Private Early Morning Vatican Family Tour | Interactive Experience

Important Notice: Jubilee Year 2025
As part of the 2025 Jubilee celebrations, St. Peter’s Basilica may experience unexpected partial or complete closures. In the rare event that the Basilica cannot be visited, rest assured that your tour experience will remain exceptional. Your guide will seamlessly adapt the itinerary to include alternative highlights, ensuring the full duration and quality of your tour.

On this private tour before the crowds with your kids and enjoy your a morning tour to one of the great wonders of the world: the Sistine Chapel. This is a huge adventure and is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The tour is designed with super fun and engaging activities for kids (which grownups enjoy too!) that we created for your family to get maximum enjoyment and learning out of this unique experience. You’ll see all the highlights of the Museums, and end inside Saint Peter’s Basilica.

• Morning entry to the Vatican Museums with your private guide
• See Michelangelo’s amazing frescoes in the Sistine Chapel
• Engage in fun activities for the whole family throughout your tour
• Find other highlights like the Raphael Rooms, the Laocoön & an Egyptian Mummy!
• End inside the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica

Enjoy an exclusive, family-friendly early morning tour of the Vatican Museums, with an expert kid-friendly guide. Skip the lines and embark on  an amazing adventure for kids and grownups alike!

Take part in a fun and engaging set of activities and quizzes that take you through the awe-inspiring Vatican Museums and into the Sistine Chapel – where you’ll be able to stare up at Michelangelo’s dazzling frescoes on the Ceiling and the Last Judgement. Usually packed with people, being there with so few other people is a truly magical experience for kids and adults alike. Your guide will explain all the stories and lots of hidden messages painted there by Michelangelo.

Your guide will first take you through all the major highlights of the Museums – keeping your kids engaged the whole way. You will also see the amazing Raphael Rooms – painted by Michelangelo’s arch-rival! with the famous fresco of the School of Athens.

Enjoy strolling through the beautiful galleries lined with ancient treasures, and covered in mesmerizing frescos, including the Gallery of the Maps, gold and opulent, with dazzling and accurate paintings of maps of Italy is a real favorite with children. Learn about the magical Tapestries – with moving eyes that follow you as you walk past!

You will see phenomenal treasures from the ancient world like the Laocoön – the priest of Troy with his two sons, and the Apollo Belvedere statue – as well as statues of famous gods and goddesses and heroes like Hercules. You’ll also find the Emperor Nero’s giant purple bathtub!

Lastly, you’ll enter the Sistine Chapel, one of the wonders of the world, with the ceiling and Last Judgement painted almost single-handedly by Michelangelo over a total period of 10 years. Learn about his back-breaking labor and his fiery temper! Take advantage of the special exit that leads you down an old marble staircase, directly to Saint Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in Christendom built above the remains of the first pope, Saint Peter. Inside the majestic basilica, you’ll see Bernini’s Baldacchino, an altar made entirely of bronze; the Pietà, another Michelangelo masterpiece; the Holy Door, and so much more.

As your tour ends, your guide will check to see that all the activity booklet questions have been answered and award prizes to the kids!

• Morning access to the Vatican Museums
• Private tour with an expert kid-friendly guide
• First entry to the Sistine Chapel & Raphael Rooms
• Activity booklet for every kid
• Galleries of the Candelabra, Tapestries & Maps
• Saint Peter’s Basilica*

• The interactive children’s booklets are only made in English.
• This activity booklet is designed for children from ages 5 – 10 years old and is perfect for mixed age families
• Places of worship have strict dress code requirements for entry. All participants are required to have shoulders and knees covered (no tank tops or short dresses) to enter.
• Important Notice Jubilee Year 2025: As part of the 2025 Jubilee celebrations, from December 24th, 2024 to January 6th, 2026, St. Peter’s Basilica may experience unexpected partial or complete closures. In the rare event that the Basilica cannot be visited, rest assured that your tour experience will remain exceptional. Your guide will seamlessly adapt the itinerary to include alternative highlights, ensuring the full duration and quality of your tour. Please note that, in accordance with our Terms & Conditions agreed upon at the time of booking, partial or full refunds cannot be issued due to Basilica closures.
• Vatican management maintains the right to delay the opening of the Sistine Chapel for religious reasons, in this case the guide will modify the itinerary and extend your visit of the museums to ensure you make the most of your time before access to the Sistine Chapel is permitted.
• There is no photography allowed in the Sistine chapel, and all other artwork can only be photographed without flash.
• St. Peter’s Basilica is an active church and can be closed unexpectedly for liturgical ceremonies. If closed, the time inside the Vatican Museums will be extended.
• Saint Peter’s Basilica is closed on most Wednesdays mornings due to the weekly Papal Audience. If you book this tour for a Wednesday the time inside the Vatican Museums will be extended.
• Please be aware that the Sistine Chapel is a Holy Place and talking during your visit inside is strictly forbidden, therefore your guide will give you an explanation of the Sistine Chapel beforehand during your tour, in order to give you a comprehensive explanation before entering the chapel.
• Backpacks are not permitted in the Museum.
•  Everyone in your group, regardless of age, needs a government issued ID to enter the Vatican Museums.
• Guests with mobility concerns should contact us at [email protected] as soon as possible, as the itinerary may need to be adjusted to accommodate specific needs.
• IMPORTANT: Please advise our team if you believe that a disability qualifies you for complimentary access to the Vatican.

When you book a LivTours Private Tour or Experience, you are guaranteed a dedicated, expert guide that allows you the flexibility to start your tour at a time which is convenient for you, making planning easy. Our private tours ensure that you will get a tailored experience to meet all your needs so we go at your pace, perfect for families with younger children, elderly, or individuals with accessibility needs. Please be advised that all private tours begin at a base price starting at two people*. Prices are inclusive of entry tickets where applicable. *Some Ferrari private experiences are inclusive of one person only.

Make your experience even more unique by upgrading your LivTours experience. Please note: add-ons are non refundable.

By selecting Choose Dates Later / Buy as Gift at booking, any tour can be purchased without fixed dates. This is the perfect option if you want to purchase your tour as a gift for a loved one, or if you are in the pre-planning phase of your vacation. After booking, you will receive a Travel Voucher Code and full instructions on how to schedule your tours when ready. Once your travel plans are confirmed, you can easily use the Travel Voucher Code on the LivTours website to formally schedule your tours. You can find out more here.