In June of 2005 my daughter, son, cousin and I joined Tour 3, with 206 Tours. The main reason for the trip was to accompany my son, Anthony Theodore Fraune, who had been diagnosed with aplastic anemia in 2000, to the Shrine of the Blessed Mother of Lourdes.

At the time we scheduled the trip he was still able to travel, or at least God gave him the strength to do so. Ted went in the “Bath” while we were there and his prayer to God was “if it was His will, he would be cured.” While there, we were told that miracles did not happen over night, and sometimes it took years. Ted’s health during the year 2006 seemed to be declining and in September 2006 an appointment was made at Duke Hospital to reevaluate his condition. When we arrived and finally saw the doctor, Ted had a fever. They immediately admitted him to the hospital and did extensive testing, including a bone marrow. After three days waiting for the results from the bone marrow, the doctors informed us that Ted no longer had aplastic anemia, it was now hairy cell leukemia, which was treatable with a 90% chance of cure. We remained for five days for the treatment. As a result, Ted’s hemoglobin, white count, etc. increased dramatically. On November 20 Ted returned to Duke Hospital for an evaluation and the doctors were pleased with his progress. His counts are almost back to normal. He will return in March of 2007 to Duke Hospital for another evaluation, and I pray that at that time he will be in remission.I told Ted to tell the doctors at Duke Hospital that we went to Lourdes to the Shrine of the Blessed Mother and that I considered it a miracle. The doctors told Ted to tell me they would accept all the help they could get. I am furnishing you with this information since I felt you would be interested. I would also like to know how to get the information to Lourdes for their records.
It may never be documented by the church as a miracle, but to me it is the greatest gift from God to have my son back.

Sincerely,
Adelaide Mitchell

Rinda,

Medjugorje was great! Nada’s House is the best, great food, adequate accommodations, and Nada is exceedingly gracious. Snzejana, our guide, was superb. I cannot recommend her enough: knowledgeable, faith filled, enthusiastic, generous with her time. I would only suggest that on the return, that the package be expanded to include an overnight in Dubrovnik, with a day tour of that city…it would break up the otherwise very long flight, and provides a little touristy interest.

Thanks again for the opportunity.
Blessings,
 

Rev. Emile R. Boutin, Jr. Rev. Emile R. "Mike" Boutin, Jr.
Church of the Blessed Sacrament

Dear Rinda,

The Shrines of Italy Pilgrimage just concluded was excellent.
Gaia was a first-class Guide, who was upbeat and knowledgeable, with a sense of humor thrown in. The special guides at certain spots also were excellent. I should mention also our bus driver Mauro, who is a real pro,
with city and long drives safe and comfortable. I learned a lot and was deeply moved, and will share this with my Jesuit community, students relatives and friends. In fact I am a good booster of 206 Tours (Pilgrimages) – and hear good comments from fellow-pilgrims as well! The experience was prayerful, I call it a “Retreat on Wheels”, with prayer (usually on the bus) and the Eucharist at these special places. The little Magnificat booklet is also a big help, we all used it. Our group bonded well and formed a little community; we were also able to have some fun at dinners and during the rides. – I will be returning to the classroom full time in mid-January, so am not available except for school breaks, but certainly will be interested to be chaplain again as this may be possible.

In the Lord,
Fr. Jim Hosie, SJ.

Dear Rinda,

We had a wonderful pilgrimage to Medjugorje! Fr. Mike Boutin was wonderful, our host, Nada, was WONDERFUL!, our Croatian guide, Snjezana was wonderful…and, to top it off, we had wonderful weather. We couldn’t have asked for more. Thank you again so much for arranging this pilgrimage. I will definitely use 206 Tours again.

Thank you,
Jan Higgins

Dear Rinda,

Thank you again 206 Tours for a wonderful pilgrimage — Tour 93, The Shrines of Italy. There were so many blessings I cannot begin to list them, but there are just a few things I would like to mention. First, thanks to our wonderful guide Gaia and our equally wonderful driver Mauro our trip proceeded smoothly. Also, thanks to our wonderful spiritual director Fr. Jim, we were provided with spiritual enrichment on every step of our journey.

Our hotels in Rome and San Giovanni Rotundo were excellent, but I felt the rooms in Assisi were a level below those in Rome and SGR; however, they had a lovely dining room and the food was great. This is my second pilgrimage with 206 Tours and I have felt so well taken care of. I look forward to further pilgrimages with you.

Thank you again, and I pray you will continue to provide the same excellent services to pilgrims.
Cheryl Baltru

Hi Rinda,

Just want to say that the Nov 13 – 21 Pilgrimage to Medjugorje was fantastic!! Fr. Mike was wonderful!! In fact, we really ‘lucked out’ and had a great bunch in our tour group…everybody really enjoyed each other’s company. And, Nada’s Place, was just excellent too! Everyone loved Nada’s cooking; and, her convenient location to St. James Church was much appreciated by a couple people in our group that were either a bit elderly or somewhat disabled… Also, I want to make mention that the 206 Croatian tour guide, Snjezana, is a very knowledgeable and caring person….she made sure everyone’s needs were taken care of satisfactorily….great gal! Okay… Well for me…I’ll be traveling with you guys to Medjugorje again Feb 1 thru Feb 12….reminds me that I’ve got to get a check off to you guys this week….

Later,
Martha Schneider

Dear Rinda,
Our tour was wonderful!!! I do think it had a lot to do with our most gracious guide, Gaia. She was always a step ahead and did her best to accomodate our every need. Her positive and spiritual attitude was contagious. When we travel again with 206 we will definately look for a tour she is hosting.

God Bless,

Patrice and Doug Gremillion

We hoped that you would be interested in our comments because we truly do have strong feelings on our trip. First, the portion of the trip in Lourdes was A+, we loved our experiences and the timing of events was excellent.
Father Bruce Swift – A+ Was always there for us and willing to share without also overburdening us with his own opinions. Listened very well. Overall Average – B+ because Lourdes was so fantastic. We would recommend using 206 tours in the future. 206 Tour personnel on phone and making arrangements – A+ I personally think that of all pilgrim sites, Lourdes will always draw the infirm to try to get healed, any "tag On" trips as an add on after Lourdes should keep that in mind.

Thank you for a wonderful journey!

John and Kim Baron

Dear Rinda,

I was happy to receive your email today, as I was just going to send you a note. I wanted to thank you for arranging what was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. The trip was wonderful, truly a gift. I met the most wonderful people and shared an incredible spiritual journey. On the business side of it, everything was wonderful. The 206 tour guides in Lourdes and Paris were terrific – very attentive, kind and knowledgeable. I felt safe, secure and well looked after. Everything went very smoothly. I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to participate in another one of your tours. It was truly one of the highlights of my year.

Best Regards,

Karen Sgambati

Hello Rinda,

After several missteps getting our local group together, we finally settled with just three. But were
delighted to join 20 other traveling souls with 206Tours for a near-perfect and gratifying trip.

Though the older European hotels and sights can be achallenge for the disabled. The 206 staff was
extremely helpful. It remains an experience to treasure for a lifetime.Thank you.

Regards,
Louis Meluso

This was my first experience with 206Tours, but I am sure it will not be my last! I was initially impressed with how personable and helpful you all were when I was first arranging my trip, making my reservation and finding the best departure city. Then, when I arrived in Medjugorje, I was continually impressed with the 206Tours Staff. Everything was so well-organized. Our tour guides, Dragan and Slavenka, were wonderful. They were extremely knowledgeable and caring (especially when I lost my luggage for 3 days!). 206Tours is run not just as a business, but as a group of people who want to share the message of Medjugorje with the pilgrims who go there. I have been recommending 206Tours to friends and family since I got back, and I will continue to do so. I had a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait until I can go back!

Dawn Neitzey

Dear Rinda:

The pilgrimage was very enjoyable, although the schedule was tight. All of the pilgrims were wonderful, very cordial, and there seemed to be a nice spirit among them. Of course, there are always a couple who are perhaps a bit "needier" than others. The hotels were all very fine, although I would single out the one in Avila as my favorite.Superlatives in every way for Javier. He was a great help, friendly, competent, well organized and devout. Clearly, all the pilgrims were very impressed by him. Ziga, our Paris guide, was pleasant, and went out of his way to be helpful to the members of the group. Javier, we all felt he was really "into" the sacred nature of the trip, although, as I’ve noted, he was very competent and able to handle all the minor difficulties that arose.

Sincerely,
Father Bernard, O.P

Oh ~ you are truly a beautiful person and I will cherish the awesome time we had in Medjugorje. Your expertise made everything perfect! I will give my father your message ~ he will never forget the great cup of coffee you bought him in the Vienna Airport ~ coffee is the way to his heart. Thanks for getting your pictures on the Internet so quickly, the are very good and I was able to share them with my husband right away. I will recommend your company to everyone that I can.

Blessings to you and your family ~ enjoy your time with them,
Love, Libby

Dear Ms. Kanidinc:

Still jetlagged from the WONDERFUL trip to the Holy Land, I want to thank you so very much for allowing our little pilgrimage group of five to visit the places where Jesus walked, despite the fact that (we were told) 206 Tours lost money on our pilgrimage’s small number. Thank you, thank you, thank you. When I was told we would have a small group, I was delighted! Nothing like having individual attention from Father Phil Pavich, a Holy Land scholar and spiritual giant!!!!! Our little group got on famously and watched out for each other every step of the way. Sami was a very nice, friendly and knowledgeable guide; Himeed, our driver, was also kind and accommodating. I can’t thank you enough for allowing our little pilgrimage group to proceed despite our small number! You having done so was one of those “kisses” from God, as he knows my introverted nature’s preferences! We were RICHLY blessed to have Mass every day at one of nine holiest Christian sites in the world. In addition, Fr. Pavich led us through all 20 decades of the Rosary, saying each decade at the appropriate commemorative site as we went along. WOW!! I would not hesitate to highly recommend 206 Tours, Tour 111, the Holy Land, to anyone. Please feel free to use my comments for future recommendations/references. In addition, I plan on investigating 206 Tours FIRST for any future Catholic holy land(s) tours to other destinations in the future.

May God Richly Bless 206 Tours, As You Made All Your Best Available To This Grateful Pilgrim,
Jennifer E. Reedy, Ph.D., P.A.,
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Hello Liz,

Thank you for the pictures ~ I looked on your website once for them, I will keep checking for more from our group, I know there was a gentleman with us, that really took nice pictures. I do not have mine copied yet and this way. I can share Milanka’s with my husband at lunch, he is excited to see them. Milanka is a very special and beautiful person, we really enjoyed her company. This was a first time trip for my father and I and I must say you did an excellent job ~ I will recommend 206 to everyone !!!

Thanks,
Libby

Rinda,
Thank you for your prompt reply. Your explanations are acceptable to me.
By the way, I forgot to mention that the choice of hotels and the food were great!!!
Also, Iko and Ana Soldo (Of Iko Soldo House/Pansion Ana) in Medjugorje were kind and accommodating individuals. I would recommend this House for future 206Tours pilgrims. I just want to let you know that I would still use 206Tours for my future pilgrimage needs. I’ll definitely recommend 206Tours to my friends.

Thank you and God Bless!
Ammie Laguilles

Dear Rinda,

Overall, our Tour 49 was great…it exceeded my expectations! We visited all the places and did exactly what you described in the pamphlet that you sent us. Two tour guides contributed greatly to our memorable pilgrimage:

1. JAVIER, our tour guide in Portugal, Spain, and France was fantastic! He was not only very knowledgeable but also provided valuable insights on the places we visited. Needless to say, he possessed exemplary people’s skills, and he was very accommodating.

2. VINCENZO, our tour guide in Italy (Rome, San Giovanni Rotondo, Assisi, etc.) was also very knowledgeable, helpful, accommodating…and most of all, FUNNY!

Although my Medjugorje experience was profound and overwhelming, this portion of our pilgrimage had some disappointing aspects:

1. We were not able to meet with a visionary! Vicka was sick on the scheduled day but a back up visionary could have been in place.

2. The 24-year old driver who picked us up (with his girlfreind) at the Dubrovnik airport was speeding quite a bit; he did not follow posted traffic speed limits. As a result, we were stressed out because we did not feel safe in the dark and winding road during the 2 and 1/2 hour drive from the airport to Medjugorje. We informed Ratko (206Tours contact person in Medjugorje) about our concern. This problem was rectified, and we were given a VERY SAFE DRIVER on our return trip.

3. 206Tours could have booked us on an earlier than the 6:15pm flight from Rome to Dubrovnik so that we did not have to travel for 2 and 1/2 hours in the dark and winding road from the airport to Medjugorje. Likewise…on our return trip from Medjugorje, we had to leave Medjugorje at 1:30am. There was no logic (just maybe for cheaper fares…but too cumbersome and exhausting for the pilgrims) in booking us for VERY EARLY flights from Dubrovnik to Zagreb and then Zagreb to Paris. We could have flown directly from Dubrovnik to Paris. Besides, according to our daily pamphlet itinerary, we return via (Dubrovnik Airport) Split or Sarajevo.I hope my feedback has given you some insights – in planning future pilgrimage itineraries – toward improving pilgrims’ satisfaction.

Sincerely,
Ammie Laguilles

Liz,

thanks very much for a great trip. I don’t think we have any suggestions to improve the pilgrimage. Father Pat and Father Ed were inspiring, simply GREAT. As usual, we enjoyed Wayne and we thank you for the party. I’m uncertain who we should specifically thank for the trip to the refugee camp and the visit to Cenacolo. Both visits were memorable but, of course, for different reasons.If we have a complaint, it is something you and we have no control over. It seems as if airline travel becomes increasingly tedious every month. We are reviewing your latest catalog and I hope we can manage a pilgrimage to Mexico early in 2007 as well as a return to Medjugorje, with Wayne, next November. Medjugorje is truly a special place. Thank you for the opportunity to travel to Medjugorje again and for your help in getting the documents to us early in order to notconflict with our other travel plans.

Ed Spanier

I enjoyed trip immensely and appreciated the service that we got from your company. The two tour guides we had in Spain and Portugal were wonderful. They gave it their all. The two spiritual directors were very nice as well. The hotels in Avila and Burgos were my favorites. My only complain was the food in Spain was delicious but kind of salty for me. Keep up the good work.

