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★ Hosted by Fr. Mark Haydu, LC
Catholic Pilgrimage · 11 Days · Poland

Poland and Budapest with Fr. Mark Haydu

Join Fr. Mark Haydu, LC on a Pilgrimage to Poland and Budapest. This trip will visit Budapest, Czestochowa, Divine Mercy Sanctuary, Krakow, and much more.

Dates
April 21 – May 1, 2026
Departs Newark
Duration
11 Days
Trip code 26MJ04PLMH
From
$3,795
The Pilgrimage

Walk in the Footsteps of Faith

Fr. Mark Haydu, LC and a Christian guide will meet your party at the airport and accompany you every step of the way as you explore Budapest, Czestochowa, Divine Mercy Sanctuary, Krakow, and much more.

Fr. Mark Haydu, LC
Your Host

Fr. Mark Haydu, LC

Legionary of Christ priest, local chaplain for the Lumen Institute, and territorial councilor

Fr. Mark Haydu, LC, is a Legionary of Christ priest serving as a local chaplain for the Lumen Institute and as a territorial councilor for the Legionaries’ North American Territory. Ordained in 2007, he previously directed the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums from 2007 to 2015. He holds licentiates in philosophy and moral theology and is the author of books connecting Christian meditation with Vatican art. His ministry integrates spiritual direction, culture, beauty, leadership formation, and pilgrimage.

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Know Before You Go

What's included

✓ Included

  • ✓Round-trip airfare from Newark to Krakow x Budapest to Newark
  • ✓Airport taxes and fuel surcharges
  • ✓Accommodations in first-class hotels for 9 nights
  • ✓Service charges and hotel taxes
  • ✓Buffet breakfast daily
  • ✓One Restaurant lunch in Hungary with a horse show
  • ✓5 Hotel dinners (standard 3-course menu; beverages may be purchased at an additional cost)
  • ✓Highlander Dinner with a folklore show accompanied by wine in Zakopane
  • ✓Dinner cruise with wine and a musical performance on the Danube
  • ✓All transfers with a private A/C motor coach as per the itinerary
  • ✓Professional English-speaking Christian tour guide throughout
  • ✓Entrance fees are included for sites specifically listed (outside view means no entrance fee is included)
  • ✓Luggage handling at hotels (one piece per person in/out)
  • ✓Confirmation of daily private Mass
  • ✓Whisper sets
  • ✓All inclusions listed above for the Poland and Budapest trip
  • ✓Air one way from Budapest to Rome (based on a minimum of 10 participants)
  • ✓Air one way from Rome to Newark (based on a minimum of 10 participants)
  • ✓Round-trip airport transfers based on a group of 10 or more participants
  • ✓3 nights Rome with buffet breakfast
  • ✓Private round-trip transfers to the Ordination Mass
  • ✓Hotel Taxes

× Not included

  • ×Travel protection -we recommend you consider purchasing CFAR Travel Protection
  • ×Tipping /Gratuities for the guide(s), driver, and wait staff (please refer to the suggestions we will provide for you with your final documents). Suggested budget $200- $220.00
  • ×Any items not explicitly mentioned in the list of inclusions
  • ×Beverages at meals, unless otherwise noted
  • ×Meals not specifically listed at the end of each day (B. L. D.)
  • ×Church donations (budget $2.00 - $5.00 per Mass)
  • ×Airport transfers for land-only passengers unless they are at the airport at the same time as the group
  • ×Personal expenses
  • ×Any airline baggage charges
  • ×Baggage handling at train stations, airports, and hotels in excess of one suitcase per person
  • ×Any charges incurred due to excessive luggage including the cost of an additional baggage vehicle or porterage charges

Tipping /Gratuities for the guide(s), driver, and wait staff (please refer to the suggestions we will provide for you with your final documents). Suggested budget $200- $220.00.

Day by Day

Your pilgrimage, mapped out

Tap any day to explore. Meals: B breakfast · L lunch · D dinner.
Day 1April 21, 2026
DEPART FROM USA
+

We depart from Newark Airport on an overnight flight to Kraków, Poland. Dinner and breakfast are served on the plane. Quotes for add-on flights and optional Premium Economy and Business Class are available upon request. Due to group air restrictions, we cannot request specific flight seats. If this is an essential trip feature, please book your own air and book the land-only option with us.

