Early Bird Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica - Transfer Included

Hi, what's the difference between these tickets and the ones from the Vatican Museums Online Ticket Office?

Hello, and thank you for your question.

Eyes of Rome tickets are essentially the same tickets as the Vatican Museums skip-the-line tickets. However, there are indeed some substantial differences to consider. 

As an official partner of the Vatican Museums, using our tickets grants you access to rooms generally closed to the general public such as the "Stanza degli Ori" (Golden Room) or the "Gabinetto delle Maschere" (Cabinet of Masks).

Also keep in mind that Tour Operators with a partnership account have Early Morning access to the Museums - 1 hour prior to the public opening.

Also consider that Eyes of Rome offers Meet & Greet Service meaning there will always be one of our agents/guides taking care of the tickets for you while at the door. So you do not have to worry about anything.

Hopefully this has cleared up some of your doubts!

Happy travels

My wife and I booked an Early Bird Vatican tour in February 2016. Our guide stefania was superb! Really!! I booked a private tour as we do for any of our holidays but I wasn't used to having so much fun- especially on an indoor tour. Bravo Stefanie!
We passed the line of people waiting for the museum to open and we went right in. The rooms were almost empty and I was able to shoot at least 50 pictures of my wife with no one else around.
We had to leave my camera tripod at the cloakroom of the Vatican Museums and when we had to go back to pick it up after the tour we saw the museum was packed. 
I would definitely recommend an 'Early Bird' if it always gets so busy durning normal opening hours. 

I would like to thank you all for the amazing tours! Mara and Daniel from the office were super fast and my guide Silvia Monti was amazing! 

We arrived late at the hotel and we waited till the very last minute, considering cancelling the evening walking tour as we were very tired. We are SO glad we did not. Silvia met us promptly at our hotel with a big smile on her face. She welcomed us to Rome and we felt warmed up right away. She has such a sweet and smiley face. Rome is beautiful especially at night! We got a lot of great insight on the what to see and do in the city. We had a late dinner at a great restaurant she recommended. I cannot remember the name but the food was awesome and cheap. All of the other guests seemed to be Italians- which was a very good sign.

The day outside of Rome at Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'este was especially magical. After the two villas we had a nice promenande through the streets of Tivoli with nice panoramic views of the valley and a small villiage feel. Best coffee of our trip in an amazing little cafe here.

However, the gem of our trip though was the Early Bird Vatican tour. Thank you Eyes team for recommending this one- we didn't know you could enter the Vatican 1 hour before everyone else!

Overall, the team at Eyes of Rome really came through for us, on short notice. Great booking experience, amazing history, and of course, our most lovely tour guide, Silvia Monti! She's the best!!

I agree, the Early Bird was great! I had no idea this was even an option. 

My guide for all tours was Sara. Best guide in the world!! my mum wanted to adopt her after the first tour.

:-)

On our city walking tour we didn't realize 3 hours had gone by so quickly! From there it was on to a food and wine tour which we both absolutely loved. The next morning we did the Early Bird Vatican experience and it was absolutely amazing to have the Sistine Chapel nearly to ourselves!! Sara was amazing and answered all of our questions without making us feel like we were wasting her time. Very gracious. We were both excited and little sad to start our last tour with Sara- the Colosseum and Roman Forum. We were so glad to be with her, she really brought the ruins alive with stories of Roman senators, gladiators, and slaves. 5/5!

If I had to choose I would say the Early Bird was the best as we felt very privileged. Please thank Sara from me and my mom.

Ciao Mark!

Thank you for choosing an early bird Vatican tour: it is one of the best options, especially during the summer, when the Museums can be packed and hot.

The advantage of this tour is that you can also choose if to go straight to the Sistine Chapel, as soon as you enter, and then back to the entrance, to visit better the Museums; or you can start enjoying the Museums at 8 AM, with calm,  and reach the Sistine Chapel at the end, before going to the Basilica, like in a regular tour, but taking advantage of the early entrance.

The first option allows you to enjoy the Chapel with a few more visitors. The tour is longer than 3 hours (usually 4 hour) since you walk back and forth in the Museums, 2 times in the Chapel (when it's empty and when it's crowded, after the regular opening time), and then go to the Basilica and the Square. But if you have a real interest it is worth a longer visit and walk.

The second option allows you to do a regular 3 hour tour, but starting earlier in the morning is a gift, especially to avoid crowds and too much heat in the Museums. Once you see the Chapel you'll leave the Museums and visiting the Basilica is always easier and there's a lot of space around you. 

I would definitely recommend to look for the best Vatican tour options anyone who will visit Rome and the Vatican, especially during the summer. There are many opportunities available and I think it's worth to spend some more money for a memorable and positive experience.

Hi Eyes Of Rome. Can you explain the difference between the Early Bird tour and the Art & Breakfast tour?

Ciao Becky,

Thank you for your question. They are actually very similar as the itinerary is the same and they both allow you to visit the Vatican Museums before the public opening.

The Art & Breakfast tour is actually an Early Bird Tour with the addition of a buffet breakfast at the Vatican Museums - therefore it is more expensive. 

The main difference between the 2 is that with an Art & Breakfast tour you will be already inside the Museums when the galleries will open. So you can be among the first to enjoy the artworks and the Sistine Chapel. 
Consider it takes about 10-15 minutes for Early Bird visitors to arrive to the Galleries after the Vatican Museums opens.

I hope this answers your question.

Grazie from Eyes of Rome Team.