Lourdes

Good morning Kristin:

I am finally surfacing after a wonderful pilgrimage. We had a great trip and the pilgrims were very happy. The Bishop’s luggage didn’t arrive in Lisbon, and he had to wait two days for it all to arrive. His rain gear was in the luggage and we had rain all through Portugal and into Spain. The only decent weather in Spain was our time in Salamanca, Alba de Tormes and Avila. It drizzled a bit, but generally it was all right. The drive across Spain was rainy, too. But Lourdes was the redeeming weather as it was beautiful, sunny and not too hot and not too cold — great for a pilgrimage. But, the rain didn’t dampen any spirits. It became a bit of a joke which helped everyone to go with the flow and make the best of it. It didn’t prevent us from seeing anything that was on the itinerary.

Thank you for all you did in putting together the pilgrimage. It was a wonderful experience for everyone.

Have a blessed day.
Sr. Isabel

Dear Nives,

The trip to Italy was great. Our group lucked out with a great tour guide. She had such a wealth of information. Our accommodations were great, until Assisi. Because some of the pilgrims were having problems walking, we were moved closer to the monastery and as a result we were in an older hotel. It was incredible and we were able to attend Masses at some of incredible places. We saw a lot and the tour guide while we were being bussed everywhere, provided us with background information which helped quite a bit. I could have touched the Pope when we were there thanks to our tour guide. I again thoroughly enjoyed the trip. My sister and her husband thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip, came back with a sense of peace. Our tour guide’s name was Karen. She was great and has been doing this for about 15 years. Thanks for your help with the trips. I know they are not easy, but you help so many.

Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Genevieve

Hello Liz,
Would like to extend huge kudos to your company and the outstanding people working with you at 206tours. Would like to especially thank Sandra for attending to every detail and challenge that my group needed to make this trip so very memorable. Cannot thank Sandra enough for orchestrating the trip for my party of 5 and the subsequent orchestration required for my solo journey after missing my flight from Atlanta to Dulles on Thursday. Looking forward to the next one!

Best regards,
mark ashcroft
n+a advertising
atlanta, ga

Dear Liz,

Every time I go to Medjugorje with 206 tours the trips just keep getting better and better. The itinerary is informative and yet flexible enough for me to opt out of activities so I can find the quiet time I need for myself. I especially liked the trip to the refugee camp, which is always a highlight of the trip for me. The priests on the trip were terrific as they really helped me stretch spiritually, so we were truly blesssed in that respect. The climb up Cross Mountain to be at the top at sunrise was so special – a true mountain top experience. I’ve returned home renewed in my faith and much more peaceful than when I left. I am already planning my fifth trip back – with 206 tours of course!

Thanks again,
Pat

P.S. Your employee Milanka was especially helpful and informative on the trip, so please let it be known that she deserves a raise and a
piece of chocolate! 🙂

HI, Kristin.

I just wanted to thank you for all your help. Our trip to Medjugorje was great. Vesa was a wonderful host. I would definitely stay with her again. Your local contact, (Slavenka) was wonderful about inviting us to all the talks. Our favorite surprise was when she called and said, “A taxi is going to pick you up in an hour and take you to Jacov’s house for a talk.” We were thrilled. She also invited us to hear Wayne Weible and Father Svet’s inspiring talks.
My husband went to confession for the first time in 20 years!
Thanks so much for everything.
We all want to go back and stay longer.
Take care and God Bless.

Janeen Zaio

P.S. The view from the hotel in Dubrovnik was awesome!

Hi Liz,

The pilgrimage was great and the most prayerful one. The house we stayed at was very good and the guides excellent. The only problem was the connection on the way home didn’t happen so I got Munich overnite. You people put together a great pilgrimage.

Thanks,
Barry Manfredi

I would like to take this opportunity to thank specifically Sandra and Liz of 206 Tours for all of their help in preparing me for my pilgrimage to Medjugorje. All questions that I had were answered almost immediately with courtesy, professionalism and kindness.

The trip in itself was also very smooth and staff members did a great job with everything. I know that when it comes time for my next pilgramage, my first choice will be to go with 206. Thank you again for everything!

God Bless!
Chris Dolan

We had a great time. The flights were on time and there is nothing we can do about the tight knee space. The bus was excellent and we were blessed with two great guides. We were blessed with the weather and the lack of Pilgrims in town due to the time of year. this made it easier to enjoy and have the real feel of the trip.
All the logistics went well. I think we would have liked to spend more time with Wayne. Look forward to working with you all in the future.

Chuck Burr

Rinda,

I enjoyed the trip very much, but Poland was my favorite. It was truly a spiritual experience with all the dedication to Pope John Paul and Saint Faustina. Every place we went there were beautiful fresh flowers and people praying which was impressive. Our guide, Latimer was tremendous with us. He was knowledgeable, interesting as well as personable. He was proud of his country and that showed by his explanations of various sites. Even tho he has guided this trip many times, he was as fresh as a beginner.
Slazburg was second in my interest. There was much of Mozart ( one of my favorites) everywhere which I truly enjoyed. The Sound of Music area was also a highlight. Everything about this city was wonderful.
Budapest was third even though we did not get to stay very long. I loved the layout of the city with its buildings and marketplace. It was fun.
Vienna and Prague were okay, but for some reason, I did not enjoy them as much. Prague was cold and windy and I felt a winter coat could have enhanced my visit.
There are things that are out of your control and I realize that like the weather.
Both drivers were excellent drivers. The people in both groups were wonderful which helped to make the trip pleasant, enjoyable and a great experience.
In closing, allow me to say the pilgrimage was a tremendous experience and I’m happy to have taken the plunge.

Thanks to you and 206 Tours,
Joan Zink

I returned yesterday from my trip to Medjugorje. It was all and more than I expected BUT I did want you to know this.

The travel arrangements you made for me were absolutely perfect. I know you have no control over problems and delays but there were none with my trip – I was especially impressed with the German airline. With all our American ones facing bankruptcy and financial problems.
I was treated to delicious meals, a pillow and blanket, a newspaper, ear phones to watch a movie and a spotlessly clean airplane. In addition, drinks and snacks were served periodically and all this was included in the flight cost.
I hope to return some time in the future and assure you, you’ll be my travel agent.

With many thanks and much appreciation,
Peggy Smith

Hello Rinda,

Words cannot describe my experiences at the above places.
Once again, 206Tours delivered top quality. This is already my fourth pilgrimage with 206Tours. I have been blessed to have found your company when I was embarking my first pilgrimage in 2003.
It is not even a week since I got back and I am already planning my next pilgrimage. We might book Guadalupe and Mexico City for December 9 to 14.
I will pray to Our Lady about this.

Keep up the good work,
Minda Nunez Boulton

Only wish stay in Turkey longer. Would like to commend our Turkey guide for his patience and expertise. Would like to go on a tour with him to further archeological sites. Don’t remember his name but he was an archeologist when not conducting tours.
Our Athens guide Marianna was warm, helpful and caring. Please commend them both.
The trip was fantastic from a spiritual and archeological perspective. Makes me want to continue his journey into Turkey.

Barbara Muzzarelli

Everything was superb and look forward to joining again.

Thank you so much.
Vincent and Praxedes.

Hi Rinda,

As you know, the October 2006 pilgrimage to Guadalupe was a small group of 8 including the priest… you probably have heard from many of us how very pleased we all were from this tour… we are indeed, and that goes for me and my husband, Robert, as well.

Hotel was very nice… we were placed on the 16th floor which provided a beautiful view of the city & outskirts… service there is superb… the cooking is excellent, esp. our dinners which were served by waiters… breakfast buffet was more than i expected; it had something for everyone and more… for our lunch, our driver took us to good restaurants; no problem w/ the food either…

Our tour guide, Raul Reynoso, was very knowledgeable and if he didn’t know the answer to a question posed by some of us, he was honest to say he didn’t know but would look it up… he and the driver (Arturo) worked really well together and both of them were very warm, courteous, friendly, and always were concerned of our safety and comfort… both of them also exhibited their Catholic faith… Raul, in particular, showed that he personally believed with a strong conviction in all the stories he told the group (one of the tour guides we had on our pilgrimage to Rome, with another tour group, sort of just mouthed the stories and she would even say: “I don’t know; i wasn’t there”; our group eventually asked for someone else)… and Raul didn’t just relate the stories of this and that; he also pointed out lessons we can learn from them or how the stories apply to our current practice of the faith or how Our Lady’s apparitions or that of St. Michael the Archangel of 500 years old still speak of the same message of how we can follow Christ — which is beyond any tour guide’s scope — … I believe most of us, if not all, tipped them more than the suggested costs…….

…………..I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend 206 tours to my friends, and to take another trip/pilgrimage with you anytime… in fact, the first thing I did on my return was to call my sister who had planned on doing the same pilgrimage in December, so I could suggest to her your group… however, she had made plans w/ another tour group…

Keep up the good work while trying to make more improvements from pilgrim’s comments… you certainly care about doing so as evidenced by this email soliciting comments from our experiences… please relay the message to the top management and/or owner’s)…

Thanks much,
Maria & Bob

Thank you for the invitation to give you feedback on my pilgrimage to Lourdes… in a few words, it was wonderful; made even more so by the helpful, caring tour guide Karina from Lourdes. I feel privileged to have taken this trip and I hope to plan future pilgrimages with you.

Many thanks!

Dear Rinda,

Thank you for your inquiry and thank you particularly for such devoted and faithful service to your 206 pilgrims.

I am particularly grateful for your efforts to accommodate our ever-changing itinerary on October 2/3 as delays in Chicago set in motion events that would cause myself and two other pilgrims to miss our connecting flight in Frankfurt. You sought to assure that our guide was on hand to meet us at the airport in Warsaw despite a very late hour. To his credit he was there – but lost luggage detained us from exiting the customs area and he had departed before we made an appearance. We simply took a taxi then to our hotel. The guide, apparently informed by the hotel desk of our later arrival, called us in our rooms to apologize for the miscommunication. This was appreciated, though clearly not his fault.

Rural roadways in Poland are not well developed and thus travel by bus is slow. But clearly pilgrims choosing this itinerary were devoted to Sr. Faustina and happily endured the slow and long travel.

The hotel in Krakow (Holiday Inn) was perhaps the elite of all along this trip – much appreciated as we were there three nights. Also, the proximity to the Old Market Square made for enjoyable and unencumbered independent explorations. Our guide throughout Poland, Vladamir, was most helpful and accommodating.

Our late day air travel from Krakow to Budapest made it impossible to arrive and meet our time to celebrate Mass upon our arrival. Our guide throughout Hungary, Austria and Czech Republic, Martin, was likewise very good and thoughtful.

The inner-city hotel (Mercure Corona) in Budapest also made independent exploration safe and easy. Some of the party discovered a “folk dance and music” program available in the evening that they much enjoyed. Others learned, but too late to accommodate, of an evening cruise along the river. It might be helpful if the guide had available info on evening options in the cities visited.

The hotels in both Vienna and Salzburg were lovely and as usual, the meals quite good. However, the distance from the city made any evening options more awkward to plan and execute due to transportation issues. The Hotel Diplomat in Prague also was somewhat removed from the old city – but accessibility to the Metro made options possible.

The day that we traveled from Salzburg to Prague we were en route for over nine hours. Many commented that it appeared that our guide and driver deliberately wished to delay our arrival in Prague. It was noted that the bus was traveling at 80 km per hour on extraordinarily good highways. When at last we did enter the city it was rush hour and it took another 75 minutes to reach our hotel. If there was any reason for deliberate delay, we were never aware of it. Small matter – but curious.

Some noted that our city guide in Vienna (her name I do not recall) seemed rushed. However, one must allow that it is difficult to lead a group through a place as crowded as the Hapsburg Palace.

Thank you too for your ability to accommodate the last minute registration of my friend and colleague, Fr. Patrick Sullivan, of Minnesota. Our return home was again plagued with travel issues through Chicago. You might recall that the Louisville pilgrims had a six hour layover in Chicago. This became an almost ten hour layover with United Airline delays. Again, this was no one’s fault — but we found ourselves arriving in Louisville after 3:00 a.m..

Rinda, it was a tremendous pilgrimage! Thank you and all of 206 again for your courteous and charitable service. I hope to travel with you again in the future!

Fr. Bill Medley

Hello Rinda

This is an e-mail from Suzanne Leslie regarding our October tour of Lourdes and Northern France. It was a beautiful experience! Doris DeBonee and I enjoyed the pilgrimage so very much, and we will always treasure the memories.
The tour guides in Lourdes were wonderful, as well as Ziga, who was our excellent tour guide in Paris.
We thank you very much for arranging this pilgrimage for us, and we will highly recommend 206tours to all our friends.

God bless everyone at 206tours,
Sincerely,
Suzanne Leslie

Hello Milanka,

First of all let me thank you, Sandra, and Liz for helping organize the group, last September 15. My group enjoyed every minute of it. I am very thankful for the nice comments that Shirley Mitchell shared with you regarding our trip. The tour guides, accommodations were superb and was well worth it. Because of these wonderful experience accorded to me and my group, I recommended 206 tours to my co-travel agents that I met last October 21, during the Home Based Travel Agent Convention in San Jose, California. I told them to give 206 tours a try and let them experience what a wonderful tour operator you are.
Again thank you so much.

