Day 1 – Thursday: Arrival
B’ruchim Ha’Ba’im! Welcome! Arrive Ben Gurion Airport. Transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv for overnight.
Day 2 – Friday
Tel Aviv • Haifa • Acco
Leave Tel Aviv and travel north along the Mediterranean coast to Haifa. Drive up to the peak of Mt.. Carmel to enjoy the panoramic view of Haifa. Continue via Acre to Rosh Hanikra, descend by cable car to visit the grottos and the Lebanese border, then drive to Tzippori, the ancient capital of the Galilee to see recent excavations including beautiful mosaics. Drive to Kibbutz Guest House for overnight. (B)
Day 3 – Saturday
Nazareth • Galilee • Golan Heights
Travel through the Galilee to Nazareth and visit the Church of Annunciation. Continue through the Upper Galilee and ascend the Golan Heights. Visit the former Syrian fortifications, Birkat Ram and the Druze villages, and continue via Banias, source of the Jordan River. Return to the Kibbutz for overnight. (B)
Day 4 – Sunday
Tiberias • Capernaum
Continue along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue, then on to the Mt.. of Beatitudes and through the city of Tiberias, the ancient centre of Jewish learning. Continue south to the Valley of Armageddon. Visit the multi-layered mound of Megiddo, with the impressive remains from the age of the Biblical Kings. Procced to Tel Aviv-Jaffa for a short city tour and overnight. . (B)
Day 5 – Monday
Beersheba • Massada • Jerusalem
Leave Tel-Aviv - via Ashdod - Ashkelon- Beersheba. A short visit to the Negev capital. Continue via Arad to Massada, ascend the fortress which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod’s palace, the synagogue, bath houses, etc.., overlooking the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Enjoy a swim in the salty waters of the Dead Sea (time permitting). Proceed to Jerusalem for overnight. (B)
Day 6 – Tuesday
Jerusalem • New City
Drive to Mt. Scopus for a view of Jerusalem. Then to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of the Agony. Drive to Mt. Zion for a visit to the Tomb of King David, the room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey. Sightseeing in the New City including the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with its famous Dead Sea Scrolls, the Knesset Building (Parliament), the Hebrew University campus, Mt. Herzl and Yad Vashem (the memorial to the six million killed in the Holocaust). Then visit the model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem dating back to the time of the Second Temple. Continue to the Hadassah medical Centre for a short visit to the synagogue with Marc Chagall stained-glass windows. Overnight in Jerusalem. (B)
Day 7 – Wednesday
Jerusalem • Old City • Bethlehem
Walk through the Jaffa Gate to the Old City; visit the renewed Jewish quarter and the Western Wall. See the Temple area. Walk through the colourful bazaars to the Via Dolorosa, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Continue to Bethlehem (subject to security situation) to visit Rachel’s Tomb and the Church of the Nativity and return to Jerusalem for overnight. (B)
Day 8 – Thursday: Departure
Late evening transfer to Ben Gurion Airport, or continue on to Eilat, Jordan or Egypt. (B)
