Dear Pilgrim Tours,

Tim: We are so grateful for the Israel tour we completed about three weeks ago. We didn't realize what a great company we were dealing with when we began working on our April 2010 tour. I know a lot has changed in Israel since we were there 24 years ago. There were things to see now that were not available then. But Pilgrim Tours did some things that enhanced our trip that could have been done by the company we went with then. One of the things that we are so grateful for was our having our guide. I can't say enough about our appreciation of his tour. He is SO knowledgeable of history, the Old and New Testament scriptures, and he is so well read --- so familiar with matters important to us outside of Israel. And, he went far beyond just showing us the country and the sites; we appreciated the passion with which he described the significance of what we were seeing. He made a special effort to help us to see the difference between the historical and the traditional. It is difficult for us to see how the other guides you use could be as great as Mickey. Then there was the matter of our flight home. Your representatives in Israel made us feel "cared for" as we listened to the news about the volcano dust. I knew the Lord was in charge but I knew He was in part doing His work through Pilgrim Tours. I assure you I intend to recommend your company as often as possible.

Sincerely, thanking you.

Robby Wynn

Dear Pilgrim Tours,

I am writing to express my immense gratitude to Pilgrim Tours for the excellent experience we enjoyed in Israel and Jordan. The tour went far beyond all expectations. I had been in Israel twenty-five years ago, but that trip pales in comparison to this latest tour. I truly enjoyed the other members of the group. We became a close-knit family as the tour progressed. Both guides in Israel and Jordan were exceptional. Our Israel tour guide provided superior commentary on the various sights visited and made the Bible come alive as we carefully and extensively delved into the historical, cultural, religious, archaeological and spiritual significance of each location. As a Pastor, I felt I was in seminary and yet her teaching was so down to earth that all could comprehend. Our guide not only created a renewed love for Scripture, but a deep appreciation for Israel. I personally have returned to Canada with a greater understanding of Jesus not only in His teaching, but in His historical and cultural context. I feel much more connected with Him! For me this trip was a deeply moving spiritual experience, thanks in great part to our Israel tour guide. The Bus Drivers in Israel and Jordan were both friendly and helpful. Our guide in Jordan was extremely well informed and very friendly as well. He did everything possible to facilitate our border crossing and to enable us to enjoy our adventure in Jordan. Petra is a must see destination for anyone traveling to Israel and Jordan! The accommodation and staff were above our expectations as well. The meals were plenteous, delicious, well prepared and presented with great variety. The rooms were neat, clean and comfortable. By the way, I felt as safe in Israel and Jordan, as I do here in Canada. We had no incidents in which anyone felt threatened or apprehensive with people or surroundings. As you can already surmise, I’ve been deeply affected by the Tour. I’m so impressed that I’m beginning to plan for a group tour for our church as well as others from the community. I can’t say enough about Pilgrim Tours. Your experience and expertise is evident in the way you looked after all the details.

Pastor Gordon Henry, Canada

Dear People at Pilgrim,

It occurs to me that I as one of the travelers, want to tell you how very much our group enjoyed the trip to Israel that you plannned for us. Enjoyed is an understatement- we LOVED everything about it. Our very full days were well planned and our guide was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. Thank you for such a memorable experience!

Lura Wampler

Dear Pilgrim,

Thank you for a wonderful Israel tour. It truly was a highlight of our lives, in large part due to the professionalism, knowledge and graciousness of our guide. He was an amazing guide in all respects. Please indicate our extreme pleasure and happiness with every aspect of his guidance and of the tour organization in general. We truly believe that the tour guide can make or break the tour and ours could not have done a better job! We have raved about him and Pilgrim Tours to all of our friends and family.

Thank you again! Jeremy & Kandis Tutty

Just wanted to thank you for setting up the tour to Israel. My son and I had a great time. The tour guide was excellent. We always felt safe and comfortable.

I will highly recommend Pilgrim tours to any one wanting to visit Israel.

