Key Master's Vatican Tour - We did the Key Master's Tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel with Walks Tour in July 2024 and it was FANTASTIC! Being there before the Museum is open and going through the entire space to unlock it all with only 20 visitors was a magical time that we will not forget! I can't imagine visiting it any other way now. There is so much amazing art to see and learn about. Of course, seeing Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel paintings in person is surreal. Our tour guide, whose name I think was Juliana (and I feel like a fool for not remembering it) was the star of the tour. She was so knowledgeable and friendly and warm. I can't recommend this tour enough!

Incredible tour! - Paolo was amazing and the tour of the crypts was incredible! Best day of our trip in Rome. Can not say enough good things about this guide or this tour!

Do this tour... you won't regret it! - This tour is a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity ; not to be missed. As other reviewers stated - being almost 'alone' in these incredible places... seeing them first 'in the dark' and then come to light - with NO ONE ELSE in there... again, second to none experience. You can see the amazing art, floors, sculptures, etc... without dodging 100's of people trying to get a photo or two. Yes, it is a little pricey...as my husband put it ...'best spent money of the entire trip'... do it.. you won't regret it!

Worth every penny!! A real privilege! - If you are really interested in the Vatican Museums, this is a must! It seems expensive, but it is worth every penny!! We arrived at 5:45 AM, in a group of only 20, with a fabulous guide, and had close to four hours alone in the Museums, literally unlocking doors and opening up shutters. It was such a privilege! We saw many areas of the Museums and apartments that others do not get to see, like the exercise area for the Italian Guard. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable! The best part was walking into the Sistine Chapel, through the back door, while the lights were off. When they flip the switch, it is truly overwhelming. I had seen it before, but never like this! They get 35,000 visitors a day, so seeing this without the crowds was truly a privilege! Note that this tour does not help you skip the line to St. Peter's, and you will have to walk around the wall from he Vatican Museums entrance to St. Peter's Square. But, we only waited about 15 minutes to get through security there (10 AM), and then went right in. In all - highly recommend!! Worth every penny!

Breathtaking adventure in the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. - The experience of being in a group of 20 who are truly opening up the doors of the rooms in the Vatican Museum was overwhelming. Experiencing these treasures without the crowds of people was amazing. Being in the Sistine Chapel with just our small group was so inspiring. While the tour was expensive, it was worth it especially for the private time in the Sistine Chapel. We stayed after the tour ended and visited many of the rooms again. My only “complaint” is we should have been given the touring radios as it was difficult to hear our guide even with the small group.

Early morning wonder! - It was very cool being the first ones to open up the Vatican, great guide great key masters. We went pretty quickly but got the feel and could come back with the masses after the tour. The Sistine Chapel was wonderful to experience essentially alone,takes your breath away. 5-star tour.

