The price you pay is inclusive

The only extras you need to budget for are lunches, drinks and shopping. We include gratuities to guide, driver and hotel staff.

Included

Flights, Hotel accommodation, Breakfast and dinner daily, Sightseeing programme, Entrance fees & guiding, Gratuities

Not included

Travel Insurance, Single Room supplement, lunches

Touring information

Days generally start at 9 and finish around 5 with dinner served around 7 or 7.30. Lunches are not included as we like to keep flexibility of each day’s timings, but our tour managers are expert at recommending options each day. Touring takes place by air-conditioned private coach, by vaporetto (water taxi) in venice, and on foot. All entrance fees are included.

Passports, visas and health

A visa is not required by British and EU passport holders, but please do check that your passport is not out of date. If you are holding a passport from a non-EU country let us know and we will check whether a visa is required. We recommend that you keep your passport in your hotel room and do not carry it on excursions. No inoculations are recommended.

Travel Insurance

The McCabe recommended insurance policy is designed for the older traveller. The premium for an Italian pilgrimage is £49. Travellers over 75 pay £74 and we also recommend that older travellers obtain a note from their doctor stating that they are fit to travel. Do feel free to shop around as there are many suitable insurance options including annual policies on the market. We do insist that all travellers take out medical insurance.

A key feature of our recommended policy is that there is no requirement to call a Medical Help Line as most pre-existing conditions are covered.

You can read the full policy wording here.

Airline

Flights are available from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Luton, Stansted and other airports. Please check the specific flights shown for your chosen departure.

Hotels

You can expect comfortable, clean accommodation during your stay and all rooms have private facilities. McCabe use a mix of religious guesthouse accommodation and locally graded three star hotels

Breakfast and dinner are served generally at your accommodation.

You can click on the hotel websites below:

Hotel Windsor, Milan

Ostello Galletti Abbiosi Guest House, Ravenna

Casa Del Pellegrino, Padua

Patronate Salesian Leone XIII Guest House, Venice

Cuisine

Breakfast: Italians are not great breakfast eaters with just croissants and coffee being the norm. We have asked that where possible this be supplemented at all of our guesthouses and hotels and you can expect to be offered in addition fruit juice, rolls, cheese and perhaps cereal together with coffee or tea. Dinner will normally consist of a pasta dish or soup followed by a meat course and desert. Italians don’t normally eat vegetables with a meat course but we have tried to emphasise that we do! Sometimes an “antipasti” course is offered or a salad bar to begin your meal. Coffee can be ordered at the table or at the bar and is not included at dinner. It is the Italian custom to drink bottled water at the table, which can be with or without gas. This is inexpensive as is house wine, which can be ordered in a small or large carafe; generally cheaper than buying by the bottle. Extras should generally be paid for in cash at the table and rounded up a little … say 5% or to the nearest round figure. It is not necessary or expected to tip more than this.

Travelling Alone

Many of our passengers travel alone and object to expensive single room supplements. McCabe Pilgrimages will accept individual bookings on a 'guaranteed share' basis. We charge the basic price and accommodate you with a person of the same sex also requesting shared accommodation. If we do not find someone to share with you, you will be accommodated in a single room at only 50% of the usual single room supplement. For single travellers who do require single accommodation this should be requested when booking and, if available, the normal supplement will be payable.

The McCabe Educational Trust

For many, meeting the ‘Living Stones’ of The Land becomes a real highlight of their pilgrimage. The McCabe Educational Trust is an independent registered charity with the aim of helping inspiring people we meet on pilgrimage. On your pilgrimage you will meet some of these people. As ‘the haves’ encounter the ‘have nots’ the Trust has become a practical tool for one to help the other.

McCabe Pilgrimages invite all travellers to become partners in this work. A £15 voluntary donation to the Trust’s work is added to every pilgrim’s invoice and all money raised in this way is given in full to the projects the Trust supports. This scheme is voluntary and confidential with nobody put under any pressure to participate.

Full Financial Security

All money paid to McCabe is fully secure. Holidays including flights are covered by our ATOL license from the Civil Aviation Authority, and holidays without flights are protected by our membership of the ABTOT bonding scheme. If a pilgrimage is cancelled, for instance through lack of numbers or for political considerations, McCabe will promptly refund all monies paid.

AITO Quality Statement

McCabe Pilgrimages is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators. The Association represents Britain’s leading independent tour operators and encourages high standards of quality and service. McCabe abides by the Association’s Code of Conduct and adheres to the AITO Quality Charter.

You can read McCabe reviews on the AITO website HERE