Crypts and Catacombs Rome Tour with Transfers from Piazza Barberini

What the crypts and catacombs Rome tour covers

Three stops, 3.5 hours, one coach. The tour starts with 45 minutes in the Museum and Crypt of the Capuchin Friars, continues with 60 minutes underground at the Catacombs of Domitilla, and finishes with 30 minutes at the Basilica dei Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti. Entry to all three is in the price, which starts from €49, and the guide works in English. Of the nine tours on this site it has by far the largest body of feedback, at 4.6 (5439 reviews).

Transfers are the reason most people pick this one. Domitilla sits well outside the historic centre, so the private air-conditioned coach between the Capuchin Crypt and the catacomb saves you a bus connection in each direction. The meeting point is the Tritone fountain in the middle of Piazza Barberini, which is also where the Capuchin Crypt stands, under Santa Maria della Concezione at Via Vittorio Veneto 27. Hotel pick-up is not part of this tour; if you want the car at your door, the private Appian Way tour does that instead.

Two things decide your date. Domitilla closes every Tuesday, so pick another day, and the after-hours version of this tour drops the San Martino ai Monti visit, leaving the crypt and the catacomb. Underground stays cold and damp all year at the Appia sites, so carry a layer even in August, and expect stairs rather than ramps. At the Capuchin Crypt shoulders and knees must be covered and large bags go into lockers, which is worth knowing before you leave the hotel in July.

The day step by step

1. Museum and Crypt of Capuchins Friars 45 min
   The first stop is the Capuchin Crypt under Santa Maria della Concezione, where the remains of almost 4,000 friars who lived between 1500 and 1800 were arranged into rosettes, stars, hourglasses, clocks and chandeliers. You move at your own pace through the Crypt of the Three Skeletons, the Crypt of the Tibias and Femurs, the Crypt of the Pelvises, the Crypt of the Skulls, the Mass chapel and the Crypt of the Resurrection, with an audio guide explaining why the Capuchins arranged the bones this way. Room five holds 'San Francesco in meditazione', attributed to Caravaggio. Access is three low steps with no ramps, and the museum above is reached by lift with step-free rooms.
2. Catacombe Di Domitilla 60 min
   Domitilla is the catacomb on the route, dating from 120 AD, with 17 km of tunnels on four levels and about 150,000 burials, and it is the only semi-underground basilica site in Rome, dedicated to Nereus, Achilleus and St Petronilla. The guide takes the group down into galleries cut in soft volcanic rock and through the frescoes, early Christian symbols and burial niches that also served as places of worship. Opening hours here are 9:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00, closed on Tuesdays, and the site is cared for by the Missionaries of the Society of the Divine Word. Steps, no lift and nowhere to sit, so the visit is not advised if you have serious mobility problems or find enclosed spaces difficult.
3. Basilica dei Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti 30 min
   The last 30 minutes go to San Martino ai Monti in the Monti district, founded in the 4th century on top of Roman ruins. Above ground there are Baroque frescoes and early Christian mosaics; below, you walk through the remains of a titulus, one of the house churches where Christians met for worship in the city. This stop is not included on the after-hours departure.

What is included

Meeting point, pickup and cancellation

• Meeting point: In Piazza Barberini, at the Tritone fountain located at centre of the square.
• Cancellation: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
• Ages: infant 0–1, child 2–14, adult 15+

Other crypts and catacombs tours in Rome compared

The group tour at €57 covers the same pairing with timed entry and an audio-guide visit of the Capuchin Crypts and a drive past the Appian Way, and it also meets at the Fontana del Tritone. The €45 option from Piazza Ara Coeli 16 is the one to build yourself: the catacomb and the return transfer are in the base price, while the Capuchin Crypt ticket, the Trevi underground walk and a golf cart hour are add-ons, and the transfers to the crypt and to the Trevi tour are not part of the package. The two after-hours departures work for travellers who would rather see the crypt in the evening and keep the daytime for the Forum or the Vatican.

Tour details from the operator's listing, checked 24 October 2026. Prices and times can change; the booking page has the current ones.

More ways to plan your visit

The Capuchin Crypt: rooms, dress code and hours

The Capuchin Crypt: rooms, dress code and hours

Catacombs of Domitilla: what you see underground

Catacombs of Domitilla: what you see underground

Opening days and closing days of each catacomb

Opening days and closing days of each catacomb