guided tour
skip the line
2.5 hours
This tour route is NOT barrier-free

PRICES

Adult: 50€
Student: 46€
Under the age of 26, in possession of a valid Student ID
Child: 41€
From the age of 6 - 17, with a valid ID that demonstrates their age
Children under the age of 6 are FREE

Tour Description

Are you ready to know everything about the Vatican in terms of Art and History?

The tour starts outside the Vatican Museums where you meet the guide. Then, jumping the queue, you will go inside Vatican City to discover how many artistic beauties and historical characters are involved in this charming small country located in the heart of Rome.

During the group tour, you can take advantage of the usual Maya Tours privileged entry with no line to wait and of an expert guide ready to explain the Vatican history. The many artworks will astonish you while our licensed guide will describe them in details. The amazing work by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel will conquer your soul, whereas in Saint Peter’s Church, where you have only a direct access without tour, the majestic cultural atmosphere will catch your attention

Thanks to this group tour, you can admire the Sistine Chapel, Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums without queue and far from the crowd, enjoying this amazing cultural location in absolute relax and comfort.

Availability: daily at 10am & 1.30pm (except Sundays)

Duration: 2.5 hours

Meeting point: Via Germanico 16

Itinerary

  • Pinecone Courtyard
  • Octagonal Courtyard
  • Gallery of the Muses
  • Round Room
  • Greek Cross Room
  • Gallery of Tapestries
  • Gallery of Maps
  • Gallery of the Candelabra
  • Sistine Chapel
  • St. Peter’s Basilica
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What's Included

  • Guided tour of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and direct access to St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Skip-the-line admission and entrance to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Live tour commentary via audio headset
  • Visit to the Sistine Chapel – Michelangelo’s masterpiece
  • Headsets to listen to the guide even at a distance (from 6 pax)

Highlights

  • Guided tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
  • Skip-the-line admission and entrance to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Live tour commentary via audio headset
  • Official licensed guides
  • Exclusive access to the Basilica

Available Languages

  • English
  • Italian
  • German
  • French
  • Spanish
  • Russian
  • Private tours available in English, Spanish, German, French and Russian. For further Info contact via E-mail 

REVIEWS

"Fantastic experience - Best way to visit the Vatican Museum"

Not only was this 2-hour tour a better bet than waiting in a 2-3 hour line just to get tickets, but our guide, Eugene Hertoghe, was informative and entertaining. After a wonderful tour through the Vatican Museum, he led us directly to Saint Peter’s Basilica and we didn’t have to wait in any additional lines. Highly recommend

Margieeee

"Excellent Guided Tour"

I was trying to buy the tickets online, but I thought I would get a ticket when I visit the Vatican City. And, Guess! What I saw!! There is a Huge Queue where peoples are roaming there to sell tickets. They seem to look like a fraud. I am not interested in buying anything from them. Suddenly a man came to me, a salesman named SHOUKHIN. He first said, do I have any reservation. I said no, and I am not interested in talking to you. But he was trying to understand me to purchase a guided tour. I don’t prefer any guided tour, but somehow he convinced me and took me to the office of MAYA TOURS. I bought the 57 euro valued ticket. I thanked the salesman and said how did he make me buy such valued guided tour. He smiled and showed me a group which was going to take a trip. The name of the Guide named DEBORA to bring to the Vatican tour. A fantastic tour of life!! I felt like I knew the story of The Holy Vatican Museum & the Sistine Capple! The precious journey of my whole life. I enjoyed the service by spending a very small amount! I would like to recommend MAYA TOURS highly. Best experience ever!!

Mark H

"Vatican Tour with Abi Ghanem"

Did the Vatican tour with Abi Ghanem of Maya Tours. The tour guide Abi Ghanem was very informative, funny and knew a lot about the Vatican museums, explaining the meaning of various paintings within the Sistine Chapel. This is no mean feat to keep my children’s attention (aged 7 & 9) and the guide was very patient in answering their questions. If you have young children and you would like to visit the Vatican as a family then I highly recommend going with Abi Ghanem of Maya Tours.

FZarate1

"ELMA IS AMAZING!!!!"

Went on a tour through the vatican by elma she was amazing i learnt so much about the place the culture the history she made it fun and enjoyable it wasnt like listening to a broken record thankyou so much elma.
P.s if you ever want to go out for a drink feel free to contact me lol.

