A VIP Vatican Tour Is Now Part Of These Luxury Train Trips Through Italy

There are many reasons to visit the Vatican: the art, the architectures, the religious offerings. It's a city unlike any other. Railbookers, a travel site that offers special train bookings and trips, is now offering an exclusive, after-hours tour of the Vatican on September 8, 2025.

Over 5 million people visit the Vatican every year, which means the city is always bustling with tourists. Typically, the buildings in the Vatican are open until 8 p.m., but the cutoff time for people to enter is 6 p.m. While you don't need a ticket to visit sites like the iconic St. Peter's Basilica, there can still be long wait times. According to the Vatican ticket website, lines during peak season can often last two to three hours. Jubilee years also create a surge in tourism as people from all over the world come visit Rome. Some seasoned travelers argue there is a best time to take a vacation trip to Italy, but the Vatican will likely be crowded no matter what time you go.

Railbookers is offering a way to skip the lines and the crowds. Not only do these luxury trips offer private, after-hours access to the Vatican Museums and famed Sistine Chapel, they also offer a refreshments served in the Pinecone Courtyard. 

The company has three packages that will bring you around various places in Italy like Naples, Capri, Pompeii, and the famous Blue Grotto, including the after-hours tour of the Vatican. For travelers who want to explore different countries, Railbookers offers a multi-country tour that travels by train from London to Paris and Milan before arriving at the final destination, Rome, for the Vatican tour. Another itinerary goes from Venice to Florence to Rome and the Vatican, and the third itinerary hugs the Tyrrhenian Sea, beginning with Rome and the Vatican and then moving south to Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento. All involve train journeys, so you can see the beautiful Italian countryside from your window.

The journeys often include meals like breakfast and dinner, private tours at each destination, and hotel accommodations — though Railbookers also offers travelers the option to pick their own accommodations in each city. However, these luxury trips also come at luxury prices. The Venice to Rome trip costs around $4,500 at the time of writing, while the Rome to Sorrento trip costs around $6,500. Each trip is eight days long. For the multi-country trip that includes England and France, travelers can expect to pay over $9,200. Some of the Railbookers trips end in the capital city, and others begin there — indeed, Rome is a great place to start an Italian vacation for travelers who want to keep exploring all the things Italy has to offer.