Make your way to your local airport, where you will board your overnight flight to Israel. Your meals will be served on board.

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, make your way to the baggage claim area to collect your luggage. Proceed to the arrival hall, where you be greeted by your tour guide and/-or driver. Transfer to your hotel in Tiberias for check-in. Enjoy dinner at the hotel before retiring for the evening.

This morning we drive to Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation and St. Joseph’s workshop, now a church. Within the Church of the Annunciation, we will make our way down to the Grotto to see the remains of the house of the Blessed Mother, and where the Angel of the Lord announced the good news to Mary. Celebrate Mass in this Church then continue to Cana. It was here that Jesus performed His first miracle, changing water into wine (John 2.). During your time at the Wedding Church, married couples will have the chance to take part in a ceremony to renew their wedding vows to each other. At the end of the day we return to the Sea of Galilee region.

After breakfast, enjoy a boat ride on the beautiful and scenic Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1). Upon docking, have the opportunity to view the remains of the boat dating back to the time of Jesus. Following the Sea of Galilee, continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus proclaimed His great Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-49). Near the Mount is Tabgha, one of Jesus’ miracle sites. At Tabgha, Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish (Luke 9:10-17). In Tabgha is St. Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus bestowed church leadership upon Peter (John 21:9). Continue to visit the birthplace of Mary Magdalene in Magdala. During the time of Jesus, this village was a prosperous fishing village that exported fish and garum (a fish sauce reduction popular in Roman cooking). Your day concludes at Capernaum, the launching place of Jesus’ ministry. In Capernaum, see the Synagogue where Jesus taught (Mark 1:21-29) and gave His sermon on the Bread of Life. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning we ascend Mt Tabor (Matthew 17:1-50). At this site, Christ’s Divinity was revealed. Celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Transfiguration. From the top of Mt Tabor, enjoy a dramatic view the Valley of Armageddon, before driving to Caesarea Maritima located on the shores of the Mediterranean. Built by Herod the Great, Caesarea was where St. Peter baptized the first gentile convert, Cornelius (Acts 10). We will see the Roman theatre Herod’s Palace, view the Hippodrome, and the harbor from which St. Paul sailed on his journeys to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the ancient world. Continue the drive up to the Judean Hills where you enjoy your first view of holy, complicated, Jerusalem from Mt Scopus. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

This morning, enjoy breakfast before we start our day in Jerusalem, which houses the temple to which Jesus was Presented (Luke 2:22). Visit a model of the Second Temple as it was in the time of Jesus. Following this visit, take a short drive to the birthplace of John the Baptist, Ein Karem. Known for its two churches representing the two homes of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The first is in a valley where the birth of St. John the Baptist is commemorated (Luke 1:39-80) in the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
The second, the Church of the Visitation, is on a hill where Elizabeth spent five months, in seclusion (Luke 1:24). Visit both churches. You will have the opportunity to pray the Mystery of the Rosary as you walk up the hill to the Church of the Visitation. In the afternoon, visit Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. Have the opportunity to view Shepherd’s Fields (Luke 2:8). In the caves, you can see the soot marks of fires that shepherds lit to keep warm. The tour concludes at the Manger Square, which stands in front of the Church of the Nativity. As you enter the Church, you will proceed down to the Grotto of the Nativity which, marks the spot of Our Savior’s birth (Matthew 2:1-18). Beneath the altar, there is a silver star and a Latin inscription that states: HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Following Mass in this Sacred space, return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, you will make your way to the Mount of Olives, where you will be able to take in the beautiful, panoramic view of Jerusalem. Historically, the Mount of Olives was a mandatory transit point for Jesus during many iconic moments. Visit the Pater Noster Shrine where Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster) (Luke 11:1-4). You will have the opportunity to stop at Dominus Flevit, the Church that commemorates where Jesus wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Continue to Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Jesus brought His disciples here to pray the night before He was crucified (Luke 22:29-53). The Garden still contains trees with roots that date back to the time of Jesus. Your next stop, the Church of All Nations, is built over the “Rock of Agony”. Jesus prayed here alone on the night of His arrest. Take time to Pray and reflect on Christ’s agony that He experienced. You will have the opportunity to visit the Western Wall, which is the last remnant of the Jewish Temple after it was destroyed in 70 A.D. Continue with a visit to the house of the High Priest Caiaphas (Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu). This Church commemorates where Jesus was examined and eventually imprisoned before the Council in Jerusalem. It also commemorates Peter’s Denial of Christ (John 18:15-18), Peters’ repentance, and Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter. You will also visit the Upper Room on Mt. Zion. The Upper Room is where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30) and where Jesus appeared to His disciples after His Death and Resurrection (Mark 16:14). Also, visit the nearby Benedictine Church of the Dormition. Tradition tells us that this is the Church where Mary, the Mother of Jesus, fell asleep. At the end of this prayerful day, return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning you will have a very early wake-up to begin the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) at the Antonia Fortress, the spot where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate (John 18:28-19:16). Following His condemnation, He was taken (on the Road to Calvary) to His place of Crucifixion. Reflect upon the Stations of the Cross, as you travel through the markets of the Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Luke 23:26-33). This sacred destination is the site of Calvary (Jesus’ crucifixion place) and His tomb (Luke 23: 50-55). Celebrate Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Following Mass, we will return to the hotel to enjoy breakfast. Continue your day with a visit to the Church of St. Anne’s, the home of Jesus’ maternal grandparents (Anne and Joachim); and the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the cripple man (John 5:1-9). This afternoon, enjoy a revisit to the Old City. Following this visit, return to the hotel to enjoy dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Following breakfast at your hotel, you will travel down the Jordan Valley to Qumran. Qumran built of 2,000-year-old ruins from the days of the Second Temple. It is the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written and discovered (Ezekial 47:8-10). These writings have helped further the understanding of Jewish background in Christianity. Time and weather permitting, you will have the opportunity to take a float in the Dead Sea, the lowest and saltiest spot on Earth. Continue as you travel through the Judean wilderness, the site where Jesus spent His 40 days of fasting. The day of touring culminates with a transfer to Bethany. Bethany is the site where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, which foreshadows His Resurrection (John 11:38-44). Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, transfer to the Tel Aviv airport for return flights home.

*206 Tours Disclaimer:
Occasionally local religious and national holidays, weather, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of events or the missing of certain events/places. Though every effort will be made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication, rather than a contract of events and places to be visited.