Day 2April 22, 2026
KRAKOW
+

Welcome to Poland. Upon arrival, we will be met by our English-speaking tour escort/manager and transferred to our comfortable coach. We celebrate Mass and are transferred to our centrally located hotel. We enjoy a welcome drink at our hotel, and meet our fellow group members, followed by dinner at the hotel. Overnight in Kraków. (Welcome Drink and Dinner)

D
Day 3April 23, 2026
WADOWICE – KRAKOW
+

After breakfast, we depart for Wadowice, the birthplace of Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II). We visit the Pope John Paul II museum and see the church he attended and was baptized in as a child. We celebrate Mass at the parish of St. John Paul II in Wadowice. Following lunch, we return to Krakow for a guided city tour including Wawel Hill with the Royal Chambers & Royal Cathedral, which serves as the nation’s spiritual capital and has witnessed most of the royal coronations and funerals of the last millennium. We see the Cathedral’s Treasury, Crypt of St. Leonard, where St. John Paul II celebrated his first Mass, and for those who desire, climb the Cathedral belfry to see the largest functioning bell in the world. We continue along Kanonicza Street, seeing some of Krakow’s oldest and most elegant houses, stopping at the Deanery House where St. John II lived while in Krakow. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight in Kraków.

B
Day 4April 24, 2026
DIVINE MERCY – “HAVE NO FEAR CENTER”
+

We board our motorcoach for a visit to Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki. We visit the Divine Mercy Shrine – the Convent of the Sisters of God’s Mother of Mercy, where Saint Faustina, the Apostle of Divine Mercy, lived and died. In his writings and homilies, St. John Paul II has described Divine Mercy as the answer to the world’s problems and the message of the third millennium. He also beatified and canonized Sr. Maria Faustina Kowalska. We visit the newly constructed Shrine of Divinity, dedicated by Pope John Paul II on his last visit to Poland in 2002. We celebrate Mass at the Shrine. In the afternoon, we visit the Sanctuary of St. John Paul II, where we venerate the relic of St. John Paul II. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Krakow.

BD
Day 5April 25, 2026
AUSCHWITZ – WIELICZKA
+

After breakfast, we visit the Auschwitz concentration camp museum and see where St. Maximilian Kolbe and other prisoners were held. In the afternoon, we visit Wieliczka, Europe’s oldest salt mine, which UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage Site. The mine is a unique place where many generations of Polish miners have created a world of underground chambers and decorated chapels carved out of salt, including the famous Chapel of St. Kinga, where we celebrate Mass. Overnight in Kraków.

BD
Day 6April 26, 2026
CZESTOCHOWA
+

Our journey takes us to visit the Jasna Gora Monastery, where we see the Treasury, the Knight’s Hall, the Refectory, the Basilica of the Holy Cross, and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The highlight of our visit will be viewing the famous icon of the Black Madonna, to which miraculous powers are attributed. We celebrate Mass in the Pope St. John Paul II chapel. We return to Kraków for dinner and overnight.

BD
Day 7April 27, 2026
ZAKOPANE
+

We check out of our hotel in Kraków and travel to the mountain region of Zakopane, Poland’s Winter Capital. This morning, you can walk on one of St. John Paul II’s favorite walking trails in Zakopane. Weather permitting, we take a cable car ride to the nearby Gubalowka mountaintop for extraordinary views. During our visit to Zakopane, we will understand why St. John Paul II enjoyed spending time here. We celebrate Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, which was built by the local Highlanders in 1989 in gratitude to the Blessed Mother for saving the life of St. John Paul II from the assassination attempt. Tonight, our dinner is in a traditional mountaineer restaurant with a Folklore show. Overnight in Zakopane. (B. Special dinner)

BD
Day 8April 28, 2026
ZAKOPANE – SZENTENDRE – BUDAPEST
+

Following breakfast, we depart for Hungary and the beautiful city of Budapest. En route, we have a stop for lunch on our own in the picturesque town of Szentendre, which sits at the foot of the Pilis Hill, on the bank of the Danube. Winding streets from Main Square are packed with architectural masterpieces, museums, restaurants, cafes, and souvenir shops. Here we celebrate Mass. Following, we have time to explore the town. We depart for Budapest for dinner and an overnight.