James N

"Wonderful"

We were very sceptical when it came to tour guides as my significant other doesn’t speak the language well. We finally opted for an English one, because it meant we’d visit both the church and the museums in one day, without lines. It was the best decision we made!!! Our tour guide was a “20 my.o. man with white hair” to quote his words. He was extremely humorous and energetic and added a very nice atmosphere to the whole group. He tried very hard to learn our names and where we’re from. Developed jokes with pretty much everyone and when he spoke I felt like he was telling me a bed time story! I cannot say much about the mayatours in General, but I can definitely recommend this young gentlemen as a wonderful guide to spice up your visit!

Диана Т

"A Memorable Experience with Eugene Hertoghe:Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel"

As my daughter and I made our way towards the Vatican, we luckily bumped into a very nice lady who suggested joining a guided Skip the Line English speaking tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel with Maya tours. We were shocked to see the long queues so we decided to take the offer. She directed us towards the office which wasn’t far and we paid €40 for each ticket.
It was 10.45 (Monday 7th May 2018) and the tour was going to start at 11.15, so we waited near the office. We were soon joined by other tourists that had booked for this guided tour. Our guide was Eugene Hertoghe and we were about 25 in the group.
Eugene was superb. He made sure to get to know all the members of the group. His level of detail, passion and knowledge about the history of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel was terrific. He pointed out the important pieces of arts and involved all the group by asking us questions, so kept every one alert.
I had visited the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel before but I’ve never had such a wonderful experience as this time round. Thanks Eugene for such a memorable experience and thank you for remembering to point out the map of Malta at the Gallery of Maps.I will definately recommend Maya tours to my friends. It was really worth it.

Rose B, Maggio 2018

"Guided tour in Vatican, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter Basilica"

We had a very, very interesting guide today in Vatican City! Alessandra, our guide, was more than happy to answer all our questions, was very knowledgeable and very, very sweet and amusable!!!! We absolutely loved her!!!! Tomorrow we will have the guided tour of Colosseum!!!

"Great Tour"

After resisting all the people badgering us on the plaza for a tour, we gave in and decided to give it a try.

Our tour guide Eugene Hertoche Was excellent and very informative. He catered the information to the group very fluidly and made the tour a great educational experience.

mdjonesaia Marietta, Georgia

"Great experience with Debora"

Highly experienced and fun to tour the Vatican with! Visiting this huge art collection of art must be done with her and walking out from there with a smile is guaranteed 🙂

Martin K

"Great tour experience thanks to Iris!!"

My family of 5 visited Rome this month, March 2018. We were harassed so much when visiting the Colosseum by various tour companies, we were very nervous about which tour company to secure for ANY tour. We met Iris with MayaTours Rome in our travels around town and after general conversation, she shared her company with us and we got a very good tour.

MrsPatrick3

"Excellent"

Best guided tour we have had in a long time, our guide Deborah really brought the history to life, she was very clear, funny, friendly and knowledgeable.
We had found it hard to know what and who to believe as everyone seems to want to sell you something but this is legitimate. We were asking another staff member in St. Peter’s square for directions and got talking about our tickets, she explained the upgrade option and actually walked us to the tourist office to help us upgrade our tickets. We were so glad we did, it made it a highlight of our trip!

Ruth C

"To maximise the experience, get a guide."

Led by Debra, she amused us, informed us, didn’t lose any of us, and made the visit so much more memorable for us. Definitely worth paying the extra for a guide – ours was brilliant!

Alastair N

"Great tour"

Our tour at the Vatican Museums was great the very beginning.The check in was very easy and efficient. Our tour guide Tiana was amazing. She stopped at the right times and explained the story and pointed out the details. Perfect for children. I would definitely take another tour thanks to our tour guide Tiana!

DDDCayman, Ago 2017

"Deborah was a great guide"

We took the tour and cut the lines. Deborah was a wealth of knowledge who guided us around to see all.

Bryce C, april 2017

"Vatican city Skip the line"

Hi. We don’t often use Tour Guides but found this the best way to visit the Vatican, to see all that mattered without queueing in the sun for hours or standing for long periods of time. Jason was our tour guide, very quick on his feet, an American who delivered our English speaking tour very clearly and with humour thrown in. We thought Jason was great, his hi tech radio headsets were also fab. Skip the line with tour guide was extremely helpful and worthwhile

Linda m, may 2017

"Guided tour by Roberto: Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel"

On our way to the museum we met with Hussein who took us to the offices and gave us an offer that we haven’t regret for a second, and all with a smile.We had our tickets in advance so we each paid extra 35€ for the tour and for the extra guided tour and for skipping the line to sain peter’s basilica. The tour started right on time and our tour guide Roberto was simply GREAT. As a person who hates guided tour… I surprisingly enjoyed every second of it… Roberto was VERY informative aץnd funny

GadiaNasser, april 2017

"A brilliant tour guide"

