Tour Itinerary:
Day 1, Saturday: Departure. Today we embark on our Journey to the Holy Land. Get some rest on the flight. Overnight: on board.
Day 2, Sunday: Arrival in Israel. Welcome to Israel. Arrive at the new Ben-Gurion Airport. Meet our representative and transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv for check in. Free time to rest, relax and enjoy your first evening in Israel. Overnight: Tel-Aviv.
Day 3, Monday: Tel Aviv - Beersheva - Arad - Massada - Jerusalem. After breakfast drive from Tel Aviv via Ashdod and Ashkelon to Beersheba. After a short visit to the Negev capital we continue via Arad to Masada. We will ascend by cable car to Masada, the spectacular mountaintop fortress built by Herod, famous for being the last stronghold of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans. From the top of Masada, the Roman camps and siege ramps can be seen. Visit the excavations, Herod’s palaces, the synagogue, bathhouse, etc. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the lowest place on earth - the Dead Sea. Descend from Masada for a possible “float” in the in the salty water of the world’s lowest place. We will proceed via Ein Gedi and ascend to Jerusalem, the Holy City of Zion. Overnight: Jerusalem.
Day 4, Tuesday: Jerusalem - sightseeing of the new city. After breakfast we will head to Mt’ Scopus for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. Next, we will visit the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Agony. Drive to Mt’ Zion and visit the tomb of King David, the Room of the Last Supper and the Dormition Abbey. Continue on to the New City and visit the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea scroll and the new Supreme Court building. Visit the newly renovated Holocaust Museum - Yad Vashem (the memorial site to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust). Afternoon visit of the Hadassah medical center and Marc Chagall’s stained glass windows. We will end our touring day in the picturesque Ein Karem (the birth place of John the Baptist). Return to the Hotel. Overnight: Jerusalem.
Day 5, Wednesday: Old City Jerusalem - Bethlehem. After breakfast we will enter the Old City and visit the renewed Jewish Quarter; the Western Wall ("Wailing Wall"), the Temple area; the colorful bazaars; Via Dolorosa, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We will then head on to Bethlehem, to visit Rachel’s Tomb and visit the Church of the Nativity. Return to Jerusalem. Overnight: Jerusalem.
Day 6, Thursday: Beit Shean - Tiberias - Galilee. After breakfast we will drive via the Jordanian valley and pass the city of Jericho to the ancient city of Beth Shean for an overview of this remarkable archeological site. It was here that after defeating Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa, the Philistines hanged their bodies on the walls of Beth Shean (1 Samuel 31). Proceed to Tiberias, the old center of Jewish learning. Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum to visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue. Continue north to the upper Galilee region for our 2 nights lodging in a lovely Kibbutz hotel. Overnight: Kibbutz Hotel, Galilee.
Day 7, Friday: Upper Galilee and Golan Heights - Nazareth. Today we drive up to the Golan Heights to visit former Syrian fortifications. Continue to Birkat Ram and visit one of the Druze villages of the Golan Heights. Proceed via Kiryat Shmone and the Hula Valley to Safed, the birthplace city of the Kabala. Here we will visit some of the synagogues and the artists’ colony. Then on to Nazareth to visit the city’s Christian Holy Sites. Return to the hotel. Overnight: Kibbutz Hotel, Galilee.
Day 8, Saturday: Acre - Haifa - Tel Aviv. After Breakfast drive west to Acre for a visit of the old, famous Crusader stronghold and medieval fortifications. Continue to Haifa, Israel’s 3rd largest city. Visit the Bahai Shrine and its remarkable gardens. From Mount Carmel We will take a breathtaking panoramic view of the Haifa Bay and the western Galilee. Proceed to Caesaria - the remnants of the city and ancient port built by Herod the Great. Visit the Roman theater and the Crusader fortress. Drive to Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest metropolitan, and take a short city tour of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Overnight: Tel-Aviv.
Day 9, Sunday: Departure. Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport for your flight back home.
Day 10, Monday: Arrive this morning back in the U.S.A.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- 7 nights hotel accommodation: 2 night in Tel Aviv, 3 nights in Jerusalem, 2 nights in the Galilee
- Israeli style buffet breakfast daily at the hotels
- Optional 6 Dinners supplement.
- 6 full days of private transportation
- Top professional government-licensed English speaking tour guide
- All entrance fee's as per itinerary
- Private transfers upon arrival and departure
- All service charges and local taxes
Price Excludes:
- Flights
- Travel Insurance - highly recommended
- Extra meals not mentioned as included
- Any item not mentioned above as included
- Tips to guide and bus driver
Also see tour packages in:
Middle East
Israel
Archeology/History
Cultural Journey
|
