The information in this article applies to travelers visiting Rome during the Jubilee.
The Jubilee is a holy year proclaimed by the Catholic Church and is observed every 25 years. The Jubilee of 2025 will begin on December 24, 2024, and end on December 14, 2025. During this time, millions of pilgrims and visitors will be traveling to Rome to pass through the Holy Doors of the city’s most prominent basilicas and attend many religious celebrations and events throughout the year.
While this is certainly a very exciting and special time to visit Rome, we want to set expectations regarding how the Jubilee may impact your itinerary. Certain aspects of your tour may need to be adjusted due to this holy year, and we’ll always do our best to communicate itinerary changes with you before departure. However, we kindly ask that you keep an open mind and remain flexible, as it’s possible some itinerary updates will need to be made once your group is already on tour. While we’re proactively doing what we can to minimize the impact that the Jubilee will have on our tour itineraries, additional events are expected to be held at major sites in Rome, some with little to no notice, which could result in unanticipated closures.
Below, we’ve summarized the most important points to keep in mind as you travel to Rome during the Jubilee celebrations:
- Traffic, road closures & mobility: In 2025, there is expected to be more traffic and road closures in Rome. Some usual drop-off and pick-up points may not be accessible, requiring travelers to walk an additional distance to reach main attractions. Some groups may also be dropped off outside of the city center and will take public transportation to the major sites.
- Crowds & long lines: While Rome is already one of the top travel destinations in the world, the Jubilee will result in even larger crowds at major tourist sites, especially around the basilicas that contain Holy Doors. This will result in longer lines and waiting times to enter popular attractions.
- Iconic Sights: Vatican City excursion: The main Holy Door is located inside St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Pilgrims and religious groups will participate in many spiritual events here, and group tours won’t be permitted then. Additionally, tickets will sell out extremely fast and be reduced to limited capacity. Given this, we’ll need to cancel the Iconic Sights: Vatican City excursion on several departures going to Italy in 2025. If you’ve signed up for this excursion and it cannot run, you’ll be informed in a separate email and refunded if you’ve already paid. If Go Ahead cannot produce this excursion, travelers are encouraged to try to book their own tickets to the Vatican, as individual entrance tickets may still be available for purchase during free time. Please note that for departures where the Vatican excursion is still offered, our tours do not include passing through the Holy Door.
- Ancient Rome: St. Paul’s Basilica & the Catacombs excursion: St. Paul's Basilica contains another Holy Door, so the same expectations above apply. The catacombs are also expected to draw more visitors, as is the case with all major sites in Rome.
Thank you for taking the time to review this important information! If you have any questions about your travel plans, please send us a message. (If you are a Group Coordinator, please contact your Account Manager.) Additionally, please ensure any updates to your reservation are made before your Tour Finalization Date.