McCabe Pilgrimages
AFTER a change to Foreign Office advice on travel to Israel, McCabe expects to be offering trips for church groups from the autumn, and earlier for individuals. Trips to Jordan are also still possible. Other destinations on offer include Poland, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Germany, Armenia, and Malta.
Trips following Paul’s missionary journeys remain popular for 2025, as do the Istanbul and the Seven Churches of Revelation tour in Turkey, and trips to Malta exploring the island’s pre-history and Christian heritage. McCabe is also facilitating group pilgrimages to Rome and two-centre trips to Rome and Assisi, linked to the Jubilee Year.
In 2015, the company introduced a portfolio of trips available to customers after going on a parish tour. New destinations have been added every year since, and this year have been rebranded Fellowship Tours.
Fellowship Tours that are new for 2025 include a trip walking the Way of St James, from Salzburg to Tyrol (13 September, from £2395pp); a summer pilgrimage to Iona (10 August, from £2099pp); and a pilgrimage to the Isle of Man, exploring the island’s Celtic Christian history, (19 July, from £1495pp).
A new cruise is also available, following St Paul’s final journey to Rome (21 October, from £3710pp).
Cultural trips to Mexico and Vietnam are on the programme for 2025, following the ethos of founder Alistair McCabe, who retired in 2020. McCabe’s director Paul Ellerby explains: “There were times when he offered tours that were just iconic places to go, and on that tour we connect with the Christian story in that place.”
Individuals can also join parish tours listed on the company’s website.
All McCabe holidays include daily worship, an opportunity to meet local Christians, and a donation to the McCabe Educational Trust, which raises money for Christian-run social-justice projects. ATOL and AITO protected.
Contact: 020 8675 6828; mccabe-travel.co.uk
Norman Allen Group Travel
ALL trips organised by this family owned company are bespoke, but an annual brochure is produced to help church tour-leaders to consider what might work for their group. That for 2025-26 will be available from April.
Destinations being marketed include revamped tours to Greece and the Greek islands, following St Paul’s missionary journeys, and trips to both Turkey and Santiago de Compostela.
The company is still taking groups to Jordan, and can put together specific tours that bring together various biblical sites, including Mount Nebo, where Moses viewed the promised land, and the baptismal site of Jesus.
Regular trips to monasteries and convents, or to shrines, including Fatima, in Portugal, and Banneux, in Belgium, are also available.
Norman Allen works to each group’s requirements according to accommodation star rating, and access to Christian communities. Average group sizes are between 30 and 35 per trip, but a minimum of ten is possible, depending on price. ABTA and ATOL protected.
Contact: 01432 277666; group-travel.com
AlamyLibrary of Celsus, in Ephesus, Turkey
Travelink
THE company arranges pilgrimages for church groups through its Tours for Christians website. In addition, it organises fund-raising trips hosted by Christian charities, and customisable regular tours, run by local guides, for individuals.
For 2025-26, one of its main destinations for groups is Turkey. The most popular tour is its seven-night Seven Churches of Revelation and Istanbul trip (from £1695pp in four-star accommodation). A ten-day Turkey trip that typically includes a visit to Cappadocia, Istanbul, and Ephesus is also on offer.
Other top destinations include Greece (three- or four-night trips tend to centre on Athens and Corinth; seven-night itineraries typically include Meteora, Delphi, and Philippi), Italy (Rome, the Colosseum, Vatican City), and Poland (Kraków, Warsaw, Auschwitz, Wieliczka Salt Mines, and a number of synagogues).
From this month trips to Israel are available for groups and individuals. Tours for Christians is also still organising trips to Jordan, often combining biblical sites with tourist sites, including Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash, Madaba, and Amman.
Group visits can incorporate meeting local Christians and daily worship, reflections, or communion.
Some parish trips organised by the company are also available for public bookings, as listed on its website. ABTA protected.
Contact: 020 8931 8811; toursforchristians.com
Richmond Holidays
CHRISTIAN holidays on Madeira and the Greek island of Samos are the prime offering from Richmond Holidays. In the skiing season, groups can also stay at the company’s chalet in the French Alps.
