The Vatican, the world’s second most-visited museum, draws 6M+ visitors yearly. During peak season, wait times can go up to 3 hours in the entry line, plus another 30 minutes for security. With the 2025 Jubilee Year expected to bring over 30 million pilgrims, crowds will be even heavier.
But you don't have to wait. With a skip-the-line ticket, you can be inside in as little as 10 minutes.
See all your options to skip the queues at the Vatican Museums ↓
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Christian
Zacarias
Cevallos
Elisha
Antonina
Rhodalyn
Luciano
Brooke
Skip-the long ticket lines and enter the Museums after a quick security check. These timed-entry tickets help you save hours during busy periods, so you can spend more time with Raphael and Michelangelo, not in line.
Pro tip: These tickets sell out fast; book a few days in advance to secure your preferred slot.
Skip-the-line tickets let you bypass the long line at the ticket counter—but not security. All visitors must go through a mandatory security check, which can take 10–30 minutes.
With a timed-entry ticket, you enter via the reserved entrance and are allowed entry close to your selected slot, saving time and avoiding peak-hour crowding.
Queues here can reach 2 hours; book a timed skip-the-line ticket and walk in within 20 minutes.
The Vatican receives around 20,000–30,000+ visitors daily during peak season, and the queues reflect that.
Note: These wait times cover only the entrance queue. Every visitor must also pass through security after scanning their ticket.
Entry to the Museums is via the Viale Vaticano entrance on the north side.
Vatican Museums tickets often sell out 3–4 days in advance, but Hosted Entry and Vatican Gardens tickets offer guaranteed fast-track access and are usually available closer to your visit date. Get guided to the entrance by a local host, or enjoy a scenic 45-minute open-bus tour of the Vatican Gardens before entering the Museums and Sistine Chapel.
Spend your time with Michelangelo and Raphael—not in line.
Even with skip-the-line access, your experience will depend on timing, weather, and how early you arrive. Use this guide to book smart and make the most of your visit.
Skip-the-line tickets let you bypass the long ticket purchase queue and enter the Vatican Museums at your reserved time. You’ll still go through mandatory security checks, but you’ll avoid waiting 1–3 hours in the general admission line.
Yes. All visitors must pass through security screening, even with skip-the-line or guided tour tickets. However, you'll save time by skipping the ticket counter and may use a dedicated fast-track entrance.
During peak season (April to October), you can save 1–2 hours, or even more on busy days. With skip-the-line tickets, most visitors enter within 10–30 minutes.
All Vatican Museums tickets include access to the Sistine Chapel. Entry to St. Peter’s Basilica is not included in standard skip-the-line tickets, but many guided tours offer direct access from the Sistine Chapel through a special passage.
Rarely. Most skip-the-line tickets sell out 2–4 days in advance. For same-day visits, your best bet is a guided tour, which may still have availability and offers fast-track entry.
Hosted entry tickets include a local rep who meets you near the entrance, validates your ticket, and walks you through the fast-track access line. Ideal for first-time visitors or anyone who prefers hands-on support.
These include skip-the-line access to the Museums and Sistine Chapel, plus a 45-minute open-bus tour of the Vatican Gardens, an area usually closed to the public. Multilingual audio commentary is provided.
Not by default, but you can rent them at the entrance for an additional fee. They’re a great self-guided option if you don’t want to join a tour.
No. All Vatican Museums tickets (including skip-the-line) are single-entry only. Once you exit, re-entry is not allowed.
The museums are really worth your time: astonishing, culturally interesting and so many works of art that you don't get to see anywhere else like this. Is skip the line worth it: maybe. It depends on if you want to wait a while longer (1 or 2h) to save approximately 30€/ticket. For us travelling in August and on our honeymoon the skip the line was totally worth it.
