Vatican Scavi Tour Tickets

Vatican Scavi tour tickets are not sold like normal Vatican tickets. You send a request to a small office, it assigns you a date and time, and you pay the guide fee as part of the ticket. I’ll walk you through each step, so you know what to send, what you will pay and where to go.

The Scavi is the excavation area under St. Peter’s Basilica. It is run by the Excavations Office of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, and its website is the place to start. If you only want the main sights above ground, my overview of Vatican tickets covers the easier options.

How Do You Get Vatican Scavi Tour Tickets?

Vatican Scavi tour tickets are obtained by writing to the Excavations Office, which answers with the date and time it can offer. The office says requests should, if possible, come directly from the person who will visit. Use the email address scavi@fsp.va or the other methods on the official Reservations page.

The office accepts requests in writing by fax, or in person at its own office. The in-person route uses the south (left) entrance, just outside the Colonnade. For most travelers, email is the practical choice.

What to include in your request

Your Scavi request has to contain five items, according to the Reservations page:

1. The exact number of participants.
2. The names of the participants.
3. The language you want.
4. Possible dates when the office can assign your visit.
5. An email address, fax number or complete postal address.

The office decides the time, so you only supply the dates. It also asks you to write the month in full, for example “from 01 January 2013 to 08 January 2013.” I’d follow that format exactly, because it saves the staff from guessing.

If you are asking on behalf of other people, send their names and email addresses too. That lets the office reply to you and to the visitors with details about the visit granted.

Groups and organizers

Group bookings led by universities, parishes, cultural associations or agencies need a complete list of participant names plus the name of the organization. Don’t send a rough headcount and promise names later. The office wants the full list up front.

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Vatican Scavi Tour Tickets Explained: Price and What You Pay

Vatican Scavi tour ticket prices are simple: one ticket is 13 euros, and that covers the contribution for the guide, according to the official entrance fee page. At the ECB reference rate of 2026-11-06, that is about $14.51. The Scavi site itself gives an approximate figure of $16.50, so expect small differences depending on the exchange rate on the day.

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The same page is clear on one point: no reductions in price are given for any reason. That means no child, student or senior discounts at the Excavations Office. Compare that with the Vatican Museums, which list several reduced categories on their prices and tickets page.

Here is how the two offices compare at a glance:

Prices and hours change, so confirm them on the official pages before you plan. I can’t promise that these figures will still be current on your travel date.

Office hours for questions

Office hours at the Excavations Office are as follows: Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 18:00, and Saturday from 9:00 to 14:00. If you want to phone, the number on the site is +39 06 69 885 318. I’d email first, because a written record of your dates and names is useful later.

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Can You Choose a Date for Scavi Tour Tickets?

Choosing a date is only partly up to you, since you can suggest dates but the Excavations Office makes the final choice. The Reservations page says there are no set deadlines for submitting requests. It also says all requests, even urgent ones, are fulfilled depending on the places left at the date closest to the one requested.

That wording tells me two things. First, you don’t need to wait for a booking window to open. Second, a flexible date range gives the office more room to say yes. If you give only a single day, you reduce your chances.

A practical way to handle this:

• Give a range of dates, not one day.
• Write the month name in full, as the office asks.
• Name the language you need.
• Keep your plans for other sights flexible until the office confirms.

I would not book non-refundable flights or hotels around a Scavi date you haven’t confirmed. Wait for the reply, then build your Rome days around it.

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What Happens After You Send Your Request?

Your request gets a reply from the office once you send it, addressed to you and to the visitors if you named them separately, with specific information about the visit granted. That reply is your confirmation, so keep it. Check the date, time, language and names on it as soon as it arrives.

If something is wrong, write back at once and point to the exact line. Names matter here. The office asked for the names of all participants, so a misspelling can cause trouble later.

Read the official regulations during visits page before the day. It is the right place for the rules on conduct and what you may bring. The office also lists a page on depositing prohibited items. I don’t want to guess at the details, so read those two pages and follow them.

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Where Is the Scavi Tour Entrance?

The Scavi tour entrance is near St. Peter’s Square, and the official site says to use the south (left) entrance, just outside the Colonnade. On the map, the Excavations Office appears as “Ufficio Scavi,” in Piazza San Pietro, Vatican City.

The map listing for the Vatican Necropolis points to the same basilica page for its information. Use your confirmation email as the final word on where to meet. If it gives different instructions from what I’ve described, follow the email.

Because the office is outside the Colonnade, it is a different place from the Vatican Museums. The Museums’ public entrance is on Viale Vaticano, a separate walk. Don’t mix up the two on the day. If you are also visiting the Museums, plan them as separate visits with enough time between them. My guide to Vatican museum tour tickets explains the timing of that side of a trip.

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Is the Scavi Tour the Same as the Necropolis Tour?

The Scavi tour and the necropolis visit are the same experience, and the Excavations Office is the body that manages it. The Scavi are the excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica, and the necropolis is the ancient burial area they reveal. The map listings for both the Necropolis and the Ufficio Scavi link to the same basilica page, which shows how closely they are tied.

