Rome • Assisi • Prague • Krakow • & more...
14 Days - Our prices include airfare from your hometown and 4 or 5 star hotels everywhere
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Scroll down to view the itinerary; click on the trip date to book your trip online.
There are no trip dates scheduled at this time.
Trip Includes:
- Daily Mass is available.
- Round-trip airfare from Houston
- Registration for the WYD event
- Airport Taxes, Security Fees, and Fuel Surcharges!
- Hotel dei Consoli Vaticano, super 4 star hotels with great reviews in Rome. The Hotel Centrum in Krakow.
- All breakfasts and all dinners, and some lunches included in WYD.
- Transportation with luxury bus.
- All entrance fees to all the sites.
- All tips to everyone involved in the tour.
- The tour fees for our guides. Our tour guides are well educated, caring, and professional. Most of them have their PhD's in Church history, archeology, philosophy, languages, or Theology.
- Luggage handling. Please pack light, one piece of luggage and one carry-on.
- This trip will be limited to a maximum of 28 passengers at Fr Esocbar's request. Small groups with a 5 star service in 5 star hotels.
- If you are traveling alone and you allow us to find you a roommate, you don't have to pay the $900 single supplement. If you wish to have your own room and you are not open to the idea of rooming with another passenger, then $900 is what you pay for single supplement fee.
- Dress casually all throughout the trip. Shoulders and knees should be covered when visiting Basilicas or churches.
- Taxi and wheelchair is provided gratis for those passengers who cannot walk. But a traveling companion has to push the wheelchair throughout the trip.
Trip Does Not Include
- Some Lunches
- Insurance ~ The total trip cost is non-refundable, so we recommend trip insurance to protect your investment.
Trip Itinerary
Tuesday, July 19: You will depart from your hometown airport in the United States.
Wednesday, July 20: Upon arrival, you will be met at the airport by one of our local tour guides. This morning is the Audience with the Pope at 10:00 am (10:30 am). We will need to go straight from the airport so we get to see the Pope very closely. Following the General Audience there will be time for lunch in the area of the Vatican. We will spend the afternoon visiting the historical center of Rome. Our first stop the Spanish Steps, where the ancient Romans hung out. From there it is a short walk to Trevi Fountain; throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain and have time for shopping. This will be followed by a walk to the Pantheon, the oldest functional building in the world. Finally, we will end at the great artistic place of Piazza Navona, arriving about 4:30 pm. This evening’s dinner will be at a local restaurant in the area of Piazza Navona. After dinner we will get checked into our hotel in Rome.
Thursday, July 21: This morning we will visit the beautiful town of Assisi. There will be time to see the tombs of Sts. Francis and Clare, take a self-guided tour of the Basilica of St. Francis, and enjoy the peace and serenity as you wander the streets of Assisi. Make sure you have some lunch at one of the café’s while in Assisi, then we will return to Rome for dinner at a local restaurant and spend the night in our hotel.
Friday, July 22: Today we will visit the other three major Basilicas in Rome. First, we will proceede to St. Mary Major, the main Basilica dedicated to Mary in Rome. St. Mary Major is home to the remains of Jesus' manger, brought by Helen, the mother of Constantine, to the Eternal City of Rome; the tomb of Bernini (the Architect of St Peter's in the Vatican); the tomb of St. Jerome who translated the Bible from Greek to Latin as he lived next to the manger of Jesus in Bethlehem; and the oldest icon in the world of the Virgin Mary painted by St. Luke: the famous Salus Populi Romani. This will be followed by a visit to the nearby Basilica of St. John Lateran; the first Basilica ever to be built in the Roman Empire after it became a Christian empire under Constantine. After we leave the Basilica of St. John Lateran, we will see the most well know symbol of the city of Rome: The Colosseum. Built in 80 A.D., it still stand as one of the greatest monuments in human history. In the afternoon, we will have an amazing tour of the Catacombs where 500,000 people were buried. After the Catacombs, we will finish with the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall where the body of St. Paul is buried. As amazing as it is, it is the second largest Basilica in Rome and one of the five largest in the world. Then, we will have dinner and spend the night in Rome.
Saturday, July 23: Today we will spend the day in Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. First, we will visit the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel (the Pope's private Chapel). After the museums we will enter the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican. Since we arrange all of our tours in advance you will not have to stand in long lines to gain entrance. St. Peter's is the largest Basilica in the world and the building itself is great piece of art by Bernini, whose tomb you will remember seeing at St. Mary Major yesterday. Vatican rules dictate that your shoulders and knees must be covered out of respect while in St. Peter’s Basilica, so make sure your wardrobe today includes long pants, capris, or skirts below the knee, and no sleeveless shirts or tank tops. We will have dinner before our bus takes us to the airport for a late flight to Prague, Czech Republic. Upon arrival, we will be met at the airport by our tour guide and transfer to the hotel.
Sunday, July 24: Late start this morning due to our late arrival last night. After breakfast we will depart for Svaty Hora to see the Marian shrine there before returnting to Prague. In Prague we will have a brief tour of the city including stops to see the famous statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague at Our Lady Victorious Church, Our Lady before Tyn, and the astronomical clock. We will enjoy dinner in Prague, then continue on to Brno for an overnight stay.
Monday, July 25: After breakfast at the hotel, we will begin with a visit to a stone promontory called Petrov and the gothic Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul which is built on it. Then we will depart for a tour of Auschwitz where you will visit the impressive Holocaust memorial. (This is included in the trip itinerary but may not be visited based on group leader approval) This will be followed by a brief stop in Birkeneau then continue on to Wadowice, the birthplace of Karol Wojtyla. The tour includes a visit the church he was to have attended and was baptized as a child. We will enjoy the local cuisine at a local restaurant before we check in to the hotel we will be staying at for the entire week.
Tuesday, July 26: After breakfast at the hotel, we will have a tour of Krakow with your guide. In the afternoon World Youth Day activities begin with the official welcome of pilgrims and the opening ceremonies. In the evening we will enjoy dinner before retiring to our hotel for the night.
Wednesday, July 27: Each morning we will have breakfast available in the hotel. The WYD events begin with morning catechesis with participating Bishops, and the afternoon and evening events include shows, music, prayers, and reconciliation opportunities. The group will gather for dinner and spend the night at our hotel in Krakow.
Thursday, July 28: Today we will have breakfast as usual at the hotel, before we attend morning catechesis with participating Bishops. In the afternoon we will welcome Pope Francis and attend his address and prayer service. After dinner the same evening events of shows, music, prayer, and reconciliation opportunities will be available. Then we will return to the hotel for overnight in Krakow.
Friday, July 29: The WYD schedule for today is morning catechesis with participating Bishops. The afternoon events include shows, music, prayer, and reconciliation opportunities. In the evening. After dinner we will participate in the Stations of the Cross before returning to the hotel for the night.
Saturday, July 30: This morning we will join the walking Pilgrimage to the vigil site. The afternoon events include shows, music, prayer, and reconciliation opportunities at the vigil site. We will have dinner at a local restaurant, and in the evening we will attend the Prayer Vigil with our Holy Father. We will spend the night in Krakow at our hotel after the vigil.
Sunday, July 31: Begin the morning with Mass with our Holy Father followed by a Pilgrimage Walk back to the hotel. We will have a free afternoon and evening that includes dinner and overnight in Krakow.
Monday, August 1: Today we will return home to the United States. We will need to get an early start so our private bus can take us to the airport in time for our departing flight.