Although paying for a guided tour seems a lot of money it is well worth every penny if you get a good tour guide. Ours was brilliant. You can pay by credit card which not many operators do. There were many touts trying to sell tours but we resisted and so pleased we did. The tour set off in good time and the group was not too big ensuring we could all see MARCO (our guide). He was so knowledgeable, enthusiastic and proud of his heritage it was difficult not to be drawn in. He gave us a great insight into the Vatican City its history. He told us so much about Michaelangelo, his life, work, paintings and sculptures. Incredible. He enthused with his knowledge and stimulated us to such an extent that on returning home we researched further into this fantastic history. Choose Maya Tours for your guide around the Vatican City and Sistine Chapel, it is well worth

YorkshireBeliever, may 2017

"Amazing time"

Thank you Tiana for such a wonderful tour and experience. You did an amazing job showing us through Vatican City as well as St Peters Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. What an awesome tour. You did great. Thank you, Anthony and Alanna

Abatch99, July 2017

"Great visit"

Visiting the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel with maya tours was a great experience. With his great sens of humor and his perfect knowledge of the vatican and its history our talented guide Jad made this visit a very informative and entertaining experience

Cecileji, Ago 2017

"Roberto and the Vatican Tour"

There were so many Vatican tours from which to choose and we went with the Maya tour and it was an excellent choice. Our guide Roberto was impressively knowledgeable, friendly and able to answer any questions we asked. I can’t imagine walking through the museums and cathedral without the explanations and references offered by our guide. It’s also true that the tours offer a “skip the line” advantage. The non-tour entry lines were blocks long with a 3-hour wait.

Chitowntraveler016, Sep 2017

"Vatican City Tour"

Our guide was Roberto who gave an excellent tour of the whole Vatican city museum covering Sistine Chappelle and others.

Ahmed A, Oct 2017

"Sistine chapel"

Our tour guide of the Vatican museum, Sistine chapel & St. Peter’s was Roberto. He was fantastic, he knew all the history and facts. He took time to answer all of our questions. I would recommend him to anyone seeking a English speaking guide.

Josep A, Oct 2017

"Amazing tour by Gabriel!"

Great value for money! Gabriel was such a good tour guide! He also gave us some tips for places to go and restaurants.

Emilia K, Oct 2017

"Wonderful tour of Sistine Chapel (Skip the line)"

I’m always hesitant to book tours such as this as they can vary widely, mainly based on the guide. We were VERY lucky to get Eugene Hertoghe as our guide. He was friendly, funny, passionate and knowledgeable. He made a point of connecting with each person in the group and enhanced our knowledge of what we were seeing throughout the tour.

TylerSore, Nov 2017

"Vatican tour"

We had Tiana as our guide and she was truly excellent. Her story telling was enchanting and made all the information so interesting. We learnt so much from her. She was extremely knowledgeable and very engaging, her face lit up as she explained various pieces to us, she was very funny too. It made it all come alive for us. I would highly recommend her.

Laura F, Nov 2017

"Great Guide, Michelangelo and Much More"

We arrived on Thursday and left on Monday so we had three days in which to see as much as we could. Unfortunately for us the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel were closed on Friday and Sunday so that left Saturday. We arrived by chance outside the offices of Maya Tours at 9.55 am and, after agreeing to pay 110 euros for a skip the line trip with a guide, we joined an English speaking group of around twenty people and were on our way round by 10.00 am. The guide Sevario was outstanding. He not only knew his art history but he kept all the people in our group interested and laughing. He was thoroughly entertaining and we were able to see everything at a pace that suited us. Considering it was packed that was quite some feat. It took a couple of hours but at the end we thought we had got a bargain. the Sistine Chapel, the Map Room and much of the other things to see are at above head height so even the crowds did not matter that much. I would recommend this tour unreservedly. Not only do you avoid the queue, you get loads of information wrapped in a sense of humour.

James C Loches, Francia, Dec 2017

"Hardly recommended."

Company’s staff was very friendly and helpful, the guiding tour was wonderfull, enjoyed with our guide Gabriel Lombo who gave the group a fantastical approaching in vaticans history, monuments and knew how describe with an incredible richness of details the meanings and reasons of vaticans collections history and places. We went to the dome of st pts basilic, and been to the catacombs of many personalities of catholic church.

I strongly recommend the guiding tour and will obviously do it againg when i go back to rome.

Vinicius B, Dec 2017

"Alessandra is a fantastic guide!"

My friends and I had an excellent time touring St Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel, and several of the museums in Vatican City. She was extremely knowledgeable and fun to hang out with. You should definitely request her by name!

Cheesehead574, Jan 2018