We are taking a day trip to Fatima. They are only leaving one hour and traveling to two other cities. Is that enough to see Fatima.?that is the reason we are taking this trip.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7172 posts
I assume that “they” is referring to a tour company. If you only want to see the Sanctuary and Plaza in front of it, then an hour should be sufficient unless there are large crowds. If you want to see the locations where the Angel appeared to the children (Arneiro's Well, Loca do Cabeço [Angel of Peace]) and their houses (Francisco and Jacinta's House, and Lucia's House), or Monument of Our Lady (Valinhos), then an hour isn’t enough. Those locations are a couple miles from the sanctuary. Once there, it’s easy to walk between the sites unless you have mobility issues. The Angel of Peace location is about a half mile from the children’s’ houses. The monument to Our Lady is between the two.
If you’re religious and wanted to walk the stations of the cross from the Sanctuary to the Our Lady monument, you’d definitely need more time.
We had a rental car.
Posted by
11 posts
I think it depends on your interest. My husband would have been well satisfied with an hour. I needed several. Also, things are pretty spread out and although not especially lengthy, there can lines. Some things require just a moment to take it all in. We were mesmerized at all the pilgrims inching their way on their knees to the shrine. I also found it fascinating to browse the shops that sold various wax items to be "burned" as an offering. We visited via rental car, so taking the extra time was not an issue.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7904 posts
Good replies. We took a multi-stop bus-tour that included Fatima, and were satisfied. A general bus tour is not likely to take matters of personal faith, or special interest touring into consideration. They have developed a 365-per year tour product that makes their business function. We stopped at Bom Jesu while we had a rental car, and had more time than we needed there!
Maybe with more research, and maybe language and perhaps, archdiocese help, you can find something more suitable for your needs. I don't much care for Uber, but a car and driver might be more what you need.
Posted by
USA
134 posts
Fernando Batista of PirtugeseChauffeeur.com runs customized private tours of religious sites.
He speaks fluent English (graduate of UK University with 20 years living there) and well versed with Portuguese history (such that he is more like a tourist guide rather than just a driver)
There is no time pressure and you pick locations and times at each location. He has a big MPV which has WiFi.
Very reasonable price wise too.