| The Holy Land |
ITINERARY Day 1 USA to Tel Aviv, Israel Depart U.S. from New York area airport. Enjoy dinner served aboard overnight flight.
Day 2 ISRAEL Arrive Ben Gurion Airport. Our representative will help you through customs and take you to the bus where you will meet your guide. Transfer to our hotel. Dinner and overnight. (D)
Day 3 GALILEE After a rich buffet breakfast, drive to Caesarea on the Sea. Visit the Roman Theatre, the new excavations and the Aqueduct. Continue to Mt Carmel. Visit the Church of Stella Maris. Enjoy a special experience of the Israeli Falafel lunch. Drive to Nazareth. Visit the Basilica of Annunciation (Mass), St Joseph Carpentry workshop, St Mary’s Well and the Old Market. Dinner and overnight in Nazareth (or Tiberias). (B,D)
Day 4 GALILEE After breakfast, drive to Mount Tabor. (Mass). Visit the Church of Transfiguration. Continue to Cana, the site of Jesus’ first miracle. On to the Sea of Galilee. Enjoy a special fish lunch tasting the famous St Peter fish. Cruise on a boat to Capernaum. Visit the House of St Peter, the Ancient Synagogue and Tabgha where the Multiplication took place. End day visiting the Jordan River. Dinner and overnight in Nazareth (or Tiberias). (B,D)
Day 5 JERUSALEM After breakfast, drive along the Jordan Valley to Beit Shean. Visit the largest excavation in Israel, with the Roman hot baths and Theatre. Continue to view Jericho, the oldest settlement on Earth. Drive up the Judean Hills and enter the Holy City of Jerusalem with a special ceremonial blessing. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 6 JERUSALEM After breakfast, begin the day overlooking the city of Jerusalem from the Top of Mount of Olives. Visit the Chapel of Ascension and the Church of Pater Noster. Walk down hill to visit Dominus Flevit, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Basilica of Agony (Mass). Drive to the Dung Gate to visit the Wailing Wall, and the Temple Mount. Walk to the Old City. Visit the Pool of Bethesda and St Ann’s Church. Begin walking the stations of the Via Dolorosa (possible carrying a wooden cross). Visit the Holy Sepulchre and Mt Golgotha. Walk through the Arab Market to the Jewish Quarter, visit the Cardo - the colonnaded street. Walk out from the Zion Gate to Mount Zion. Visit the Church of Dormition, David’s Tomb, and the Cenacle. Continue to St Peter Galicantu. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 7 JERUSALEM After breakfast, drive to Bethlehem. Visit the Shepherds Fields, and the Church of Nativity (Mass). Return to the New City of Jerusalem. Visit the Biblical village of Ein Karem, birth place of John the Baptist. Continue to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial for the Six Million Jews killed by the Nazies. End day visiting the Model of Jerusalem of the second Temple era. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 8 JERUSALEM Free day in Jerusalem. An OPTIONAL Day trip to the Dead Sea and Massada will be made available. Drive down the Judean Hills to the Dead Sea area. Visit Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1947. Continue driving along the Dead Sea shores, the lowest place on Earth (1300 feet below sea level), passing by the oasis of Ein Gedi. Arrive to Massada, the site of the Zealots last stand against the Romans. Ascend by cable car to observe Herod’s magnificent palace, bathhouse, storage halls as well as the synagogue and other rooms. Descend by cable car. Drive to the Dead Sea from an unforgettable experience floating on the saltiest water. Drive back to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight. (B,D)
Day 9 HOLY LAND / USA Free day in Jerusalem. In the evening participate in a Farewell dinner. (B,D)
Day 10 USA Arrive back home. Price includes the following: Round-trip airfare from a New York area airport, airport-hotel transfers, hotel taxes, full Israeli breakfast and dinner daily, accommodations in 3 star superior and 4 star hotels with private bathrooms, sightseeing as indicated in itinerary, tour guide / escort, deluxe motorcoach transportation, and porterage. Daily Mass included. Hotel Tips and tips to waiters, bus driver and guides are not included.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

