Exclusive Vatican Tour

Discover the incredible beauty of the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica as you are guided with a small group through the Vatican.

Exclusive Vatican Tour

On your small group Vatican tour, see the renowned Sistine Chapel, enjoy skip-the-line access to the great works within the Vatican Museums, and admire the beauty of Saint Peter's Basilica for a comprehensive view of this unique city-state. As you explore the beautiful detail and intricacy of Michaelangelo's art, listen to what your expert guide has to share you about the lives of great artists who spent time working at the Vatican.

Your friendly and knowledgeable guide will answer any questions you might have during your Vatican tour. As you explore the area, discuss with your small group the great works on display at the Vatican and interpret their meanings. In the Sistine Chapel, discover the beauty of Michelangelo's famous frescoes and examine their beauty for as long as you'd like. As you look up and around, you'll learn about the relationship between Pope Julius II and Michelangelo and how this relationship helped Michelangelo to create some of the greatest work known to the world.

On this intimate tour of the Vatican, open both your eyes and your ears. While you walk from room to room exploring each exquisite collection of art, your guide will entertain you with stories about famous Popes. Hear about their love of art and glamorous lifestyles.

Your tour continues as you visit Saint Peter's Basilica, where you can discover a vast array of artistic beauty. Discuss Michelangelo's "Pieta," the piece that caused Pope Julius II to contact the young artist for other, more important works he had in mind. You can't miss Bernini's 98-foot tall bronze baldacchino, which towers above the chapel's altar. Gaze upward to be awed by the exquisite dome, designed by Michelangelo and eventually completed by Giacomo della Porta and Fontana in 1590. Listen to the story of the simple fisherman who became St. Peter, the first Pope of Christianity, and how his great deeds inspired the iconic basilica.

Take in the Belvedere courtyard and the impressive Pio Clementino museum, with its beautiful Greek and Roman statues. Your guide will also show you the stunning candelabra gallery and the tapestries gallery, the Borgia's apartment, and examples of Bernini and Bramante's work. The final part of the tour will focus on Saint Peter's square, home to important Papal ceremonies. Here you will have time to admire Michaelangelo's Dome and Bernini's colonnades. Immerse yourself in ancient art and learn about the history of the Catholic church and its leaders on this guided, small group Vatican tour.

Please Note: This tour takes place in Rome. Guests on ships docking in Civitavecchia will need to make their own way to Rome from Civitavecchia (approximately 50 miles away) at their own expense. A taxi ride takes approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to and from the pier each way. There is train service from nearby train stations, and the average trip takes approximately 90 minutes each way. Your cruise ship may offer a shuttle to a nearby station.

About Shore Excursions Group

More trips from Shore Excursions Group

ABOUT US
Shore Excursions Group was created with one goal in mind: to provide exceptional travel experiences to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world. To accomplish this, we have compiled an exceptional array of tours delivered by local experts with decades of experience serving travelers and delivering excellent tours. Our owners and management team are comprised of seasoned travel industry executives who leverage their considerable experience to deliver memories of a lifetime.

We are experts in providing exceptional shore excursions. We understand that in today's fast paced world, vacations have become an increasingly important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and experience new and interesting places. With this in mind, we provide the highest quality tours by performing extensive research, and detailed reviews. While other companies also offer excursions, we strongly believe our expertise and approach set us apart. The large cruise lines sell shore excursions - typically in very large groups visiting high traffic sites. We focus on smaller groups visiting more interesting and authentic locations using more personalized local operators. While the cruise lines are experts in delivering cruises, we are experts in delivering shore excursions.

Our Approach
We believe quality service is not only highly valued by customers, but ultimately leads to better experiences and higher satisfaction. Unlike the cruise lines and other tour companies that rely almost entirely on websites, we encourage customers to call us. We want to invest our time answering your questions, providing input, and selecting the excursions that best meet your needs.

Our Tours
Our goal is to provide customers a wide array of exciting, appealing, and enriching tours. For those customers who prefer to travel in smaller groups with more personalized service, we offer a wide variety of small group tours around the world. These tours generally range in size from 2-12 people compared to larger tours which can number up to 50 people. While exploring the destinations and ports on this website, feel free to search for these "Small Group Tours". For those customers interested in private tours, we offer many outstanding excursions that allow you to travel with your party alone and, in many cases, to fully customize your tour. Search for "Private Tours" if you are interested in this experience. Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean. Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece. Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Our customers can kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France. Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.

Our People
In our experience, exceptional travel experiences are almost always delivered by exceptional people. With that in mind, we utilize a comprehensive approach to select and employ the leading tour guides and tour providers around the globe. We hold our people to very high standards which we measure by our comprehensive Quality Control process and, most importantly, by our customer feedback, which we will actively seek from each of our customers.

Our Owners
Shore Excursions Group is owned by seasoned travel executives possessing extensive experience across many sectors within the travel industry.

Bradford J. Miller
Mr. Miller is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Abercrombie & Kent, the World's leading luxury travel company. In that role, Mr. Miller was responsible for contributing to Abercrombie & Kent's international growth through the development and acquisition of tour products and travel experiences around the world with a specific focus on cruising and land based experiences. Prior to joining Abercrombie & Kent, Mr. Miller held a variety of executive positions with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises for more than a decade. These positions included Vice President of Guest Sales & Service, Vice President of Brand Development, and Vice President of Onboard Revenue (which included shore excursions). Mr. Miller also led Celebrity Expeditions, a collection of outstanding and unique tours around the World.

Michael Bonner
Mr. Bonner has over a decade of experience working in the cruise industry in a variety of roles for both Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Viking River Cruises. Most recently, Mr. Bonner was the Chief Operating Officer for The Scholar Ship, a Royal Caribbean program aimed at providing college students onboard educational programs in conjunction with enriching shore excursions around the world. Mr. Bonner also helped co-manage Viking River Cruises U.S. Operations, and he ran the corporate, strategic, and deployment planning functions at Royal Caribbean. While at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was responsible for forming Royal Celebrity Tours, Royal Caribbean's land-based tour operation in Alaska, which takes cruise passengers on multiple day tours through the interior of Alaska either before or after their cruises. Prior to working at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was a consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton.

from $170.00 (USD)

Per Person

Tour Type

Group

Group Size

Small

Activity Type(s)

Cultural

Tour Duration

3 Hours

Activity Level

Moderate

Tour Leaves From

The Vatican.

Food/Beverage Provided

Not Included

Special Instructions

Shoulders and knees must be covered to enter St. Peter's Basilica. Shorts and sleeveless shirts are not permitted. Sensible, rubber-soled walking shoes, sunglasses and sunscreen are recommended.

Restrictions

This tour takes place in historical areas and, therefore, is not fully wheelchair accessible. This tour is not suitable for guests with walking difficulties or those who use partly-motorized vehicles or walkers. Guests must be able to walk on paved, as well as cobblestone surfaces. There are steps and steep curbs in some areas. Children ages 5 and younger may attend the tour free of charge with advanced notice at the time of booking.

Terms & Disclaimers

ID:

7622238

Location

Rome