McCabe Pilgrimages Traveller Reviews

The trip was full on and most days wake up time was 0600 for Mass at 0700 or thereabouts. This being a pilgrimage I did not mind. Visits were of great interest though sometimes too rushed for my liking so perhaps it would have been better to go to less places and spent some extra time in the places visited. In general hotels were good and the food amazing. Overall the trip was a success and I greatly enjoyed it.

Everything was organised by them. I was kept informed throughout all stages of the booking and all went smoothly.

A full week of exploration through the sights, sounds and smells of Jerusalem, concluding with time by the Sea of Galilee. A very balanced tour, encouraging focus not only on the world of the Bible but the more nuanced and conflicting contemporary stories of different cultures' interpretation of "Holy Land". Visiting the Jeel al Amal Boys' Home, supported by McCabe, the Bethlehem Rehabilitation Hospital and Yad Vashem were moving experiences beyond most tours.

McCabe Pilgrimages use excellent local guides and drivers. The knowledge that they are supporting disadvantaged children in difficult circumstances is testament to their convictions.Accommodation was excellent in terms of location, comfort and excellent food. Our group leader was an experienced minister and visitor to Israel and his well-constructed reflections helped to frame the experience.

Every day was interesting. We visited all the key sites in the Holy Land, but had time to breathe. The guide and driver were both excellent, as was the pilgrimage leader. All the tour arrangements worked out well, and both hotels were welcoming and looked after us well.

McCabe have a lot of experience in running pilgrimages, and it shows. The amount of time spent planning this with the leader really paid off.

Reviewer's images:

Saw all holy site and met Palestinian christians and heard about true situation in Israel.

Tour went well

We did this 10-day tour of the holy land for a significant anniversary, and could not have been more pleased with the choice of places to visit, the explanations given, the group camaraderie, and the biblical and spiritual insights and reflections along the way. It was full on -- we visited three or four sites each day -- but there was great food and nice, comfortable hotels to help keep our strength up. We could not recommend this tour more highly!

Organised, timely communications, clear instructions on where to meet at the airport, and what preparations to make.

Our holiday began with unexpected help with check in at the airport and continued to surprise us with delightful small touches such as a beautiful map of Israel, drinking water in our room and free hot drinks in the evening at our last hotel. We were given lots of information in a friendly and caring way. The food was very good with 3 hot meals a day and the company of other friendly Christians who we did not know before the trip.

McCabe provided very helpful information before and during our tour with the small unexpected touches that made all the difference.

We went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and were extremely well looked after throughout. We went to most of the scheduled places and, when bad weather forced a change, a suitable revised schedule was arranged, so no time was lost. Accommodation and food were of good quality and ,all in all , we had a very memorable experience.

McCabe Pilgrimages handled everything perfectly and we felt totally secure at all times. Their choice of Guides, hotels and restaurants were a testament to their expertise in this field.

There were some wonderful and deeply spiritual moments which were fantastic. It was also an eye opener into a different world visiting the West Bank standing on the Golan Heights and visiting the holocaust memorial museum, all of which were disturbing. Seeing the proximity of the western wall, so sacred to the Jews, the Temple Mount, so important for Muslims, and so many sites that are important for Christians, to each other in Jerusalem was extraordinary. So was actually visiting some of the places that we’ve read about in the Bible over so many years. It was certainly a trip that we won’t forget

McCabe. The whole trip was very well organised

Despite heavy rain at the beginning and subsequent changes to the itinerary it was an amazing experience which will stay with me to the end of my life. Visiting the Holy Sites and actually seeing the terrain improved my understanding of the Bible immensely as did the narrative of our guide. The consistently friendly welcome everywhere and good food and facilities added to my enjoyment. I was also priviledged to visit the Bethlehem Rehabilitation Centre, the Jeel al-Amal Boy's Home and School and Yad Vashem. I think my most enduring visual memory will be sunrise over Galilee. The desert areas were also spectacular.

McCabe Pilgrmages are a well established firm with many years experience of running this type of tour. This really showed in the attention to detail and the smooth running of the pilgrimage. They were very responsive to my queries during the booking process and made swift changes to the itinerary on the ground because of the bad weather. I felt that every detail had been attended to; designed to make it a good process from being met by a representative at Heathrow to the guide and coach picking us up at Ben Gurion.

A wonderful trip which in spite of some very wet weather was enjoyed by everyone. The guide was excellent and the coach driver pleasant and helpful.

No problems at all - excellent service