BD
Day 9April 29, 2026
BUDAPEST
+

Following breakfast, we have a city tour. We see both sides of the city, the hilly Buda and the flat Pest, connected by the bridges across the river Danube. We see the Old Town, the Trinity Square, home to the 13th-century Matthias Church, where we celebrate Mass, and the turrets of the Fishermen’s Bastion offer sweeping views. We see St. Stephen’s Cathedral and Gellert Hill before our tour ends. Be sure to visit Europa Cafe for traditional desserts enjoyed in one of the most beautiful cafes in the world. (Reservations are recommended.) Tonight is a lovely treat as we have dinner aboard a cruise on the Danube River. We watch the impressively lit city from the river, which is one of the most beautiful views one can experience. Our dinner is accompanied by local musicians and dancers. Overnight in Budapest. (B. Special dinner)

BD
Day 10April 30, 2026
BUDAPEST
+

This morning, we travel into the countryside for a visit to a traditional Hungarian farm to see the Puszta horse show, the equestrian show that includes breathtaking tricks and introduces us to the art and skills of local horse riders. We enjoy a typical Hungarian lunch accompanied by music at the farm. We cross the Elisabeth Bridge to the Pest side in Budapest to stop at the Central Market Hall for souvenir shopping. Mass is celebrated. The rest of the day and dinner are at leisure. Overnight in Budapest.

BL
Day 11May 1, 2026
RETURN TO USA
+

After breakfast, we are transferred to the airport for our flight home.

B
Day 11May 1, 2026
WE DEPART FROM BUDAPEST AIRPORT ON A FLIGHT TO ROME
+

Following breakfast, we are transferred to the airport for a flight to Rome. We arrive at Rome airport and are transferred to our hotel in Rome. En route, we stop for lunch. We gather for dinner tonight at our hotel. Overnight in Rome. (B.D)*

Day 12May 2, 2026
ROME – ORDINATION MASS
+

Following an early breakfast at our hotel, we board our bus transfer for the Ordination Mass at 10 AM. We enjoy lunch at the seminary with the newly ordained priests and have a 3:30 PM return to the hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore Rome on our own. Dinner information will be provided at a later date. Overnight in Rome.

BL
Day 13May 3, 2026
ROME
+

After a later breakfast at our hotel we will attend the first mass of one of the newly ordained priests. The rest of the afternoon will be free to explore the historic center of Rome. More details on dinner options will be shared at a later date. Overnight in Rome.

B
Day 14May 4, 2026
ROME AIRPORT – USA
+

Following breakfast, you are transferred to Rome airport for the flight home.

B
Pricing

Choose how you travel

Main Tour - Land and Group Air for Poland and Budapest
$4,595per person

Main Tour - Land and Group Air for Poland and Budapest. Main trip package.

Most popular
Main Tour - Land Only
$3,795per person

Main Tour - Land Only. Main trip package.

Main Tour - Solo Traveler
$985additional

Main Tour - Solo Traveler. Additional supplement.

Rome Extension - Land and Air
$2,000per person

Rome Extension - Land and Air. Optional trip component.

Rome Extension - Land Only
$1,495per person

Rome Extension - Land Only. Optional trip component.

Rome Extension - Solo Traveler
$465additional

Rome Extension - Solo Traveler. Additional supplement.

ETA Required
Confirm requirements with Select for this destination.
Deposit
A deposit of $500.00 per person should accompany your registration by January 15, 2026.
Final Payment
Final payment is due by February 21, 2026.
Passport Validity
Your passport must be valid through November 4, 2026.
Payment Fee
A convenience fee of 4% will be charged for credit card payments.
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Completed

This departure has ended. Registration is closed.