we needn't've worried - our guide was waiting for us & insisted that we have a cold drink & relax before we set off. He was a mine of information & obviously had a real love of art which he passed on to us. We chose the private tour for the two of us only & it was worth every euro! We certainly recommend this option! Book & enjoy!!!

Review by: Fritz R	September 2010
Great Tour and Great Guide. Exactly what I wanted as a "private" tour. I did

Review by: Virginia B	September 2010
Our tour was terrific. Our guide, was personable as well as very knowledgeable . Our Guide brought the history to life! Thanks for a great tour and a memory that will last a lifetime.

Review by: Diane W	August 2010
We would without a doubt recommend Viator tours. My husband and I had a private tour and would do it again..... Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and a great historian. Thanks Viator

Review by: Anonymous	August 2010
intellegient , informed and enjoyable tour guide

Review by: Duane G, United States of America	July 2010
Guide was very knowledgeable. He gave a great historical background into the art of the museum.

Review by: Jan C, United States of America	July 2010
Bryan's Vatican tour was fabulous. He was very knowledgeable, humorous and answered our questions with ease. He was sensitive to our energy level and interests. Despite the crowds, he made our tour a perfect one.

Review by: Nicole H, Canada	July 2010
This was an exceptional tour. English was the tour guide's first language and he was a graduate student in theology. There wasn't any question he wasn't able to provide a comprehensive answer. He was able to give so much historical, political and cultural background to everything we saw.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	July 2010
I loved my guide. She was very knowledgeable and made it fun for my 9 year old son.

Review by: Alexander K	July 2010
Excellent and very helpful guide, highly recommended.

Review by: Serena G	July 2010
Best way to see the Vatican. Guide was informative, went at our pace fast and answered all our personal questions about the Vatican. In July super crowed, we jumped to front of line. Beware, you have to check in your backpacks, travel light. Saw everything we wanted to see!

Review by: Steven G	July 2010
Well worth. Go ahead and book.

Review by: Debra K, United States of America	June 2010
This was a huge highlight of our 3-day stay in Rome. We also took an after-hours tour with another guide, which was much more expensive and which we loved as well. However, the guide on the Skip the Line Private Tour was excellent! We loved her. She was smart, warm, patient, very knowledgeable, open, personable, and nice.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	June 2010
The tour was fantastic - made so in large part by our guide, Gracie. She brought a great knowledge base along with real enthusiam to the tour. She made it wonderful for us.

Review by: Frances Lucille G, United States of America	May 2010
Teresa was fabulous. We learned so much about art history. Made the trip so much more enjoyable.

Review by: Suzanne R, United States of America	May 2010
Excellent - great way to see this beautiful museum. The guide was very accommodating and even minimized stairs for my Dad using a cane! Great. And beating the lines was worth either this or a group tour.

Review by: Kenneth B, United States of America	May 2010
Our guide, Anna, was absolutely fabulous. She shared anecdotes, gave information, was considerate of my handicaps I use a motorized cart, and was an enthusiastic presenter. Brava!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	April 2010
The perfect private tour! We skipped the extremely long lines during Easter week and thoroughly enjoyed listening to our lovely, English-speaking tour guide explain the art history and workings of the Vatican museums. The private tour allowed us such options as spending more time in areas that interested our family and time to shop for gifts in the end!

Review by: Barbara M, United Kingdom	April 2010
The tour guide we had wasJeanette she was very informative and really helpful. Nothing was too much trouble and her knowledge was immense what she didn't know wasn't worth knowing. We would definately recommend this tour when we arrived the queue to get into the vatican museums was about 3 hours long so not to have to wait made a big difference. Would strongly recommend anyone taking the tour it is well worth the money and if you do hope you get Jeanette

Review by: Kelsi C, United States of America	March 2010
Our guide was fantastic, providing interesting stories and making the tour really come alive with historical facts and tidbits. I would strongly recommend this experience to anyone interested in this type of tour. Well worth the time and money!

Review by: Theresa M, United States of America	February 2010
Our walking tour was great! Would do a Viator tour next time!