Tour of the Pontifical Basilicas of Rome
Description
The four Basilic located in Rome, are major basilicas,Saint Peter,Saint Mary Major, Saint John,Saint Paul Outside the Walls. Being major basilicas, they have a holy door and a papal altar: the holy doors are opened with a special ritual by the Pope or one of his commissioners only for the duration of a Holy Year, and they play an important role in granting the so-called plenary indulgence ; the papal altar is an altar where only the pope or a few other priests can celebrate the Eucharist. OUR DRIVER OPERATES INSIDE THE VEHICLE GIVING YOU HISTORICAL AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE CITY'S HISTORICAL PLACES, GIVING YOU THE FREEDOM TO BE ABLE TO ENTER THE VARIOUS HISTORICAL SITES OF THE CITY FREELY, THE CONTRIBUTION IS OF A SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF ROME.This product does not provide priority entry to the various basilicas, so it is not a skip-the-line ticket. There may be waiting to access the Basilicas.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The largest church in Rome after St Peter’s (and the world’s third-largest), this vast basilica stands on the site where St Paul was buried after being decapitated in AD 67. Built by Constantine in the 4th century, it was largely destroyed by fire in 1823 and much of what you see is a 19th-century reconstruction. The echoey results have a modern feel and draw large groups of pilgrims who are dwarfed by the huge interior.
The Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in the Lateran, better known as the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, is, by definition, the "mother of all the churches in the world" and represents the ideal trait d'union between the pagan and the Christian era. Initially born as a building for public meetings and for the administration of justice, it was transformed into a majestic ecclesiastical structure, suitable for hosting a large number of faithful, with the spread of the new cult.
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initially planned in the 15th century by Pope Nicholas V and then Pope Julius II to replace the ageing Old St. Peter's Basilica, which was built in the fourth century by Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Construction of the present basilica began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626
Santa Maria Maggiore also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great,[b] is one of the four major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. The largest Marian church in Rome, it is regarded as the first Marian sanctuary in the Western world and the mother of all sanctuaries.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
vacation rentals, points of interest VERY IMPORTANT NAME AND ADDRESS HOTEL OR APARTMENT
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(7)
Read the fine print! It says Driver / Guide. It's ONE person -- the driver only. This tour is basically a nice taxi service from Holy Door to Holy Door. The driver does NOT to take you INTO each Holy Door, does NOT to provide you with any information about each place. He drives you from Holy Door to Holy Door and waits for you. You have to stand in line with the rest of the world here to experience the 2025 Jubilee Year. There is NO guide to help you skip the line. Carry your Viator barcode with you in the event you want to get into the lines that say "pre registration". We interpreted it that we were pre registered because I paid for a time slot (between 2-6) to do the tour. Maurice was a very kind driver, his vehicle was spotless, he had great communication when you're done walking through each Holy Door where to find him, however, if you're looking for a tour with INFORMATION and HISTORY about each Holy Door this is NOT the tour for you. It took us a VERY long time to go through each Holy Door with the long lines and the heavy traffic in Italy we experienced between driving to each place because of the Jubilee Year. Just want you to have ALL the facts before you book.
I'm sorry for the rating, but the product has not been read, there is a figure called driver guide, that is a person who gives historical information about the place where you are going to visit, and it is well specified that this information is written perfectly in the product description, as regards the skip Line there is no information about this in any description, you have the entrance to the basilicas but with normal priority, there is no ticket that gives priority in this sense, furthermore we are in the jubilee year so it was known that there would be queues among other things informed and described, many and it is true that the gentlemen were waited for even beyond the tour time, it would be advisable to read the product carefully before purchasing it.
We were a group of 8 that extended our Viking River cruise in Rome, on our own, for 3 nights to experience the Jubilee Year. Needless to say, visiting the 4 Main Basilicas was a priority for us & I booked this tour months in advance. Unfortunately, the tour with Carratoni Tours was such a disappointing & frustrating experience. This was the worst Viator tour I’ve ever booked & I have been using Viator in my travels with family & friends in the US & abroad for several years now. The tour was supposed to include a detailed context and commentary of the 4 Main Basilicas inside the van, which was even confirmed by Mauricio in our chats a few days before. Mauricio, our driver/guide & apparently the owner of Carratoni Tours, picked us up at our hotel a few minutes early on July 28. It was then, that my friends & I discovered, much to our displeasure, that Mauricio could NOT speak nor understand English. When I asked Mauricio a simple question before we left the hotel, he just looked at me & asked if I spoke Spanish & so in my broken Spanish, I asked him my question. We paid for a tour with an English guide & our guide asked if I spoke Spanish - so upsetting & annoying! I’ve read reviews on this tour & 2 were great reviews of Mauricio, so I’m just baffled why the Mauricio that we got on our tour couldn’t speak English, at all. Beware when booking this tour with an English guide because you may end up with the same unpleasant experience as ours. The day after the tour, I called Viator Customer Service & lodged a complaint & asked for a refund because the tour did not live up to what was included & what we paid for. Basically, we paid $100 EACH just to be driven to the basilicas, which is excessive even during a busy Jubilee Year & I really felt embarrassed to my friends for booking this tour. I was informed by Julienne & then, Elvie that my refund request will be submitted to the tour operator and I would get an update within 24-72 hours. I also asked Elvie what will happen if the tour operator refuses to give us a refund & she assured me that my complaint & refund request will be escalated to a higher department. When I called Viator a week later on Aug. 5, I talked to RJ & he informed me that the tour operator rejected my refund request because the tour was done/completed & that Viator cannot do anything about it. I told RJ that that was not what I was told the week before - that the issue was going to be escalated to a higher department. I asked RJ what Viator can do to appease my & co-travelers’ displeasure & RJ was adamant that there was nothing more Viator or he can do. I asked to speak with his supervisor & he said that they were all in a meeting & for me to call again later. At this point, I was getting mad that I threatened to give a scathing review of our experience & RJ was so arrogant and said to GO AHEAD. Clearly, this was not the response that I expected from a Customer Support/Service agent when I was already very furious with the situation. Finally, RJ said that he would escalate my issue to a higher department. I was still so upset because RJ should know the steps to follow before repeatedly making a statement that Viator is not able to do anything. Maybe RJ was just having a bad day, but he is in Customer Service, after all & in my opinion, he needs more training in dealing with customers, especially irate ones & in knowing/understanding Viator’s protocols/ policies & not just go through the motions. My complaint DID get escalated & Viator, in consideration of my being a valued customer, agreed to give us a partial 10% refund on this tour - not the credit amount that my friends & I were all hoping for, but it’s better than nothing. This was truly such a dreadful and stressful experience all-around…from the tour operator to Viator’s Customer Service department!!!
