Fátima by day, by night, or on an apparition day

Start with one question: what time of day do you want to be at the Sanctuary? By day the grounds are quiet, and there is time left for Aljustrel and Valinhos. At night the Candlelight Procession fills the great square. On the apparition days the crowds are far larger, and the whole plan changes.

Prices are per group, not per person. The vehicle is for your group alone, with the same driver-guide from start to finish. Fátima by Day leaves from Lisbon or Cascais at the same price. Short on time? Choose Fátima by Day. Want Batalha and Nazaré too? Choose Path of Faith.

Do I have to be Catholic to come? No. Many visitors come for the history, the architecture or the landscape. If you want to light a candle or sit quietly in the Chapel, you are welcome to do that too.

Can I bring children? Yes. Fátima with Family is designed for families. The Candlelight Procession ends late, so think about that before you choose the night tour with young children.

Is it safe? The two things to plan around are crowds and timing, especially on the apparition days. The drive from Lisbon takes about an hour and twenty minutes, so count that in when you plan your return.

What should I bring? Comfortable shoes, water and a light jacket for the evening. The night tour keeps you outdoors for hours.

Half a day covers the Sanctuary and both villages, if the timing is right. The core of the Sanctuary takes an hour and a half to two hours. Aljustrel and Valinhos sit outside the grounds and need another hour or two. Add the drive from Lisbon, about an hour and twenty minutes, and the whole outing comes to half a day.

Fátima by Day runs five to six hours, morning or afternoon, on any day of the year. It leaves from Lisbon or Cascais at the same price: from €450 per group.

In the Sanctuary, the Chapel of the Apparitions stands on the spot where Our Lady appeared to the shepherd children. It was built in 1919. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary holds the tombs of Saints Francisco and Jacinta, and of Sister Lúcia. The Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity dates from 2007. It is round and plain, built to seat thousands.

Outside the grounds, Aljustrel is the village where the three children were born, and their family houses are still standing. Valinhos is where Our Lady appeared on 19 August 1917. You will find the Loca do Anjo there, and the Way of the Cross, which climbs to the Hungarian Calvary.

Around midday the coach tours arrive, and the esplanade fills with groups who have thirty minutes for everything. We agree a time with you, so you reach the Chapel before or after that rush.

The Candlelight Procession is the main event of the night, and the hard part is the way back. It happens every night after the Rosary at the Chapel of the Apparitions, weather permitting. On Thursdays, from Easter to Advent, it is the Eucharistic Procession instead. The lights in the great square go down, the candles are lit, and the statue of Our Lady moves slowly through the crowd, which can be hundreds or thousands of people depending on the night.

The procession ends late, and at that hour there is almost no public transport to Lisbon. Fátima by Night is built around that. We leave Lisbon in the late afternoon and stop at Aljustrel and Valinhos. We reach the Sanctuary with time to light your candle, stay until the procession ends, and drive you back to your hotel, door to door. The tour takes about eight hours and starts at €560 per group.

Fátima, Batalha and Nazaré fit into one day without rushing. Batalha is about fifteen minutes from Fátima, and Nazaré is about twenty-five minutes beyond Batalha. Path of Faith is a private day of nine to ten hours from Lisbon, from €560 per group.

King João I ordered the Batalha Monastery built to give thanks for the victory at Aljubarrota in 1385. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the Founder's Chapel, King João I and Philippa of Lancaster rest side by side. A few steps away, the Unfinished Chapels have a vault that was never closed, so it opens straight to the sky.

In Nazaré, from the Sítio clifftop and the lighthouse, you look down on Praia do Norte, where some of the largest waves ever recorded have been surfed.

Staying in Cascais or Estoril? Cascais to Fátima and Batalha picks you up at your hotel door. It covers the Sanctuary, Aljustrel and the Batalha Monastery in eight to nine hours, from €560 per group. Nazaré is not on that route.

Between May and October 1917, Our Lady appeared six times to the three shepherd children. In each of those months the Sanctuary holds an anniversary pilgrimage on the 12th and 13th. May and October are the biggest. The first apparition was on 13 May 1917, and the last, the Miracle of the Sun, on 13 October. In 2027 the first apparition turns 110, and the canonization of Francisco and Jacinta, celebrated in Fátima, turns 10.

Pick the date that fits your trip:

• 12 and 13 May, Wednesday and Thursday: the first big pilgrimage of the year
• 12 and 13 June, Saturday and Sunday
• 12 and 13 July, Monday and Tuesday
• 19 August, Thursday: the Shepherd Children's Route
• 12 and 13 September, Sunday and Monday
• 12 and 13 October, Tuesday and Wednesday: the last big pilgrimage of the year

The Candlelight Procession on the night of the 12th is the biggest of the month. On the morning of the 13th there is Mass, the blessing of the sick, and the Farewell Procession, when the crowd waves white handkerchiefs as the statue returns to the Chapel.

August is the exception. On 13 August 1917 the municipal administrator took the three children to Vila Nova de Ourém to question them, and kept them at his house until the 15th. The fourth apparition came on 19 August, at Valinhos near Aljustrel. It was the only one that happened on neither the 13th nor at the Cova da Iria.

So our August day is the Shepherd Children's Route, on 19 August. It starts in Ourém, at the Casa do Administrador, where the children stayed from 13 to 15 August. That house is now part of the Municipal Museum. From there we go up to the medieval town and Ourém Castle, then on to Aljustrel, Valinhos, the Way of the Cross and the Hungarian Calvary, with the chapel of Saint Stephen. In past years the Sanctuary held a procession on the night of 19 August, from the Chapel to Valinhos, praying the Rosary with lanterns instead of candles. For 2027 that procession is not yet confirmed.

Fátima with Family covers all of these days. The day trip, on the 13th or on 19 August, starts at €490 per group. The two-day option, the 12th and 13th, includes a night in Fátima and the Candlelight Procession, and starts at €850 for 1 or 2 guests, with a double room and breakfast. There is no two-day option in August. For groups of 3 to 7, the two-day price includes the vehicle, the driver-guide and the driver's room. We book the group's rooms and charge them separately, at the hotel's rate.

Vehicles, guides and rooms in the region sell out early. The sooner we know your dates, the more choice you will have.