Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 - Thursday, March 12: Departure to Tel Aviv

Day 2 - Friday, March 13: Arrive in Tel Aviv 
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 on to our hotel in Tiberias. (D)
You will receive your entry visa to the country imprinted on a blue ticket. You are to keep the blue ticket with you throughout the whole trip.

Day 3 - Saturday, March 14: Tel Hazor – Tel Dan – Caesarea Philippi – Golan Heights – Tiberias
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with visiting Tel Hazor (entrance included), where we will view the ruins of the largest Canaanite city and the only place that Joshua burned. This is one of three cities mentioned in the Book of Kings as part of the building activities of King Solomon. We will visit the location of the altar where the golden calf was placed by King Jeroboam. There we will discuss the downfall and idolatry of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. We then travel to the northern boundary of Israel and visit Tel Dan (entrance included), the northern extremity of Biblical Israel. We will move on to the Dan Stream, the largest tributary of the Jordan River and possibly the place where Psalm 42 was written (“As the deer pants for the water brook, so my soul pants for Thee...”). Our next stop will be Caesarea Philippi (entrance included), where we will visit the ruins of the pagan altars and consider the confession of Peter in Matthew 16 “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Drive to Golan Heights, from where we look into Syria and the road to Damascus. We then return to Tiberias and spend the evening in our hotel on the Sea of Galilee. (B, D)

Day 4 - Sunday, March 15: Sea of Galilee Tiberias – Mt. Of Beatitudes – Capernaum – Peter’s Primacy – Tabgha – Jordan River 
After a buffet breakfast we start our day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee (included). We will then visit the ancient boat museum containing a recently discovered 2000-year-old fishing boat (entrance included). We will then visit the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount. 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 will then visit The Primacy of Peter where Jesus appeared to the disciples the third time after the Resurrection. We then travel to the baptismal site of Jesus on the Jordan River. You will be offered the opportunity to be baptized in the waters of the Jordan in an available location picked by your host and guide. We return to our hotel. Dinner included (B, D)

Day 5 – Monday, March 16: Nazareth – Megiddo – Mount Carmel – Caesarea Maritima – Jerusalem 
Today, we still start our day traveling 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. We will then visit the Synagogue church of ancient Nazareth. We will then travel to Megiddo (entrance included), the ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament as part of the rebuilding activities of King Solomon, and an important fortress city during the Canaanite period. While there 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. 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. After a lunch break, we travel towards Caesarea Maritima (entrance included), where we will have a brief visit to 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 travel towards Jerusalem and ascend into the Holy City. (B, D)

Day 6 - Tuesday, March 17: Mt. of Olives – City of David – Israel Museum – Herodian 
After a buffet breakfast, we will 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 then walk down the Palm Sunday Procession Road passing the Garden of Gethsemane, where the passion of Jesus began. Then, we will visit the City of David (entrance included), the original location of the city of Jerusalem, going back in history 3000 years and have a chance to walk Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which is a 1749-foot-long tunnel walking in knee to waist deep water. After lunch, we will then drive to the Israel Museum (entrance included), where we will visit the Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem, a 1:50 scaled model of the city from the year 66 AD. We will also visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on exhibit, in addition to the archaeological section where many artifacts are displayed, we will pay special attention to those items that relate to Bible history. We will then proceed to the Herodian (entrance included), a fortress that King Herod the Great built, and was buried in it. We return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B, D)

Day 7 - Wednesday, March 18: Masada – Ein Gedi – Qumran – Dead Sea – Jerusalem 
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day driving towards the Dead Sea. On the way, we will stop at the Almog interchange for you to experience a “camel ride” (price not included). We will then continue to Masada (entrance & cable car 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 (entrance included), the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took places (I Samuel 24) and where many of the psalms were written by David and walk to the first waterfall. After lunch, 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. You will also be able to experience floating in the Dead Sea (entrance included). Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B, D)

Day 8 - Thursday, March 19: Temple Mount – Western Wall Tunnels – St. Anne & Pools of Bethesda – Jewish Quarter – Southern Wall Excavations 
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day entering the Old City. We will ascend 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. Leaving the Temple Mount, we will visit the Western Wall Tunnel (Rabbinical Tunnel) (entrance included) and explore some of the underground ruins from the first century. 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). After lunch, we will proceed to the Western Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and Judaism’s holiest site. We will visit the Jewish Quarter and spend some time at the Fountain Bazaar and surrounding area. We will then visit the Southern Wall excavations (entrance included) where ruins of the retaining walls of the Temple Mount are still visible. We will then gather at the teaching steps, the main entrance to the Temple where Rabbis met and taught their disciples. We then return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B,D)

Day 9 - Friday, March 20: Garden of Gethsemane – Caiaphas house – Upper Room – Via Dolorosa – Church of the Holy Sepulcher – Garden Tomb 
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a visit to the Garden of Gethsemane where you will be given some time at the private section of the garden for prayer and reflection. We will then walk through the Kidron Valley to the house of the High Priest Caiaphas (entrance included). Then, we will visit the Upper Room, the place of the Last Supper. We will then walk the Via Dolorosa (The Way of Suffering), the actual path that Jesus walked from the Antonia Fortress (entrance included) to the crucifixion site. We will also visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jesus’ tomb. After lunch, we will visit the Garden Tomb (entrance included), where we will worship together and celebrate communion. Return to hotel for our last dinner provided. (B, D)

Day 10 - Saturday, March 21: To the airport and flight home 
Today, we will travel to the airport and return home with unforgettable memories, amazing new friends and a life-changing understanding of the Bible. (B) 

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