Highlights for me: Seeing Fatima, Lourdes and a chance meeting with the niece of Sr Lucia of Fatima.
The tour itself covered a lot and I did and saw more than I could have expected (the itinerary did not leave a lot of alone time).
Between the optional excursions, some long distance travelling days (time to catch up with sleep on the bus), local
...read more included tours, daily masses, nightly processions at Fatima and Lourdes, meals with the group, pretty much every day was full on. However, you could choose to skip some of the activities (eg. optional excursions) if you wanted to but why would you!
I attended 3 out of the 4 optional excursions and they did not disappoint - they are a must do whilst in that region of the world. If you come for a pilgrimage, then this tour would suit you. Just note that some of the paths of the places visited are uneven and you must be able to climb up and down steps, otherwise you're just going to miss out on seeing some of the good stuff - wear comfortable shoes. Also, expect a lot of walking at certain places.
Suggestion: If you want to see more of Lisbon and Barcelona, take extra days before/end of the tour.
I personally would have liked more time in Lourdes because there were many things to see and do.
We were fortunate enough to have a priest travelling with us on the tour (unplanned but greatly appreciated) because he provided the private English-spoken masses at some beautiful, rustic old churches along the tour and in some of the quaintest chapels around. That's why we were privileged to be able to have more than the scheduled masses on the tour. The other masses were public ones and usually in one or more foreign languages.
Our tour director, Ines, worked hard on organising a lot of these private masses throughout the tour (as well as other things) and was very knowledgeable of the history of the regions we visited. Our driver, Sandro, was expert and skilled at manoeuvering our large coach through some of the region's narrowest and smallest streets and laneways as well as providing a safe journey throughout the tour - so thanks to them both for their hard work!
The local guides (including those on optional excursions) were also very good to excellent quality speakers and knowledgeable about their subject matter. A special mention to Julia (in Lisbon) and Sonia (in Tomar) for their enthusiasm and they kept good pace.
The accommodation throughout the tour was mixed but generally good. Fatima hotel - great location. Burgos hotel - good location but I had a tiny, unbearably hot room which I could not control. Santiago de Compostela hotel - outside the main town centre but the most luxurious-looking hotel of the lot.
Lisbon and Barcelona hotels - located away from the main downtown areas (which I personally preferred because they were quieter and closer to the airports for the start/end of the tour). Also, Hotel Porta Fira (Barcelona) had a great breakfast selection.
Lourdes hotel (Quality Hotel Christina) - sadly, the worst accommodation of the tour due to: its bad location (about 850m walking distance one way to the sanctuary, according to Google Maps); a good brisk 10 - 15 minute walking pace (for an able-bodied person). As I had visited the Lourdes sanctuary many times throughout the day and night, the location was not ideal (especially when walking in the rain). The food served at this hotel was also average and minimal (at breakfast). This hotel was also very crowded with tour groups and pilgrimages (some of them young, excited, screaming children/teenagers) which made it difficult to get a lift to our rooms on the top floor. But having said that, I guess being on a pilgrimage tour means that you sometimes need to contend with being a little less comfortable.
The tour I took started on 24 Apr in Lisbon and the weather there was good at the time but as you get up in the mountains, along the Pyrenees (think Lourdes), then expect it to be cold, windy, rainy, sometimes hail and snow. As we went back down to Barcelona, the weather was a bit warmer but still some patchy showers.
As for Global Journeys handling of my booking, there was initially a bit of a mix up with the premature closing of my booking quote but when Georgie returned to work to handle it, there weren't any problems. It was pretty much straightforward from then on.
Overall, a very fulfilling pilgrimage tour. I managed to see and do everything that I wanted to (and then some). And made a lot of friends along the way.