Thanks again,

Bridget

We recently returned from a tour of Israel and Egypt and want to thank Pilgrim Tours for enabling us to have such a meaningful, rich experience. The tour was extremely well organized. All our needs were anticipated and provided for. Though we knew none of our travel mates before we arrived, we immediately bonded with the 29 other believers on our tour. Our guide in Israel, Mickey, was a most knowlegeable Messianic Jew who helped us experience the rich spiritual blessings of being in the land of Jesus. He is a truly gifted teacher who helped us make the connections between the Old and New Testaments and the culture and history of Israel. Our guide in Egypt, Sheema, did a wonderful job of helping us make the most of the limited time we had in that interesting country. We are recommending Pilgrim Tours to all we know and are already considering taking another one of your tours some day. May God continue to bless your work and people.

Bob and Diane Heffern

Good afternoon Jesse,

My folks are recently returned from their 10 day excursion to Israel. You and your team are to be congratulated. My mother was overwhelmed by her experiences and my father could only repeat how "excellent" everything had been.

My sisters and I are truly thrilled with the experience your team afforded our parents. Please relay our thanks to Janice and all the others that made this the trip of a lifetime for P and J.

God bless you,

John Albers

Hi Terry,

Just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed the trip to Israel. We were so blessed to have our fantastic tour guide, Ido Keynan. Not only was he kind and filled with the love of God but extremely knowledgeable and saturated us with facts and answered a multitude of questions. I would recommend him to all I know as an "Excellent Tour Guide."

Also, I was very pleased with all the hotels and staff as they were all very polite and accommodating. I enjoyed trying most of the food even though I probably wouldn't have purchase some of it in the states if I had other choices. However, it still was interesting trying it and much of it was delicious; over all, I thought the hotels gave us a very nice selection morning and night.

And last but not least, THANKS so much for ALL your help. You quickly answered all our questions which put us at ease and helped make the trip very enjoyable. The trip truly turned out to be a "Five Star Israel Tour" as everything was Awesome. The Bible has truly come alive to me and I grew to love the people and the state of Israel. They'll definitely be in my heart and prayers always.

Thanks again for all your help. May God bless you, your family, and Pilgrim Tours physically, spiritually and financially all the days here on earth.

Barb Dux

Tim,

Thank you so much for a well planned 15-day pilgrimage to Egypt, Jordan and Israel. You provided my group with exceptionally outstanding tour guides: Egypt - Mido Abdelkawy, Jordan - Hani Heyasat and Israel - Shimon Zemer . They all have good sense of humor. They all excel in their profession. Everyone in my group were very, very pleased with them. It was an incredible experience for all of us both spiritually and historically. Excellent!

The drivers were definitely careful driving us to the long, winding and narrow roads. We arrived safely to our destinations.

This trip to the Holyland was a dream come true for Joe and myself. Since 2000, we have attempted three times to visit Israel and finally on the fourth try, we made it. It was a life changing experience.

Your guide was intelligent, enjoyable, helpful, and sincere. I am running out of adjectives to describe him. He is a great guy. My group was so fortunate to have him as our tour guide in this pilgrimage.

Thank you again,
Lainy Inquimboy

We returned home a week ago from tour 8T15 Israel and Egypt. It was fabulous in every way. Your packages of preparation for us, the flights, the hotels, the itinerary- all perfect.

Our guide in Israel made the past come alive as we toured the sites and he opened his Bible. We could not have seen or learned any more. He was remarkable and very personable. St Katherine was delightful- Egypt was interesting. Our guide did a good job. Your company took excellent care of us, especially getting us to the airport and onto the plane. We felt safe and comfortable the entire time.

Thank you for this "Trip of a Lifetime",
Sandy and Dave Carey

I've been meaning to write for months to say that our trip to Israel with your company was fantastic.

My husband and I have traveled quite a bit but have never taken a tour before. We have since been recommending you as often as we have shared with people. Everything is first rate, from the transportation and guide to the hotels, food, fellow travelers, sites, history, everything. We even got to meet the Nice's as they were on the tour at that time. Maybe one day we will be able to take another of your tours but it's hard to imagine how anything could top a trip to the Holy Land.

Bravo, Pilgrim Tours!!!
Judy and Ed Rekola, Lynnwood, Wa.

June 23, 2008

Greetings,

Just returned from a trip "The Footsteps of the Apostle Paul" and want to say how much I enjoyed the trip. Your tour company was excellent. The staff, guides, bus driver, restaurants, hotels and optional tours were excellent. We were taken care of from the minute we started until the end.
No worries just soak it all in and enjoy.

