PILGRIMAGE TOUR TO MEXICO

December 06 Depart Toronto for Mexico city. Upon arrival, travel to Taxco for dinner and overnight.

December 07 After breakfast, tour the city of Taxco, the famous “Silver City” and national colonial monument. Visit Santa Prisca Church – a jewel of baroque style architecture where we will have Mass. We will walk through the town, clinging to a steep hillside, its narrow, cobblestone streets twisting and turning between colonial buildings and opening onto pretty plazas. We will also get acquainted with the history of silver mining in Taxco. Taxco is famous for its silver. Shops line the main plaza and all the streets leading to it, and you will find beautiful silver jewellery, traditional as well as the newest designs. Late afternoon, continue to Puebla for dinner and overnight.

December 08 Puebla, Mexico’s fourth largest city, Puebla is best known for the beautiful Talavera tiles that adorn its walls, domes, and interiors; and for the mole poblano, Mexico’s national dish that originated here. The streets of Puebla, a World Heritage Site, are lined with churches, mansions, and other handsome buildings and are a delight to stroll around. We will see old baroque palaces, the cathedral, the chapel of the rosary with its golden altar, the handicraft market the parián, onyx factories and talavera mosaics. We will also visit Cholula, the city with 366 churches, where you can see the tunnels and part of the main pyramid, measuring 450 metres along on each side of the base and 65 metres high, making it larger in volume than Egypt’s pyramid of Cheops. Now overgrown and topped by a church, it is difficult to recognise the remains of this magnificent pyramid. Dinner and overnight in Puebla.

December 09 After breakfast depart for Tlaxcala and the Shrine of San Miguel del Milagro. Celebrate mass at the site where St Michael the Archangel appeared to Diego Lazaro in 1631 directing him to the Grotto and to a well of miraculous waters. See the image of Our Lady of Ocotlan burnt into a tree trunk after she appeared to Diego Bernardino in 1531. Perfectly preserved, the image in a tree resides in the Basilica of Our Lady of Ocotlan. Visit plantation of agave cactus and try ancient sacred beverage pulque produced in a traditional way directly from the plant. Dinner and overnight in Puebla.

December 10 Transfer to Mexico City. Upon arrival, we will visit the magnificent Mexico City, built on top of the ruins of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Our first stop is the Zocalo (main square), one of the biggest public squares in the world. We will visit the Cathedral Metropolitana – the biggest church in Latin America, and the Palacio Nacional (if it is open) – which hosts Diego Rivera’s murals depicting the history of Mexico. If time permits, we then drive along the famous boulevard Paseo de la Reforma, built during the short-lived reign of Emperor Maximilian to connect the main square and his castle in Chapultepec. Dinner at the hotel.

December 11 We will visit the Basilica of Guadalupe, Latin America’s most revered religious shrine. It is here where the Virgin of Guadalupe is said to have appeared before an Indian named Juan Diego in 1531, and an image of her was miraculously emblazoned on his cloak. We will have time to explore the New Basilica de Guadalupe (the Old Basilica, built in 1700, is slowly sinking) and to see Juan Diego’s cloak. Afternoon drive to Teotihuacan outside Mexico City, one of the most impressive cities of the ancient world, held sacred by the Aztecs. We will explore its temples, palaces and pyramids, including the Quetzalpapalotl Palace Complex, the Temple of the Feathered Conches, the Pyramid of the Moon, and the immense Pyramid of the Sun, ranked among the biggest in the world. Dinner and overnight in Mexico city.

December 12 Breakfast. Today being the feast day, we have a full day visit to the Shrine of Guadalupe to partake in the festivities. The Shrine, visited by several million people every year, built near the location where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego in 1531. Evening return to our hotel for dinner/overnight.

December 13 Breakfast. This is the last day. Transfer to the airport for our return flight back home.

TOUR ALL IN PRICE CA$3,390.00  INCLUDES:

• air transportation.
• hotel accommodation first class or superior tourist class based on double occupancy.
• 2 meals daily breakfast and dinner.
• all sightseeing as per itinerary with English speaking guide.
• all tips in restaurants and hotels.
• airport taxes and surcharges.
• tips to bus driver and guides.

NOT INCLUDED IN THE TOUR:
-Meals not specified, insurance, documentation.
-Single supplement CA$520.

HOW TO BOOK:
A non refundable deposit of $300.00 per person is required at time of booking. Insurance must be purchased at time of booking.

BALANCE OF PAYMENT
Balance due is payable 105 days prior to departure For late bookings /within 105 days/ full payment is due immediately.

