City Wonders Tours - Early Access: Sistine Chapel

This tour is listed on the Dark Rome website:

https://darkrome.com/vatican-tours/sistine-chapel-early-access

We did this in October 2015 and it was well worth it. There were only 20-30 people in the Sistine Chapel with us, which was very different from the crowds faced by tose who come lateron a "public entry"ticket.

Being almost alone with that art, in silence, for thirty minutes, was awe-inspiring.

Afterward we did another lap of the Vatican Museums to see what we missed on the way to the chapel.

We were standing at the end of the blocks-long line for the Vatican Museums in 2005 when someone came up to the line and asked if anyone would be interested in taking the "Official English Language Tour" of the Vatican. Only a few of us were willing to take a chance and follow this woman on what at first seemed like a wild goose chase. Turns out, it WAS the "Official English Language Tour" and while it was expensive, it was totally worth every Euro. The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, was the almost unbearable crowd in the Sistine Chapel.

The online reviews are uniformly positive for this tour. I say go for it.

I did the Dark Rome tour very early last June. It was worth the money just to get into the Sistine Chapel before the hordes. You could actually sit down and look up. People were quiet and respectful.

I went on with the guide into the Basilica and to the crypt. Others in our group went into the Museum after the Sistine. That early there are no bad choices. One of the big advantages of going early is that seeing anything without tons of people in the way makes the experience much less exhausting and much more enjoyable.

Hi,
Does anyone know if the Vatican-run early access with breakfast gets in early enough to the Sistine Chapel to avoid the large crowds? I know the Sistine chapel first tour would be best for the Sistine chapel viewing, but I also would like a tour guide through the museums. Thanks in advance!!!

Five years ago we hired Francesca Caruso - a Rick Steves' guide - for a private tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. We had the chapel virtually to ourselves for 15 minutes. Francesca is worth every Euro spent.
https://francescacaruso.com/contact/

I can't speak for this particular tour, BUT we did an after hours private tour of the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel. We booked that tour specifically for the private access. We were part of a tour group of 12 people + guides + Vatican guard who was so nice.

But if you seriously want to see the Sistine Chapel, do it on a private tour.

We did this tour in the heat of July last year and I'd highly recommend it. The early start meant that we beat the heat, and you can actually move through the Vatican museums without being shoulder to shoulder with other tourists. Seriously, I took pictures down the hallways and my friends who had been to the Vatican couldn't believe that there were no people or just a few in the pictures. We went straight to the Sistine Chapel and there were literally less than 50 people there. We went back and saw some of the museum then back to the Chapel (now packed) and out through a side door to St. Peter's. We went directly into St. Peter's but not before stopping to see the massive line snaking around the square - these were the people who didn't spring for the tour.

The Sistine/Vatican early access tour by Walks of Italy is terrific. Very small group and their guides are fabulous. That company would be my number one recommendation for ANY tours. We've done a number of their tours in various cities and they've all been great.

I did this tour with a private group a few years ago with this company. I would recommend them. The only thing I would say is that if you are doing a private tour, make it very clear that your priority is to get to the Sistine Chapel as early as possible (if that's your goal!). Our guide spent time with us in the Vatican Museums before taking us to the Sistine Chapel---which was nice, they were empty and it was still a luxury, but by the time we arrived at the Chapel there were already a few hundred people there. Still way emptier than during the day, but I wish I had advocated for myself more and just asked to skip the "pre-tour" and gone straight to the chapel; they would have been happy to accommodate. We would have missed part of the guided tour since that's where the guide leaves you, but that would have been my preference. So the moral is just to take advantage of the "private" part of the tour and ask for whatever it is that you want :-). The company was professional, and the guide was very good--I would 100% use them again.

I did the early tour in July two years ago (Viator, I think) and it was worth it. There was at most 100 other people in the chapel, and it was very easy to move around and see the various sections from different view points. I doubt that would be possible with the regular hours hordes. We also got a head start on the rest of the museum when the chapel tour concluded. By the time we left, the ticket line was blocks long.

Like Lo, I did the Dark Rome early morning tour. Our small group was the first group into Sistine Chapel, and it was a quiet, Zen-like experience. Well worth the early morning wake up call. We napped after lunch as preparation for our nighttime tour of the Coliseum! I highly recommend both.

I just wanted to report that we DID take this early morning tour with City Wonders, and it was WONDERFUL!
We arrived at our meeting point outside the Vatican museum doors at 7:15 am, and were the first in line to get inside with our guide and group of about 12 of us. Then we entered and had casual stroll through all the main halls, stopping, at will, to view the beautiful art work prior to entering the Sistine chapel at 8:00 am. There were no more than 40-50 people in the chapel, and we had about an hour with our very knowledgeable tour guide inside the chapel. At about 9:00am when the general ticket hour started, it was immediately obvious the large mass of people that were entering the chapel, at this point, our time with the guide ended, and we made our way back to the museums. We ended up spending 3 more hours looking at all the highlights/masterpieces within the museums, before making our exit which is back through the Sistine Chapel. By noon the crowds were intense both in the museums and the Sistine Chapel. It was rainy outside, so perhaps it drew more visitors, since this was an indoor event. Either way, this was well worth the money and the early morning meet time. If this is on your bucket list, take advantage, spend the extra effort and book an early morning –pre opening hours - tour.

Thank you so much for returning to this forum to report on what sounds like a marvelous experience.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience! Really helpful to people that are still in the planning stages. I've booked something similar with Walks of Italy but it is a 3.5 hour tour (7:30-11:00) but I'm going to check out City Wonders based on your positive experience.