God Bless,
Belinda
Wild Geese Tours & Cruises

DEAR RINDA,

I’M SO GLAD YOU CONTACTED US. THE TRIP TO MEXICO WAS WONDERFUL. THE HOTEL ROOM WAS VERY COMFORTABLE AND OUR GUIDE, RAUL AND DRIVER, ARTURO WERE EXCEPTIONAL. THEY ARE SUCH A GOOD TEAM TOGETHER. IT WAS A GREAT EDUCATION BEING WITH THEM. THEY TRULY GAVE US THE FLAVOR OF MEXICO. I DON’T THINK ANYONE IN THE GROUP WANTED TO LEAVE WHEN IT WAS OVER. TODAY I GAVE MY FIRST TALK ON GUADALUPE TO AN ASSISTED LIVING GROUP. IN NOVEMBER I WILL GIVE ANOTHER TALK ON GUADALUPE AT MY SON’S PARISH IN WETHERSFIELD, CT.
FATHER KEOHANE IS A BEAUTIFUL, HOLY MAN. AFTER HE SAID MassES IN THE DIFFERENT CHURCHES THE PEOPLE WOULD RUSH TO HIM AND TO DEACON SAL FOR BLESSINGS. IT WAS VERY MOVING. ALTHOUGH WE WERE A SMALL GROUP AND WERE FROM DIFFERENT STATES, WE BONDED WITH EACH OTHER. AT PRESENT WE ARE SENDING EACH OTHER OUR PICTURES.
THE HOTEL FOOD WAS WONDERFUL. IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE WE TRUSTED THAT WE COULD EAT EVERYTHING SAFELY THERE. THE PEOPLE AT THE HOTEL DID
EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO MAKE US COMFORTABLE. RAUL AND ARTURO TOOK US TO DIFFERENT EATERIES SO WE COULD EXPERIENCE THE MEXICAN FOOD. RAUL STAYED WITH US EVERYWHERE WE WENT. HE WATCHED TO SEE THAT WE WERE NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF IN ANY WAY. HE REALLY SEEMED TO CARE FOR US. HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO HELP ME GET THE RIGHT MUSIC TO GO ALONG WITH MY TALKS. I THINK I WILL MISS HIM THE MOST.
A FEW YEARS AGO, SAL AND I WENT TO MEDJUGORJE WITH 206 TOURS. WE WERE VERY HAPPY WITH THAT EXPERIENCE. ALSO ON OUR RETURN, WE GAVE TALKS AT OUR PARISH.
WE EXPECT TO GO ON MORE 206 TOURS IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU FOR OFFERING 206 TOURS TO US. YOU ARE A BLESSING TO THE MANY PILGRIMS WHO HAVE A NEED TO VISIT THESE PLACES. WE WILL NEVER FORGET OUR EXPERIENCES IN MEXICO.

SINCERELY,
SAL AND AGNES CLARIZIO.

Hi Rinda,

You beat me in sending the email, I was about to send you my comments about our trip, but I was caught up in my desk work. Me and my husband were very satisfied with our Pilgrimage and I did not hesitate in recommending your tour company to my colleagues and my friends.

The hotels were superb not to mention the location which was very close to the places intended for our visits. Our tour guide, Javier Gomez Alonzo, was I believe the nicest person I have ever met in a foreign land. He was very accommodating, very helpful and knowledgeable in all the places we visited. Please extend to him our regards, also our driver, Pedro who was very patient. Over all I can say 206 Tours is the BEST and come a year or two from now I will book again our next trip on 206 Tours. Please extend our regards to Jennifer and Milanka and the rest of the 206 Tours staff. Our regards!

Raul and Encarnacion Ramas

Dear Rinda,

Thank you for the excellent Pilgrimage that was put on by your company. It was just fantastic. Everyone in my group came back elated with the service that was given by 206 Tours. Your tour guide (Javier) was really the best and we want to thank you for sharing him with us. Fr. Thomas was also very good and we were able to celebrate Mass with him everyday. All in all, this was one of the best Pilgrimages that my group has been on. We hope to be able to use the services of your company in the near future.

Ken

Hello Ms Liz!

Just to tell you how wonderful was our trip to Fatima. We are all satisfied . W e brought home a lot of blessing and memories . We had a very good and educated guide his name is JesusVivas Garcia I gave him A plus.

Thanks for the good service
Audanette

Dear Rinda and 206 Tours,

Thank you for setting up and orchestrating an excellent Pilgrimage. This was my first Spiritual Pilgrimage and if you need a Priest/spiritual leader in the future I would be interested in leading a group…………

Thanks again – peace,
Fr Pat Sullivan

Would like to thank you for excellent service, just completed the Guadalupe/Mexico City Tour.

Was so good I want information and a Booklet on Tour #161.

Mr. Rual Reynoso Cortes was so knowledgeable of Mexican History and so professional that i will repeat the trip next year. Arturo the driver was professional and just as knowledgeable. Excellent service and time was well spent. Outstanding is the only word to describe this trip.

God Bless. You have a Customer for Life.
John M. Boylan

Rinda,

Tour # 37 – Fatima, Spain & Lourdes

Returned from our SECOND pilgrimage to Fatima and Lourdes. Our second pilgrimage was even more spiritual uplifting than the first pilgrimage. We were also fortunate to have Javier again as a guide — Javier is the absolute best guide! He rates #10 in all areas.

The Zencaks

Hello All,

I have been planning to write you a note regarding my recent pilgrimage.
I had a very good experience except for the delay in Paris. The group we were with was wonderful, the 2 spiritual directors were great, and it was definitely a very spiritual trip for me. My sister who flew in from London for just the 3 days in Fatima was able to spend some time together in Fatima and we are very grateful. The 3 guides/driver – I don’t remember their last names from Spain Juan Carlos, Miguel and Pedro were like 3 angels and they went out of their way to help us. Please especially let them know my appreciation. In France, Carlos and team helped us through everything too and I am grateful.

I especially liked what was on the brochure – as to the preparations physical as well as spiritual. Although physically I could not do those things, I did the best I could and I had a profund experience.

Thanks again,
Jeanne

Good Evening,

I just want to tell you I just returned from a 206 tour to Poland (In the footsteps of John Paul) Oct 2nd to 10th from JFK . It was more than I expected. The places, cities and chapels were an inspiration to my spirituality. We had a wonderful guide and the group in our tour seemed to have feeling of spirituality. We were like a Catholic family.

Thank you so much,
I loved the country, the people and the sacred shrines
Barbara Pepe

Hi Kristin,

The pilgrimage was AWESOME!!!!. We had a marvelous time. Father Richard said it was more than he expected. The group just loved him.

We felt like Francis and the 12 companions. The accommodations were good, the meals were superb (especially in La Verna), the sites were breathtaking. Susanna is a kind spirit. It was difficult not having our luggage for 4 days but many lessons were learned. Every pilgrim was please with the trip.

Gratefully in Francis,
Linda

Dear Sandra,

Thank you for setting up a great tour of our pilgrimage to the shrines of France.
I can speak for most of the pilgrims were overwhelmed with the beauty of France.
We visited all the shrines and most of us participated in all that was offered to us. Lourdes was so spiritual and awesome. We all bathe in the waters of the spring, we had Mass daily at Lourdes, just as you arranged.
We walked and prayed the stations of the cross. We were invited to sing with the international choir in English. 5 of us participated including Fr. Dono , it was a thrill to sing with all the other countries,the rest of our group took part in the procession.
The rest of the trip went just as beautiful. It was above all my expectations. the Pilgrimage was so wonderful I could go on and on about it.
But we felt we needed at lest 3 or more hours at La S Salette .
Catherine and Omilio our bus driver were nice. Catherine went out of her way to take two of our sick people two different times to the doctor.
Carlos was very kind and very helpful at the airport he made sure all our luggage went through at Pas airport. I want to instill the Fact that he was a very nice Gentleman and took good care of us.
In Paris, we were greeted by Zigga was a very good guide ,again very informative, very knowledgeable.
I can’t say enough about Zigga, Catherine and Carlos & Omilio
We are looking forward to our next pilgrimage.

Elizabeth Celenza
Coordinator Magnificat

This was one of the best tours that I have ever been on. Although my traveling companion and I did not know any of the people on the group, they all welcomed us with such warmth that we we immediately made part of them.

The hotels and food were excellent. The local tour guides were exceptional and made excellent arrangements for our visits and Masses at Divine Mercy, Prague to see the Black Madonna and the Infant of Prague, and other points of interest in the cities. Our guide in Medugorje was excellent and arranged for us to hear two of the visionaries and to attend and English Mass and to attend a concert by David Parks the Irish singer.

And the weather was great. only rained a little bit while we were traveling on the bus.

Shirley Mitchell

Dear Sonya,

I just had to write and let you all know how special the two weeks in Medjugorje with the groups really was. It was wonderful to finally travel with a company like yours who puts religion first and business last. I have heard so many wonderful comments about your company and now I know I can believe what I have heard. So thanks again for letting me be a part of these fine spiritual journeys.

May Our Lord and Lady Bless You,
Reverend Father C. Paul Bergeron, Jr.

Hi Rinda

I really had a wonderful experience for my first pilgrimage. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but it was more than I thought it would be. I feel the size of the group was just right and helped me get to know the other pilgrims better. Fr. Jim was a great spiritual leader. He is very knowledgeable and fun to be around. Nick, our guide/bus/driver/all around man, was great. He was patient and understanding, especially w/ the women’s needs (bathroom breaks). He is a caring man who knows his stuff. I enjoyed the different places we visited, although the castle was a bit too much physically (climbing the mountain and all the stairs, 100+, I think in total)……..

The staff at 206 tours with whom I had various dealings were very helpful from the onset and really helped set the tone for the pilgrimage. I would participate in another 206 tour, my schedule permitting.

Maricel Bemardo Galindez

Hello Rinda,

Our pilgrimage was wonderful. Karin Videbaek was a fantastic guide and her knowledge of Italy and the places we visited were very through. All of the cities and sites were inspirational and we enjoyed not only the religious but also the local histories. Our accommodations were comfortable and the food was just delightful. Our only suggestion would be to consider a hotel in Assisi with larger rooms. Thank you for a fantastic trip and for the extras (Pisa, wine with dinner, etc) and especially the Hotel Quirinale for our two extra days in Rome.

Best wishes,

Wendy and Roger Urce

Dear Milanka,

Thank you for the best gift anyone has ever given me! I’ll let you know this fall sometime, about which tour I’d like to take. I’m thinking Medjugorje, because Our Lady is the power behind my priesthood.
Thank you, also, for all the friendship, support, guidance & assistance you have given me since I first contacted you about a possible youth pilgrimage, in autumn, 1998. I had just returned from my first-ever pilgrimage (Medjugorje and Italy) with a bunch of “my kids’ and Marysville parish-loners (including my mom and sister) and I knew I wanted to do more pilgrimages. So I wrote you from the seminary in maybe September and to my astonishment you called me two days later ( I guess the day the letter arrived). I knew from that first phone call that a real friendship was already underway and good Lord, Milanka the wonderful trips that you’ve put together for me and my pilgrims since. Now that I am finally a priest, I look forward to booking many tours with you- I’ll never tire of visiting our shrines and cathedrals throughout Europe.

Thanks again, Milanka, for 8 years of friendship, faith, enthusiasm and support. I do appreciate it.
Love in Christ
Fr Jim

Rinda,

This is my 3rd pilgrimage with 206 Tours and it was everything I expected and more. I had 5 other friends with me and I had not one complaint – I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you for helping my friend Marie Jose (Marijo) with her daughter situation.
We had Father Paul and Father Romane, and this was one of the most fun, spiritual trips ever.
The owners of the house we stayed were extremely hospitable and our tour guide Slavenka is one of the best.

Regards,
Yonique

Rinda,

The pilgrimage was an excellent experience. Both priests – Father Paul and Father Roman were very spiritual, yet down to earth and had good senses of humor and quite inspiring. Slavenka was an excellent guide for our group and does and awesome job. Vesna and Marko were cordail hosts to us all and the accommodations were excellent. I cannot fully express my gratitude in words for all the graces and blessings I received on the pilgrimage. It was a very meaningful experience for me personally. Thank you for all your last minute work you needed to do to get me included in the group.

Jane Murphy

Dear Sandra, Liz and Mary

I went on this pilgrimage for a spiritual housecleaning. I received in fact a spiritual “House Scrubbing”. This pilgrimage met my expectations and hope to be able to return next year or the year after with my wife, Herminia. I was very satified by the way 206 handled the arrangements and we were treated superbly at the Pansion Ana. Our tour guide Slavinka was outstanding and I am extremely impressed with what Wayne Weible and Fr Culver shared with us.

Thank you so much and God Bless you all.

James & Herminia Franco

Dear Milanka,

Thank you for everything you did to make this pilgrimage possible. I am happy to be back home after a most blessed experience.

Fr. Jim Mattaliano was absolutely great! He gave the most beautiful extemporaneous homilies and meditations on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. He is very kind, humble, helpful, and energetic.
Everybody loves him!
Our tour guide named Nick from Budapest was the best! Having a small group of wonderful people made the pilgrimage even more enjoyable.
Nick was kind, helpful, patient, energetic, accommodating, and generous. Because of shortage of time, we were unable to see Gottweig Abbey. Nick added a visit to the Wies Church (Pilgrimage church of the Scourged Savior) in Germany, to the Mirabell Gardens where we had a beautiful view of Salzburg, to the home church of St. John Nepomuk in the Czech Republic, to the St. Nicholas Church (Lesser Town) and to the Loreto Church in Prague. He also provided transportation for the concerts in Vienna and Prague and for the afternoon shopping at Prague. We were blessed with good weather during our trip.

Milanka, we visited so many great shrines and churches, which are beautiful, and I for one, can’t select my most favorite one. This tour has 5 great Marian shrines (Altotting, Maria Plain, Maria Taferl, Mariazell, Svata Hora) and the Infant of Jesus in Prague. All the local tour guides were very informative.
Bernie from Altotting was my favorite.

In Germany, we were following the visit of Pope Benedict to many of the places. We even had Mass at Regensburg, where he also said Mass two days before. Attending the Mass at the Hofburg Palace Chapel, with the Vienna Boys’ Choir singing was an unbelievable experience. The same can be said of our visit to the Passion Play theater in Oberammergau.

We did a lot of walking for this pilgrimage. The walk up to the Neuschwanstein Castle was tough, but I’m happy to have done it. A lot of time was used for this visit. May I suggest a tour of Linderhof Castle instead? This will probably give a longer time to enjoy Oberammergau. The castle tour and the optional concerts added to our cultural experience.

I love Hotel Prasidente in Munich since it is centrally located. As far as accommodations, Renaissance Marriott in Vienna was the best.
For food, I pick Movenpick Hotel in Prague.

The night before we left to return to the United States, we had a birthday party (wine, special Movenpick ice cream, and special chocolate cake) for two of our co-pilgrims. We were all thankful for such a blessed pilgrimage!

I am sure my co-pilgrims will agree with me that Fr. Jim and Nick are two people you will be proud and happy to have in your team.
I am looking forward to my next pilgrimage…..

