Grand Catholic Italy plus Oberammergau 2010

Day 1
(Mon.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2 - Arrive in Rome, Italy
(Tue.) Transfer to your hotel. Balance of the day is at leisure. At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director, then enjoy this evening’s welcome dinner at a local restaurant. (D)

Day 3 - Rome
(Wed.) Attend the weekly general audience of the Pope (subject to availability). This afternoon, visit ST. PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALLS and the CATACOMBS. During the persecutions, the catacombs were used as places of refuge for the celebration of the Eucharist. Next, visit ST. JOHN LATERAN BASILICA and the HOLY STAIRS, which were brought from Jerusalem to Rome around 326 AD by St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and consist of 28 white marble steps. As a favorite of pilgrims everywhere, these steps may only be ascended on the knees. Then, visit the impressive ST. MARY MAJOR BASILICA. (B)

Day 4 - Rome
(Thu.) This morning, enjoy a guided visit of the VATICAN MUSEUMS and the SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgment. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber River and visit the COLOSSEUM, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World®, and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. (B)

Day 5 - Rome - Montecassino - San Giovanni Rotondo
(Fri.) Visit the ABBEY OF MONTECASSINO, the first of the Benedictine monasteries founded by St. Benedict around 529 AD. Then, journey to Italy’s eastern coast and San Giovanni Rotondo, home to the beloved St. Padre Pio. (B,D)

Day 6 - San Giovanni Rotondo. Excursion to Monte Sant'Angelo
(Sat.) Visit the FRIARY OF PADRE PIO, including his tomb, cell, confessional, and the OLD CHURCH where he received the stigmata. Also visit the NEW CHURCH. Afterwards, visit the nearby SHRINE OF MONTE SANT’ANGELO, one of Christendom’s most celebrated shrines and where St. Michael the Archangel appeared in 490 AD, 492 AD, and 1656. (B,D)

Day 7 - San Giovanni Rotondo - Lanciano - Loreto - Assisi
(Sun.) Visit Lanciano and the CHURCH that is home to an 8th-century Eucharistic Miracle. Afterwards, visit the HOLY HOUSE OF LORETO, where, according to tradition, angels transported the home of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Arrive at the hilltop village of Assisi, home of St. Francis and St. Clare. (B,D)

Day 8 - Assisi - Siena - Florence
(Mon.) Celebrate Mass this morning followed by a guided walking tour of Assisi. Visit the BASILICAS OF ST. FRANCIS and ST. CLARE. See the crucifix that spoke to St. Francis. Also visit the ST. MARY OF THE ANGELS BASILICA and the PORTIUNCULA. On the way to Florence, stop in Siena and visit the SANCTUARY OF ST. CATHERINE and the BASILICA OF ST. DOMINIC. (B,D)

Day 9 - Florence
(Tue.) Your walking tour with a Local Guide features a visit to the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS to see Michelangelo’s David, the CATHEDRAL, and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Balance of the day is at leisure. (B)

Day 10 - Florence - Padua - Venice
(Wed.) Depart for Padua and visit the BASILICA OF ST. ANTHONY to see the tomb and reliquaries of this miracle-working saint and patron of lost and stolen articles. Journey on to Venice, one of the world’s most romantic cities. Enter by PRIVATE BOAT and meet your Local Guide. Visit ST. MARK’S SQUARE and its BASILICA, and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (B,D)

Day 11 - Venice - Innsbruck, Austria
Venice–Innsbruck, Austria. (Thu.) Leave Italy via spectacular Brenner Pass to Austria. In Innsbruck, stroll through quaint medieval lanes to Emperor Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF. Admire the impressive churches in the Old Town or browse through the many shops. (B,D)

Day 12 - Innsbruck - Oberammergau
(Fri.) Through the Bavarian Alps to Oberammergau for the PASSION PLAY, held every 10 years. (B,L,D)