Holidays in Samos are based at the family-owned Zefiros Beach Hotel (from May to October). Richmond staff work as resort managers, run the Waterfront (kayaking, windsurfing, and sailing) and the biking centre (a full Trek fleet is offered this year). Optional daily activities and (paid-for) excursions are also offered. In the summer holidays, children and youth workers are on hand for activities and ministry.
An adult-only holiday with four-star accommodation in Funchal Old Town, Madeira is popular with solo travellers. Dates offered this year are 7-14 April, 14-21 April, 6-13 October, and 13-20 October.
On both islands, there are plenty of churches and monasteries to visit. “But the destinations haven’t been chosen for their Christian heritage, more because of their location, and we bring the Christian teaching, encouragement, and fellowship,” says Richmond’s director, Adam Playfair.
Richmond’s ski chalet is located in the heart of the Three Valleys, with doorstep access to more than 600km of pistes, from Courchevel to Val Thorens. Apres-ski includes unlimited access to the chalet’s two saunas and hot tubs. Lift passes, equipment, and a ski school for all ages are all paid extras. In mid and high season, families can also take advantage of a (paid-extra) lunch club (11.30 a.m.-2 p.m.) for five-to-12-year-olds.
Ministry leaders are available on all Richmond holidays, which include half-board communal dining. Some themed weeks are available to book on the website. TTA and ATOL protected.
Contact: 020 3004 2661; richmond-holidays.com
Alamy Coastline near Cregneash, on the Isle of Man, a new destination for McCabe Pilgrimages
JC Journeys
OVER the past eight years, the Greek island of Patmos, where St John received the vision that led to the book of Revelation, has emerged as one of the company’s signature destinations.
Patmos is a popular choice for groups looking for a mix of Biblical history, rest, and relaxation. Tours include time to both explore Greek Orthodox influences on the island and to enjoy the hotel pool and beaches, and the capital’s bars, cafés and restaurants. Patmos can easily be combined with a trip to Ephesus, in Turkey.
New tour itineraries for 2025 include St Paul in northern Greece, taking in Philippi and Thessalonica. Corinth is another group option. Other western Europe destinations include Turkey (Izmir and Istanbul) and Ephesus and the Seven Churches of Revelation tour (visiting four of the churches).
Further afield, tours can be facilitated to Egypt, linked to the Desert Fathers, and church groups can also visit Kerala, in India, linked to St James. Trips to Israel for individuals resume in May, and it is hoped that parish tours to the Holy Land, particularly Jordan, will resume later in the year.
A selection of walking trips for churches or individuals and bespoke Battlefield trips are also on offer. Popular walking destinations include the Way of St Francis to Assisi, Santiago de Compostela (from Portugal or France), Lindisfarne, Durham to Lindisfarne on St Cuthbert’s Way, and Iona to Lindisfarne.
The company can also arrange tours for groups to places linked to their saint to whom their church is dedicated. It can also curate faith-in-art tours for groups of 12 or more. “We’d love to do Caravaggio in Rome or Canaletto in Venice,” says JC’s director, Jane Roberts.
All JC Journeys include sightseeing and relaxation time, communal dining, daily talks and prayers, and opportunities to meet local Christians. ATOL protected.
Contact: 01886 812862; jcjourneys.com
Journeying
THE offering from Journeying is small-group, pilgrim walking holidays in Britain and Ireland, many with a Celtic connection, led by dedicated guides. Each day starts with reflective worship, with additional reflections along the route.
The 2025 programme includes trips to six small holy islands off the coast of Britain (Caldey Island, Ramsey, Iona, Arran, Bardsey, and Lindisfarne) and a walking holiday based at the Leeds diocesan retreat house in the Yorkshire Dales (18-22 August, from £600). A new aspect of the Lindisfarne trip (13-20 June, from £850pp) is walking highlights of St Oswald’s Way.
“Walking is a great leveller. It’s a great way just to feel at ease, to look at the view,” says the company’s chair, David Gleed. “And often suddenly something quite profound comes out as you walk and talk.”
Walks on each holiday vary in length and difficulty and are described in the programme, but it is possible to opt out of certain walks.
Those seeking a gentler pace may also want to consider The Late Summer in Oxfordshire trip (5-7 September, from £305). Staying at the Convent of St Mary the Virgin, Wantage, pilgrims are offered walks no longer than three miles and plenty of time to simply be.
Contact: 07896 285839; journeying.co.uk
