Early access - 5 stars, no notes! - We booked the early access tour and it was incredible! For the first hour, it was just my husband and I and our guide, Dimitri. The exhibits were amazing (one word - dinosaurs) and Dimitri was very knowledgable and lots of fun. He made our visit one of the best things we did in Chicago. Cannot recommend this enough!

This experience was... - This experience was incredible!! WELL worth the money. I scheduled an early morning tour for myself and my 2 teens who are into science and we had an unreal experience. It ended up being a private tour as no one else signed up for the tour and our tour guide was a retired museum employee who worked as a researcher at the museum! She had an incredible wealth of information to pass on to us and we all enjoyed it immensely! HIGHLY recommend!!

It was great visiting the... - It was great visiting the museum before it opened to the general public and the tour was very enjoyable.

Private time with Sue! - This was such a great experience! It was just the 2 of us on the tour with our guide Eleanor, who was great. She was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic even at the early hour. It was so great to see Sue and the other dinos up close with no one else around, and we got great pics! Even after the tour (about an hour) we wandered around the rest of the museum and hardly saw anyone for the next hour. Highly recommend if you're an early riser!

Awesome Experience!!!! - This was an amazing experience!!! We learned so much more through the private tour than we would have just walking through alone. Other than some workers, we were the only ones there. We had the entire museum to ourselves! Our guide Demetric ( I hope I spelled it right), was very knowledgeable. He answered all our questions, took pics of us next to displays. He’s a gem. Once the museum opened to the public it became a different experience. I highly recommend the private tour, yeah it’s pretty early in the morning but it’s so worth it!

Early morning adventure ! - This is well worth the money spent! We Had such a good docent and the museum to ourselves ! Wonderful !

Take this tour! So worth it - Katie was amazing! This tour was 100% worth it, being in the museum before everyone else was an amazing experience and Kathie was so knowledgeable, she shared fun facts that I would not have known otherwise.

Early Access to the Field Museum: Worth Every Penny - Our trip to Chicago wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to the iconic Field Museum, and the Early Access Tour made the experience truly unforgettable. As a fan of natural history—and a total dinosaur nerd—this museum was a must-visit, but the early access tickets elevated it to another level. Booking through TripAdvisor for $73 a person (worth every penny!), we were able to enter the museum an hour before it opened to the general public. This meant we had the museum almost entirely to ourselves—a rare, peaceful way to explore such a grand space. Our guide greeted us promptly at the East Entrance and customized the tour based on our interests, which for me, of course, meant dinosaurs and the Evolving Planet exhibit. The Evolving Planet exhibit is massive, taking you through 4.5 billion years of Earth’s history, from early microbial life to human evolution. Our guide walked us through the highlights, sharing fascinating insights about key evolutionary periods, such as the Cambrian Explosion. A personal favorite? The Tully Monster, Illinois’ state fossil! It was such a quirky tidbit that made me appreciate how connected the state is to prehistoric life. But the crown jewel of the tour—and a personal highlight—was standing in front of Sue the T. Rex without a single crowd around. The chance to take in Sue’s immense size and power in an intimate setting was awe-inspiring. Our guide shared fascinating details about Sue’s discovery and how she made her way to the museum, which made this experience feel even more special. After our guided tour ended at 9 AM, we were free to explore the museum on our own with our all-access tickets. We hit some of the must-see exhibits, like Inside Ancient Egypt (complete with mummies and tombs) and the stunning Hall of Gems. We even checked out the fun, interactive Underground Adventure, where you "shrink" down to the size of a bug—a quirky and unexpected twist. The early access option gave us the luxury of exploring the museum in peace, and I cannot recommend it enough. If you're a museum lover, this is the way to go. Pro Tip: Grab breakfast beforehand to avoid feeling rushed—we stopped at Little Branch Cafe, which was decent, but the slow service almost made us late! Overall, the Early Access Tour was a fantastic way to see the Field Museum in all its glory without the usual crowds. If you're planning a trip to Chicago and love natural history, do yourself a favor and book this experience.

Interesting. - Dinosaurs and very interesting temporary exhibitions, between the one in Egypt, to the rooms with the Dinosaurs and therodactyls looks impressive.

Too rushed - For some reason I thought it would be a two hour tour. Instead it was a rushed one hour tour. Our guide, Katie, did her best and talked fast to show us a section of the museum. We were 5 mins late because our Lyft driver wouldn't drop us at the East entrance.