Day 1: USA - Tel Aviv
Overnight flight to Tel Aviv.
Day 2: Tel Aviv
Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel-Aviv. Meeting and assistance by Coral Travel & Tours representative inside the terminal. Transfer to your hotel in Tel-Aviv for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Jaffa-Caesarea-Acre-Sea of Galilee
Morning visit Jaffa, one of the oldest cities in the world. Visit the Church of St. Peter, and walk through Jaffa's reconstructed Old Quarter. After a short drive through Tel Aviv, Israel's modern metropolis, travel through the Sharon plain to Caesarea, the seat of the Roman Procurator of Judea at the time of the Christ. This fortified harbor city was built 2000 years ago by King Herod. View the ruins of Roman, Byzantine and Crusader times. Continue to Haifa for a panoramic view from the Mount Carmel summit, and the golden-domed Bahai Shrine. Then, drive along the ridge of Mount Carmel, where the Prophet Elijah dwelt, passing by the Carmelite Monastery and Stella Maris. Continue to Acre, and visit the Subterranean Crusader Quarter and walk through the colorful alleys to the Turkish Kahn and the ancient harbor. Leave Acre for your Hotel in Tiberias or Kibbutz Guesthouse on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, for dinner and overnight.
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Day 4: Sea of Galilee - Golan Heights - Caesarea Philippi
The day starts with a serene boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Then tour the northern shore, the area where Jesus spent his years of ministry. Visit the ruins of Capernaum, the town where Jesus made his home after leaving Nazareth. View the remains of the ancient synagogue in which he may have preached and the house of St. Peter. On to Tabgha where the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes took place. Visit the Church of St. Peter Primacy where Peter received the primacy from the Lord. Drive through the Hula Valley; ascend the Golan Heights, the base of the usually snow-capped Mount Hermon, and visit the nature reserve Banias, which hosts the ruins of the city Caesarea Philippi. Drive for a panoramic view of the Galilee. Return to Tiberias via the Mount of Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount. After dinner at the hotel, a special 40-minute multimedia show on the "Galilee Experience" will be presented. Overnight in Tiberias hotel or Kibbutz Guesthouse. |
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Day 5: Nazareth - Beit She'an - Jericho - Jerusalem
Drive from Tiberias to Cana of Galilee, where Jesus performed his first miracle: turning jars of water into wine. Continue past Mary's Well into Nazareth, the home of Mary and Joseph, and visit the Church of the Annunciation. Proceed through the lush and fertile Jezreel Valley; visit Mount Tabor, traditional place of the transfiguration, on the way to Beit She'an Valley. Recent excavations there have unveiled the impressive ruins of the country's largest city of the Roman and Byzantine periods, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 AD. Continue though the Jordan Valley to Jericho, believed to be the world's oldest walled city. This was the first city taken by Joshua, when the Hebrews returned from Egypt - 'and the walls fell down' - and was also the site of the Mount of Temptation. Drive from Jericho to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight. |
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Day 6: Jerusalem
In the morning ascend the Mount of Olives. Visit the Chapel of Ascension and the Church of Patter Noster. Enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view of the Old City of Jerusalem. Walk down Palm Sunday Way to the Garden of Gethsemane, visit the famous Church of All Nations. Enter the Old City and visit the Pools of Bethesda and St. Anne's Church. Walk along the Way of the Cross - the Via Dolorosa - passing the Monastery of the Flagellation, and visit the Convent of the Sisters of Zion at Ecce Homo. Continue to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Walk through the colorful Arab Bazaar to the Western Wall, last remnant of the second Jewish Temple during the time of Jesus. Ascend to the Temple Mount, and visit the Dome of the Rock and El Aqsa Mosque. In the afternoon visit Mount Zion, where the Room of the Last Supper and King David's Tomb are situated. Also enter the Dormition Abbey and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. |
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Day 7: Qumran - Dead Sea - Massada
Drive through the Judean desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest region on earth, stopping on the wilderness road overlooking Wadi (valley) Kelt, and St. George's Monastery. Proceed past Qumran, where the 2000 year old Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and reach the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. Continue to Massada, and ascend by cable car to the mountaintop. Explore the impressive ruins of the fortress built by Herod, later the site of the heroic last stand of the Jewish zealots against the Romans. Conclude the day on the shores of the Dead Sea, where visitors may "float" on the one sea where you cannot sink. Pass the traditional site of the Inn of the Good Samaritan. Return via the city of Bethany to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight. |
Day 8: Jerusalem - Bethlehem
Drive to the Haas Promenade for a breathtaking view of the Jerusalem panorama. Continue directly to Bethlehem, and visit the Church of the Nativity. Pass Rachel's Tomb and drive through the new residential quarters of Jerusalem. Visit Yad Vashem, the unforgettable Memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Pass the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, and view the Menorah, symbol of the State of Israel. Continue to the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the impressive Shrine of the Book, and the Holy Land model of Jerusalem, as it was in the Second Temple period (the time of Jesus). Drive to the picturesque village of Ein Karem, identified as the birthplace of John the Baptist; enter the Church of the Visitation. Return to the Jerusalem for the last night. Tonight enjoy your Farewell Dinner.
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