Love, joy, and peace,
Brenda

Dear Rinda,
I thought you might be interested in my reaction to the Pilgrimage.
First of all to me it was a delight. Spiritually, educationally and emotionally.

Father Jim saying daily Mass was the highlight of the week. Having him service Mass to use daily in these beautiful churches, monasteries, abbeys was a surprise to me. I knew we were having Mass but I didn’t know it would be by our spiritual director. I was really touched. His homilies and daily prayers were wonderful. I believe you were fortunate to have him do your tours.

Nick was always going out of his way for us. His concern was always to please us and make the Pilgrimage fulfilling to all of us. His driving was amazing. Always safe but very knowledgeable about the roadways and when and how to get to our destination. I also believe he is an asset to your organization.

Dear Rinda

My experience on the Pilgrimage to Fatima, Loyola and Lourdes (Sept. 10-19) was most positive!
Working well with Fr. Neil Buchlein, and our group of about 48 I think really bonded as a community.
I direct retreats when not teaching, and this was a ” Retreat on Wheels”.

Our Guides, Miguel and Juan Carlos, were great (as was the bus driver, Pedro); also Carlo (in Lourdes); we also had some good humor over language expressions and incidents. It was very prayerful, and awesome to be on several “holy grounds” and ancient sites. As a Jesuit priest, I was humbled to visit Loyola, and celebrate Mass for our group in the very room St. Ignatius underwent his conversion…

The hotels were good, and so were the meals, where we got to know one another better; our bags were also delivered to our rooms and put on the bus for us conveniently. The complex flight arrangements for several different sub-goups by Carlo when we left Lourdes on Sept. 19th all went very well.

I have been giving 206 Tours a great plus to my friends back here, and sharing this special experience with my relatives, and the faculty and staff here at Boston College High School. I felt excited and enthusiastic on this Pilgrimage, as did our group.

Your truly,
Fr. James J. Hosie, S.J.

Dear Milanka,

I want to take the opportunity to tell you about my experiences working with Jennifer on a small group of pilgrims who are currently on Tour #2 visiting Lourdes. I have 28 years experience in the travel industry, this is my first experience with Pilgrimage Travel.
Jennifer has been patient and cheerful throughout the time we have been working together.

I am very impressed with her listening skills, her organizational skills, and customer service attitude. Jennifer is personable and obviously takes an interest in the people that she is working with. I believe a measure of this is simply how she recognizes clients when they’ve only given a simple greeting and she knows who you are simply by the sound of your voice. Jennifer remembers who the key travelers are in a group and goes the extra step to confirm simple touches that need to be added to make the trip more comfortable. The example of this that I’ll site is the way she arranged for wheelchairs for a couple of our paxs when I had told her we’d need to confirm them before we finalized the trip. The wheelchairs were confirmed.

I believe that Jennifer is one of the few people in this industry that cares about people and strives to do the best for all of her clients. Jennifer has been a pleasure to work with. I want to MAKE an opportunity to recognize her for her outstanding work and to let you know she is an asset worth holding on to.
I look forward to having another opportunity to work with Jennifer.

Kind Regards,
John Bland, CTC,DS
Manager
Junction Travel

Dear Ms. Kanidinc,

My wife and I found the August 206 Tour to Fatima, Northern Spain and Lourdes very enjoyable, informative and spiritually satisfying. We will be pleased to recommend 206 Tours to our friends and to consider you for any future pilgrimages we may make.

There were two individuals, in particular, that I felt were responsible for making the pilgrimage being such a valuable experience for us.

First was the accompanying priest, Fr. Jerome Vereb. I felt that it was a privilege to meet and get to know a person with his knowledge, experience, stature, compassion and commitment. His homilies and dinner time discussions brought meaning to what we were seeing. I consider meeting Fr. Jerome a unique opportunity we had on this pilgrimage, and I don’t expect to have such an exceptional priest on any future pilgrimage.

Second was the tour guide for the Portugal/Spain part of the pilgrimage, Miguel Martin. His wit, caring, consideration, compassion, attentiveness and proactive efforts to include everyone were instrumental in bringing all the people on the pilgrimage together into one large family, despite the striking diversity in our group of pilgrims. He really made it a Canterbury Tales experience for us. His commentary greatly enriched informational aspects of the tour, particularly in Spain. I strongly urge you to use Miguel Martin at every opportunity in the future.

Thank you for an extraordinary pilgrimage. I hope you find these comments useful, and wish you much luck in the future with your mission of providing exceptional pilgrimages for your enlarging family of 206 Tours pilgrims.

Sincerely,
Tom Shier

Barbara Campbell
Pilgrimage to Medjugorje for the Anniversary
June 2006

In response to your request for an evaluation of our trip to Medjugorje, we would like to comment to you our guide, Franjo who often assists Sr. Marcie. He is an outstanding professional, endowed with the rare mix of caring attention and knowledgeable directives. We are so grateful to you for providing this service.

Thank you,
Barbara and Dave (Deacon) Campbell

Praised be Jesus and Mary…

Milanka,
Just a note of thanks for the wonderful arrangements this summer.
Both the vacation portion of the trip and the pilgrimage portion went fantastically. Although we experienced some complications that were beyond your control, such as the heightened security and misplaced luggage, every detail arranged by 206 was exceptional. Please extend my thanks to Sandra, Ketta, and all who worked diligently to make this sojourn a huge success.

Peace and Joy,
Fr. Peter

I just wanted to say that it was a very full filling trip, and I really want to say that our guide Ivan was a very, very knowledgeable and organized leader, if I was to come back in the future, I would request him, the place we stayed was very clean, and the food was very good, this was my first tour that I ever took , I guess because it was a pilgrimage, it had a true meaning, it was very prayerful, and what a special place to go.

Thank you , and if I was to go on another tour,
I would contact 206 Tours.
Jo Ann Gagnon

Thank You and your staff for the great experience we had in Medjugorje. It was wonderful! Despite traveling during the “red/orange alert” we had no trouble making all our connections both going and coming home. We must commend you on your choice of guides. Ivan Bosnjak made our trip truly special. His command of history made the country, it’s past, it’s present, and it’s potential for the future totally understandable. His intimacy with Medjugorje gave us an insight that you can not put a dollar value on. We hope to return to Medjugorje with 206 Tours and we’ll schedule our trip to fit Ivan’s schedule. We also look forward to staying with the Muselimovic family.

There operation was flawless. The rooms were spacious and immaculately clean and, one month later, we’re still talking about the delicious meals we had at Vesna’s table. They made us feel welcome and at home. We miss them and Ivan.
In closing we can only add that we have recommended 206 Tours, Ivan and the Muselimovic’s to two families in the last two weeks and we will continue to spread the word about our fantastic pilgrimage to Medjugorje!!!

Love,
John and Mindy

Dear Rinda,

Thank You and your staff for the great experience we had in Medjugorje. It was wonderful! Despite traveling during the “red/orange alert” we had no trouble making all our connections both going and coming home.

We must commend you on your choice of guides. Ivan Bosnjak made our trip truly special. His command of history made the country, it’s past, it’s present, and it’s potential for the future totally understandable. His intimacy with Medjugorje gave us an insight that you can not put a dollar value on. We hope to return to Medjugorje with 206 Tours and we’ll schedule our trip to fit Ivan’s schedule. We also look forward to staying with the Muselimovic family. There operation was flawless. The rooms were spacious and immaculately clean and, one month later, we’re still talking about the delicious meals we had at Vesna’s table. They made us feel welcome and at home. We miss them and Ivan.

In closing we can only add that we have recommended 206 Tours, Ivan and the Muselimovic’s to two families in the last two weeks and we will continue to spread the word about our fantastic pilgrimage to Medjugorje!!!

Love,
John and Mindy

Hello Rinda,

Thank you so much. We (myself, Vivian, my son, Ebenzer, my mother, Francisca) are very please about our pilgrimage in Lourdes, France last August 11 to 18 2006. I even want to comeback soon. For sure I will call your office again in the future. Recommend your office for sure, no doubt.
My mother even recommend your office to her co-workers and their is some are interested. Most of all Susan, our guide tour. She is great, kindhearted, she help everybody, she make easier for everybody. She doesn’t left us, all of us, until we check in when we depart in Toulouse, France. I know not only.

Our group, every group. Especially me I had disability. I can’t put in word how wonderful Susan is. The hotel is great too even the food.

Thank you so much. Thanks a million.

Vivian Tadeo

Rinda,

Thank you! Dianne and I had a joyous pilgrimage. It exceeded my expectations. What a blessing for us to have Fr. Jerome Vereb as our spiritual director. He gave so much of himself when we knew he was not in the best physical condition. Your web site and materials you provided were a great benefit in our planning our trip. What to take, what to expect, etc. Our guide Miguel, was a pro!! He adapted to every situation and we had a few!. He met each with grace, patience and joy. I don’t think you could find a more skilled bus driver than Pedro. An immaculate bus!!

We have more memories than our pictures and journal can describe. We have a place in our hearts and prayers for everyone that we journeyed with. I have recommended your services to everyone who I have shared our pilgrimage with. If I have the opportunity to go on another pilgrimage, you will be my guide!

God Bless you and the work of everyone at 206 tours!

Barbara Ball

Dear Laureen and Ivan,

After all the trials, changes and struggles, it was all worth it. As I stepped out in faith to make the journey alone it became very clear that Mother Mary was guiding me with each step. Once I let go of my attempts to understand and control what was happening, a wonderful peace took over and everything flowed smoothly and lovingly. Thank you for your patience and prayers. The week was a peek at heaven. I did not want to go home because I felt that was home in Medjugorje. God hasn’t called me yet, so I have return to the battle.

I have returned with a greater peace than I could ever have hoped for and deep healing, as well. God bless you for your ministry.

Wayne Smith

Kristin,

I’ve been meaning to send you this email since we returned from our Pilgrimage to Medjugorje in March. Better late than never I hope!

Julie Zackrisson was as our leader and it was a wonderful experience – life changing for many of us. Julie and 206 did everything right and I have nothing but praise for your efforts and expertise. The flights went without a hitch, the accommodations at Nada’s were convenient and comfortable, Nada and her family were welcoming and helpful and Slavenka was a wonderful guide. The mix of day trips and other activities along with services at St. James was just right. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to experience the marvelous outpouring of the Holy Spirit happening there.

Your Friend in Christ,
Ron Golden

We went to Siena on the 22nd. It was a wonderful experience. We had a good Guide and Vincetco was with us. Everyone enjoyed Siena City. We had Mass in the church where we venerate the relic of St. Catherine.

I sincerely thank you for all your support and best arrangement you made for the good of the pilgrims. I also thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as a spiritual guide. May God bless you and all
best for the future ministry. take care.

Affectionately,
Fr.Christy

Dear Rinda,

Thank you for arranging my must unforgettable pilgrimage. It was everything you promised, and more. I returned tired but very happy.

I thank you especially for the extra attention you gave in providing oxygen, shipping for my scooter and a refrigerator for my insulin.
Without these, I could not have gone.

Rinda, I hope I can buy the video we saw on our visit, on line. Can you give me the address, or tell me how else I can purchase it? Thank you.

May you and your company flourish; you are doing good work.

In Mary,
Margaret Zack

Dear Rinda

This is Fr. John Mikalajunas thanking you for the excellent pilgrimage to Lourdes from August 11-18,2006. This is my second pilgrimage with 206 tours and I am convinced that you are the best organized, spiritually and helping pilgrims in every detail. The hotels and food are superb, and you take the worry out of travel. Your email and phone call after the scare in England was so caring and reassuring to make the pilgrimage. The pilgrims for whom I was the spiritual director were just superb in every way, and added to my spirituality as a priest. Susan our guide went the extra mile for all of us. Your giving every pilgrim a Magnificat Prayer Book and Missal makes the celebration of Mass great. I have been doing pilgrimages since 1972 and again you are the greatest.

I am looking forward to leading a group of pilgrims to Italy from Feb. 12-20, 2007 with your company.
I know I can tell pilgrims come for 206 is superb.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. John E. Mikalajunas

We want to let you know how much we enjoyed our pilgrimage to Italy. It was a wonderful spiritual experience for our group. It brought our people closer to God. The Eucharistic Miracles were truly highlights of our journey.

Our group was very impressed with the service of our motorcoach driver, Osvaldo. We were especially pleased to have Gaia as our escort.

We understand the name “Gaia” means happy and this certainly describes her quite well. Please let us know when Gaia will be visiting you in New York. Hopefully, we can arrange a reunion with our group.

Thank you for such an unforgettable spiritual journey!

Caio,
Phyllis Wolinski, Pres.
Aladdin Travel, Inc.

Dear Rinda,

My husband and I had a wonderful time with many good memories and experiences. It was such a pleasure having someone else doing all the planning and driving. It was a small group which made it more pleasurable.
Our tour guide, Miguel, in both Portugal and Spain was very informative and congenial. My husband calls Miguel our Archangel because he found a lost passport and tickets, keeping track of everyone, and taking excellent care of everyone’s needs (especially my vegetarian diet).
Father Mickey was very inspirational spiritual leader and he did an excellent job. We made lots of new friends.
The Christian Pilgrimage was a delight and we would love to do it again.

The Thomson’s

Dearest Rinda: (Eva and Jennifer)

There is always much Sadness after a trip because I know that I probably will never see all these wonderful people ever again! From my sincere heart, and with tears in my eyes, I want to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed being on this tour. I was afraid because I thought . I was going to be alone, but low and behold, I made many wonderful new friends. I truly miss all these wonderful people and I silently cry for them in my heart and pray that they will always remain healthy and happy as they were on our trip.

I loved “Vincenzo” and if you can, can you please tell me when he will be doing another 206 Tour as a Tour Escort; I would like to be kept informed of his schedule, as I want to go again on one of his tours;

The only improvement is that the last day in Assisi, we had to get up at 4:00 to make our flights in Rome; that’s OK. Also, Rome By Night was WONDERFUL; my favorite part of the trip.

Also, in Siena, there was no time for shopping; the City tour took all morning; there were so many shops, (NOT RELIGIOUS) that I wanted to go to, as everyone else too, but there was no time because the city tour took too long. Also, can I suggest that 206 Tours put in their new brochure for the year 2007, more, DINNERS OUT in Restaurants, instead of eating in the Hotels. It’s wonderful to eat out in ITALY!!!