I would like to remind the customer that it seems easy to say only now with slanderous words that the service was not good, because he did not express his dissent immediately, without doing the tour we would certainly have appreciated and obviously refunded if it were true... but the tour was done among other things pleasantly as will be said later by the operator, it seems strange to me that after a few days the tour was not good and that the operator did not speak English!!, in my humble opinion there is bad faith, with the intent to have the best for oneself..., however now we do not want to go into anything, I leave the judgment to whoever reads.
Worst experience I’ve encountered through Viator. Booked and Wnglish speaking guide, but our driver did not speak English well which was not an issue until I tried to communicate we would like to go to St. Peter’s early due to the heat and my mom’s mobility issues. This also became an issue when he used AI to take information from the internet and played it over the speaker of the car. It was very impersonal. I sent a message to the company through Viator who then called the driver and told him. The driver then made the rest of the experience extremely uncomfortable! He let us out far away from the entrances even though my mom has mobility issues and my dad is 80 years old in 90 degree weather. Then, he took us to St. Peter’s last, my mom and dad could not go because of the heat and the lines. He was supposed to take us back to our hotel but told us we didn’t have enough time to complete the tour. We had to pay for a taxi back to our hotel for my parents and then ourselves. When I messaged the company again after the trip was over, I was told the driver said we started our trip 45 minutes late and that’s why we ran out of time. This was a LIE. Our tour was supposed to start at 8:30am, and I have photos taken of the colosseum in his car at 8:44am several minutes after the tour began On Time. We barely got any information and were made to feel guilty because our driver was supposed to be a guide but didn’t guide and did not speak English. Neither the tour operator nor Viator would do anything about making this right. This was the most important part of our trip for my parents, and they did not even get to enjoy it or complete it.
I am sorry to have to answer to unfounded things, first of all it is not true that our Driver guide did not speak English, he had already written to us directly during the tour, so we immediately asked our operator what had happened, and he had told us that there was nothing wrong so we immediately wrote to the customer who reprimanded us saying that we had not understood what she was saying, and that the driver had no problem with the language, now we have to understand which version of the customer is the right one, let's say that the lady did not read the product of which she would have had a driver guide, which would have given her all the historical information on board the vehicle, however she wanted an authorised guide who would accompany her inside the various sites, therefore the expense she incurred is certainly not that to allow this situation (it is a completely different product, it costs at least double), and furthermore our operator tried to give her historical explanations but obviously the lady asked more and more even things that were not within our knowledge, for this reason we proceeded to give her information with other methods interactive, regarding the droop off, we did everything possible to leave them as close as possible to the sites, but the lady knows that Rome is not an easy city to park, and also for various security reasons we have to leave in certain areas that are imposed on us, then if the lady did not appreciate the type of service, next time she should read carefully what she is buying, so we do not accept untrue insults.
Driver/Owner Mauricio Carratoni arrived earlier than our agreed time in a comfortable, and well-kept Mercedes SUV. He saved us the trouble of figuring out how to get to and from the major basilicas in and outside the Aurelian walls on our own. He waited on us and made sure we were comfortable. Pleasant and friendly demeanor. Highly recommended.
Thank you very much and yes hope see you many times again on Rome !
Beatrice was an excellent driver and guide. She provided the best balance of tour details while also allowing for us to explore the basilicas on our own. She was so professional and courteous. We also enjoyed the little anecdotes and stories as we travelled about Rome.
Thank you very much! When you are happy we are happy!
Our guide, Mauricio, was fantastic! This was the perfect private tour of St. Mary Major, St. John’s, St. Paul outside the walls and the holy steps. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable and even took us to a Jesuit church not on the tour, with a fabulous view of the city of Rome. He also recommended a local restaurant for lunch that was so delicious! He was a safe driver and gave us plenty of time to explore the basilicas. 10 stars for this private tour!
Thank you very much ! We are very happy for the satisfaction and we hope see you in Rome again ! Thanks a lot! Mauricio
Roberto gave us the most amazing private tour of Perugia. He is a fantastic safe driver, and has so much knowledge of Perugia. We loved every second and would highly recommend this tour company. The communication 10/10 and the lunch they organized at a family winery was SENSATIONAL - couldn’t be happier! THANKYOU so much!
Thanks a lot !!! We waiting for a new travel to Italy! Mauricio Carratoni Carratonitours
