Great Escapes

 Cruise, Tour & Travel

104 HAZEL AVENUE

BELLEVILLE,  ILLINOIS, 62223

Phone: 618-394-9763

Toll Free: 888-369-7204

Fax: 618-398-8145

Email: greatescapesctt@charter.net

Great Escapes Cruise, Tour & Travel has partnered with the world’s most recognized travel companies to provide quality faith-based journeys  that are professionally organized, fully escorted, and personally enriching.  Our Religious Travel division proudly offers land tours, river cruises and cruise-tours, individual and group pilgrimages, music group performance tours, and ocean cruises to countries on all seven continents , giving you the opportunity to visit the world’s greatest religious sites and destinations.  Whether you choose to travel independently, with your family, or with a group of any size, you will experience a memorable journey assured of exceptional quality and value.  Choose from one of our popular tours or allow us to help you organize a group pilgrimage for members of your church, organization or community, with a customized itinerary.

To contact us:

Our biblical lands tours feature the best of the Old and New Testament sites and  destinations.  You will trod in the same Old Testament places that Moses and Abraham walked.  You will visit historic sites of the New Testament, following  in the Footsteps of the Apostle Paul.   These tours feature Egypt, Greece, Turkey and Jordan.   Click the link for more information.

Every journey tells a story—let your story begin today with a Lands of Protestant/ Evangelical

Christianity vacation. Renew and grow your faith in a fresh way.  From Germany and the roots of the Reformation to England, explore the lives of Martin Luther, John Knox, John and Charles Wesley, John Newton, C.H. Spurgeon and C.S. Lewis.  We cover Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, and Scotland.

Visit some of Catholicism’s most sacred places, from the Vatican to Lourdes, the Shrine of Divine Mercy, San Giovanni Rotondo, home of St. Padre Pio, Knock Shrine in Ireland,  Assisi, Fatima and more in such historic places in Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Hungary, Poland, The Czech Republic, Austria and  Ireland.

Great Escapes Cruise, Tour & Travel is a full service agency for all your travel needs.  Click on the link at the left to visit our vacation website where you will continue to find exceptional value on individual, family and group vacation packages and cruises  to hundreds of exciting destinations.  These secular vacations can also be adapted for your church or organization to create a group to foster greater community, provide an educational, spiritual or enrichment experience within a social setting, or celebrate a special event.  For More information, please contact us by telephone or

e-mail.

 

Click the button for a contact form for more information or to receive a package price.  Answer a few simple questions and one of our experienced agents will be in touch with you.

                               Viking River Cruises operates the world’s largest fleet of 21 deluxe vessels built

                               specifically for river travel. With over 175 years of heritage in European river cruising,

                               we are the most knowledgeable company in the business. Viking was the first to offer

                               river trips in Russia, and our China management team has decades of experience

                               helping Americans see China. As a result, more than half a million people have joined

                               Viking on magical, enlightening journeys through these exciting places. 

 

FEATURED SPECIALS

WE ARE OFFERING PROMOTIONS & DISCOUNTS FOR MANY OF OUR 2009-2010 TOURS &CRUISES, INCLUDING:

 

à 2 PASSENGERS TRAVEL FOR THE PRICE OF 1!

à UP TO $1000 PER PERSON EARLY BOOKING DISCOUNT!

à To encourage more people to discover the joys of river cruising, we are offering a special promotion for travelers who have taken an ocean cruise

 

CALL FOR DETAILS!

 

For even more enjoyment, benefits and savings, travel with a group!

Ask about our current GROUP SPECIALS for 2009-2010!

The quaint European village of Oberammergau is world famous for the spectacular Passion Play performed by its residents just once every decade. Keeping a pledge made nearly 400 years ago, this reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ preserves the health and well-being of its residents to this day.

 

Booking now for 2009-2010!

 

Choose from one of these popular featured tours or allow us to help you organize a group pilgrimage for members of your church, organization or community, with a customized itinerary.

 

Oberammergau & the spectacular Passion Play (With land tour or river cruise)

The Holy Land, 7-14 days

Grand Catholic Italy & Shrines of Italy, 10-11 days

Jordan & Egypt, 11-20 days

Lourdes and the Shrines of France, 11 days

Footsteps of the Apostle Paul & Biblical Lands, 10-14 days

Marian Shrines of Europe, 11 days

Legacy of Pope John Paul II, 7 days

Turkey & The Book of Revelations, 11 days

Christian England & European Reformation Tours, 10-14 days

Irish Faith, Culture & History, 7-14 days

The Vatican, Assisi & Southern Italy, 8-20 days

Russia & Ukraine River Cruises & Land Tours, 13-16 days

China & Yangtze River Cruises & Cruise-tours, 12-17 days

European River Cruises, 5 or more countries, 8-16 days

Advent/Christmastime River Cruise through Germany & Austria, 8 days

Alaska & Denali National Park Cruise-tours, 7-16 days

2009 & 2010 World Cruises aboard Queen Mary 2 & Queen Victoria

Greece & Turkey with optional Greek Island Cruise, 8-16 days

Australia & New Zealand, 10-17 days

 

This is just a sampling of our available tours. Please call for more information and options.

                                     Ya’lla Tours USA is visionary and driven by the conviction that travel can and

                                     should be life-changing.  Since 1993, we have been offering travel services in

                                     six countries of the exotic Mediterranean – Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Turkey,

                                    Jordan, and Greece.  The exotic Mediterranean is our home, where each one

of our visitors is welcome and treated as our personal guest.  We recognize the significant responsibility of sending travelers to this region, rich in cultural, historical, spiritual and emotional significance.  A visit to the cradle of western civilization and the birthplace of three of the world’s great religions is, for many, a once in a life time experience, and expectations are very high.
Ya’lla Tours USA has made a commitment to excellence that will meet and often even surpass all expectations and our commitment to excellence is to provide a carefree experience that is illuminating and inspirational.
We want to reveal the very best of these places and to instill in our travelers the same sense of wonder and delight we ourselves feel for the lands we love and know so well.

Call now to join one of our memorable GROUP PILGRIMAGES:

THE LIFE & LEGACY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II, SEPT. 30 – OCT. 8, 2009

Rev. Stanley Konieczny, Chaplain

An unforgettable nine days awaits you this Fall in Poland, seeing the places the beloved Pope always held close to his heart. We will visit his boyhood home, marvel at the modern capital of Warsaw restored from the ashes of World War II, and delight in the classic charms of the old capital of Krakow where he served as archbishop. We will walk in the footsteps of the Pope and the spiritual giants of the 20th century who inspired him: the martyred St. Maximilian Kolbe and the visionary St. Faustina Kowalska of the Divine Mercy devotion. In addition to an itinerary filled with inspirational sites, we will enjoy plenty of good food, good times, and traditional Polish hospitality.

For pilgrimage details and pricing, see FEATURED GROUP TOURS page.

ADVENT PILGRIMAGE DEC. 5-13, 2009

GERMANY, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, NETHERLANDS

Rev. John Myler, Chaplain

A pilgrimage in December?  Oh, yes -- for during Advent, we recall that we are a "pilgrim people." We travel on a "communal pilgrimage" in one another's company toward Christmas.  Advent has always been a journey toward Bethlehem, and we will follow the course of the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Basel -- where many of our ancestors made their life's journey.  In the towns and villages along the way, we will visit the beautiful cathedrals, magnificent castles, and world-renowned Christmas markets,  while celebrating the season and making spiritual preparations to welcome with joy Christ, the new-born King.

For pilgrimage details and pricing, see FEATURED GROUP TOURS page.