The Restaurant Vincenzo took us to in the Country with the singing was truly an exceptional night out!
God Bless you dear Rinda, Eva, and Jennifer. You all remain in my heart and I will pray for all of you.

Respectfully,
MARY ANN LOPEZ

Dear Billy:

I have been tremendously busy on my return. Yes, I do want to thank you expressly for all the extra work you put to get me a late ticket, also for the wonderful tour, the hotels were great and the guides were very knowledgeable and attentive, Carlo was wonderful, so was Norma in Paris, the whole tour was enjoyable for many reasons. Also, that you met us in NY and took care of us until the last minute, I felt very safe and free of anxiety of where to go next. I hope I have another opportunity to go someplace else with your Tour Company. May you have many blessings for the job you do.

Sincerely,
Lolita Grohmann

Ketta/Rinda

We just wanted to say that 206 Tours is now “2 for 2” . With my wife’s trip last year, and our experience in Fatima.

Javier was outstanding! We would not hesitate to recommend him in the future. His knowledge, coupled with his ability to communicate that knowledge was excellent . . .particularly given the different interest levels in our party yesterday (my wife’s parents are not Catholic).

Thanks very much for a great day and effectively utilizing our short amount of time. and Rinda, we look forward to a great experience in Medjugorje in October so lets go for “3 for 3” in October . .

thanks again
Bob Dawson

Dear Rinda,

I wanted to e-mail you and thank you for all that you did for me in organizing my pilgrimage. I had a wonderful time and feel very blessed with the group that I was with.
Our priest was wonderful and made the pilgrimage very holy and spiritual. He has such a gift.
Our tour guide, Waleed, was fabulous. Not only was he very knowledgeable but he was also very caring and kind.
He took very good care of us. I will certainly recommend 206 tours to everyone I meet.

God bless,
Alison Newman Pizarro

Hello All:

I just wanted to send you all the best thanks for such a marvelous travel and pilgrimage experience.

On our end everything was absolutely timely and delightful. Our connections were perfect to Dubrovnik. I was so shocked to see a driver from Medj. Waiting for us immediately on departure. His name was Dragan.

We put Mike in his front seat so he could experience European drivers.

(Mike has been known to drive reckless, as we call it here, looking for an accident or speeding ticket to happen).

I did witness him cushioning his head against the head rest. Hehe The entire week in Medjugorje was perfect, the weather was the nicest in 3 years without the 100 degree days.

Our trip to Lyon was timely. The cab ride from the airport to Frank’s hotel was a shocking moneywise experience, 72E for about nine miles. Whew!!!!

Milanka’s suggestion to do ERail was perfect. We spent $878 on 3 tickets for 4 days of travel. Frank only used it twice but this was the cheapest way to purchase the tickets. Mike and I took a walk to the train from. Frank’s location and took the train on Monday to Lyon. We spoke with a train representative who could speak English and knew her job. She booked up a reservation on the train for Paris and back, and then a reservation to Paris and to Lourdes on Friday. We took a car with bunks so we could sleep for 8 hours. We did.

The driver was at Lourdes to pick us up, although we came in on another train, both trains arrived with 10 min. On the schedule it was a minute.

The LaSarve (sorry forgot the name right now) was excellent in both location and hospitality. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer place to stay. They immediately fed us and then we unloaded and started our journey of Lourdes.

I did get in line at the baths at 12:30 and exited the bath area at 3:55. I had a 3.5 hrs. wait as the guys had a 3 hrs. wait. We crammed everything in

our day at Lourdes. It was truly an area to visit. One must say, so many people who believe, and praying to be healed is something to witness.

Our accommodations in return were perfect and we arrived in Dayton on schedule pm.

Thank you having us have such a wonderful journey.

God Bless,
Barb A. Ganschow

Hi Kristin,

I would love to go back someday to Medjugorje.

My mother and I could not say enough good things about this trip. Thank God for 206 tours and Rafael because we could have never planned a trip like this ourselves. Rafael was so knowledgeable and his strong faith in God and Our Lady was a gift to us all.

The house we stayed in was very friendly and the food was so healthy and good!
The arrangements from Philadelphia on and return went very smooth for us, thanks to your planning.

Please keep me connected to future pilgrimages.
Thank you for your prayers.
God bless you and everyone at 206 tours.
Joanne

Dear Kristin,

Thank you for requesting our comments. It is gratifying to find an organization which solicits the feelings of those they serve.

At the outset the transportation to and from Medjugorje went flawlessly, whether by plane motor coach. And finding a 206 Tour representative at the airport and at the pilgrimage was very reassuring that everything was being well supervised.

Having us stay at the homes of local people was a master stroke. Not only did Zdenka, Momma and their families provide impeccable lodging and abundant good food, they provided an insight into the depth of the people, something that the fancier commercial establishments could never do. Who could forget their stories under Communism, when they tried to close their St. James Church? How those “frail” women stared down the police! We can still picture Momma crossing her wrists to show us how she dared the police to handcuff her.

But greatest contribution to the spirituality of our pilgrimage came from our guide, Franjo Zubac. He not only took us to the sites, introduced us to four of the six visionaries, explained the messages, no he did much more. As a member of the original 30 in the prayer group formed by Our Lady herself, he provided an in-depth sense of what “praying with the heart” entails; yes he explained prayer, but he especially prayed with us and taught us by example. He even took us to his own parish, one of the original underground churches during the Turkish occupation of some 400 years. What tenacity of faith to persevere through all that. It became evident to us why our Blessed Mother came here…because of such faith.

I’m sure we have our own Sister Marcella Purpura to thank for finding this exceptionally spiritual guide for us, the fruit of her more that 20 pilgrimages. As an expression of gratitude to you, Sister, Franjo, Zdenka and Momma, we wish to attach our reflections of this pilgrimage in our very next e-mail to you.

All peace and good,
Barbara & Luke Amato

Dear 206 Tours:

Recently my Wife and I made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje with several other members from St Robert’s church in Omaha, NE. I had heard many things about Medjugorje and anticipated something special but didn’t really know what to expect. Our trip was an incredible experience for us all. Medjugorje is truly a special place and I would find it difficult to believe that anyone that experiences a pilgrimage would not

be touched in some way.

While there, 206 Tours made the trip one to remember. It was a large group but everything was well organized and carried out so that we had a unique experience. I’d like to leave a special thanks to our guide Slavanka who made a special trip even more unique. Her organizational skills and professionalism were outstanding along with her willingness to help anyone in anyway. It must be difficult to work with a large group where we could have all wanted to go separate directions. Slavanka planned activities so that we had time to do so as well as making sure that we not only visited but “experienced” Medjugorjie. Most importantly Slavanka communicates the experience in a genuine way.

During our stay there was a family illness reported to us from our home and Slavanka did all she could to accommodate any possible travel changes – dropping her current activities to be with us in our time of need.

Thanks to 206 Tours and Slavanka for a memorable experience.

Take good care.

John Jankowski
Omaha, NE

We arrived in Poland and was met by our delightful guide Agnes Socha and even though our group of 10 was small, we could not have asked for more people. The weather was not ideal in some places since they had 5 months of severe winter but the people were wonderful. The villages very clean and charming and the food was plentiful and varied depending on location.

Our trip began with a city tour of Warsaw with a famous movie star Joanna as our guide. What a history lesson we all received. She was so proud of her country and she should be. Words cannot describe the feelings we all experienced at the various shrines, notably Our Lady of Czestohova where we were blessed to be able to celebrate with our spiritual guide Father Hogan a Mass in the small shrine where the Icon is exhibited…

To see how venerated this icon is well worth the trip to Poland. Added, treasures were the trip to Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II and the church he was baptized and his home right next to the church and the dessert famous throughout Poland as Pope’s cake. We all could see why he loved it and the village of Zagopane riding the funicular cable car to the lower top of the mountain and having lunch at the scenic mountains where Pope John Paul II hiked thru most of his life and Krakow with the famous St Francis of Assisi Church where again we attended our own private Mass and then we walked to the Market Square for a tour of the Church of St Mary’s where we saw the beautiful carved altar, spectacular to say the least and then followed a trip to a castle and finally the trip to Auschwitz….

Our last day was spent at the newly built shrine to Sr Faustina and saw the place of her internment after she was canonized and the rooms she lived while a nun. Again Mass in a private chapel and we saw St Stephen of Hungary’s relics in another chapel. A beautiful dinner in one of the oldest restaurants from the 13th century climaxed our trip…Everyone agreed that we were on Pilgrimage like no other, perhaps we were just lucky but I believe our guide Agnes was able to arrange so many special days and again 206tours is the best to provide the guides, drivers and accommodations all as excellent.

Marguerite Schweisthal and Dorothy Ann Guba

Dear Rinda,
Sr. Margaret Mary and I enjoyed the tour very much. The tour guides, Jesus and Susan, were very good about telling us many facts about the shrines and points of interest concerning them and the different places that we passed along the way. We were glad that Father John Hogan agreed to be our chaplain. He was interested in everyone in our group. I think we gained a wealth of knowledge by taking #12 tour.

Thank you for arranging this for us.
God bless you. Sr. Jane Nicholson

Hi Cara & Rinda,

I have only good things to say.

Thanks so much for all your help getting me on the trip to Poland, tour#19 under such short notice. The people were great, the country was beautiful, the weather was nice, and the places we saw were so fascinating. Our guide Agnes was very good, charming, knowledgable, and you can tell she loves her country and enjoyed telling us about it very much.

Our highlight of the trip was probably our Mass in the very chapel of the Black Madonna. And I was able to go to confession in Czestochowa for the first time outside the United States. Warsaw, Czestochowa, Zakopane, & Krakow are such beautiful places to visit.

This was my 3rd trip with 206 Tours and they’ve all been equally wonderful.

A lotta good seeds were planted in Poland that I hope continue to flourish.

Thanks for everything.
-mark g.

Cara,

I have a lot to say about my Pilgrimage and since I just walked in the door I will provide the feedback now as it is fresh.

Israel –

Both the Guide, Joseph and the Bus Driver, Yashir exceeded my expectations. Joseph’s knowledge of our Faith and the Holy Lands in phenomenal, he is like a history and RCIA teacher, all rolled into one. I specifically enjoyed the was he addresses our Lord Jesus Christ, so very reverent. I felt exceedingly safe thanks to both Joseph and Yashir. The accommodations and the food were delightful.

I was asked several times by the Italy pilgrims about my experience in Israel and I was happy to report that they too should make this trip. Father John and the other pilgrims were a wonderful mixture of individuals, all got along famously, as expected for those who love the Lord. The people of Israel and the West bank made me feel welcome. I can not do justice to how I felt at the various places Joseph shared with us all. I will need a great deal of time to reflect as I remain in awe of all I experienced.

Italy –

I will start with the places we visited, I did not have enough time to see all that I would have liked to see. This is not a complaint, only a fact. Italy is so rich with evidence of how our Lord and his Mother was and is loved. I am humbled by it all. I purchased many books on the places visited to increase my experience.

Italy as a country is not as welcoming as Israel, but that is not something that 206 Tours has any impact on. With the exception of general services provided, such as toweling, toiletries and television, my accommodations were satisfactory. If 206 Tours has any influence what so ever, they should explain that English television would be appreciated to keep abreast of the news from home.

I can not say enough about the food, but the service left much to be desired. I have to admit that I tipped more generously in Israel based on service provided and the attitude of my servers. To be blunt, the Italians are RUDE. This however would not keep me from recommending others to make the trip, I would only want to warn them of the treatment. The attractions of Italy are far too many to let a misguided people keep us from them. Please note that I also met many very nice Italians who were gracious but they were usually the shop keepers and the many Italians who joined us to pray the Mass.

Father Carlos – was an inspiring spiritual leader. I could see that he took special pains to ensure that each day’s Mass homily was appropriate to the experience of the day.

Our guide, Dellia, was infectious and generous of her time. She was not the guide that Joseph (Israel) is but she had her charm. I felt that Massimo, the bus driver knew more about the places we visited than the guide and that they made an excellent team.

To see Pope Benedict was so special, please always include this with the tours. It was worth the long wait on a very hot day. Padre Pio is so special I had to mention it. Our visit with Father Emerino, was differently a high light of the trip.

Please rest assured that I feel I received more than I expected and feel that this trip cannot be valued in coin.

Thanks for an experience of a life.
Sharron Flynn

Dear Milanka:

I just returned from a lovely pilgrimage to Portugal, Spain and France and wanted to express my sincere thanks.

After our initial pre-trip issues, everything ran very smoothly and I was so pleased with all aspects of the trip. Each day was filled with faith, fellowship and fun, and we were able to see and do so many things at each destination. I was particularly impressed with the locations of the daily Masses. I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to worship in St. Ignatius’ bedroom, the grotto at Lourdes, and the Incarnation convent in Avila!

In addition, the accommodations were top-notch, the food was plentiful and well-prepared, and the busses were clean and comfortable.

Moreover, I want to mention the wonderful drivers and leaders that guided us along the way. Father Hogan was a dedicated chaplain and led inspirational Masses and rosary recitations. Susan in Lourdes was extremely organized, outgoing and kindhearted. Ziga in Paris had a fine sense of humor and went out of his way to assist the group on several occasions (e.g. purchasing Seine cruise tickets for us). Above all, Jesus in Portugal and Spain was simply the best guide I could imagine. He is certainly well-educated and articulate, and his knowledge of religious and historical facts was superb. He adeptly managed a group of very diverse travelers and quickly molded us into a cohesive community of pilgrims. For Jesus, being a pilgrimage tour guide is not simply a job, it is a ministry and he has responded to his calling with passion.

Wishing you many blessings.

Sincerely,
Marie J. Lucca

Dear Cara & Rinda:
Attached is a photo of our group with a fantastic view of Jerusalem in the background. Our 206 Pilgrimage tour to the Holy Land was excellent right from the day I made the reservations with Jennifer .Because we made our own flight plans we were pleasantly surprised to find the 206 tour sign readily visible and our group being gathered. Our Spiritual guide, Fr. John Primich and our Cultural guide, Joseph, were wonderful. Fr. John was very accommodating with Mass each day at a specific scriptural site; daily Rosary and Confession available on request. He was there for each and everyone of us. Joseph is a treasure-font of historical, archeological and scriptural knowledge. He is extremely patient, funny and caring. A great asset to 206 Tours. Our driver, Yassir, is also an asset to your company.

