Private Pilgrimages

Your own group, nobody else’s

A private pilgrimage is built for the people you name and no one else. There is no fixed departure to join and no strangers on the coach. The itinerary, the pace and the dates are yours, and the group is whoever you bring, whether that is a family of six or a prayer group of twenty.

No minimum, and we say so plainly

There is no minimum party size. The one thing worth knowing before you ask is that the fewer of you there are, the more the pilgrimage costs each person, because a coach, a guide and a tour manager cost the same whether six people travel or sixty. We tell you what your number means for the price in the first conversation, not later.

Paced for the people travelling

Young children and older travellers change how a trip should be built, so we build it differently: a genuine rest day early on rather than a full itinerary from the first morning, the major sites on separate days instead of stacked into one, an overnight in place of a long day trip, and unhurried time at the shrine you came for.

The first conversation

Tell us roughly where you want to go, when, how many of you there are and how old they are. We build a draft itinerary and a price from that, with no deposit and no commitment until the plan is right.How it works →

Anywhere we travel, and places we do not yet

A private pilgrimage can follow one of our filed routes, lengthened or shortened to fit your time, or it can be built from nothing around a shrine you have wanted to see for years. Start from a destination you like the look of and tell us what you would change.Browse destinations →

Mass and confession

Many private groups bring their own priest, a family friend or their own pastor, and he celebrates Mass for the group and hears confessions exactly as he would for a parish. A group travelling without a priest attends a public Mass that we arrange, usually in the local language, and the same for confession. A chaplain can be arranged on request.Common questions →

Fly with us, or book your own

Most groups take the flights we arrange, which keeps everyone arriving and departing together. If you would rather book your own, ask us for land-only pricing and we will quote the pilgrimage without the air.What land only means →

A Canterbury escort on the ground

A tour manager travels with your party for the whole pilgrimage, with a local guide at each site, so nobody in the group is working out a foreign coach station or a shrine’s Mass schedule on their own.What a pilgrimage is like →

A different kind of group?

We build the same trip for a diocese, a school, a youth group, a lay organisation, or a seminary or religious community. We also build pilgrimages to mark a priest’s anniversary. Tell us what the group is and we will build around it.

Your party travels on its own dates.

Tell us the window you have in mind and we will build the itinerary around it: the time you have, the pace that suits your party, and the places that matter most to you.

Is there a minimum number of travellers?

No. We build private pilgrimages for parties of any size, including a single family. The smaller the party, the higher the cost each person, because the coach, the guide and the tour manager cost the same either way. We tell you what your number means for the price in the first conversation.

Is there child pricing, and a minimum age?

Child pricing is quoted case by case, depending on the children’s ages and how the rooms are arranged. There is no fixed minimum age. Tell us how old they are and what you have in mind, and we will tell you honestly whether the itinerary we would build suits them.

Can we bring our own priest?

Yes, and many families do: a friend or their own pastor travels with them, celebrates Mass for the group and hears confessions, exactly as with a parish group. Without a priest, we arrange for the group to attend a public Mass, usually in the local language, and the same for confession. A chaplain can be arranged on request.

Can we book our own flights?

Yes. Ask for land-only pricing and we will quote the pilgrimage without the air, so you can fly from the airport that suits you. Tell us your flight times once they are booked.

How far ahead should we start?

Most pilgrimages are built eight to thirteen months out, and waiting is the most common mistake we see. If your dates are sooner than that, ask anyway and we will tell you straight away whether it can be done.