Shalom,
Claudia Thompson

Dear Tim:

Re: Arcadia Tour to Rome

This is to let you know how much Rosemarie Benya and I enjoyed the subject trip to Roma, Italy. The connecting flights were well planned and the weather cooperated in keeping us on time as scheduled. All of the optional tours of which we both took advantage were worthwhile and affordable. The Pompeii and Assisi trips allowed us to view some of the Italian countryside away from the crowded and congested city of Rome itself. Since Rome has literally hundreds of churches and dozens of museums, it was wise of our tour guides in Rome itself to choose the Vatican, St. Peter's, the Forum, the Coliseum, Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, Borghese Museum etc. as major points of interest. In addition they were able to give us much historical information plus explain works of art in detail. The people who made up our touring group were delightful with a nice mix of young and old. It was easy to become acquainted with them and to share information about ourselves and our other travels which helped us to form a close bond in such a short time. But the most important thing I wanted to mention about the trip was the amazing competence and availability of our Pilgrim tour guide Dan Bergey and his lovely wife. They were great about keeping us informed about the schedule for each day and in making things run smoothly. None of us became "lost sheep" because of the expert care by our "shepherd" Dan.

Finally, congratulations on a job well done in planning and coordinating the tour. Lots of behind the scenes work was performed professionally to ensure a memorable adventure.

Sincerely,

Justine L. Jaklitsch
Seven Hills, OH

Dear Steve,

We returned from an interesting tour of Israel about a week ago. We were in the north in time to be uncomfortably close to the military action that struck Haifa, Nazareth and Tiberius.

In spite of the unrest, we had a great time and your company and our guide, Nicola, are to be commended. They juggled the dual responsibilities of keeping us safe and ensuring we got to see as much of the Holy Land as was possible.

I can truly say that I never felt threatened during our time there. I think our families back home were more concerned than we were as CNN, FOX, etc. ran non-stop stories on the conflict and painted a pretty grim picture.

The hotel accommodations were excellent at every stop.

And the travel to and from Israel from Chicago was flawless. We flew Alitalia and everything was very smooth.

As an aside…I had e-mailed you before our trip about jogging in Israel. You said Sea of Galilee area and Dead Sea would likely be the best. You were absolutely correct. Tel Aviv could have been a jogging site had I not be recovering from jet lag, but the other two locations had wonderful areas to take a run.

Thanks for helping coordinate a great vacation for us.

Chris Lofgren,

Peoria, Ill.

Dear Steve,

We're back in Orange County, California after a great trip to Budapest, Linz, Salzburg, Prague, Leipzig, and Rothenburg. Pilgrim did a remarkable job taking my itinerary and making it a reality. The folks who traveled are giving me great reviews. I asked one choir member yesterday if she had a chance to go back, where would she go and she said 'the same cities...but especially the small towns like where we stayed outside Rothenburg, like Bad Windscheim, Germany'. She indicated that she could stay there several days to get a feel of the small towns. Her 13-year-old grand daughter also traveled and said the trip exceeded her dreams.
I usually break up the trip into 3 sections for review...food, hotels and everything else. The dinners served all looked like a chef prepared them, where they would sprinkle seasonings and such around the plate. The food was great! To be honest, I usually expect wienerschnitzle, peas and French fries but was blown away meal after meal with different foods. The hotels provided a great nights rest night after night. It was great to have the porter service Pilgrim provided. Where A/C was not included, fans were provided to the guests. Europe is fairly quickly moving towards the western form of accommodation, which includes A/C, which we were thankful for in several cities. Hotel staff were always helpful and we were happy that various train tickets were available in the hotels. Good job.
Our tour guide became family right from the get-go. He was willing to take small groups after a busy day of travel, into the various cities to further enhance the trip. He educated the group on sub-way use and such. He allowed each traveler to experience the trip in his or her own way. The same goes for the bus driver. These folks will be forever endeared to our group. And the Mercedes bus was great.
My personal highlight was perhaps the first venue Pilgrim was able to secure for a concert. Pilgrim indicated that they were able to secure St Stevens Basilica in Budapest. This church is on the top ten sights to visit in Budapest. We approached the church in the morning of the concert and there was the placard advertising our group. Further, our group encountered people handing out fliers in different parts of the city advertising the concert. Needless to say, our choir members were very pleased. There were 550 people in attendance and the audience was very receptive to the choir. The gentleman handling the concert was very appreciative and handed me one of each of the various publications where the choir was advertised. What a delight.
Thank you Steve Fiddler and all the associates at Pilgrim. You have gained our trust and future tour opportunities.