It is like entering into another world filled with magnificent art, history, and immersing culture. Skip-the-line tickets made the whole experience stress-free and convenient. The Vatican Museums are absolutely stunning, and seeing the Sistine Chapel with my own eyes was beyond words—an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience that will be remembered and celebrated. Lastly, what made the whole experience so memorable and special is meeting different people from different backgrounds around the world.
The Sistine Chapel, the Gallery of Cards, the Ladies' Gallery, the various paintings, Raffaello's room and Raffaello's bedroom.
Our guide Francesco was brilliant, so enthusiastic and knew so much of the history and interesting facts to share. A brilliant tour guide and a fantastic tour, thank you!
This is the best museum I have ever been to. Finding a guide was not difficult, I was greeted warmly and explained everything in an accessible way. I went in without any problems or crowds. This gave me the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this wonderful place. Thank you very much. I am delighted
the art was amazing, super beautiful to look at! worth looking upwards every 5 seconds and risking neck pain. crowds werent as crazy as i thought they would be, super smooth all the way through even into the sistine chapel
I found it difficult to buy the guided tour in PORTUGUESE, so I bought it in Castilian, which was one of the ones available. However, I managed to change it to PORTUGUESE on the spot. I suggest more options in PORTUGUESE as my children and wife didn't want to buy guided tours in other languages. I was very well guided by the guide who did a wonderful job. He enriched me a lot with information. The bus tour of the gardens is beautiful. Incredible museums. But nothing beats St. Peter's Basilica, which gives you goose bumps and deeply moves anyone looking to deepen their faith.
Easy to get in and beautiful place. Only took about 15 minutes to get through security and into the museum. Beautiful artwork but very tiring so make sure to eat a good breakfast
I loved the experience ofvisitingtheVaticanMuseumand the Sistene Chapel. Crowed control was good for the most part which helped us get to most of what we wanted to see.
What we liked the most was Vanessa's welcome, her explanations before entering the Vatican and her kindness and smile. She really gave us very useful tips!
We avoided a long queue to get in, but it's 25€ per person. I don't know exactly what the prices are on the official website and how much of a queue you actually avoid.
It was a simple quick process. We met the guide exactly at where we instructed to meet her which was very easy. We were then guided into the Vatican museum and were able to take it free and easy at our own pace. Truly recommended.
Very convenient meeting point and I was amazed by how fast we entered the Vatican! I don’t regret a single cent spent on this skip-the-line service — the regular queues looked like 4–5 hours long under the sun. Thanks to this, our visit went so much smoother and more enjoyable! Highly recommend!
I saw some reviews that suggested that this was difficult but I found it easy. The meet up location was close to the Vatican and the guide was polite and organized. An easy entrance into the Vatican and then ... prepared to be wowed.
We found our guide very easily, and he accompanied us to the entrance of the museum, with no waiting despite the impressive crowds that day. Excellent service!
I really enjoyed the experience. The whole visit was orderly and easy to see all the rooms. What we did not find clear were the indications to find the access door to the museums.
The Museums are absolutely beautiful and are so vast. The check in process was fine and thankfully we got a skip the line ticket. Lots of different things to see and you could probably spend hours there.
Entering the Vatican without having to stand the heat or the queue was a great experience and being guided so skillfully was refreshing.
Maurizio was an amazing tour guide. His knowledge about every piece of art was sensational. 100% would do this tour again! Very seamless pickup at meeting location and walking us into Vatican City, guiding us through security. Only feedback is not on tour guide but the headsets used. The system is a bit finicky. The headphones are a bit uncomfortable. I'd say the vox or similar wired headphone systems are superior.
Everything was great!
Excellent and fast service. Everything was great!
It was beautiful and very smooth to entire
Skip the long lines outside we had flexible time once inside
Egyptian museum was really attractive! Mummified body was very interesting🥰
The organization was the best! In love with this place! Glad they have discount for students! 10/10!!!
Save up to 3 hours by bypassing the infamous Vatican ticket lines. Get guaranteed entry to explore the Vatican's treasures on your schedule.
