A NOTE FROM LINO
Hellooooo Catholics…and everyone else!
Welcome to a Catholic Guy pilgrimage, your home for pure pilgrimage pleasure. I’m excited to have you join us!
Before you sign up, I’d like to share some thoughts about how we do pilgrimage — and what makes our trips so unique.
On my first pilgrimage, I went with a group. Mornings started with a 5am wakeup call and we were out of the 3-star hotel by 7am. We were back at the hotel by 5pm, eating the same hotel buffet every night and going to sleep by 9pm or so. It was like a mini retreat. This is the norm for most pilgrimages. Which is why I don’t lead most pilgrimages.
On our trips, our days generally start at 9am. We’ll visit beautiful churches and incredible holy sites led by guides who are warm, welcoming and the very best in the business. Many of my guides have been my friends for years and by the end of your trip they’ll be your friends too.
After a full day of travel, we go out to eat at real restaurants — in fact, we often eat at my favorite restaurants. Sometimes, these are places I have been eating at for years and years. And we often stay out late (well, at least late for pilgrimage). Dinners usually begin around 7:30 or so and we try to make it back to the hotel by 10 or 11. Yes, we go on pilgrimage for faith; but the bonding, fun and life-long friendships are part of why so many people continue to enjoy their trip long after it’s over.
But in all my years of taking pilgrims around the world, none of us have ever experienced the world as it is today. COVID-19 protocols and regulations are changing all the time. There may be more questions than answers for a while. Flexibility, patience, and a willingness to roll with the punches have always been inherent to travel but are required in larger amounts now.
If you’re ready now and understand that it’s all a bit like the Wild West, then take a good read over the Terms and Conditions our attorneys have written up, and then let’s go! While I feel comfortable traveling, you may not. And that’s ok. When you’re ready to travel again, we welcome you to enter the lottery for a trip.
Lastly, let me say that I’m very aware of how expensive it is to go on pilgrimage. At the end of every trip people always say it was the best money they’ve ever spent, and we should have charged more. But I’m conscious that it’s your vacation time, your money, and perhaps a once in a lifetime experience. So, while we want you to have an amazing time, I also want you to know we’re working incredibly hard to give you an experience you won’t find anywhere else.