An excellent driver, pleasant and patient with various questions, etc. We were most surprised and grateful when we received our Jerusalem crosses, our Pilgram certificate and a visit from your Holy Land representative who welcomed us to his land. We will not hesitate to recommend 206 Tours to any and all we speak with about our Pilgrimage and we will definitely look into other spiritual pilgrimages your good company offers. 206 Tours does an A-1 job in all aspects.

God Bless and thank you,
Lou & Nancy Picciola

The pilgrimage was great. Our guides were excellent, especially Jesus in Portugal and Spain. He went out of his way in kindness to all of us. He even went to the hospital with one of our group. Susan and Ziga were also excellent. My only regret was not going to Normandy Beach when we were so close.

Thanks you

Kristin,

Just wanted to send a quick note to say how much I enjoyed the trip to Israel and Egypt. The accommodations were great, as was the food.

I did think that although we saw a lot, there was not much time to really enjoy and meditate and pray at all the sites we visited. This was due to time constraints, so maybe less could be fit into a tour. That is just my opinion, however. On a positive note, we also saw and experienced things that probably would not have been possible on an individual trip.

Just one more comment – the tour guides and bus drivers were also top-notch.

Thank you for a most memorable trip.
Yvonne Hill

Sorry it took so long to answer your inquiry about the Holyland Tour.

We have never been out of country and have never been on a Pilgrimage, but for our first time, we are glad the Biblical School booked with your Tour Co.

It was excellent!!! The accommodations, the guides, the buses, the food, everything was top of the line. We wouldn’t hesitate to go with your Tour Co. again.

Joe and Dolores Padilla
Denver, CO

June 5-12, 2006

We arrived in Poland and was met by our delightful guide Agnes Socha and even though our group of 10 was small, we could not have asked for more people. The weather was not ideal in some places since they had 5 months of severe winter but the people were wonderful. The villages very clean and charming and the food was plentiful and varied depending on location. Our trip began with a city tour of Warsaw with a famous movie star Joanna as our guide. What a history lesson we all received. She was so proud of her country and she should be.

Words cannot describe the feelings we all experienced at the various shrines, notably Our Lady of Czestohova where we were blessed to be able to celebrate with our spiritual guide Father Hogan a Mass in the small shrine where the Icon is exhibited…

To see how venerated this icon is well worth the trip to Poland. Added, treasures were the trip to Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II and the church he was baptized and his home right next to the church and the dessert famous throughout Poland as Pope’s cake. We all could see why he loved it and the village of Zackopane riding the funicular cable car to the lower top of the mountain and having lunch at the scenic mountains where Pope John Paul II hiked thru most of his life and Krakow with the famous St Francis of Assisi Church where again we attended our own private Mass and then we walked to the Market Square for a tour of the Church of St Mary’s where we saw the beautiful carved altar, spectacular to say the least and then followed a trip to a castle and finally the trip to Auschwitz….

Our last day was spent at the newly built shrine to Sr Faustina and saw the place of her internment after she was canonized and the rooms she lived while a nun. Again Mass in a private chapel and we saw St Stephen of Hungary’s relics in another chapel. A beautiful dinner in one of the oldest restaurants from the 13th century climaxed our trip…

Everyone agreed that we were on Pilgrimage like no other, perhaps we were just lucky but I believe our guide Agnes was able to arrange so many special days and again 206tours is the best to provide the guides, drivers and accommodations all as excellent.

Marguerite Schweisthal and Dorothy Ann Guba

Hi Billy;

Sorry for this belated feedback about our trip. The tour was truly wonderful; exceeded expectations. And I would do it all over again if we could have Kristof as tour guide; he was exceptional. (Didn’t get his last name.) There had to be some changes made re one of the add-on tours because we were close to the Pope’s itinerary, but Kristof arranged for an even better stop. He was always prompt, professional, would go out of his way to be helpful, and his knowledge of history and willingness to explain, answer questions etc. were exemplary. Local tour guides were also good, but didn’t compare.

Hotel accommodations were excellent; bus driver Vlado was definitely first-rate.

The add-on tours were all good choices; went on them all.

I hope 206 finds that the ecumenical tours are successful and will continue to expand the options.

And I want to thank you, Billy, for your help in getting us on this tour. It was a last minute opportunity for us to get time away, and that you could put it all together was a blessing. We are grateful.

Corrine Hieb and Joanne Matz

June 5-12, 2006

We arrived in Poland and was met by our delightful guide Agnes Socha and even though our group of 10 was small, we could not have asked for more people. The weather was not ideal in some places since they had 5 months of severe winter but the people were wonderful.

The villages very clean and charming and the food was plentiful and varied depending on location. Our trip began with a city tour of Warsaw with a famous movie star Joanna as our guide. What a history lesson we all received. She was so proud of her country and she should be. Words cannot describe the feelings we all experienced at the various shrines, notably Our Lady of Czestohowa where we were blessed to be able to celebrate with our spiritual guide Father Hogan a Mass in the small shrine where the Icon is exhibited…

To see how venerated this icon is well worth the trip to Poland. Added, treasures were the trip to Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II and the church he was baptized and his home right next to the church and the dessert famous throughout Poland as Pope’s cake. We all could see why he loved it and the village of Zagopane riding the funicular cable car to the lower top of the mountain and having lunch at the scenic mountains where Pope John Paul II hiked thru most of his life and Krakow with the famous St Francis of Assisi Church where again we attended our own private Mass and then we walked to the Market Square for a tour of the Church of St Mary’s where we saw the beautiful carved altar, spectacular to say the least and then followed a trip to a castle and finally the trip to Auschwitz….

Our last day was spent at the newly built shrine to Sr Faustina and saw the place of her internment after she was canonized and the rooms she lived while a nun..

Again Mass in a private chapel and we saw St Stephen of Hungary’s relics in another chapel..A beautiful dinner in one of the oldest restaurants from the 13th century climaxed our trip…

Everyone agreed that we were on Pilgrimage like no other, perhaps we were just lucky but I believe our guide Agnes was able to arrange so many special days and again 206tours is the best to provide the guides, drivers and accommodations all as excellent.

Marguerite Schweisthal and Dorothy Ann Guba

Rinda, will heart felt gratitude to you and your boss. I thank you with inexplicable joy i look forward to this pilgrimage. May your thoughtfulness and care be as a glimmering precious stone with the most perfect scent of Heaven.

JMJ

Kat Sherman/Sweeney

Dear Kristin,
Thank you for all the work you did for the Denver Catholic Biblical School pilgrimage and especially for the help you gave our family in particular with Brian’s alternate travel needs.

Overall, the trip was fabulous! We loved Jacoub and Ramon, our guides in Israel. We were particularly touched to meet Gabriel and receive his beautifully-designed cross–which I am wearing even now! Such spiritual men! I can’t tell you how valuable it was to have Catholic men lead us through the Holy Land. That they shared our beliefs and witnessed to their faith in our presence was truly inspiring. They are a credit to 206 Tours.

In Egypt, Moses, Moses (as he referred to himself) was great as well. He accommodated our most unusual requests — such as my son Kevin wanting to buy an Arabic/English Bible. Moses tracked one down for him and did many other things such as schlep us to the hotel if we didn’t want to shop and arrange for a car to take Brian to the airport since his departure time was 10 hours later than the rest of the group’s.

Our guides were knowledgeable, interesting, and interested in all we did and needed. They made the trip totally painless and absolutely inspirational.

Our accommodations were top-notch (although we would have loved to have wireless Internet available in our rooms so that we could keep up with work demands)…..

……As for you and the staff in the office: I give you an A+. You always answered all our questions and worked with us diligently to

see that things were handled correctly.

If other things occur to us, I’ll certainly drop you another email. But in the meantime, please accept our thanks for a life-changing pilgrimage.

Sincerely,
Claudia McAdam

Kristin,

I want to thank you for the great service and the WONDERFUL/SPECIAL Guides. The Drivers were wonderful, the hotels were great, the food was very good….Other than that, it was magnificently wonderful! I will have memories of this trip forever in my mind and in my heart.

Thank you again and again.
Mary Padilla

Dear Kristin & 206 Tours,

I’d like to express my thanks for the wonderful pilgrimage to the Holy Land with 206 tours out of Denver. The religious sites were varied and most informative. the trip was face paced at times but understandably so because of trying to incorporate as much as possible in the short time allotted.

I thought the accommodations were great, the food was good, and the 206 personnel were much to be commended. The bus drivers and well as the tour guides were most informative and helpful. The personnel from the Biblical School were great to work with and equally knowledgeable. I was given a great roommate. I have recommended this tour to friends who ask about it. The safety issue didn’t not co me into play and others will want to take the Holy Land tour because of this.

Again, I want to express my thanks and hope that I can take another on of your tours in the future.

With Kind Regards,
Sandra Johnson

“Thank you Kristin! The tour was perfect. Thank you for all you did……. ”

.”…..Thank you for all of your hard work. ” The trip was completely fantastic and the wonderful memories will last my lifetime. Take care and thank you very much for all of your hard work. I hope to go on a 206 tour again someday.

THANKS.
Sincerely,
Janet Teran

The Pilgrimage was a very Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical, journey. I, along with my travel companions enjoyed every moment. I wish we would have had a little more time at each stop but understand, in order to get in what we did, we had to keep moving.
The staff of 206 Tours were very polite. It was a delight to talk to a few of you on the phone. As I remember making a few calls.
Our guide, George, and bus driver, forgive me but I don’t know the spelling of his name, were excellent. Meeting representatives of 206 in Israel was a pleasure. Accommodations and meals were delightful.

Since arriving home I have been sharing with family and friends. A few of us were able to get together and share with a group at the end of April.
If I have an opportunity to take another trip to a Holy Site I definitely will check with 206 Tours.

Blessings,
Marlene Fuller

Dear Kristin,

“What a blessing the pilgrimage was and is and will forever be…….”

“……Ben and Kathy, time and Thomas were wonderful. I am full of joy! and thank giving to be a part of such an incredible journey. ”

Angela Hansen

Dear 206 Tours,

I just wanted to add my thanks for the wonderful tour of the Shrines of France!
This tour had three distinct sections and from my little experience in organizing church events, one could just imagine all of the details that needed to be worked out for such a trip, and 206 had arranged everyone of them with such grace!

The guides, the accommodations, the transportation, everything was such a blessing!

You are on our lips as the one to contact for a great travel and pilgrimage experience!

May God bless you!
Sister Mary Ann

Hi,

The pilgrimage to Medjugorje was wonderful! Fr Fred was an inspirational leader and our tour guide Dragon was great! Our host Marcos could not do enough for us. The accommodation and food were quite nice.

The location to St. James was very convenient.

Thank you for all your help I would book again with 206 tours.

God Bless,
Donna

Dear Milanka and Rinda,

I feel blessed to have taken this tour with Fr. Runde and Fr. Chandy, with Sisters Alice, Marie Rose, Mary Ann, and Veronica, and with all the other co-pilgrims.

All the tour guides (Jennifer for La Salette, Paray le Monial, and Ars, Melanie at Lourdes, and Ziga for Paris, Nevers, and Lisieux) were excellent. Guy, our driver for Lyon, La Salette, Paray le Monial and Ars, was very friendly, helpful, and excellent. I also have to make special mention of Susan at Lourdes, who coordinated the large group (over 80) who arrived at Lourdes at the same time from different scheduled tours, as well as the volunteer guide we had at La Salette and a visiting Sister from England, who gave us a very spiritual presentation at Nevers.

I have always wanted to see Our Lady of La Salette, and would like to go there again in the future. Staying right there at the shrine was great! It would be so nice if we could stay there for two or three nights for a retreat.

This is my 3rd pilgrimage with 206 tours, and I just have to say that your pilgrimages are excellent, and will continue to use it and to recommend it to everyone. I am looking forward to the next one.

Thank you, Milanka and everyone!
Love, joy, and peace,
Brenda

I had a memorable trip to Mexico City. We arrived as a group of strangers and left as good friends. It was good in every way: The tour guide “Pepe” the best anyone could imagine; Our priest Fr. Swift involved everyone in the Mass and experience; The Royal Zona Rosa hotel was comfortable, the food excellent, staff helpful; The tour schedule allowed some flexibility in time and places. The only thought I have for improvement is that it would have been good to have more prayer time at Guadalupe. Some of us hired a van to go back to Our Lady on Friday 4:30 to 6:30, so there was a way to accommodate extra time. All in all this tour met my expectations. I look forward to traveling again with 206 Tours.

Bill Cooley

To Whom It May Concern,

Recently I returned from a pilgrimage to France, May 9-19. I want to congratulate you and express my gratitude for a well organized trip and the wonderful spirit of everyone involved in making it such a satisfying experience.

Two guides stood out in particular: Jennifer who was our guide in LaSallette and in Lyon and Melanie in Lourdes.

I know the best advertisement is a good word and know that I will spread a very good one about 206 Tours.

Thank you for all you hard work on our behalf.

Sincerely yours,
Sr. Marie Rose Gibson, RSM

All the experiences, the company of very nice people and tour guides, everything that I saw and learned from the trip was very well worth the money that I spent.

It was such a wonderful experience, the most memorable in my life. I certainly look forward to doing it again in the future and also recommending same to others.

I am very much impressed or wonder at how you (all) organize such a very complicated task. I would award you the highest honor if I am allowed to. You picked wonderful and efficient guides. I would award to Javier the best tour guide ever. He most won the hearts of every pilgrim in our group.

Let me express my gratitude for bearing with me for every bit of detail that I bothered you with. Again congratulations and thank you for t he wonderful experience. God bless you all.

Rose Salvador

Hello Rinda,

The tour went great! All that went with me were very happy.

Our guide, Dragan, was very good, and I will probably use him next time.

The only other difference would be that I may stay over in Podbro.

All was very nice!

Thanks for your help!
Matt

Dear Cara,

I would like to Thank you for letting me serve as Spiritual Director of your Pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes, Nevers, Lieux, etc..

It was wonderful. The guides- Javier, Susanne and Ziga were great. They did an excellent job. They knew everything in it’s minute details which helped us, pilgrims, to stay focused on the spiritual side. great food, great accommodation and great transportation.