Inclusions
Skip-the-line entry to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
Hosted skip-the-line entry to Vatican Museums with ticket redemption (as per option selected)
Vatican Garden open bus tour (as per option selected)
Booking and service charges
Exclusions
Entry to St. Peter's Basilica
Gratuities
Julianne
Luciano
Zacarias
Our guide Francesco was brilliant, so enthusiastic and knew so much of the history and interesting facts to share. A brilliant tour guide and a fantastic tour, thank you!
Visiting the Vatican City was an amazing. experience. Our guide, Natalina was superb as she was so knowledgeable, and was able to skilfully assess the specific needs of our small group and tailor the tour appropriately. Natalina was so polite, friendly and made our visit around the museums and Sistine chapel very special and memorable.
Maurizio was an amazing tour guide. His knowledge about every piece of art was sensational. 100% would do this tour again! Very seamless pickup at meeting location and walking us into Vatican City, guiding us through security. Only feedback is not on tour guide but the headsets used. The system is a bit finicky. The headphones are a bit uncomfortable. I'd say the vox or similar wired headphone systems are superior.
Captivating guide and lots of information Very quick discovery of the rooms Exceptional location
Roberta’s mix of deep historical knowledge and spunky humor made this museum tour unforgettable.
Great explanation with many details about the historical context, symbolism. Awesome, highly recommend!!! 😁
Our guide was wonderful, funny and very informative! Sending friends your way
Great tour guide! Super funny and knowledgeable
This was a very nice tour. Our guide Valerio was very informative and we overall had a great time. The Skip-The-Line line was quite long however it was fast moving and we got in in a matter of minutes. I would highly recommend this!
the tour of the vatican museum was understandable and good advice. However, I expected to learn more about more parts of the Vatican.
Brilliant visit! Our guide was amazing he was very knowledgeable and funny and always got us to avoid the crowds! Obviously the chapel and museum is worth seeing! Absolutely gorgeous
Our tour started on time. Passing through security was quicker than expected. Daniello our guide was very knowledgeable and informative and showed us all the highlights in the tour. He knew all the best spots to stand and take pictures and the tour was beautifully presented. Thank you Daniello.
The museum is really special! Patrisia, our guide, was constantly telling us about the paintings, sculptures and tapestries we encountered during our visit. I would have liked to have had more time at our disposal, not so fast forward
The spaces visited are, of course, incredible. Given the impossibility of visiting all the halls and galleries of the museums (18 km), the choice of route is excellent and the guide was extraordinary in the detail and care she took in her explanations and care for the group.
Everything was great. Only it would be great if we already bought the tickets for museums and sistine chapel at the and to let us to join the queue for st.peters as we already done scan.
We were extremely disappointed with our guide. She injected her own philosophy into our tour and made the museum tour horrible. We were happy with the staff and our ability to go through the Sistine chapel on our own.
Our God Patricia was wonderful, personable and very knowledgeable. Everything was on time. Our guide went above and beyond. Well worth the price to get around the lines and have someone that knows how the process works.
Our visit was 2 fold. #1 it was for our son graduating high school. Instead of a party, he wanted to travel. #2 our son became a Catholic at Easter time so this visit was a no brainer. Vatican and see the pope. My wife and I have to the Vatican before and we and we were not happy with our tour, so we tried your company. Tour guide "Kate" was the bomb! She made the tour so much fun and she shared so much knowledge. She set the standard of what every tour should be like.
Martina, our guide, I was really nice as well as knowledgeable about everything! Kind and helpful, she made the visit even better, really recommended!
