Day 1
Departure from the US to Israel, either non stop to Tel Aviv or with stop over in Europe.
Day 2
Arrival to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Meeting and assistance. Transfer to our hotel in Tel Aviv
Overnight: Hotel in Tel Aviv
Day 3
Today we will visit the city of Tel Aviv. Our tour will begin with a visit to Jaffa, a Biblical port city and today a magnificent artist’s colony. From here we drive through Tel Aviv to see the Bauhaus district and center of Tel Aviv on our way to visit the Independence Hall, where the stare of Israel was established in May 1948. We will continue to the open air market, Carmel Market, to enjoy a bit of the difference faces of Israel in this colorful and busy market. We will end the day with some time of in the busy streets of Tel Aviv.
Overnight: Hotel in Tel Aviv
Day 4
Today we will be leaving Tel Aviv on our way to the North. We will visit Caesarea, the port city built by King Herods the great 2000 years ago and the place where Simon Peter shared the gospel with Cornelius, the Roman centurion who became the first gentile convert (Acts 10: 44-48). We will then continue to the top of Mt. Carmel, where the great prophet Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal and proved to the people that the God of Israel is the true God (1 Kings 18: 17-40). On to view the Bahai Gardens in Haifa and then to Akko to enjoy the port and the Crusaders Hall. We will then arrive to our hotel by the Sea of Galilee.
Overnight: Hotel in Tiberias
Day 5
We start our day with a visit to the museum in Nof Ginosar where the “Jesus Boat” is displayed. This amazing ancient fishing boat, from the 1st century, was discovered sunk in the mud in the Lake of Galilee. Then we will walk the path of Jesus in the land of Galilee. We will visit the sites where his ministry began; where he preached, performed miracles and gathered the multitude to follow him: Capernaum, the headquarters of his ministry, Mount Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 1-12) and Tabgha, where the multiplication of the loaves and fish took place (Matthew 14: 19-21). After lunch, we will visit Mt. Arbel. The beautiful view of the Sea Of Galilee will strike us as we stand on the top, a place which is dear to all of us.
Overnight: Hotel in Tiberias
day 6
Ascend the Golan Heights for a breathtaking view of the Lower Galilee. Drive through the remains of Syrian bunkers on the Golan Heights, controlling the Kibbutzim in the valley. Learn about the 6 day war in 1967 and the Yom Kippur war in 1973 and understand Israel’s unique situation in the Golan. Pass Banias Nature Reserve and waterfalls, known as Caesarea Philippi, where Peter confessed Jesus’ messiahship (Matthew 16: 13-17). Visit Tel Dan, the most northern city in King Solomon’s kingdom and end the day in the baptismal site Yardenit, where even today, Christians are being baptized (Luke 3:21-22). In the evening, we will take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, spending some time
in a prayer service on the same waters Jesus walked (Mark 6: 48-50). The boat will then bring us for dinner at a beautiful restaurant by the Lake of Galilee.
Overnight: Hotel in Tiberias
Day 7
Check out of the Kibbutz Guest House and drive to Jerusalem through the coast. We will start the day with a visit to Beth Shean, one of the oldest cities in the Holy Land and a major crossroads in the Beth Shean valley, which reached its peak in Roman and Byzantine periods. We will then continue and pass the village of Cana where Jesus performed his first public miracle of changing water into wine (John 2: 1-10). Visit Nazareth, the “City of the Annunciation”, where the angel Gabriel revealed to Mary the imminent birth of Jesus and John the Baptist (Luke 1, 26-38). Continue to Megiddo, the city of King Solomon and King Ahab, where 20 different layers of civilization were excavated also known as the valley where the kings of the earth will gather for the final battle between good and evil (Revelation 16: 12-16). We then continue to Jerusalem. Depending on arrival, we might stop at the Western Wall, the holiest place for Jews all over the world, to view Jewish people as they come here to receive Shabbat, the holy day for Jews.
Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 8
Full day tour of the Old City of Jerusalem. Starting with panoramic views from Mt. Scopus and Mt. of Olives, we will then continue to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus “often met with his disciples” (John 18, 2) and where he spent his last hours in solitude before being captured by the Romans (Luke 22, 47-53). Next is the Upper Room, Cenaculum, the place of the Last Supper (Luke 22, 14-22) and the place where the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon believers who were gathered there on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Enter the city walls through the Zion gate to visit the Jewish Quarters and The Roman Cardo, the main street in the Byzantine period of Jerusalem. Walk the Via Dolorosa, passing the 14 stations of the cross and ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,. End of our day will be in the Garden Tomb, Golgotha or Calvary. Here, Jesus was crucified, died on the cross, was buried and raised from the dead (Matthew 27, 33-61). We will have a service here.
Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 9
Drive to Mt. Zion to visit the house of Caiaphas the high priest during the 2nd temple period. This church called the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu is where Peter denied Jesus three times before the crowing of the cock (Mark 14, 53-62). Here we will see the underground rooms which may have been used as guard houses and a prison. We will also see the ancient steps, which were cut into the hill and led to the City of David, the Kidron Valley and Gethsemane. This is likely the path Jesus took in his way from the Upper Room to Gethsemane. Visit the Temple Institute where Jewish scholars study the Jewish Temple and its Vessels and see the exhibition of Temple Tools. After lunch, we will tour the Western Wall Tunnels, walking under the Western Wall plaza until the base of this remarkable wall and along it, all the way up north. If possible, we will visit Bethlehem.
Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 10
Today we will visit the City of David to see Jerusalem of 3000 years ago, King David’s city. We will then continue to the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Model of Jerusalem of 2nd Temple period. We will visit the Bible Times Center in Ein Karem and enjoy a festive “seder” meal for lunch and end our day in the Holocaust Memorial of Yad Vashem.
Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 11
Descend the eastern slopes of the Judean Hills to the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea. Visit Qumeran, the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written by the Yahad Sect 2200 years ago and where they were discovered in 1947. Drive to Massada, the royal fortress built by King Herod and used by the Jewish Zealots as the last stronghold during the great revolt against Rome between 66-73 AD. Finish the day in the Dead Sea, where you can enjoy ‘floating’ on the water.
Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 12
Today we will start an optional trip to Petra Jordan for these who are interested. The rest will be transferred to the airport for their flight back home. These of us who are going to Jordan will drive down South through the Ramon Crater in Mitzpe Ramon and arrive to Eilat.
Overnight: Hotel in Eilat
Day 13
Full day trip to Petra (Jordan).
Overnight: Hotel in Eilat
Day 14
Flight to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to catch your flight back home. Departure back to the US