Duration: 9 Days
Dates: January 15, 2024 to January 23, 2024
Departure City: New York, NY (JFK) 

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Detailed Itinerary

Monday – Jan 15 (Day1): Departure. Leave the USA on an international flight to Tel Aviv.

Tuesday – Jan 16 (Day 2): Arrival Tel Aviv – Transfer to Herzliya
Arrive in Tel Aviv and board a new, climate-controlled motor coach where our guide will greet us and give us an orientation of the land as we travel towards Jaffa (ancient city of Joppa). There we will consider the vision of Peter (Acts 10) and start following the sequence of events that lead to the opening of the gates of the early church to Gentiles. As we look at the very place where Jonah ran from the Lord, we will also reflect on our own walk with God. Check into our hotel on the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea. Dinner included. (D)

Wednesday – Jan 17 (Day 3): Caesarea – Mt. Carmel – Megiddo – Nazareth – Sea of Galilee
After a buffet breakfast, we depart the hotel on route to Caesarea Maritima (Entrance included), where we will visit the magnificent city with Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins. Here we will elaborate on the story of the baptism of Cornelius, the first gentile converts into Christianity (Acts 10), and on the travels of Paul — those events that led Caesarea Maritima to become the springboard of Christianity to the West. We will then continue to Mount Carmel (Entrance included) and consider the contest between the Prophet Elijah and the false prophets of Baal (I Kings 18), discussing the reasons why the Prophet chose that place for the contest, and the lessons we learn from the story. We then travel to Megiddo (Entrance included) and explore the Tel that goes back in history to 4000 BC, looking at ruins from the times of King Solomon and King Ahab. Overlooking the Armageddon Valley, we will also discuss the reasons why we believe this will be the setting for the final battle between good and evil mentioned in Revelation 16:16. After a lunch break on your own we travel to Nazareth where we will climb the Mount of Precipice, the brow of the hill on which the city was built (Luke 4). There we will reflect on the rejection of Jesus by his family and friends in Nazareth. In addition to discussing Jesus’ boyhood, we will also consider the life and times of Deborah (Judges 4). We check into our hotel on the Sea of Galilee for the next two nights and enjoy another dinner together. (B, D)

Thursday – Jan 18 (Day 4): Mt. Beatitudes – Capernaum – Magdala – Boat Ride – Tiberias
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day on the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount. We will then visit Magdala (Entrance included), the hometown of Mary Magdalene with its synagogue and significant finds. During our lunch break you will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish (fee included), only eaten by people in Jesus’ day. We will then visit Capernaum (Entrance included), Jesus’ Galilean ministry base. There we will see the house of Peter’s mother-in-law, in addition to other ruins of the village. We will stand in the ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus was confronted by the demoniac. We end our day with a sail on the Sea of Galilee (included). We will then drive to the Peace Vista Lookout, passing by the area of Gadera where the Gergasene demoniac was healed. We return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B, L, D)

Friday – Jan 19 (Day 5): Beit Shean – Baptismal Site – Jericho – Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beth Shean (Entrance included), the capital of the Decapolis. There we will see the ruins of the Roman and Byzantine cities. We will also discuss the demise of King Saul and his sons, whose bodies were hanged on the walls of Beth Shean. We will then continue traveling south to the actual location where John the Baptist was baptizing on the Jordan River. Jericho will be our next stop, where we will visit the Tel of Jericho (Entrance included) with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down. After lunch on your own, we travel to the Old Roman Road, where we will consider the setting for the Parable of the Good Samaritan. From there we will go up to Jerusalem and have a Genesis Welcome to the Holy City. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. 

Saturday – Jan 20 (Day 6): Masada – Ein Gedi – Qumran – Dead Sea – Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day visiting Masada (Entrance included), the fortress built by King Herod the Great and made famous by the Zealots in 73/74 AD with the standoff against the Romans. We visit the fortress and see the ruins that are considered a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. We then continue to Ein Gedi, the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took place (I Samuel 24) and where many of the psalms were written by David. After lunch on your own, we visit Qumran (Entrance included), the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin boy back in 1947. There we will see the caves and other buildings that the Essenes, the group of Jews who wrote the scrolls, lived. We will end the day with some time to float in the Dead Sea. Jerusalem. Dinner included. (B, D)

Sunday – Jan 21 (Day 7): Mt. Olives – Davidson Centre (entrance included) – St. Anne – Bethlehem – Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with an orientation over the holy city from the Mount of Olives, pointing out important locations within the Old City, connecting them with Biblical stories and prophecies about the return of Jesus. We will walk down the Palm Sunday Procession Road. We will then visit the Church of St. Anne’s (Entrance included), a perfectly intact Crusader church. It is a wonderful place to gather and sing a song (sometimes with fellow Christians from all over the world). There, we will also visit the pools of Bethesda where the healing at the pool took place (John 5). Lunch on your own we then travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We will then travel to the Church of the Nativity and view the actual place where Our Lord was born. Time will then be given to shop for olive wood and other items. We will drive by the Herodium as we return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B, D)

Monday – Jan 22 (Day 8): Garden of Gethsemane – Upper Room – Via Dolorosa – Holy Sepulcher – Garden Tomb
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day on the Temple Mount, discussing its connection to both the Old and New Testaments. We will also discuss why it is considered the third holiest site in Islam; we will then continue to the Upper Room. We will then spend some time at the Garden of Gethsemane (time will be given at the private section of the garden). We will then walk through the Kidron Valley past the Pool of Siloam. We will then continue to the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (Entrance included). We will then visit the judgment hall Ecce Homo (Entrance included) and walk down the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. After lunch on your own, we will have some time for shopping in the Old City and then end our day with a visit to the Garden Tomb (Entrance included), where we will worship together and celebrate communion. We return to our hotel for our last dinner provided. (B, D)

Tuesday – Jan 23 (Day 9): Departure
Travel to the airport. Return home with unforgettable memories, amazing new friends and a life changing understanding of the Bible.