CANCELLATION:
If cancellation is necessary, please advise QS Travel & Tours immediately in writing. Cancellation charges are as follows:
105 days before departure …………………………………………. $300.00 per person
Between 105 and 60 days before departure …………………… 40% of the total cost
Between 60 and 45 days before departure ……………………. 60% of the total cost
45 days or less …………………………………………………… 100% of the total cost

IF YOU CHANGE YOUR BOOKING:
A $50 administration charge will be applied for changes you make to your booking outside the 90 days to departure period. Please note name changes are not allowed and such will be treated as cancellations.

IF QS TRAVEL & TOURS CHANGES YOUR BOOKING:
QS Travel & Tours will advise you of any change we feel significantly alters the holiday which you have purchased from us. Occasionally, changes might occur close to departure time. In such cases, you will be notified as early as possible. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the local tour operator may have to make last minute changes in hotel or schedule. In case the standard of the accommodation is changed, QS Travel & Tours will offer the choice of a full and immediate refund or comparable alternate travel services acceptable to you.

UNUSED SERVICES:
No refund or adjustment can be made for any portion of holiday not used.

GOOD VALUE AND EXPECTATIONS:
The Ministry of Consumer Relations requires that Ontarians traveling abroad be advised that they may encounter different living standards and practices than those at home.

FLIGHT CONNECTIONS:
In the event of a change in our flight times, with or without notice, we cannot accept responsibility for any special connecting fares which you might purchase and which cannot be changed without penalty.

TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION:
A valid Canadian passport is required for all visits outside of Canada. It is the sole responsibility of the passenger to ensure proper and valid documentation. Failure to provide valid documentation may result in denied boarding of the aircraft and cancellation of your flight arrangements without refund. If you are holding a passport other than Canadian, please contact QS Travel & Tours to determine whether or not a visa is required for entry into the country you will be visiting.

BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE
One piece of luggage of 23kg per person plus a carry-on-bag /weighting not more than 5 kg/

FLIGHT TIMES
All flight times are subject to change with or without prior notice to the
passengers or his/her agent. QS Travel & Tours does not accept liability for missed connection or any expenses resulting from an off schedule, rescheduled or late flight operations.

PRICES
Prices in this brochure are given in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Prices are correct at the time of going to press. In the event of any change beyond QS Travel & Tours control, including but not limited to increase in the price of fuel, currency fluctuations affecting our costs, or increases in government taxes or levies. QS Travel & Tours reserves the right to surcharge the passenger/s up to 7% of a tour cost.

LIABILITY
QS Travel & Tours Inc. is a tour operator and has made the advertised holiday arrangements with the airline/s/, hotel/s/, cruiseship/s/, other operator/s/ and other. Each of these organizations has its own specific terms and conditions for doing business and you will be bound by them. QS Travel & Tours accepts no responsibility for /A/ the acts or omissions of any party/ies/ other than QS Travel & Tours employees./B/failure by the passenger to be properly documented; /C/ failure by the passenger to comply with departure or joining or baggage requirements;/D/ aircraft delays, government actions, priests change their commitments as spiritual directors, etc, act/s/ of God or any factor beyond our direct control; /E/ cancellation or delay to any tour or holiday or change to the itinerary; /F/ expenses resulting from lost or damaged baggage. QS Travel & Tours accepts no responsibility for additional expenses due to delays or changes in air, rail, road, sea or other service, quarantine, sickness, war, weather or other causes All such expenses will have to be borne by the passengers. QS Travel & Tours reserves the right to refuse any person as a member of these tours at its sole discretion. QS Travel & Tours reserves the right to cancel any or all departure/s/ with or without prior notice and QS Travel & Tours sole responsibility shall be to refund all monies paid for such cancelled departures. The laws and courts which govern this contract are those of the Province of Ontario.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
When you book you QS Travel & Tours, an agreement is made between you and QS Travel & Tours and others who will provide services. Please read carefully the information on this page for it sets out the conditions governing the provision of these holidays.

TRAVEL INSURANCE (tax included)
Age/Type of insurance  All inclusive  Trip cancellation/Interruption  Covid-19                                                                                                                                                                     only

• Up to age 59                   $280.02                         $255.96                                $18.32
• Age 60-64                        $325.53                        $298.08                                $27.92
• Age 65-69                       $373.16                         $325.08                                $27.92
• Age 70-74                       $404.37                         $353.16                                $55.92

Insurance rates subject to change any time.
Once purchased insurance premiums are not refundable.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL:
Tel. 905.412.2242; 1.800.565.3619
Email: group@qstours.com