Vatican Underground Tour
Vatican underground tour tickets cover guided visits to the grottoes and papal tombs under St Peter's Basilica, plus the separate Scavi excavations tour that the Vatican reserves through its own office. Guided grotto tours are sold by independent operators from about $33, while the Scavi costs 13 euros and is booked by request. Read the inclusions line before you pay, because two tours with "underground" in the title can show very different things.
What is underground at the Vatican?
Under St Peter's Basilica you will find three different visits: the grottoes with the papal tombs, the Scavi excavations of the necropolis, and a guided walk to St Peter's Tomb that some tours bundle with the basilica and dome. People search for all of them as a "vatican crypt" or a "tour under vatican", but they are separate products with separate sellers.
The saint is the reason the ground matters. Wikipedia's Vatican City entry notes that Catholic theology holds that Saint Peter was crucified on Vatican Hill in the 1st century AD. That tradition draws visitors to the vatican hill tour below the basilica floor.
Here is how the three break down:
- Grottoes and papal tombs: the crypt level under the basilica, usually sold inside a guided basilica tour.
- Scavi (necropolis): a guided visit to the excavations, reserved through the Vatican's Excavations Office.
- St Peter's Tomb on a guided tour: listings say you can touch the original 4th century basilica walls and see the underground grottoes.
Grottoes vs Scavi: what is the difference?
The grottoes and the Scavi are different visits, so a ticket for one does not cover the other. The grottoes are the crypt area beneath the basilica, while the Scavi is the guided excavations route run by the Vatican's Excavations Office, part of the Fabbrica di San Pietro.
Can you visit the Vatican grottoes? Yes, usually as part of a guided basilica tour. The official sources we rely on do not publish grottoes entry rules, so check the basilica's own website before you go and do not assume a Scavi ticket covers them.
Visitors often use "Scavi" and "necropolis" for the same excavations, but listings differ. One guided tour says it excludes entry to the Vatican Necropolis, even though you visit St Peter's Tomb on it. The Vatican Museums also list a separate Necropolis of the Via Triumphalis visit on their own portal. Compare the inclusions line every time.
For the full booking process of the excavations visit, see Vatican Scavi (Necropolis) tickets.
Ready to see prices? Rome: St. Peter's Basilica, Dome Climb, and Underground Tour, from $33See times →Which tours under St Peter's can you book?
For most first-time visitors, a guided basilica tour that includes the papal tombs and grottoes is the easiest underground booking, because it needs no reservation request. Two listings stand out: a dome climb and underground tour at $33.09, and a papal tombs and dome climb tour at $60.17.
The $33.09 St Peter's Basilica, Dome Climb and Underground Tour runs 1.5 to 2.5 hours, has a licensed guide and covers the papal tombs and St Peter's Tomb. It holds a 4.75 rating from 6,453 reviews. Arrive 15 minutes early to check in and collect headsets. This is also the tour to look at if you searched for a St Peter's Basilica dome to underground grottoes tour.
The $60.17 papal tombs and dome climb tour lasts 105 minutes and enters the dome by stairs. It meets at Largo del Colonnato 5, by the first columns of the Colonnade, and you must not pass the metal detectors before meeting your guide. Its listing excludes Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Vatican Necropolis entry.
The dome is a real climb. One reviewer called the stairs "no joke", and some travelers say waits caused schedule problems, so leave a buffer. For tours that centre on the basilica itself, read our st peter's basilica tour page. If you want only the climb, see St Peter's Dome Tickets.
Scavi tour vatican reviews are hard to compare, because the Scavi is not a marketplace product. Judge it by the official fee page and the Excavations Office's rules, and be wary of any seller who guarantees a place for a markup.
Travelling with family? Vatican: Museums & Sistine Chapel Entrance Ticket, from $36Check family times →How much do Vatican underground tours cost?
Budget from about $33 to $61 for a guided tour with an underground element, or 13 euros for the Scavi. At the ECB reference rate of 2026-11-06 (1 euro = $1.1165), 13 euros is about $14.51. The Scavi price includes the guide's contribution, and the Excavations Office says no reductions are given for any reason.
Vatican crypt tickets price depends on what you mean. The Scavi is the 13 euro item. The grottoes come inside the guided tours in the table. A Vatican Museums ticket does not take you underground at all, so add it only if you want the museums too.
Prices and hours change, so confirm them on the official pages before you pay.
| Option | Price | What you get | Underground part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scavi (excavations) tour | 13 euros (about $14.51) | Guided visit, guide contribution included, no reductions | Necropolis excavations |
| St Peter's Basilica, Dome Climb and Underground Tour | $33.09 | 1.5 to 2.5 hours, licensed guide, papal tombs | Grottoes, St Peter's Tomb |
| St Peter's Basilica, Papal Tombs and Dome Climb Tour | $60.17 | 105 minutes, dome entry by stairs | Grottoes, St Peter's Tomb |
| Vatican Museums full ticket (official) | 20 euros (about $22.33) | Museums and Sistine Chapel, valid only on the day issued | No |
| Vatican: Museums & Sistine Chapel Entrance Ticket | From $36 | Skip-the-ticket-line entry, optional audio guide | No |
How do you book an underground tour?
Book the guided grotto tour online as soon as your dates are fixed, and request the Scavi from the Excavations Office first, since it is the scarce item. Then fit a museums ticket around the fixed underground time.
How hard is it to get Scavi tour tickets? You cannot pick a slot from a public calendar. You ask through the Reservations page or at scavi@fsp.va, and the pages do not publish availability, so start early, offer two or three dates and keep the group small. The fee page lists Monday to Friday 9:00 to 18:00 and Saturday 9:00 to 14:00. Keep the written confirmation for the entrance.
For a guided grotto tour, you can book a licensed operator on a marketplace. Those tours are not the official ticket office. The Vatican Museums warn that the only official site for buying tickets online is tickets.museivaticani.va, and that lookalike domains may charge much more.
You can pair the underground visit with the museums on the same day, but do not rush it. A museums ticket is valid only on the day it is issued and cannot be refunded. A workable plan is one major visit in the morning and the other in the afternoon. For a museums add-on, the Skip-the-Line Vatican Tour page and the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel Guided Tour page compare the formats.
These listings add the museums to your day but do not go underground: Vatican: Museums & Sistine Chapel Entrance Ticket (from $36), Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Skip-the-Line Entry Ticket (from $53), Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica Tour (from $60), and Rome: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & Basilica Tour (from $71).
To see the wider choice of formats, browse our Vatican Tours hub, or read about the Vatican City Tour if you want the whole city-state in one plan.
Questions visitors ask
Do Vatican crypt tickets include the Scavi?
Usually not. Vatican crypt tickets most often means a place on the Scavi, which has its own fee of 13 euros and its own reservation, while the grottoes come inside guided basilica tours. Ask which office issues a ticket before you buy.
Is a Scavi ticket included in a Vatican Museums ticket?
No. The Vatican Museums ticket covers the museums and the Sistine Chapel on the day it is issued. The Scavi has its own fee and reservation system, so plan two separate bookings.
What days should you avoid at the Vatican?
The Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays, except for free entry on the last Sunday of the month, subject to the official calendar. That free day is the busiest, so skip it. The basilica is listed open from 7 am to 7:10 pm every day.
Is a Vatican underground tour suitable for everyone?
Not always. Dome climbs are by stairs, and the Scavi regulations apply below ground. If anyone in your group dislikes tight, enclosed spaces, read the official regulations first and ask the office before you commit.