Marian Shrines with St. John the Evangelist, Columbia, Maryland

We work with airlines on booking group airfare from anticipated departure airports. This allows us to get the best rates to fly you and the rest of the group to and from your destination. Group air contracts do not allow deviations, date changes, or upgrades, and in some cases issuing tickets at individual rates may be necessary. See “special flight/hotel requests section” below.

Select your preferred departure airport during registration. If you don’t see your preferred airport listed, please select “send me a flight quote.”

You are always welcome to arrange your own flights. Arranging airfare on your own gives you the ability to spend personally-earned airline miles for your ticket, handpick your seats, upgrade directly with the airline, or deviate from the group in other ways.

Arrival: If you choose to book airfare with us, you will be greeted in the destination airport’s arrival hall by a Canterbury Pilgrimages representative and transferred to the first stop on the itinerary, typically your hotel.

Departure: If you choose to book airfare with us, you will be transferred from the last stop on your itinerary, typically your hotel, to the airport for your return flight home.

If you book your own flights: You may book arrival and departure transfers through us for an additional cost. You may also choose to arrange your own means of transportation to and from the airport. In most cases, on arrival, the first stop on the itinerary will be the group’s hotel, but we will provide you with the location if the group is meeting elsewhere on this day.

If you have booked airfare through us and would like to apply your Known Traveler Number (for TSA PreCheck) and/or your CBP PASSID (for Global Entry), you may provide it to us during registration. Forgot your KTN? Retrieve it here: https://tsaenrollmentbyidemia.tsa.dhs.gov/ktn-lookup

We cannot book your airfare using earned frequent flyer miles or airline vouchers. However, if the airfare we book for you coincides with an airline you are a member of, we are happy to apply your frequent flyer # to your booking for any mile accrual (if applicable).

Absolutely. If you would like to arrive earlier/depart later than the group and/or upgrade your airfare, please contact us at hello@canterburypilgrimages.com

The group’s flight schedules will be provided to you digitally and in the mail 30 days before the pilgrimage.

We would like to remind you that a pilgrimage is not a vacation or excursion but rather a unique spiritual journey that will provide many opportunities to deepen your relationship with God and enrich your Catholic faith by bringing Scripture to life. Millions throughout the ages have gone before you searching for a way to physically connect with their faith in Christ Jesus. You may find that when you are near a saint’s tomb, viewing a holy relic, or praying a Marian devotion, you are overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit in a very real sense. Pilgrimages offer the opportunity to let Christ draw you near. Your chaplain is there to help guide you spiritually on this journey.

This active program covers a good amount of ground each day. The days are busy, usually starting with a wake-up call around 7AM and departure by 9AM or earlier. We aim to be back at the hotel between 5PM and 6PM. Times may vary depending on destination and program. We encourage all pilgrims to be able to walk 3-4 miles per day. The pace is moderate, however you will encounter some uneven surfaces, stairs, steps, cobblestones, and significant slopes. Some tours require walking in the open air with no shade and no seating available. For more specifics on this itinerary’s physical landscape, please reach out to us.

Upon depositing for your trip, we would like to get to know a little bit about you. We will collect your basic contact information, passport information, emergency contact information, and how you would like to set up your pilgrimage. How many are in your party? Will you travel with them and/or share a room with them? Do you know anyone else attending? Where are you flying from?

You will receive additional information that will help you start preparing for your pilgrimage. If applicable, we will also begin working on your flight and travel requests.

Full payment is due for your trip 90 days prior to your departure. This also serves as the last day to sign up for the pilgrimage if space is still available. Once within the 90-day deadline, we may be able to accommodate you at a different rate.

Your pilgrim travel kit includes an invite to download our travel app. On the app is where you will find your flight itinerary (if you opt for us to book your flights), trip itinerary, and a map of your hotel accommodations. You will also have the ability to share photos and messages with fellow pilgrims, and receive any important flight and schedule updates before and during your pilgrimage. Also included in the pilgrim travel kit is your name badge, a luggage tag, a Magnificat prayer book, and a copy of the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, which inspired our mission.

Your pilgrim travel kit will either be delivered to your mailing address provided, or to your parish if a pre-departure meeting is arranged. Please note, we ship via FedEx 2-day air, and thus cannot deliver to P.O. boxes.

The day has arrived! We are looking forward to meeting you.

After the pilgrimage experience, we would love to hear from you what went well and what we can improve upon. We kindly ask you to respond to the survey in your inbox within 5 days of return while your new memories are still fresh.

See all of our current pilgrimage offerings here!