The whole experience was great, but our guide was an art historian who was passionate and excited to be sharing her knowledge
I paid extra to have a bus tour for the garden for my family of 5, knowing my youngest child would get tired from walking. I asked my tour guide where the bus is and she said I had to purchase that separately and that it's too late for it now to change . We walked over an hour outdoors in the garden, very difficult for my child. Everyone was tired later to view the inside museums and wanted to go home instead . Very disappointed
Everything. All u see in the museum. There's an extra special feelings when get in to Sistine Chapel. The tour guide was very good in English, we clearly understand her and she's also knowledgeable . Great experience on our day 1
This was an ok tour. We only really booked this because last minute it was the only way I could find acccess to the Sisitne chappel. The skip the line into the Museum was valuable though, since it was so busy when we went. The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. The Vatican is so vast that it was nice to have someone explain some things, however, I feel like a lot got skipped over. I would have prefered to do the museum on my own so that I could take my time looking around. This was really quite expensive for what it was.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and provided great context in her explanations and answers to our questions. We were able to breeze by the lines with our ticket, and she helped show us the important pieces of the Vatican (included the Sistine Chapel). It helped having a guide, as without one, we probably would not have known we had acccess to certain parts of the museum (that were roped off).
Everything was great. Only the audio was difficult to hear. She was great, when audio was audible. Audible about 65% of the time.
Gain deeper insight into the museums' treasures and Michelangelo’s frescoes with an expert guide.
Inclusions
Guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with skip-the-line entry
Expert English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese-speaking guide
Explore with a group of up to 20 people
Guided tour of Vatican Gardens (as per option selected)
Small group tour (as per option selected)
Nighttime tour (as per option selected)
Exclusions
Lisa
John
Jeremy
The visit is excellently organized, both in terms of time and the support of the guide, special mention to the very kind and knowledgeable Ms. Antonella. i would extend the stop in the Sistine Chapel by a few minutes, but i understand that managing thousands of tourists is complicated. I would say very recommended if you want to have a proper level of knowledge of the wonders you admire.
Being in the same place where many Popes have been and where the new Pope is elected and the paintings and sculptures of famous artists. Our guide Lucy was fantastic
Excellent experience. The guide was excellent..... He did a perfect explanation of what he saw. Highly recommend.
Being inside the Sistine Chapel & attending mass at St Peter's Basilica, as a Roman Catholic from Scotland, was incredible. Myself & my partner both loved the full experience and stayed as long as possible to take it all in. Guiseppe our guide was very helpful and informative throughout the day. Would & will highly recommend to anyone visiting Rome / Vatican City.
nicoli i think was our guide's name and he was super helpful and had lots of interesting information i never would have known about otherwise! definitely worth the price to have a knowledgeable guide for such a big space especially on a jubilee year. he of course knew lots about the history but had great answers to group questions and was excellent at connecting works in the museum to the sistine chapel and the basilica!! so cool
The guide Marilena was very well informed and provided great information. We were guided through all the sites in a coordinated manner, despite the fact that there were so many tourists in the museums. We enjoyed it very much.
Our guide was the best and funniest, but our experience was a bit disappointing because we booked tickets with entry to St. Peter's Basilica and we couldn't enter there because they closed it that day...
Informative tour to Vatican museum and Sistine chapel. Thanks to Nuncia. our tour guide. Disappointed though because we didn't have a tour at St Peter's Basilica. I specifically chose this guidad tour that included tour to the Basilica.
I appreciated our tour guide. She was very clear and considerate of us. She explained a lot and gave us time to also explore a bit on our own at each area she took us. My favorite part was when we went into the Sistine Chapel. I could feel the Spirit of God there. It was beautiful and it was amazing.
Paulo was amazing! Very informative and made the experience fun for our 11 year old son. Beating the crowds was useful as it was so hot. Highly recommend this tour great value for money.
Amazing experience, no waiting in the queue, a very knowledgeable guide. Our highlight was the sixtine chapel where we immersed into the amazing Michelangelo's art
I felt the tour was organised and well planned. The guide was a very talented linguist, who was entertaining as well as being very knowledgeable about the Vatican.