Mike Kutzle
Minister of Music

Dear David and Tim,

I have now completed my second trip with Pilgrim Tours and can say I could not be more pleased. On both trips, the first to Athens, Patmos, Rhodes, Ephesus, and Rome, and now our trip to Israel, I have been extremely pleased with the professional help I have received from you and your entire staff. Our groups have been well cared for and the trips have be thoroughly planned. Your suppliers overseas have given excellent attention to every detail.

On the trip we have just completed to Israel there were some who worried about our safety…I assure you we felt completely safe everywhere we went. Our trip to Bethlehem was a wonderful and pleasant addition to our trip.

If anyone is wanting to plan a trip to Israel I would highly recommend they do so right away while the crowds are smaller and the service is excellent. If anyone would like to talk to me personally about the trip or safety concerns I would be glad to talk to them.

Thanks for your help… I look forward to traveling with Pilgrim Tours again in the future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jerry Raines, Pastor

Dear Cathy,

I've had you on my "List of Things To Do" and I'm just catching up now! I wanted to tell you that we Malta! and we wanted to thank you for all your help and insight. Eight days was most certainly not enough!

Thanks again, we really loved it
Regards,

Mary - New York

Dear Tim,

About the China trip: it was incredible. I had no idea you could pack that much sightseeing into a day. It was such a wonderful surprise when we would be able to see something that was not on the itinerary because we had the time rather than just being taken back to the hotel. The guides were excellent and for most of them their English was better than mine! The food was fantastic and plentiful. It was more than I dreamed my trip would be.
Before we left I thanked you for helping to make our dream come true and now I would like to thank you for making the dream complete. There is no doubt I will use your company’s services again and often. In fact, we discussed where we would go next with your company while we were on this trip! Your company provides a wonderful product and you provide excellent service. Thank you again for making this experience possible.

Cynthia Blechl
 

Dear Steve and Tim,
We got back last night from the Holy Land tour you set up for us and, I've got to say, it was just about as perfect as it could possibly have been. My family enjoyed the tour we took in 1999 with another company thoroughly, but if we put the two side by side, there is virtually no comparison. We had an amazing guide, the hotels were superb, the agenda was exactly the right pace, EVERY detail was taken care of such that there was virtually nothing for me to do but enjoy the tour along with my people. I can't thank you enough for the experience you afforded us. Please feel free to use me as a reference for anyone considering leading a group. I WILL be a repeat customer at Pilgrim Tours.

Blessings,
Pastor Steve Schafer

Dear Pilgrim Friends,

I just want to say Thank you, for a wonderfully spiritual trip to Israel. We returned with a whole new appreciation for the wondrous word of God. The bible has become color to me now rather than black and white, it is truly alive. I want to specially thank our tour guide Shmulik. He was the "most knowledgeable" man of scripture I have ever met. I have talked with lots of people but never have I met anyone with more biblical knowledge than him. He makes the stories come alive. I would also like to add a big Thank you to our bus driver Khader Farrj. I would tell anyone who is going on the Christian tour to request him as he is kind, patient and understanding of our beliefs as he is a Christian himself. This is truly a life changing experience that I would advise everyone to take. We never felt threatened or in harm by any means. We were sheltered in the loving arms of God and Pilgrim tours. You have some very wonderful capable staff who you should be quite proud of. Thank you again.

Annette
Maine

Dear Tim,

I wanted to drop you a note to thank you for a WONDERFUL tour to Israel. We were able to get a group together and combine with some others you put with us to make for a most enjoyable time. Our guide and driver were superb! Our guide wove the Biblical importance into the sites we visited. He included much of the modern history of Israel as well. He was balanced, Biblical, and personal. He quickly learned our group and adjusted himself to our "personality." He was full of information and fun! Our trip was not boring or dry. It was alive and fresh.