If we happen to be running late for our tour (since we booked an early morning one) how can I get ahold of the guide? Will I see his/her contact details on the confirmation email?

thanks

Hi Mark. Thank you for your interesting question. We always advise our guests to meet their guide at their hotel or accommodation to make sure you easily find each other. If you prefer to meet at the site instead this can be selected on your booking options (or you can send us an email separately) and your guide will be waiting for you at the meeting point. In this case when you make the booking remember to fill up your personal details with your telephone number so your  guide will give you a call in case he/she does not see you at the meeting time. If it happens that you run late, please call our office (0039) 06 45503948 and we will put you in touch with the guide. We prefer to not hand out private information such as a guide personal phone number before our guides meet their guests. This is for privacy reason.

For almost every tour there is not much of a difference for later starts, however, we advise everyone interested on an early bird to try their best to arrive on time at the meeting point otherwise the whole reason of having an early bird would be jeopardised. We remind you the an Early Bird experience makes sense because it does happen one hour before the Museums open to the general public.

We hope this has been helpful, and we hope to see you soon in Rome.

Ciao,

Eyes of Rome Team

Hi Angela, thank you for your question and for reaching out to me. I am very pleased your friend enjoyed the tour with me and eyes of rome. Can I ask you what is your friend’s name? I would like to send her my greetings  :)

Regarding your questions, if the early bird is worth it, I would say is a big YES. First of all, with the Vatican early bird you avoid the biggest crowds. The tour starts at 7am or 7.30am and it finishes at 11.30am. At 9.30am the museums’ doors open to the general public and you will see the difference then. By that time we will be already half way through the tour, we will have visited already the Sistine Chapel, and will already be on our way to St. Peter’s basilica. Another fact to consider is that if you are planning to come to visit Rome in summertime, it is good to know that the museums get really warm due to the lack of air conditioning and to the number of visitors. Therefore the earlier the better! In terms of how many people visit the Vatican with an early booking, it is hard to answer to this question, since we are not the only tour operator offering this service. However the number of visitors on an early bird is roughly 20% of the visitors on a normal booking. The atmosphere, I can guarantee, is way different then on a normal Vatican entrance, more calm and relaxing, especially in the Sistine Chapel, and this is how it should be visited. 

I hope this answered your questions and concerns, and if you want to read more details about this tour I suggest you to have a look at this article. Please do not hesitate to contact us again if you have any other questions!

Ciao, we hope to see you soon here in Rome

Hey Angela, I have done an early morning vatican with my partner in July and that made a huge difference on our day. The vatican got really packed at some point in the morning but we had already seen the most important places of the museums with few lucky ones (like us) inside. I really recommend this tour, especially during the high season. A big thanks also to the Eyes of Rome team and our guide Serena, lovely!

Thank you eyes of rome for all the hard work you have done for us! We weren’t the easiest family I know :) Stefania, our guide for all of our stay in Roma was absolutely fantastic. We booked the early vatican tour suggested by eyes of rome and it was just amazing. we did everything we could in three days, discovering, eating, walking…WE LOVE ROME!

Hi Al. I am glad you liked the tour! The early morning is a nice way to navigate the Vatican. I really enjoyed being with you guys. A big hug to you two :)

We went on a Early morning Vatican tour and Guiliano was our guide. Loved his enthusiasm and we were all impressed with his knowledge. Getting to see the Sistine Chapel before the crowds was the greatest thing! Afterwards, he gave us recommendations for food and coffee, and handed me his business card in case we had any questions while we were in town. We didn't get to the restaurant, but the coffee recommendation was spectacular! Tazza d'Oro!

Ciao Matthew! thank you for your lovely comment here. I had lots of fun with you on tour. Come to Rome soon and don’t forget to try my restaurants’ suggestions ;)    Big hug

Wunderbare tour! Unsere guide Valeria war wirklich hervorragend. Es hat sich tatsächlich ausgelohnt die Tour um 7:30 zu beginnen, wir waren fast die ersten in den Museen! 

Just a quick note to say a big thank-you to our amazing Early Morning Tour Guide, Karin.  We were so impressed with Karin's approachability and professionalism as well as her extensive knowledge of the art and museum exhibits.  Karin was able to tailor the tour to best suit our interests, and we could not have hoped for a better experience. We will be recommending this tour, and Karin in particular, to all of our friends and family visiting Italy. 

Hi Eyes of Rome team. I'm looking at booking your Vatican Early Morning tour, but I have a question about your Vatican PRIME upgrade! It looks great, getting in before EVERYONE, but how does this work?? The pickup time for the Early Morning tour is 7AM, but with the PRIME upgrade, pickup time is at 7:20...is that correct? If so, how is it possible to get in earlier with the PRIME upgrade?? Thanks so much,

Elaine

Hey Elaine,

Great questions about our PRIME upgrade!

Our Vatican Early Morning tour is great, you can avoid much of the crowds by being some of the first people to enter the Museums by entering right when they open at 8AM. We are not the only tour company to have access to this entrance and to ensure we are some of the first people inside, we meet you at your hotel at 7 so that we can be some of the first (if not the first) in line to enter when doors open at 8AM.

The PRIME upgrade gives you access to our exclusive (yes, we are the only PRIVATE tour company to have access to this) 7:45 entrance, without waiting in line at all! This means you can sleep a little extra, leave a little later, and still enter the Vatican before EVERYONE else!!

This is my favorite product that we offer and I highly recommend it.  Thanks for your question!

Sincerely,

Mara Arman

Eyes of Rome