Arrival in Tel Aviv, Israel where we will be met by our Israeli guide who will accompany us during our entire stay in Israel. Transfer to the hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Jerusalem – Old City – Bethlehem*

Our tour will start with a great panoramic view of Jerusalem from the top of the Mt. of Olives. We continue to the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Agony. This is followed by a walk through one of the gates of the walled Old City: the renewed Jewish Quarter; the Western Wall, the Temple area; the colorful bazaars; Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Drive to Mt. Zion and visit the tomb of King David, the Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey.

In the afternoon, we continue to Bethlehem* to visit the Church of the Nativity and a view of the shepherds’ fields. Return to Jerusalem for overnight.

*Visiting sites under Palestinian Authority Jurisdiction is subject to the situation.

Jerusalem – New City – Israel Museum / Scale Model of Biblical Jerusalem / Dead Sea Scrolls / Ein Karem

After breakfast we drive to Mt. Scopus for a great panoramic view of Jerusalem. Continue to the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. Visit to the beautifully renovated model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem in Second Temple times.

Proceed to Yad Vashem (the memorial to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust).

In the afternoon, we will visit the picturesque village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist.

Time permitting; we will visit the “Machaneh Yehuda” market, one of the most charming market places in Israel where you will feel the special atmosphere of Jerusalem.

Back to the hotel for overnight.

Jordan Valley – Jericho – Kasr al Yahud -Beit Shean – Nazareth – Safed

Check out after breakfast. Leave Jerusalem and drive north via Jericho*, the oldest city in the world. See Kas’r al Yahud the authentic Baptism site of Jesus by John.

Continue through the Jordan Valley to Beit Shean; visit the excavations of this beautiful Roman City. Proceed to Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation and Mary’s Well.

Our last stop this day will be Safed, city of the Kabbalah, for a walk through the mystic alleys and the artists’ colony.
At the end of the day we drive to the kibbutz hotel for check-in and overnight.

Golan Heights – Site of the Transfiguration(Caesarea Phillipi) –Capernaum -Tabgha – Mt. of Beatitudes – The Sea of Galilee

After breakfast we head to the Golan Heights. We will see the former Syrian fortifications, and the Druze villages. We then take the road through the Golan Heights where we will hear the explanations of the strategic and political significance of this area. On the Golan Heights we will visit Caesarea Phillipi at Banias, which is the Site of the Transfiguration(the belief of the Catholic Church is that the Site of the Transfiguration is on Mt. Tabor) and the source of the Jordan River. We will drive to the shores of the Sea of Galilee where the first site will be Capernaum. We will visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue and Peter’s House, followed by a visit to Tabgha, where the miracle of the Fish and the Loaves took place.

We conclude our Sea of Galilee tour with a visit to the Mount of Beatitudes. After a short tour of Tiberias, the old center of Jewish learning, return to the kibbutz hotel for overnight.

Acre – Haifa – Caesarea – Jaffa – Tel Aviv

Check out after breakfast, drive west to Acre for a visit of the famous Crusader stronghold and medieval fortifications.
Continue to Haifa for a sightseeing, including the Baha’i Shrine, Persian Garden and Mount Carmel for a panoramic view of the city.

Proceed southwards to Caesarea to visit the Roman Theater and the Crusader fortress.

Continue to Tel Aviv & Jaffa for a short city tour. Check-in to the hotel in Tel Aviv for overnight.

Dead Sea- Massada, – Qumran

After breakfast we proceed to the Dead Sea, lowest spot on earth and Qumran, center of the Essenes. See the ancient caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Continue south to Ein Fascha, viewing across the saltiest sea in the world the fortress where John the Baptist was beheaded. Via an ancient ferry boat station and the desert where ibex roam at Ein Gedi, David’s hideout from Saul, and on to the mighty fortress Massada, last stronghold and stand of the zealots against Rome, on the edge of the barren Negev Desert. Massada is a symbol of courage and perseverance for the Jewish People, where 960 Jewish defenders organized their last resistance to the Roman conquerors and took their own lives rather than surrender into slavery. Those who wish to do so may swim (float) in the salty waters of the Dead Sea on the way back to Tel Aviv for dinner and overnight.