My wife and I loved our Vatican experience, not only because of all the epic sights, but mainly because we had such an epic tour guide to help us through. He was very knowledgeable, funny and friendly and made the experience top tier. I feel we would not have gotten nearly as much out of our visit if we had just gone ourselves than we did, so hands down would highly recommend this experience! Thank you?
Would 100% recommend this tour (including St Peter's) to anyone looking to see the Vatican. It was very organised. Gabriella was a great tour guide! Very friendly, approachable and informative!
Our tour guide Pasquale was the best. Answered all our questions and provided a ton of information. He definitely made this tour worthwhile. If you do a tour, ask for him as your guide
The guide Susanna was great, punctuality met, very helpful and knowledgeable-all excellent. In addition, we discovered an excellent Molise restaurant for breakfast and lunch, near the agency from which the tour starts and tickets are picked up.
Very informative presentation. Tour guide was very knowledgeable and made sure we caught the importance of what we were observing. It was amazing.
Very good experience, Joaquina (our guide in Spanish) a success!!!! We were able to make our dream come true and the tour was more than we expected, her kindness and patience to explain everything was the top of the tour. Highly recommended. What we liked the most was not having to wait in the long lines and the complications to enter St. Peter's Basilica, since being part of the tour allows you to access everything faster!
Paulina was a star! In the heat and in the crowds she led our group through the Vatican museum, Sistine chapel and led us to St Peter's Basilica (where she did pre instruction as she cannot guide there. Our family learned a lot we would not know without the tour.
As someone with no base knowledge besides that the Vatican is the home of Catholicism. This was a great way for me to learn about all of Vatican City and the history of it. I would have been wandering around aimlessly without my tour
The guided tour was great, the guide was very funny and explained things very well. Cutting all the queues was great. I recommend it in French, we were with Paolo 😊👍🏼!
Our guide Marta was very knowledgeable and nice. She was a great storyteller and gave great background throughout the tour in each area. The tour was good and I would recommend them. We had a very nice time on this tour and it went to all the spots we wanted. The description is accurate on what you get with the tour. I only have one suggestion - and that is during times with extreme crowds, it is important to ensure that all of the group is accounted for. My husband and I (and another girl we didn't know) were separated during the tour in a critical area to short cut into the Sistine Chapel. The group was given 15 minutes there, but because we were lost and took the long way, buy the time we got there, we were rushed and didn't get the time the rest of the group had. Please make sure to keep the group together. I do understand it is very hard because of the crowds, so this situation alone would not keep me from taking this tour with this tour group again as everything else in the tour was great.
I recommend this tour and I wish you to find a guide like ours, Antonella.... explained opera by opera.... exciting us and telling us anecdotes . If you choose the skip the line it is better because it will allow you not to stand in endless lines Under the hot sun as in beautiful July! We visited the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica. Inside the tour you will find a couple of fountains where you can refill your water bottles. Comfortable shoes and shoulders covered !!! And have fun !!!
We didn't have a clear understanding of where to meet. Head out and our tour guide did everything to find us and ensure we weren't left out. The tour is breathtaking and unforgettable. This may be the best tour we've taken in any city,any where.
The audio thing does not work good. I had difficulty about hearing. The guide is good and I thing very necessary. Before getting tickets be sure to read all of the information about tour, what you need to and do not need to do. Very crowdy so be ready to this
Explore all three Vatican highlights with skip-the-line access to the Museums and exclusive entry to the basilica via a hidden passage.
Inclusions
Guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with skip-the-line entry
St. Peter's Basilica Access
Expert English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese-speaking guide
Semi private tour with a max group of 10 (as per option selected)
Early morning tour with St. Peter's Basilica and Dome climb (as per option selected)
Headphones
Exclusions
Diane
Frank
Kathleen
You can cancel these tickets up to 72 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
Book now without paying anything. Cancel for free if your plans change.
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
Book now without paying anything. Cancel for free if your plans change.
