Join Wild Geese Tours & Cruises on a special pilgrimage to...

Oberammergau &

The Shrines of Italy

August 27 - September 07, 2010

$3,999 Per Person From Las Vegas

$3,699 Per Person From New York

YOUR TRIP INCLUDES:

† 

Roundtrip economy class airfare

10 Nights Accommodations in 2 and 3 star hotels (or similar):

            Aug 28-Aug 30      (2 nights)  Hotel Schilcherhof  **, Oberammergau  

            Aug 30-Sep 02      (3 nights)  Hotel Pacific , Rome

            Sep 02-Sep 04      (2 nights)  S.M. delle Grazie, San Giovanni Rotondo

            Sep 04-Sep 07      (3 nights)   Hotel Giotto, Assisi

Category 2 admission tickets to the Passion Play

Official English program for the Passion Play

Transfers by private motorcoach as per itinerary

Breakfast and Dinner daily

Lunch on 2 days

Tour Escort

Professionally guided sightseeing as per itinerary

Admission fees as per itinerary

Mass daily

Luggage handling (1 piece per person)

Flight bag & portfolio of all travel documents

Not included: Airport Taxes (approx $375, subject to change until tickets are issued). Meals not noted on itinerary, beverages with lunches and dinners, travel insurance optional at $165-$225 per person.  Items of a personal nature.   

Sample Day By Day Itinerary

Day 01, August 27 (Friday):  Departure

Depart for your overnight flights.  Dinner on-board, and anticipate your arrival in Munich tomorrow morning.

Day 02, August 28 (Saturday):  Arrival Munich – Oberammergau

Upon our arrival in Munich this morning we will be met and transferred to our accommodation in Oberammergau  for dinner and a relaxing overnight.

Day 03, August 29 (Sunday):  Passion Play Performance in Oberammergau 

After breakfast we enjoy a bit of leisure time before we make our way to Oberammergau.  Lunch will be served in Oberammergau before the play begins. A highlight of our tour will take place today when we attend the performance of the world-famous Oberammergau Passion Play. For the first time in history, the play will start in the afternoon and end in the evening.  The playing times are tentatively scheduled to be from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM for the first part and for the second part from 8PM to approximately 10:30PM. Dinner will be provided during the intermission.  Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 04, August 30 (Monday):  Oberammergau – Rome

After Breakfast, departure from your hotel and transfer to the airport for your flight to Rome! Upon arrival your escort will warmly greet you this morning and welcome you to Italy. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon for rest, relaxation, or exploration.  You tour escort can suggest sights or walks for you to enjoy. Dinner and overnight.

Day 05, August 31 (Tuesday):  Rome

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 you’ll enjoy a full day of touring in this beautiful city.  We’ll will see many  important cultural and monumental sights around Rome. Stop for a visit at three major Basilicas: 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 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. We will also see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus, Chapel "O'Domine Quo Vadis?" the remains of imperial tombs, 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.  by.  Dinner and overnight.

Day 06, September 1 (Wednesday):  Rome

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 (time permitting). 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 07, September 2 (Thursday):  Rome – San Giovanni Rotondo

We leave Rome, the Eternal City, for San Giovanni Rotondo. Stop in Monte Cassino, a beautiful town founded by St. Benedict in 529. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo

Day 08, September 3 (Friday):  San Giovanni Rotondo – Monte St ‘ Angelo

After celebrating Mass at the tomb of Padre Pio, we tour the sanctuary, see the old church and the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918. We will have an opportunity to view his exhumed body (through September 2009). You will see the confessional where Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with a multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. Enjoy a breathtaking view of the Cargano Peninsula and a visit to the Grotto of Michael the Archangel. Six different popes, St Francis and at least four other saints have knelt in prayer at this grotto, seeking the protection of St Michael. A panoramic view of the ocean and the surrounding countryside awaits you at this most celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St Michael himself in 490. Return to San Giovanni for devotions, reflection, and a restful overnight.

Day 09, September 4 (Saturday):  San Giovanni Rotondo – Lanciano – Loreto - Assisi 

We will have breakfast at our hotel before we embark on a drive up the Adriatic coast to Lanciano where we will see the Eucharistic Miracle and celebrate Mass.  We then continue on to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. More than 50 popes have made a pilgrimage to the house transported by angels to this hill in central Italy in 1294. Tradition has it that this is the house in which Mary first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived.  Continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight.

Day 10, September 5 (Sunday ):  Assisi

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 dinner and retiring for the evening.

Day 11, September 6 (Monday):  Assisi - Sienna

We are off to the beautiful town of Siena, the birthplace of Saints Catherine and Bernardine and one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. Here we will stroll the Piazza Del Campo, one of Italy’s finest squares and visit the Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis, containing the miraculous consecrated hosts that remained intact since 1730. View the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic.   Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight.

Day 12, September 7 (Tuesday)

We bid farewell to Italy and will remember our pilgrimage to Oberammergau and the Shrines of Italy for a lifetime. Early departure from Assisi for Florence (or Rome) Airport for our return flight to the USA.

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