Amazing Experience - I had read about this amazing tour and even though pricey decided this was the best way for my husband and I to enjoy the experience of visiting the Vatican Museums. This would be an exclusive tour of around 20. The Vatican Museums are the public museums of Vatican City and it's huge. Works accumulated by the Catholic Church and the papacy over hundreds of years. There are so many museums and rooms/chapels/galleries. No way to see it all so this tour would focus on just a fraction of the totality of the Vatican Museums. I booked this tour on line on 5/26/2023. Cost was $892.70 for the both of us. I received my confirmation e-mail the same day I had booked this tour. I received comprehensive information of "what to know before you go". Our tour was scheduled for 9/20/2023. Tour is supposed to last for 2 hours. Meet time was 5:45 am with entrance to the museum at 6:00 am. Our tour ended around 8:15 am. We are up super early to make sure we don't miss this. We decided to take a taxi for peace of mind to arrive on time. We arrived at the meet up place around 5:15 am and there were some others already here! Our guide introduces herself to us but unfortunately I do not remember her name. There were around 20 of us-maybe a bit less. Right on time at 6:00 am the door opened and our group entered. Our guide was very knowledgeable and answered any questions posed to her. We had 2 Key Masters walk with us. The first thing we saw was a spiral ramp/staircase with metal balustrade. Built by Giuseppe Momo in 1932. Shaped like a double helix. Two interconnecting spirals-one leading down and one leading up. With also passed by the terrace where we could see the dome of St. Peter's. Then we're introduced to the two Key Masters who will walk with us. We were shown all the keys that open all the doors and were shown the key that opens the Sistine Chapel. We all got to hold the set of keys which was nice. We were escorted by our guide and the Key Masters through the museums. Our group opened doors and turned on the lights. Everyone was given the opportunity to do this but here were some that opted not to so I got to open 2 doors. My husband opened 1 door but also got to turn on the lights for that room. The one who got to open the door to the Sistine Chapel was the one who correctly picked out the right key on that huge ring of keys. It was so peaceful walking through the halls/rooms with just our small group. We did pass a person with a machine cleaning the floors but that was it! Museo Pio Clementino. This is the Vatican's biggest exposition area. Sala a Croce Greca/Sala Rotunda/Sala delle Muse/Sala degli Animali. Octagon Courtyard-Laocoon and his sons, Apollo Belvedere which was under restoration. Gregorian Egyptian Museum. Galleria dei Candelabri. Galleria degli Arazzi-Tapestries. Galleria delle Carta geografiche-Maps. Sala Sobieski. Sala dell'Immacolata Concezione. Stanza di Raffaello. Cappella Sistine. Sala degli Indirizzi. Museo Cristiano. Gift shop. Too many special moments to mention. A few of the highlights of the tour. Being in the Sistine Chapel for around 30 minutes. Just our group. So much to take in. Genius of Michelangelo. Nero's Bathtub. Belvedere Torso. Laocoon. Most dramatic instance was where our group was gathered at the entrance to Galleria delle Carte Geografiche. It's dark. We're told to have our cameras ready. The lights were turned on. We saw an extremely long corridor that seemed to go on and on. Awesome! Stanza di Raffaello-Room of the Signatura-"The School of Athens". We took tons of pictures and video. After the tour officially ended you are able to still stay and visit on your own. The tour ended by the Pinecone Courtyard. We had hoped to have breakfast here but were told it's only for those who have booked the tour with breakfast. More tour groups/crowds started to arrive around 8:30 am. This tour was well worth the price for us. It was just our group so no crowds to navigate. You get to "open up" the museum. So many beautiful works of art. My husband and I were so glad we did this and can highly recommend. Our official Vatican guide was very knowledgeable and willing to answer questions. The 2 Key Masters were also wonderful.

Exceptional - I would not recommend this experience because it needs to remain the best kept secret. We were a small group of 20 who literally entered the Vatican Museums two hours before opening, unlocking doors, entering the galleries in the dark and experiencing the lights coming on. Our guide was informative and interesting. A truly exquisite, exclusive experience for which we were humbly privileged to have.

Great tour but more people than promised - WORD OF CAUTION - Please read full review. Our guide was excellent. Well-spoken, easy to understand and extremely knowledgable. The tour is worth the cost if you've never been to the Sistene Chapel or the Vatican Museum. You have 2 hours of the space to yourself, along with the other guests. This is my caveat - The tour information CLEARLY reads SIZE LIMITED TO 15. Our tour was 20 people. When a tour costs as much as this one, the expectation is that it will be incredibly small and the tour operator will adhere to its guidelines. Having 5 additional people caused my husband to NOT be able to open a door. It caused the group to be much larger and it was annoying to have paid such a high price and there be so many additional people. I would check with the company and ask for a written confirmation there will only be a maximum of 15 people.

Phenomenal Opportunity, highly recommend, if only a small change - This review is being given 3 stars as a heads-up more than a reflection of the experience. The tour is very expensive and before you spend this kind of money you should be aware of potential difficulties. The chance to tour the Vatican Museums and Sistine chapel virtually alone, no crowds, with a knowledgeable guide is nothing short of spectacular. As others have said,once-in-a-life-time experience. If you can afford it, DO IT! Th reason for only 3 stars: By luck of the draw we had a guide that was knowledgeable, passionate, and energetic. But he wasn’t proficient at guiding a tour. Very hard to hear and understand. As if he was having a conversation with himself and he’d wander off to the next room, still talking. At these prices, only the absolute BEST guides should be used. So, note to self, if you get the small Italian man with the thick accent, stay in his hip pocket if you want to hear. I mean right on top of him. Note to Walks, I saw another review suggesting audio devices. Excellent suggestion! One of those would have made all the difference in the world. Not all your guides may need that assistance, but it would have made all the difference on 17 June.