The names matter when you shop. A listing may say “Scavi,” “Necropolis” or “St. Peter’s Tomb,” and they can all refer to this underground visit. Before you pay anyone, find out who actually runs it and what the ticket includes. My answer on whether you can trust third-party sellers is in is Vatican Tickets and Tours legit.

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Can You Book a Scavi Visit Through a Tour Company?

A Scavi visit through a tour company is possible, because some operators sell visits that include the Scavi. One GetYourGuide listing, “Vatican Scavi with St Peter’s Tomb and skip line St. Peter’s”, lists a guided visit of the Scavi and the Tomb of St Peter. It also includes a live lecture on St. Peter’s Basilica, reserved skip-the-line entrance to the Basilica and on-site assistance. It runs about 2 hours and costs $128.14 in the brief’s data, with a 4.26 rating from 2,619 reviews.

I want to be honest about the trade-off. The official ticket is 13 euros, about $14.51. The guided package costs far more, because you pay for the lecture, the Basilica access and the company’s service. If your priority is the lowest price and you can wait for the office to assign a date, the direct request wins. If you want one arranged package, the tour may suit you better.

Travelers who booked the Scavi package praise knowledgeable guides and a meaningful visit, though some say clearer details on inclusions and where the guided part ends would help. Read the listing’s inclusions line by line before you book. The listing’s exclusions also mention tips, an optional audio tour of the Basilica and an optional Dome ticket.

The second option in the block, Rome: Skip-the-Line Vatican, Sistine & St. Peter’s Tour, is a different product. It covers the Museums, the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica but does not list the Scavi. I include it because many visitors pair an underground visit with an above-ground tour. As one traveler put it:

“This was our second time doing this same tour and we enjoyed it just as much as the first! There’s so much to see and take in and we keep learning something new with every tour we take!”

Always check that the listing names the Scavi if that is what you want. If it doesn’t say so, it is not the visit I’m describing. You can compare the range of guided options in my guide to Vatican guided tour tickets.

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Scavi Underground Tour Tickets vs Vatican Museums Tickets

Scavi underground tour tickets and Vatican Museums tickets are separate products sold by separate sellers. The Scavi ticket comes from the Excavations Office, and the Museums ticket comes from the Museums’ own portal. The Museums state that the only official site for purchasing tickets online is tickets.museivaticani.va, and they warn about scams from lookalike domains.

That warning is about the Museums, not the Scavi. Still, the lesson applies: use the official route when you can, and be careful with any site that charges much more than the official price. The Museums’ full entry ticket is 20 euros without online booking, about $22.33 at the same ECB rate, and it is valid only on the day it is issued.

Think of the two visits as complementary. The Museums hold the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms. The Scavi take you below the Basilica. I’d plan them on different days if you can. For the Museums side, start with my guide to Vatican Museum tickets, and for tour options see Vatican tour tickets.

If you want a quick overview of every route, the Vatican tickets hub lists all the guides in one place. The page on official Vatican tour tickets explains who the official sellers are.

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Which Scavi Ticket Route Should You Choose?

The best Scavi ticket route is the direct request if you have time and flexible dates, and a guided package if you want everything arranged at once. The direct route is cheaper at 13 euros, and the guide is included. The package costs more but adds a lecture and Basilica entry.

Use this short checklist to decide:

• Flexible dates, lowest cost: email the Excavations Office.
• Fixed dates and one organized day: look at a guided package that names the Scavi.
• Large group or organization: send the full name list and organization name to the office.
• Not sure what you are buying: read the inclusions and exclusions, then ask the seller who runs the visit.

My soft recommendation: send the office request first, because it costs nothing to ask. If no date works, then compare the tour listing above.

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Vatican City by the Numbers

Vatican City by the numbers gives you a few useful planning facts about the place you are visiting. These come from Wikidata’s Vatican City entry:

• Area: 0.44 km². Everything you want to see is close together, so you can walk between sights.
• Population: 949 in 2024. It is the smallest state, so the visitor crowds feel large in comparison.
• Inception: 1929-02-11, the date of the modern state.
• Heritage designation: World Heritage Site, which is why entry rules are strict.
• Currency: the euro. The Scavi fee is quoted in euros.
• Official languages: Italian and Latin. Ask for the language you need in your Scavi request.
• Head of state: Leo XIV.

For background on the state itself, see the Wikipedia article on Vatican City.

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Planning Your Vatican Scavi Tour Tickets: Final Checklist

Vatican Scavi tour tickets call for a simple plan: request early, stay flexible and confirm everything in writing. Here is the order I’d follow.

1. Decide your travel window and your language.
2. Email scavi@fsp.va with the participant count, names, language and possible dates, with the month written out in full.
3. Keep the office’s reply, and check names, date and time.
4. Read the regulations and prohibited-items pages on the official site.
5. Plan other Vatican visits on separate days, and book those through their official or trusted routes.

Prices and rules change, so recheck the official entrance fee page before you pay. If you decide you’d rather have a package, book Vatican tickets online through a listing that names the Scavi clearly. Whatever you choose, never assume a lookalike site is the Excavations Office, and use only scavi.va or the email address it lists.

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