Solo travelers are always welcome on our pilgrimages. If you wish to have a hotel accommodation to yourself, you will be responsible for the single room fee (commonly referred to as a single supplement.)

Sharing hotel accommodations is a great way to save money and get to know another solo traveler on the pilgrimage. If you wish to share a room, we will attempt to connect you with another person of the same gender on the pilgrimage looking to share. Shared rooms are always double rooms with 2 beds. Should we not be able to accommodate you with a roommate, you will be responsible for the single room fee.

For pilgrims traveling with a companion, double rooms are available in either 1 or 2 bed configurations.

For pilgrims traveling in parties of 3 or 4, please be aware that while we do our best to accommodate, not all hotels have rooms equipped with 3 or 4 beds. In many cases, the 3rd or 4th bed is a cot or convertible sofa bed.

Europe: 1 queen bed or 2 twin beds

Asia: 1 twin bed or 2 twin beds

USA: 1 king bed or 2 queen beds

• A valid passport is required to travel outside of the United States.
• Your passport must be valid 6 months from the trip return date.
• If your passport will be expiring within the 6 month window, it is important to renew your passport in a timely manner as renewal turnarounds can take several weeks to months.
• Passport cards are NOT acceptable for travel internationally; only passport books.
• We will need your passport information at least 90 days prior to departure. You may provide us with your passport information upon registering if it is valid and up to date.
• All airlines and hotels require us to submit your passport information including full name, date of birth, gender, country, and passport expiration date.

Although we will do our best to notify you if your passport will not be valid for travel, it is ultimately your responsibility to ensure your passport is valid.

Depending on the nationality of your passport, a travel visa may be required to reach your destination. Although we will do our best to notify you if a travel visa is required, it is ultimately your responsibility to check if visas are required for the destinations visited and to obtain any necessary travel documents. You can do that easily here: https://apply.joinsherpa.com/travel-restrictions

• We strongly encourage travel insurance for all of our pilgrims. We partner with Allianz Travel Insurance to offer affordable travel insurance.
• Most of our pilgrims choose the Classic Plan to protect their travel investment. Learn more about this plan by clicking here.
• Insurance can be quoted and purchased after registration. With any questions, or if you would like to include insurance for airfare or accommodations that you did not purchase through Canterbury, please contact us for assistance.
• By purchasing a policy through us, please note that the service we provide is only in the acquisition and management of your policy. In the case of postponement or cancellation of your pilgrimage, we will request the necessary updates to your policy to reflect your new dates of travel, or request the cancellation and refund of your insurance policy if applicable (refunds are subject to Allianz’s discretion). Any claims filed are the responsibility of the customer.

Although group airfare is restrictive with seat selection, we will always do what we can to accommodate pilgrims who need specific seating, such as aisle or bulkhead seating, due to a medical condition or disability. In addition to that, wheelchair assistance from the moment you arrive at the airport, to your terminal, or all the way to your seat, is available to you, provided by the airline, and does not need to be pre-arranged.

Most countries do not follow US accessibility standards. Old buildings, cobblestone walkways, and uneven surfaces are a part of every itinerary. Access to some establishments may not be convenient for wheelchair use and will require the use of stairs. During hotel overnights, we can arrange for you to stay in handicap-accessible rooms where available. In the event they are not available, we will request rooms on the main floor or near an elevator.

Pending availability, we are happy to request a wheelchair rental for the duration of the pilgrimage. Wheelchair users must have a designated travel companion to assist them during the pilgrimage. Please reach out to us to place this request.

We always intend to provide our customers with the pilgrimage they spend time and resources to plan with us. If we are unable to travel to a destination ahead of a trip, or reasonably predict to be unable to travel, Canterbury reserves the right to make changes to the itinerary, including the dates of the trip. We respect your time and that of the people in your life who plan for your absence. We only change or postpone the dates of the trip when it is necessary due to inability to travel to a destination, untimely closures in crucial sites along the itinerary, extreme weather conditions, government mandates, war, acts of God, or other factors. In this situation, your reservation will be automatically preserved for the new dates of the trip, which will take place at a reasonable time arranged by Canterbury and/or the group organizer. Additionally, Canterbury hopes to offer you the best possible options for your reservation given the circumstances, which, if possible, could include transferring your reservation to another trip, or other arrangements.

Countless months get put into the organization of your trip, thus we do our best to avoid cancelling it. Though we reserve the right to cancel for any reason at any time, we typically only do in instances of an insufficient group size. In this case, we would refund 100% of what you have paid to us back to your original payment method on file within 10 business days.