The Sistine Chapel, the Gallery of Cards, the Ladies' Gallery, the various paintings, Raffaello's room and Raffaello's bedroom.
I really loved your service! It was exactly as planned. The best part was beng able to skip all the immense lines! The security personnel at Tent No. 2 immediately recognised my tickets and sent me right through. It was Awesome!
I found it difficult to buy the guided tour in PORTUGUESE, so I bought it in Castilian, which was one of the ones available. However, I managed to change it to PORTUGUESE on the spot. I suggest more options in PORTUGUESE as my children and wife didn't want to buy guided tours in other languages. I was very well guided by the guide who did a wonderful job. He enriched me a lot with information. The bus tour of the gardens is beautiful. Incredible museums. But nothing beats St. Peter's Basilica, which gives you goose bumps and deeply moves anyone looking to deepen their faith.
Nice quick entrance with "skip the line" tickets. Really glad we got them as waiting in the long queues in the July heat would have killed me off! The gardens tour was a lovely way to start the day in the Vatican. It was very busy when we went but many places are one way which controls the flow of traffic nicely. The "meeting point" on the app is wrong and you may get shouted at by a priest if you follow what it says on here haha. Overall good experience
It was really busy queues massive but having booked tickets we walked straight in and so glad we added the bus tour to our tickets as that was really enjoyable, it was a great day.
The truth was all very well, there are lines because there are many people, and the museum is to go 2 times because it is very large to see everything.
I really enjoyed the experience. The whole visit was orderly and easy to see all the rooms. What we did not find clear were the indications to find the access door to the museums.
The insight into the beautiful, otherwise inaccessible Vatican Gardens was a highlight of my trip to Rome and the museums are also extremely interesting. The only thing was that the tour could have lasted a little longer / gone a little slower / possibly with getting off at exciting places. Admission to the museum was also uncomplicated and quick, without long queues. A recommendation!
We purchased online tour of Vatican gardens +entrance Vatican Museums (without guide). Very nice staff who greeted us and guided us until we boarded the bus......tour very nice, they provided us with earphones for a recorded guide who showed us The beautiful gardens Exciting and unique the tour inside The Vatican Museums.Definitely the "highlight" was being able to skip the endless lines for entry...especially on these particularly hot days.Experience to be repeated for sure!
The visit to the Vatican Gardens has been a unique experience, I went with my fiancée and we wanted to return once again and do it walking now because it is such a beautiful place that makes you want to spend more time observing every detail, the trip in the open bus is super good if you have an agenda to visit more things in Rome, because you can tour the gardens with ease, plus with the guide in multiple hate to choose the experience becomes more dynamic. We recommend it 100%
We had a good time. Thank you ... The wonderful works of Art ... 3 hours is not enough to admire them all ... but neither are months ....
It was great, especially the bus toru through the garden is brilliant.
Excellent and fast service. Everything was great!
This was a unique experience! The entrance was guided, I skipped the lines and saved my time to enjoy the visit!
A visit to the gardens and the Sistine Chapel
I was a great experience I recommend very unique 🙏🏽
So many ancient artifacts, art in abundance. A breathtaking experience in the Vatican.
It was crowded but it was worth it! Amazing!
Had tour booked. Very organised and no queuing on entry
IT was great experience!
Good information, short waiting time, recommendable
It was most knowledgeable
We waited in line but it was very fast. Interesting visit and we loved all the roofs, each one more beautiful than the other.
Everything was cool, of course the magnificent Sistine Chapel
It was great. Process is organize and straightforward. I was able to enter the museum with no issues and everything was great. The Vatican Museum is amazing!
A scenic open-bus Vatican Gardens tour before timed entry to the Museums and Chapel.
Inclusions
Vatican Gardens tour by open bus with a multilingual audio guide
Entry tickets to the Vatican Museums
Access to Sistine Chapel
Exclusions
Julianne
Luciano
Sandra
