Christian Pilgrim

Arrive in Tel Aviv and check in at your hotel.

Drive along the coast to the archaeological ruins of Caesarea, built by Herod the Great in honor of Augustus Caesar. Continue to Megiddo in the Valley of Armageddon, an ancient city inhabited continuously for more than five millennia (6000-500 B.C.). Explore the ancient ruins and then drive toward the Sea of Galilee. Arrive Tiberias and check-in to your hotel. Meals: Breakfast.

After a tour of Tiberias, enjoy a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and then visit Capernaum on the north shore, where Jesus spent most of his ministry and chose his first disciples – Andrew, Peter, James and John. Visit the synagogue on a spot where Jesus once preached. Tabgha, just north of Tiberias, is the site of Christ’s miracle of feeding the 5,000 and at the Church of Multiplication the mosaic floor depicts a basket with loaves and two fishes. Drive on to the Mount of Beatitudes and the Golan Heights, and Banias Springs at Caesarea Philippi before returning to Tiberias. Meals: Breakfast.

Travel to Cana this morning to visit the Wedding Church where Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine. Visit Nazareth, where Jesus spent his childhood, and the Church of Annunciation, built on the site where archaeologists believe the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary. You’ll also see Mary’s Well and Joseph’s Church. Continue through the Jordan Valley to Beit Shean with its recently excavated amphitheater and then onward to Jerusalem, where you check-in to your hotel. Meals: Breakfast.

En route to the Dead Sea, you’ll see the site of the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Nearly 1,300 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the earth’s surface. Bring your swimsuit as your guide can arrange for a swim. Continue along the shores of the Dead Sea to Massada where you ascend by cable car to visit the hilltop ruins and hear the chilling tale of its brave inhabitants. Meals: Breakfast.

Today’s tour includes the Yad Vashem Memorial to the Holocaust and Ein Kerem, home of John the Baptist, to see the Church of Visitation. Visit the Israel Museum with a detailed model of Jerusalem from the time of the Second Temple and the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the modern side of Jerusalem, drive by the Knesset (Parliament) and the campus of Hebrew University. Situation permitting, a visit to Bethlehem may be added. Meals: Breakfast.

A holy city for each of the world’s three great religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – Jerusalem occupies a unique place in the world. Your tour includes the Mount of Olives, a stop at the site where Jesus first gave the Lord’s Prayer, and the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas betrayed Jesus. In the Old City you’ll see the Western Wall and the actual site of the Second Temple, the Temple Mount. Walk the Way of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, to Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. To the southwest, just outside the Old City, is Mount Zion, with the traditional tomb of David and the Room of the Last Supper. Meals: Breakfast.

Transfer today to Ben Gurion Airport. For your international departure. Meals: Breakfast.