Our accommodations were good. The food buffets were more than adequate. Having lunch at some local spot was refreshing. It gave us a chance to taste local delicacies. The porters were very helpful as well as the hotel staffs. Our hotel at Masada was super. It was so invigorating to float in the Dead Sea, relax in the hot tub, and then swim in the pool.

I know each and everyone who went has returned with a very positive experience and would go back again. We never felt any uneasiness while in Israel. We knew we were safe in the hands of the Lord and the security of Israel.

Thanks for all your hard work and care.

I look forward to working together again.

Sincerely,

Roger G. McCarty

Dear Steve,

I wanted to thank you for the superior trip that you planned for us. Not only was this my 14th trip to Israel, it was probably the best one I have taken.

Your service was excellent during the preparation time, no matter what question I had you took the time to explain it to me. When our group began to travel, we were met in the airport by a man who helped us through customs. As we journeyed through the land of Israel we had a kind, helpful, and knowledgeable guide. Accommodations in the country of Israel and in Switzerland were always clean and comfortable. Overall it was a great trip that was spiritually beneficial to my people, and an experience that would be worth repeating.

Thank you so much for all of your work, and may the Lord use the time that our people enjoyed in Israel to draw them closer to Him.

In His Service,

Richard E. Riley, Pastor

Dear Pilgrim Friends,

I just returned from the Best of Israel/10 day package with the add-on to Egypt. I must tell you this was the most sensational/packed tour I have ever taken.

It would be my privilege and honor to be a reference for Pilgrim Tours. It was the best vacation of my life. Not only did I learn allot about religion and history but I met the finest people on the tour which I'm sure will become life-long friends. Since I've been back, only two days, several of us have already emailed each other and plan on making a newsletter to keep up.

There are no accolades that can do it justice. Simply awesome. Great organization and usage of time. Thank you for a wonderful time along with great value for the money.

June Reich

Dear Ben,

I wanted to commend you and Pilgrim Tours for such a wonderful itinerary in Malta & Gozo. I was looking for a vacation where we wouldn't have to be traveling from city to city every two days and this package was perfect. Malta & Gozo are the "Jewel of the Mediterranean." We had a wonderful time. Malta is certainly a beautiful island country with an extensive rich history. Everything went smoothly and what we liked most is that there were so many choices of places to visit or you could just spend the day relaxing and enjoying a walk in the sun along the bay. The sun, the beautiful architecture of historic buildings, awe-inspiring scenery, and incredible history-making events - what's not to love about this little island!! Thanks again for your help and reassurance - it was well worth it!!

Israel

"We were very, very pleased with our tour. The meals and hotels were excellent, the guides were magnificent and the tour buses extremely comfortable."
Chester Bratcher, Protection, KS

"I have always been happy with the knowledgeable and friendly staff at Pilgrim. The tours my group has taken to Hawaii, Switzerland, Ireland and Scotland have all been most enjoyable. Paris is next."
Millie Mattson, Denver, PA

"I always enjoy working with the staff at Pilgrim who are pleasant and work extra hard to make our trips memorable."
Kay Smith, Ewing Township, NJ

"The highlight of the tour was the chorus performance and other performances we attended. I especially enjoyed lunch at the apple orchard. It was a great trip.
"Ruth Schroeder, Lenhartsville, PA

"My trip went very well across the board. Everyone involved from the driver to the guides offered a wealth of information. "
Pastor Jim Stevanus, Wabash, IN

"Everything about my tour to Italy was very pleasant - the restaurants, hotels and guides."
Eileen Spinelli, West Chester, PA

"All thirty-six of us loved our trip to Paris and the Riviera. Our French guide was spectacular. I'm looking forward to Scandinavia and Iceland."
Howard Smith, Atlanta GA

"My group is always very impressed with the great prices, accommodations and friendly personnel at Pilgrim. Our tour coordinator always comes up with some really amazing, educational, custom made itineraries!"
Professor Jean-Paul Benowitz, Elizabethtown, PA

Pilgrim has many other group leader references from University, Performing Arts Groups, Alumni, Bank Club, Senior Citizen, Language Study, and Trade Association travel groups. For tour ideas and information, call our Group Department today at 800.322.0788 or after hours, click here for a "no obligation" quotation.