Your team work, dedication and expertise in catholic Pilgrimage is commendable. And again your team work, dedication and expertise made our spiritual journey easy and fruitful.

I am looking forward to join you again for another Pilgrimage.

With Love
Fr. Thomas P Chandy CMI.

The pilgrimage was a great trip. Planes on time. someone met us at the airport and saw that we got back. José was an excellent guide – patient, knowledgable, etc. No one could have done better. We had a good group of pilgrims. We had different readers for the Mass each day, a song leader who got the group together in the evening to decide on what songs and have a practice.

Thanks for inviting me to be the spiritual director on the pilgrimage.
Fr. Bruce Swift

Rinda,

I am still in Europe. The pilgrimage was awesome. Dragan is the best guide and a deeply spiritual man. Marko and Vesna were wonderful hosts. Everyone seemed to enjoy the trip.

Blessings,
Fr. Fred

I just completed a tour with Helen and was very impressed at the quality and amount of travel and sights taken in the time allotted.

Helen is like a Mother Bear protecting her cubs, excellent work, knows her biz and is a class act.

Gaia is not wonderful, she is up for Sainthood. She puts up with a lot, and is a class act. And Paula is a walking History Book. And don’t forget Luiggi is the Marrio Ferrarri of drivers. Great bus driver and the ladies on the tour do like that “Italian “. I do believe that if possible, they would have put him in their baggage and kidnapped him.

You have a great team!
John Boylan

Hi Billy,

Everything went beautifully on the pilgrimage – thanks for your efficiency and all your help.

I couldn’t have been more surprised about the ease with which we boarded and de-boarded ferry. The crew was helpful and pleasant, the dinner was great, the cabins were adequate. Everyone enjoyed it (especially me).

MIR
Helen

Dear Milanka,

Just got back from our Pilgrimage to Medjugorje. It was just wonderful. So far it was the best pilgrimage ever (but you know what, every pilgrimage is the best one). The accommodations were very nice and the food was good (except for one or two days when they served fish cakes – not too crazy for fish cakes). As you know I went there really to pray for my mom and I was so happy to find out that the public was invited to the Blue Cross for Our Lady’s visit to Ivan on Friday, the 12th. That was truly a very special time for me and for every member of my group. We were so blessed. Father Chuck, a wonderful, wonderful, charismatic priest stayed with us and everyone just loved him. It was truly a blessed pilgrimage. Take care, Milanka.

God bless you,
Chris

Our pilgrimage with 206 Tours to the Holy Land was more than we could have hoped for. It was truly a spiritual journey that will live in our hearts forever. Fr. Joseph Mundak prayed with us throughout the trip and inspired us throughout the pilgrimage. Our guide, George, was outstanding, incredibly knowledgeable, and deeply spiritual, as well. Thank you for another outstanding pilgrimage (previously to France and Italy with you.)

Jacque and John Klika

Dear servants of Christ at 206,

My name is Nathan I am calling to apologize for any uncharitable speech you may have endured from me. I had called earlier because I lost my passport on route to a pilgrimage. I understand that you can only do so much and I sincerely thank you for all that you all do.

May Christ bless you and May Mary keep you. I love you all and am grateful that such an organization exists to make it easier for us pilgrims. It is unfortunate what happened to me but God provided once and He shall provide again. Again allow me to say that I am sorry for my behavior.

In Christ through Mary,
Nathan

Hello Kristin,

I just wanted to let you know that 206 Tours and you have taken us to heaven and back. What an awesome pilgrimage to Medjugorje and Lourdes. The guides were excellent. The people were so kind and spiritually, everything was so fulfilling! Thank you and please please please keep me in your prayers as I go forth the third time to battle with cancer!

God Bless You!
Olivia Smith

Dear 206 tours,

I just arrived home on Friday from your Tour 4 of the Great Shrines of France. There are no words to describe the experience — it was awesome. The spiritual benefits were countless. As a pilgrim, I was able to be attentive to the spiritual dimension of the trip because the Guides were excellent. They were knowledgeable and respectful of the places we visited — Jennifer from La Salette to Lourdes, Melanie at Lourdes and Ziga in Paris — all were excellent in their own way. I thank you for all that you do to enrich the spiritual lives of God’s people.

This was a once in a lifetime experience for me and I am glad that I traveled with 206.

Sincerely,
Sister Veronica Gross, RSM

This was a fantastic experience. My wife and I found the hotels and meals were exceptional. All the sites were moving. What made every step even more special was our guide, our friend, our spiritual, biblical commentator –Georg. The planning was great. The anticipation of our needs, and the insights made this the most remarkable trip, truly a pilgrimage. You far exceeded our expectations. With warm Catholic regards.

John and Sharron Koors.

Hello Rinda, Cara, Jason,

Greetings from Fr. Joseph Mundakal! Our Pilgrimage to The Holy Land, Tour # 6 May 8-17, was really great! This was my first Pilgrimage to the Holy Land and I was very happy with everything. The Flight we had from Chicago by EL AL was very good, the people at counter to the immigration were all very nice. In Chicago we three were even allowed to get on board first!

The Hotels, rooms, food and everything was excellent ! I did not hear any complaint about anything from anybody at all! The visit to the Holy Places were all well coordinated. The Guide, George was wonderful in his knowledge with his Catholic background. The arrangements for Masses was done and we did get chance to celebrate Masses in all places where it was reserved – At Annunciation, Beatitudes, Mt Tabor, Nativity, Gethsemane, Holy Sepulcher and Bethany! It was really a great blessing for all of us, especially for me as a priest, to have our Eucharistic Celebrations in these most Holy Places on earth!! Thank you to Jason and all of you at 206 Tours!

Tow things happened unpleasant were: On May 12th we celebrated our Mass at Mt Tabor and it was my 23rd ordination anniversary! It was indeed a great experience and blessing for me and I was very excited too! But after the Mass I left my camera I lost my $500.00 camera and all the pictures with it! Next thing: Everything was so wonderful and we all were enjoying after the dinner at Olive Tree Hotel Lounge! Some of the couples wanted to dance with the music and one couple fell the there during some steps and the lady injured her ankle. Since then she had to be on the wheel chair! But she did not feel bad, instead took it as something happened for a reason! Anyhow it made our return journey easy since she was handicapped!!

Rinda, I personally want to thank you for allowing me to go to this most wonderful Pilgrimage. For the last ten years, since November 1997 206 Tours was very generous and kind with me. I appreciate all that you all do for me. You all are in my prayers and thoughts. I always recommend 206 Tours to everybody I know. Please give my sincere appreciation and thanks to Milanka and all others at 206 Tours.

Sincerely in our Lord,
Fr. Joseph Mundakal

The Guide book you had sent me was wonderful and a great help!

I had a wonderful time and can’t think of anything that could make the trip better??? George our guide was exceptional….. Arranged incredible locations for our daily Mass and I believe we saw things with him we would not with another guide. Father was a pleasure but very quiet and soft spoken. Look forward to my trip with you in late August to Medugorje!!!!

God Bless….
Tim

Dear Kristin,

Thank you for your kind email – I would like to offer my feedback on the recent trip as I am a world traveler {Africa 3 times, China, all over Europe……etc} and I have been in Hotel Sales for many years working with Tour & Travel Agencies.

Extremely is the word I would use to describe the recent trip: extremely well organized, extremely good hotels, extremely moving and a spiritual experience in Lourdes, extremely good transportation and guides, extremely beautiful to see springtime in Paris.

Bob Lento should be recognized and rewarded for his efforts as our Group Leader- he was amazing, kind, well organized and made the entire trip easy and enjoyable.

The only issue which was not a positive experience was the overnight flight [first flight] to Paris -that was very difficult for the elders in the group and all the seats were in the very back of the plane which could not recline and next to the toilette. Followed by a difficult transfer at the airport to the next flight to Lourdes followd by a 2 hour bus ride – very, very hard on everybody!…..would suggest a day flight and not the red-eye. but once we recovered all was well.

Thank you

Kristin

Thank you for the delightful e-mail and all your help in the planning stages. Your prayers for our safe and memorable trip are greatly appreciated. Loved your artwork and will keep you in our prayers on the journey.

Thanks again for everything.
Lin Bugaj

Just to say goodbye before you leave!

Kristin,

What a beautiful piece of art! Thank you so much for all your love and patience with helping to arrange and coordinate our pilgrimage.

You have been so quick to respond to each of my requests and can’t thank you enough! I will be sure to book further trips through you given your excellent customer service.

Thank you and God bless you!
Barb Cusack

Dear Kristin. Our trip met all our expectations and then some. Our pilgrimage to Lourdes was an awe-inspiring occasion and one we will

never forget.

Melonie, our guide there in Lourdes, radiated warmth, hospitality, and spirituality, as well as being very informative and helpful. She

was a treasure.

We also enjoyed our Paris venture, and all the wonderful sights and sounds of that beautiful city, There too, our guides were helpful and informative as were for the most part our Air France crew. Hotel arrangements were satisfactory and the food provided, enjoyable.

My husband and I are not “Travelers” so we did not really know what to expect but were happy with all aspects of our trip. If there is any regret it might be that we had one more day in Lourdes

Our thanks for all your help…………………
Gail Bizzoso St Thomas More Funsters

Dear Kristin,

Thank you for your kind email – I would like to offer my feedback on the recent trip as I am a world traveler {Africa 3 times, China, all over Europe……etc} and I have been in Hotel Sales for many years working with Tour & Travel Agencies.

Extremely is the word I would use to describe the recent trip: extremely well organized, extremely good hotels, extremely moving and a spiritual experience in Lourdes, extremely good transportation and guides, extremely beautiful to see springtime in Paris.

Bob Lento should be recognized and rewarded for his efforts as our Group Leader- he was amazing, kind, well organized and made the entire trip easy and enjoyable……

Thank you

Dear Rinda,

I can’t even begin to tell you about the many blessings I received on this pilgrimage.

I am already recommending it to other people. It was wonderful!

Teresa Clark

Hi Liz and Sandra,

Well my trip was wonderful. Everything went without a hitch. Wheelchairs at all airports. Loved the people I was with. Our tour guide, Slevinka, was absolutely wonderful. She went beyond the call of duty. 206 Tours is very lucky to have her. She held my hand ALL the way up Cross Mountain and back down. Everyone was so pleased with her.

Thank you all for your kindness.
God Bless.
Jane Hartig

We had a great time. It was perfect. please keep us on your mailing list.

John Aversa MD.

Dear Liz,

I just returned from Medjugorje last Sunday with Wayne Weible’s group. I just want to thank you and your group and to let you know how special it was. Everyone involved, from our host, Iko, Slavenka, and Wayne were wonderful. The trip was truly spiritual and helped us better understand Our Lady’s messages and how St. James Church and the people there are really working to spread the messages. It was a wonderful trip. Our five from Olathe, Kansas all had a wonderful experience.

Thank you and God bless.
Carolyn Anderson

Kristin,

I wanted to send you this email to thank you for all your efforts towards my group of pilgrims. Your efforts and that of your company 206 tours speaks volumes about how you conduct yourselves towards the people who avail themselves of your services. Everything on the trip went very well, from the take off at Detroit Metro to our connecting flights from France into Italy and our return. Vivian was an excellent guide and became I believe a good friend to all of us.

I am up for a new assignment as of 1 September 2006. I will keep 206 tours in the forefront went I am able to again arrange time to conduct a tour of Italy or any other local that 206 tours reaches.

I have been impressed consistently by the services of this company and its people.

Sincerely,
Fr. Lew W. Eberhart

….The pilgrimage trip to Spain, Portugal, and France was absolutely awesome; finished up with four days in Normandy and Paris after the group returned home…..

Soyez Joyeux! A bientot! GE Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.

George Egan

Dear Rinda:

My wife Kay and I went on Tour 6 to the Holy Land, April 10-19. It was one of the most moving and meaningful experiences of our lives.

Father Alfredo Del Toro was the pilgrimage priest. He is the essence of a priest, exactly what we would have ordered: deeply spiritual and orthodox, engaging and human, inspirational and real. 206 should encourage him to be the spiritual director on other tours. Thank you for selecting him for ours.

In addition, our guide, Waleed Hazzan, was outstanding. He is passionate about Israel, the Bible, the Christian faith, his group, and the history he imparts with the heart of a born teacher. We couldn’t imagine a better guide. His knowledge of history and culture is vast, and his ability to get us into the places we wanted to be was truly gifted. He should be your premier guide in the Holy Land. He took care of our every need and went overboard to accomodate our requests. The one suggestion I would make is, that for Holy Land tours during Holy Week, that 206 adapt the standard itinerary to conform to the days of that week. We asked Waleed to do that, and he came through for us in an inspired way. His efforts, along with Father Del Toro’s ministry, made our hopes for the pilgrimage come true for us and the other members of the group.

Our driver, Nazir, was calm and efficient and made us feel welcome and safe as we drove the highways and roads of Israel. The hotels were comfortable, clean, and hospitable. The whole experience was a bit overwhelming, as it should be, but exactly what we wanted. We are impressed with your company and have recommended 206 to others. With all your tours and the numbers of persons you must deal with each day, I found your office staff invariably friendly, helpful, and calm. We’ll certainly use 206 again when we take another pilgrimage.

God bless your ministry.
Sincerely,
David and Kay Gedrose
Olympia, Washington

Dear Rinda & 206 Employees,

Our family had a most memorable experience in Medjugorje. We want to thank you for our wonderful guide Slavenka. She was so informative and her enthusiasm was glowing. She truly enjoys what she does. She was also so very helpful in any way that we needed her especially in obtaining our lost luggage!

We also were blessed with Sr. Isabel, our spiritual director. Each day she gave us suggestions and information on how we could enrich our spiritual experience. It was wonderful to have such expertise in our mist.

Thank you all at 206 Tours for all your good work. May God bless you all abundantly.
Jim, Diane and Jared Popp

Dear 206 Tours:

I recently returned from Tour 3 to Lourdes and Paris in March, and I wanted to tell you how thankful I am to you that I have been able to bring my father on such a wonderful trip.

This was my father and my first pilgrimage and I can truly say that it was a life touching experience. The tour guide we had at Lourdes, Carlo was wonderful and Ziga the guide from Paris was absolutely amazing. His in-depth knowledge of the places we visited in Paris made our visit even more enjoyable. He also was extremely thoughtful as he went out his way to get me a shirt that I had expressed an interest in having; and because of the short amount of time we had in Paris, he offered to get it for me. It is having people like them who represent your company such an enjoyable experience for a first timer like myself want to use your company again.