Day 13 - Oberammergau - Munich
(Sat.) Morning at leisure, then continue to Munich, where an orientation drive features the Olympic Stadium, the 1,000-foot-high Television Tower, and Nymphenburg Castle. Enjoy this evening’s farewell dinner. (B,D)

Day 14
(Sun.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (B)

Rome:
Welcome dinner at a local restaurant; Papal audience (subject to availability); guided sightseeing, visit St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Catacombs, St. John Lateran Basilica, the Holy Stairs, St. Mary Major Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum

Montecassino:
Visit the Benedictine Abbey

San Giovanni Rotondo:
Visit Padre Pio’s Friary, the Old Church, and the New Church

Monte Sant’Angelo:
Visit the shrine

Lanciano:
Visit the Eucharistic Miracle Church

Loreto:
Visit the Holy House of Loreto

Assisi:
Celebrate Mass; guided walking tour, visit the Basilicas of St. Francis and St. Clare, also visit St. Mary of the Angels Basilica and the Portiuncula

Siena:
Visit the Sanctuary of St. Catherine and the Basilica of St. Dominic

Florence:
Guided walking tour, visit Michelangelo’s David and the cathedral

Padua:
Visit St. Anthony’s Basilica

Venice:
Private boat ride, guided walking tour, visit St. Mark’s Square and Basilica; dinner at a local restaurant

Innsbruck:
Take pictures of the Golden Roof

Oberammergau:
Passion Play

Munich:
Orientation drive; farewell dinner

See the incredible sights in Italy, Austria, and Oberammergau in Germany. In Rome, enjoy visits with a Local Guide to the Holy Stairs, St. John Lateran Basilica, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. Mary Major Basilica, the Catacombs, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. On to Montecassino to visit the first of the Benedictine monasteries founded by St. Benedict. Then, arrive in San Giovanni Rotondo, home to the beloved St. Padre Pio. Visit his Friary, the Old Church, and the New Church. An included excursion visits the Shrine of Monte Sant'Angelo, where St. Michael the Archangel appeared in the 5th and 17th centuries. Via Lanciano's Church and the Holy House of Loreto, travel to Assisi, where guided visits to the Basilicas of St. Francis and St. Clare are included. Via Siena with its Sanctuary of St. Catherine and the Basilica of St. Dominic, arrive in Florence for two overnights and guided sightseeing that includes a visit to Michelangelo's David. On the way to Venice, stop in Padua to visit St. Anthony's Basilica. Enter Venice by private boat and enjoy a guided visit to St. Mark's Square and Basilica. Later, savor dinner at a local restaurant. Via spectacular Brenner Pass and Innsbruck in Austria, arrive in Oberammergau for the highlight of your vacation: the original Passion Play. Your vacation ends in Munich with an orientation and farewell dinner. 

• Headsets throughout the tour in Italy
• Buffet breakfast daily (B); 1 lunch (L); 9 three-course dinners (D), including a welcome dinner in Rome and a farewell dinner in Munich
• Inside visits as shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges where applicable
• Professional tour director, local hosts, and local guides
• Twin-bedded rooms with private bath or shower, hotel taxes, service charges, and tips for baggage handling
• Private deluxe motorcoach with air-conditioning, extra leg room, and emergency washroom while touring
• Convenient Globus travel bag and travel documents

Hotel information to be determined.

* The prices shown are U.S. dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. Prices quoted for land arrangements are subject to increase without notice. Once we have received your deposit, land prices are guaranteed. Whenever air-inclusive tour prices are displayed, these prices do not include government taxes and fees, which are additional. Air prices are subject to increase and are guaranteed only from the time that full payment is received. Air-inclusive prices include air from a major U.S. gateway; air from other U.S. airports is available at an additional cost. Sorry, we are unable to offer air from countries other than the U.S. However, for those international customers who are able to arrange their own transportation to the tour origination city, we are able to offer the land portion of the package or tour, at the price quoted.