Not Included: Airport Taxes (subject to change until tickets are issued), Lunches, Travel Insurance (www.206tours.com/insurance), Cancellation Protection Insurance (www.206tours.com/cancellationprotection), Tips to driver and guides (7-9 EURO per day), and Items of a personal nature.
Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary:
Day 1, June 6, Monday – Phoenix to Italy
Depart from Phoenix for your overnight flights to Rome. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board.
Day 2, June 7, Tuesday - Arrive Rome
Upon arrival your escort will warmly greet you and welcome you to Italy. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon for rest, relaxation, adjusting to local time or exploration. You tour escort can suggest sights or walks for you to enjoy. Dinner and overnight.
Day 3, June 8, Wednesday - Rome (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour)
Wake up in Eternal City, one of the greatest centers of Western Civilization and the first truly cosmopolitan city on earth! It is also spiritual capital for all the Catholics around the world. Today is truly a day we will have in our minds for many years to come. This morning we go to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (pending papal schedule). Following the audience visit of the Vatican Museums, a group of most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. Later, enter the largest church in Christendom St. Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter was martyred. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims come from around the world, St. Peter's is the grandest of the world's churches. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. We will also visit the grave of Pope John Paul II located at the Vatican. Before dinner, we'll have some time at leisure, to explore your own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.
Day 4, June 9, Thursday - Rome
This morning we depart for a sightseeing tour entitled "Christian Rome" which includes: the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine that contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus; the Holy Stairs, the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, The Basilica of the St. John in Lateran, is the former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377; St. Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St. Paul under its main altar; and the Appian Way -- the oldest road from Roman times--plus the famous Domino Quo Vadis Chapel; see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus; Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the catacombs of St. Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. We will also enjoy a visit to the Trevi fountain. Dinner and overnight for your last evening in Rome.
Day 5, June 10, Friday – Free day in Rome
Today we’ll anticipate free time for optional tours, to be suggested by your guide and spiritual director.
Day 6, June 11, Saturday – Rome to Assisi
After breakfast we depart Rome for a drive through the Italian countryside toward Assisi. Arrival later today. Dinner and overnight in Assisi.
Day 7, June 12, Sunday – Walking Tour of Assisi
We will visit the tomb of St Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St Francis that still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St Francis began his ministry. Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of the saint's possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St Francis, asking him to rebuild His church. It was in St Mary of the Angels Basilica where St Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer. Stroll the medieval streets of the compact little town. After stopping at an outdoor cafe with a view of an ancient Roman temple, we go to the Church of St Clare to see the saint's incorrupt body. The foundress of the Order of Poor Clares followed the teachings of St Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. We will visit these two saints' tombs before returning to our hotel for dinner and retiring for the evening.
Day 8, June 13, Monday – Assisi to Medjugorje
We’ll transfer to the airport for our flights to Croatia. Upon arrival, we’ll be met and transferred to the mountain village of Medjugorje. You’ll stay in a modern and comfortable house for the next three nights Dinner and overnight.
Day 9, June 14 & 15, Tuesday & Wednesday - Medjugorje
Experience the beauty and peace of this simple village. During your stay in Medjugorje you will have the opportunity to share faith with pilgrims from all over the world. At 10am we’ll assemble at St. James Church for the English-language Mass. Follow the path up Apparition Hill where the visionaries first encountered Our Lady. Touch and pray before the cross that commemorates the spot where Mary first appeared to the visionaries. This evening at 6pm we will join the villagers and pilgrims to pray the rosary. The apparition takes place at 6:40. We may attend the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
We will have the opportunity to climb Krizevac Mountain, where in 1933 the villagers built a 30' high cross on the anniversary of Jesus' crucifixion. Visit and pray at "Blue Cross", which is a place of great healings and graces - a very special place at the base of Apparition Hill.
Day 10, June 16, Thursday – Return to Phoenix
We’ll depart today for our return flights to Phoenix, arriving home later today.
Additional Information & Travel Tips What to Know Before You Go: Italy Medjugorje
Any questions?
Please Contact: Helen Zec, Marian Travel Service, 13323 Castle Rock Drive, Sun City West, AZ 85375. e-mail: MIRarizona@cox.net or Phone: (623) 546-8668
For more information or to register please contact: Cara Manise tel: 800-206-TOUR (8687) ext. 134 or email: cara@206tours.com with any questions
Click here for a printable flyer
| Travel Dates | |
Land Only
(no airfare) |
*Air & Land |
# of
Pilgrims |
| Single Supplement / Private Room |
$250 |
| Business Class Upgrade (one-way) |
$1,750 |
| Business Class Upgrade (round trip) |
$3,500 |
| First Class available |
upon request |
| Children's discounts for children under 12 |
upon request |
Click here for a printable flyer
|
Papal Audience, Vatican City
Virgin Mary
333 Marcus Blvd 