Radio headphones (depends on party size)
This is a private tour that will show you both the Vatican (Museums, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica) and Ancient Rome (Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill), all in one day!
Summary and pricing
- This tour has a duration of 7 hours (you will have a break for a quick lunch)
- The tour includes the Vatican Museums highlights, the Sistine Chapel, the St Peter’s Basilica**, the Colosseum, the Forum, the Palatine Hill
- It’s a private tour (just your party and the guide). We will take care of the transfer between the Vatican and the Colosseum. Depending on availability, this can be with a car/van with a driver, or with a taxi
- Entrance tickets are included
- You must book this tour at least 61 days in advance. For last-minute requests, feel free to contact us but be aware that, during high season, it’s almost impossible to find availability
- The base price (1 person) is EUR 936, plus EUR 180 for each additional adult and EUR 120 for each additional child
- The above price is for parties of up to 6 people. For larger parties, contact us.
** The St. Peter’s Basilica can be closed to tourists without notice due to events. In this case, the tour won’t be canceled and the guide will provide a more complete tour of the Vatican Museums.
You will meet your guide at the meeting point, at the entrance of the Vatican Museums, join the privileged line with your skip-the-line tickets and get inside one of the most famous places in the world.
You will go through the rooms that get you to the Papal apartments, where you will visit Raphael’s Rooms, decorated with frescoes by Raphael Sanzio, including the famous fresco representing the School of Athens.
After the Gallery of Maps, you will finally reach the stunning Sistine Chapel, to admire the huge frescoes by Michelangelo decorating the ceiling, highlighted by the Creation of Adam, and the colorful Last Judgement.
The tour will end with a visit to St Peter’s Basilica, the largest church of Christianity, designed by the greatest architects of the Renaissance. You will admire Michelangelo’s Pietà and the huge Bernini’s Baldacchino!
After leaving the Vatican, you will need a taxi to reach the Colosseum area, where you can enjoy a relaxing lunch break (lunch at your expense – the guide will recommend typical restaurants based on your preferences).
On the much less crowded afternoon, you will join the privileged line with your skip-the-line tickets and get inside the Colosseum, to hear stories about the gladiators that fought in the amphitheater in front of 80,000 people.
Next, you will visit the Roman Forum, the place where the public life of the most powerful metropolis of antiquity took place, and you will learn about the political intrigue that turned Rome from Kingdom to Republic to Empire.
Finally, you will visit Palatine Hill, the legendary place where Rome was founded, to see the Imperial palaces from where Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero ruled the largest Empire in the world. In the late Imperial age, the Palatine Hill was filled with palaces to the point that the Latin word palatium started to indicate the palace par excellence.
Here is the itinerary of the tour:
- Vatican Museums
- Gallery of the Maps
- Raphael’s Rooms
- Sistine Chapel
- St Peter’s Basilica
- — lunch break —
- Colosseum
- Roman Forum
- Palatine Hill
Meeting point: in front of the Vatican Museums entrance
Hotel pick-up: not available. We can organize your private transfer by car/van (one-way or round-trip)
Drop-off: Piazza San Pietro, Vatican City

Participants under 18 must have an Identity Document to obtain ticket reduction. Failing to have documents will result in having to pay the entire price of the ticket again.
The itinerary is indicative and can be changed in case some rooms are inaccessible for restoration.
Your jackets and bags will be scanned by a metal detector at the Vatican Museums and at the Colosseum. Knives, cutters, multipurpose tools, and any sharp object that might represent a danger to the works of art will be seized at the sole discretion of the museum personnel. Large backpacks, tripods, and long umbrellas will have to be left at the entrance and collected at the exit (this service is free of charge, but we suggest not to bring with you these objects).
The St Peter’s Basilica can be closed for religious events without notice and the Vatican reserves the right to change the opening schedule at any time. If the Basilica is closed, the guide will provide a more detailed tour of the Vatican Museums.
Entrance to the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica, and any other religious place is subject to restrictions: your clothing must be appropriate and cover your shoulders and knees.
Pictures and videos are not allowed inside the Sistine Chapel.
Even with skip-the-line tickets, expect to wait some minutes to enter the Colosseum, especially during high season; in particular, entrance to the Colosseum depends on the maximum capacity, set in 3000 persons. We recommend the afternoon to avoid the crowds.
- 6-hour private tour with an expert licensed tour guide of Rome
- skip-the-line tickets
- radio headphones (depending on group size)
- taxi from St Peter’s Square to Piazza Navona (only for up to 8 persons)
Exclusions:
- lunch
- gratuities
- any other personal expense
Here are some important things to know in order to ensure you have the best possible experience with your tour:
- having a camera with you is your choice. Someone prefers to immerse in beauty not being distracted by taking pictures/making videos, someone else prefers to build printable memories of his trip. It’s really up to you. The use of a flash or selfie sticks is prohibited
- if you are traveling to Rome in Spring/Summer time, it is highly recommended to bring with you a hat, high protection sun cream, sunglasses, water and wear comfortable shoes. In Fall/Winter time instead, it is highly recommended to have an umbrella or a raincoat and wear waterproof shoes
Your entrance tickets for this tour are bought immediately to avoid availability issues, and they are not refundable. If you cancel this tour at least 8 days in advance, there is a cancellation fee of € 70/person. There is no refund in case of late cancellations (in the final 7 days).
Clara Kilgore –
I was a bit discouraged after contacting some tour operators that gave unsatisfying answers (or no answer at all). After searching on Google for some hours, I came across Guidaly and finally found someone that answered quickly, showing to have read my message and not copy/pasting some info from their website.
This is, honestly, the main reason why I booked with them, but next time I won’t have any hesitation: they organized tours with patience and attention to my requests. They are very precise in specifying the terms and rules, so that I didn’t have any unexpected fee.
The tour was of excellent quality, with a very knowledgeable and patient guide. We didn’t feel pressed, all was very relaxing. The Sistine Chapel is amazing, although very crowded.
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Malinda Suiter –
My mother, sister and I all highly recommend Guidaly!
Our tour of the Vatican and Colosseum was excellent. Our guide was friendly and incredibly knowledgeable.
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Nelson A. Melendez –
We came from a cruise ship by train, and this tour allowed us to see the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum all in one day. The guide, Fabiana, was very nice, took care of us all day and made our experience relaxing. She called a taxi to get us back to the train station in time. All was perfectly paced.
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