Thank you again for everything.
Lori Batson

My sister Doris, invited my sister Marion and I to go on this tour of the Shrines of Italy with her. It was the best vacation we have everhad. We had never been on a pilgrimage before, but now I would recommend going to anyone who would like to have a a spiritual journey. We couldn’t have had a better tour guide. Vincenzo was very knowledgeable and available to help whenever needed. Fr. Jilson George was also the best priest we could have had. God even favored us with great weather, and we met some great people that toured with us. What more could we ask for? It was great!

Louise Ewing

Dear Rinda

I had the most wonderful trip. Everything was just perfect. The weather in Lourdes and Nevers and Lesieux was just beautiful. It rained in Paris but we were in the bus touring the city and also in the Notre Dame Cathedral so we didn’t mind.

March was a great time to go because we avoided a lot of the crowds and that added to the peacefulness of the trip.

We had great group of people and we were blessed with two wonderful priests.

The tour guides were so nice and informative. The hotels were nice and clean and the food at both of them was delicious.

I’m so glad I went and I would travel with your tour company again.

Thank You
Madeleine Ponte

Hi Rinda,

I was truly pleased with the 206Tour to the Holy LAnd in March.
First, the hotels were of the standard I expected. Then, the places we visited were more than adequate. It was so moving. The group gelled wonderfully, father and sister were both excellent. Masses held at the prearranged places was so moving.
George, our guide was top notch. My only objection was that we went to many places to shop.
I have sold your tour to others.

Thanks for everything.
Angeline

Dear Rinda!

Thank you very much for arranging such a wonderful pilgrimage to Italy. We all had a great experience. Everything was well arranged and executed.

When we arrived the Airport in Rome, our tour escort Vincenzo extended a warm welcome. He accompanied us throughout the pilgrimage with great commitment and efficiency. We had very comfortable stay in all the hotels and great food too! We were blessed with the best weather!

Next day we began our pilgrimage with Papal audience on the first anniversary of his election. The whole pilgrimage was a moving experience. We had very knowledgeable tour guides everywhere to help us. We were from different parts of USA but became friends soon. We really enjoyed one another’s company.

We enjoyed the touring time as well as the private time. A pilgrimage is very special. We not the same after the pilgrimage! What a wonderful gift!

Once again I thank 206 Tours for making it possible!

Looking forward to do more pilgrimages with 206 Tours,

Peace,
Father Jilson George

It was a marvelous time!! Our guide Waleed Hazzan went over and above the call of duty in seeing to his “flock.” When we were turned back numerous times at the check points, he would somehow maneuver the tour so that we would get through the check points at another time.

“From East to West, Waleed is the best” is a phrase that we heard numerous times from the Arabs, whether they were Christian or Muslims.

His knowledge of the holy Land and its history, both spiritual and cultural was amazing. It is obvious that he really loves his job and his homeland.

I am truly happy that I was able to make the pilgrimage. It gave me a new insight on the struggle (both political and religious) in the Holy Land.

A pilgrimage it was indeed.

What a wonderful experience we all had. Thank you. The only real concern was our long trip home from Charleston. Perhaps Myrtle Beach next time.

Everything else was great. The accommodations were wonderful, Slavenka was great. We even got a chance to see Maja, so nice. We liked our small and intimate group. We get together even here in town.

Thank you again.
God bless,
Chris Batley

Dear Rinda,

It is hard to believe that our tour of the Shrines of Italy is over. What a beautiful spiritual journey it was. We met the best people on our tour, our tour guide and bus driver was also the best and now I will have these memories for years to come.

I would recommend 206 Tours to anyone because of your expertise and knowledge in planning. Vincenzo couldn’t have done more in making our stay pleasant, comfortable and even going out of his way making sure all of our needs were met. He certainly does know the history and church history of Rome and all of shrines that we visited.

Thank you for help making this the best trip I have ever made. I am sure that my two sisters felt the same about the trip. If my sisters and I decide to take another pilgrimage, I am sure it would be with 206 tours.

Thanks again for everything!
Doris Hayes

It was such a wonderful trip! Thank you very much for all your assistance and making this trip come true. I am glad you hooked us up with Penny’s Our Lady of Peace group. This was our first for everything and it has been positive from beginning to end.

Penny is a wonderful coordinator, very positive and really nothing fazes her. God bless her!

Juan Carlos and Miguel are the best team, and they know their stuff. Thank you Juan Carlos for helping me with my Mom’s wheelchair, and the wheelchair was really smooth and sturdy.

Big thanks to Fr, David, his wonderful explanations, talks and discussions, his homilies are such a big hit and went straight to your heart; and he could be funny too.

Everyone in this trip are wonderful, definitely I will join a 206 tour in the future and it is alright if you patch me thru Penny, she is wonderful.

Josie Cedeno

Dear Kristin,

It was a wonderful trip! We were so blessed on this trip. We will definitely use 206 again if we are called to another pilgrimage.

May God bless You for your good work that you provide for such devout trips.

Carmela & Alfred.

Hi Kristin,

Thank you for all of your kindness, hard work and prompt replies!
All of our pilgrims are very excited about the trip!
May God Bless you also very very much for all that you do! You’ve been like an angel of mercy!

Olivia

I had a great experience and I was very pleased with 206tours and the arrangements. I really have no negative feedback, just positive.

Everything went well. Thank you for everything. On my next trip I will definitely go again with 206 tours. Have a nice day.

Esther Martinez

Dear Penny,

I just wanted to let you know that this trip has filled by heart with a warmth that is truly unexplainable. As I sit in my living room so many thoughts rush through my mind and images. All of them wonderful. Being in the presence of our Blessed Mother has brought a me a profound understanding of her and what she needs, everyone of us to do. Thanks to you I can know say the rosary instead of just rambling  Hail Mary or a Our Father the words come slowly out of my mouth and they make sense.

Thanks to Father David and his explanation I actually understood. Every Mass he celebrated his words went right to my heart. Before Mass was just an obligation and someone a priest just saying words that would sometimes stick and other times just went passed me. Father David gave me a new understanding of my faith and as a catholic a new spiritual obligation to my family and myself. Also, please thank Ginny and Victor for trekking the morning and evening prayer books. I love them both.

The pilgrimage was for me a God sent I don’t ever think I would have been a part of one like they say God works in mysteries ways. The hotel and food were great and many thanks to Juan Carlos he truly knows his job and finds everyway to accommodate the needs of the traveler , he understands the importance of being a part of the group and listening and reacting if the needs presents itself . A special thanks to our driver Miguel. Miguel’s driving skills made every bus ride safe and gave us a piece of mind.

Again, Penny thank you.
Sincerely,
Gina Perez-Sandoval (California Girl)

Dear Rinda and Jennifer, I want to tell you what a wonderful trip we had to the Holy Land. Everything was so well planned and our tour guide George Sa’id and driver, Shariff were wonderful. George especially was so knowledgeable and considerate of everyone. We were very blessed with good weather and a very comfortable bus. I look forward to using 206 tours again in the future.

Again thank you.
Patricia Walker

We are now in the most incrediable hotel in Compostela, the likes in which no one has seen here that is on our trip…Everyone is in awe!

The food and the service is the best ever, but the fact that it is a renovated Franciscan monastery is so breath taking.

The whole group, can´t get over how organized and wonderful everything is and Juan Carlos is such a warm hearted, gifted tour director and everyone is absolutely in love with Fr. David…..He has been hearing confessions in the back of the bus and the faces of everyone as they come back from confession is just glowing. Better go now, thanks again for making this pilgrimage which is like a dream, possible!

Love and Prayers,
Penny

Dear 206 Staff,

The trip to the Holy Land was our 4th 206 pilgrimage. As always, we were most pleased with every aspect of our trip. What a blessing to have Father Philip Pavich with us again. Everywhere we went, he knew people and we were edified by the devotion he’d share in the Masses and homilies. He led us in the decades of the rosary at each site they happened. Plus, he has a delightful sense of humor! Our Arab- Catholic guide, Jack Halis, and driver, Yousef, taught us much about life in the West Bank, which we were fortunate to visit. Jack has a wealth of information to share! Plus, he is humble and devout. Our accommodations were very good – especially the Scotts Hotel in Tiberias. We’ll never forget waking up in our rooms on the Sea of Galilee to the roosters’ crowing. The food there was 5 star! We also enjoyed the warmth at the Notre Dame in Jerusalem. It was a wonderful group of pilgrims. Our last night together, we had a most memorable dinner in Bethlehem provided by the Guiding Star Company. Gabriel, the owner, gave an impassioned speech on the plight of the Arab Christians and thanked us all for coming to visit these holy places. We rode back past the sparkling lights of the Bethlehem hills and sang carols – our voices choked with emotion.

Satisfied? You bet! When’s trip #5?

Joan and Mike Riley

Dear Rinda,
Having buried my mother Johanna Mikalajunas on february 11, 2006 I decided to make this pilgrimage as a pilgrim to pray for the soul of my mother and myself. The organization of the pilgrimage was fantastic.
Carlo our guide in Lourdes practiced and believed what he shared with us. He also arranged for me to go to Bartres the place where St. Bernadette was a shepherdess. I was blessed to be the celebrant of the English Mass on Sunday at the grotto, an experience that I shall never forget for this was my 6th pilgrimage to Lourdes since 1972 and the first time to experience this great blessing.
Ziga Kaplovica (photo left) our guide in Paris was organized, polite, efficient, knowledgeable and a faith filled man. It is great to see a young man so dedicated to his vocation of tourism and helping pilgrims in every way.

I am so pleased with 206 tours that I plan to lead the pilgrimage to Mexico in December of 2006. Thank you and God Bless your ministry.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. John E. Mikalajunas,
Pastor of St. John the Evangelist
Church in Binghamton, New York

Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land with 206 Tours exceeded all expectations.

How can one feel worthy to see, touch and walk around all the sacred sites we experienced? Maureen and I will cherish life-long memories of celebrating Mass with other wonderful people in so many precious places.

Fr. Joji and Sister Rosemary provided nourishing spiritual insights, and our guide George Sa’id was a walking Bible Encyclopedia. George was generous with his time for explanations and went out of his way again and again to help us make the most of our visit. Our bus driver, Sharif, worked some miracles of his own to safely navigate through close quarters.

All the arrangements for flights, hotels and meals were excellent. You can’t grow better produce in your own garden than what we enjoyed along the way. We had friendly service and felt welcome wherever we traveled in Israel.

Thank you again for helping us gather these most treasured memories.

Dave & Maureen Carlson

West Olive, MI

Dear Milanka,

I am pleased to inform you that the tour went well. The organization was perfect, and we did not encounter any problem.
The accommodations and the food were also very good.
The guides Marco and Ziga were friendly, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and dedicated. In a word, they were excellent.
I believe everybody enjoyed the trip.
Thank you again for having given me this opportunity.

Sincerely,
Fr. M. Brizio

Thank you again for all the good work you have done.

I recently completed my certified France Specialist course work. In association with that I attended a seminar sponsored by the French Tourist office. Your agency was listed as the preferred agency for religious travel. I knew why. It is because of employees like you.

Thank you again

Mary Anne Hegedus, ECC

Dear Sandra and Liz:

The group had a FABULOUS TIME!!!!! They loved everyone, the hotel, the staff, the guides. They thought all wonderful!!! Sorry to have taken so long to let you know.

Thanks again so much.
Lola Owens

I went to Medjugorje for the first time in February. This pilgrimage made me even more excited about being Catholic. Everyday I was completely surrounded by love. Father Ed, Jim Melton, and Rich Goulah taught me so much while I was there. I can’t wait to go back and I love to share the messages of Mary! Jesus and Mary, thank you for all the blessings and thank you for all the people who make these pilgrimages possible.

Peace & Blessings…
Sande Petrovick

Dear Rinda:

Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land was wonderful. Our tour guide, our bus driver, and (especially) our priest Fr. Philip Pavich were a real blessing. I could start tomorrow and do every day all over again. The food and places where we stayed were also excellent. This was my second tour with 206 and, again, I was very pleased with everything.

Thank you for providing such a wonderful Catholic tour service for pilgrims!
Jan George

Dear Billy:

The trip was a wonderful experience, full of good times, surprises, spiritual moments. The tour guide, Slevanka, always so knowledgeable and so kind. The plane rides uneventful and on time, we traveled with a group of 32, including 9 children and I was surprised at the ease in which all the transfers from one plane to another took place. Medjugorge was as special as the first time for me. Every day there is a new beginning, a new opportunity to grow in God’s love and to experience our Queen of Peace warmth and guidance. I thank you and your group for all the arrangements, assistance. Our group leaders, Teresita and Sarah also did a great job arranging our visits with Fathe Jozo, Cenaculo, Oasis of Peace, Nancy and Patrick… God bless!!

Juanita Vitale (Saro)

Kristin,

We thought the tour was perfect – the transportation, guides, lodging, schedule, everything. We can’t wait to go back.

Thank you,
Mark and Kristi Kremer

Hi Kristin, the trip was awesome and I tried calling you to tell you what a great job you did……….and how Jim Melton and Rich Goulash and so many others raved and raved about how efficient you were and what a joy it was working along side of you………….It was bitter sweet being there in Medj. without Fr. Moyna but in all honesty everyone who knew him felt his presence and it was like having a 6th priest with us…..

Love and Prayers,
Penny

Hi Kristin,

Just back from Medjugorje yesterday. A wonderful pilgrimage. Thank you to 206 for such a well organized trip. Jozo’s couldn’t have been better – they are such a gracious, warm family. The meals are phenomenal – such good “home” cooking. Slavenka is wonderful…knowledgeable, accommodating, incredibly sweet, and most of all, her spirituality is what makes her so good at her job. I wish I had her talent. Thank you for everything….

Thank you,
Kelly Dugan

Dear Jim,

Happy New Year. I’ve been meaning to write to say thank you for all your help with the details of the pilgrimage. My goodness, it was beautiful. The trip was very important to my wife Barbara and it exceeded our expectations.

Once again, Jim, thank you so much.

Happy New Year,
John