Duration: 11 Days
Dates: August 17, 2021 to August 26, 2021
Departure City: Newark, New Jersey (EWR)

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 – Wednesday, August 18, 2021: Tel Aviv Arrival – Transfer to the hotel in Tel Aviv or Herzliya
Welcome to Land of your Bible! We arrive in Tel Aviv, upon arrival we will meet our representative who will assist us through customs, then we will meet our local guide and driver and the only stop for today will be Jaffa (time permitting). We head towards the Mediterranean Sea to Jaffa. After our tour in Jaffa we will transfer to our hotel in Tel Aviv/Herzliya for dinner and overnight. (D)

Day 2 – Thursday, August 19, 2021: Caesarea Maritima – Mt. Carmel – Megiddo – Nazareth Village – Sea of Galilee 
6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. Check-out of the hotel. Today we travel towards Caesarea Maritima.9:15 AM Visit Caesarea Maritima (included), a magnificent city with Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins. Here we will elaborate on the story of the baptism of Cornelius, the first gentile convert 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. Depart Caesarea and proceed to Mount Carmel.Visit Mount Carmel, Muhraqa – The Place of Fire (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. Early lunch on your own. Proceed to Meggido.1:15 PM Visit Tel Megiddo “Armageddon” (included), reflecting over the future end of days battle between good and evil mentioned in Revelation 16:16 and the return of Christ. Along our visit we would see the Solomon city gate, stables and palaces from the times of Ahab, high place and the impressive water system dating to the 9th century BC. Travel to Nazareth.3:15 PM Visit Nazareth village (included), a life size model of the village the way it would have looked in Jesus’ time. Drive to the Sea of Galilee and check-in at our hotel. Dinner and overnight at the Sea of Galilee. (B/D)

Day 3 – Friday, August 20, 2021: Tel Dan – Caesarea Philippi – Damascus Road – Katzrin Talmudic village – Mt. Arbel – Sea of Galilee
6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. After breakfast, we begin our day with traveling to the northern boundary of Israel. Our First stop will be Tel Dan (included), the northern extremity of Biblical Israel. 9:00 AM 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 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 dear pants for the water brook, so my soul pants for Thee...”).We will then continue to Caesarea Philippi (included), where we will visit the ruins of the pagan altars and consider the confession of Peter (Matthew 16). 12:00 PM Lunch on your own. We will drive further north to the border with Syria where we will consider the dramatic conversion and life- transformation of Saul of Tarsus: The Apostle Paul.2:00 PM Visit the Talmudic village in Katzrin (included), see what every day life would have been like in a 4th century Jewish village, see restored ancient olive presses, a wine press and replicas of typical household objects.4:00 PM Visit Mount Arbel (included) and admire the views across the Sea of Galilee and beyond, to the Golan Heights, and Israel’s tallest peak at Mount Hermon.
Return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight at the Sea of Galilee. (B/D)

Day 4 – Saturday, August 21, 2021: Mount of Beatitudes – Magdala – Peter’s Primacy – Capernaum – Ancient Boat Museum – Sea of Galilee boat ride
6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. 8:00 AM After breakfast, we begin our day on the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount. 9:30 AM We will then visit Magdala, the home town of Mary Magdalene with its magnificent ruins and synagogues. Passing through Tabgha, visit the Church of St Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus appeared to his disciples the third time after the Resurrection. 12:00 PM During lunch break you will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish, commonly eaten by people in Jesus’ day (lunch included).1:15 PM We will then visit Capernaum (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. 2:30 PM We end our day with a visit to the ancient boat museum, containing a recently-discovered 2000-year old fishing boat (included).We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat (included). Return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight at the Sea of Galilee. (B/L/D)

Day 5 – Sunday, August 22, 2021: Ein Harod – Beit She’an – Gan Hashlosha – Bet Arabah Baptismal Site – Jericho – Dead Sea
6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. Check-out. Depart for Ein Harod.9:00 AM Visit Ein Harod (included), named “Spring of Harod” after the nearby fountain. This is the pool where Gideon chose his 300 warriors to battle the Midianites (Judges 7:1-8). Proceed to Beit She’an. 10:15 AM Visit Beit She’an (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 Beit Shean.Visit Gan Hashlosha (included), a well- known water park with warm water swimming pools. Lunch on your own. 2:45 PM En route to Jericho, we stop at Bet Arabah “Qasr el Yahud” known also as Gilgal, where the Israelites crossed into the promised land, from where Elijah was taken to heaven and at where Our Lord was baptized. Proceed to Jericho.3:45 PM Visit Tel Jericho (included), where we will see the location of city from the town of Joshua, view the Mount of Temptation. Then, enjoy panoramic tour of Jericho, seeing the Sycamore Tree reminding us of the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus. Drive to our Dead Sea hotel and check-in. Dinner and overnighta at the Dead Sea. (B/D)

Day 6 – Monday, August 23, 2021: Masada – Ein Gedi – Qumran – Dead Sea – Jerusalem
7:00 AM Buffet breakfast. Depart for Masada.8:45 AM We begin our day visiting Masada (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 take cable car onto the mountain. We leave Masada and continue to Ein Gedi. 11:15 AM We visit Ein Gedi, an oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took place (I Samuel 24) and where some of the psalms were written by David. We proceed to Qumran. Lunch on your own.2:00 PM We visit Qumran (included), the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered and the buildings that formed the Essenes public center. You will also be able to experience floating in the Dead Sea. Proceed to Jerusalem. Arrive in Jerusalem and check into hotel. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/D)

Day 7 – Tuesday, August 24, 2021: Mt. Olives – Gethsemane – Hezekiah’s Tunnel – Southern Wall excavations – Wailing Wall – Western Wall Tunnels
6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. 8:00 AM Drive to the Mount of Olives and enjoy an orientation over the holy city, 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 to the Garden of Gethsemane, where the passion of Jesus began. Each of us will be given some personal time in a private section of the Garden.10:15 AM Proceed to the City of David and visit Hezekiah’s tunnel (included), a 1749 foot long tunnel that was dug by King Hezekiah as he prepared for the Assyrian King Sennacharib’s invasion in 701 BC. Those interested in walking the foot deep will have the chance to do so. Lunch on your own.2:00 PM Visit the Southern Wall excavations (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. Visit the Western Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and Judaism’s holiest site. 4:00 PM We enter the Western Wall Tunnels (included), reflecting on the massive stones which once formed the western exterior retaining wall of the Temple and reach the Warren’s Gate which is symbolic for Jews as it’s the closest point to the Holy of Holies which they can reach.
Please note that at Western Wall Tunnels groups over 20 pax will be divided into smaller sections. The first entry will be at 4:00 PM, next groups will enter each 20 minutes. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/D)

Day 8 – Wednesday, August 25, 2021: Israel Museum – Yad Vashem – Shepherd’s Field – Bethlehem – Jerusalem
6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. Drive to Israel Museum.9:00 AM Visit the Shrine of the Book (included) housing some of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran and see a Model City of Jerusalem showing the city as it looked in the 1st century A.D. Visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, for a needed reminder of what the Jews have suffered during WWII. Depart for Shepherd’s Field. Lunch on your own. 2:00 PM Visit Shepherd’s Field where the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Our Lord. These fields are also the setting of the Book of Ruth. Leave Shepherd’s Field and drive towards the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. In Bethlehem, visit the Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity built over the Cave of Christ’s Birth, we will view the actual place where Our Lord was born. Return to Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/D)

Day 9 – Thursday, August 26, 2021: Temple Mount – St. Anne’s Church and Pools of Bethesda – Ecce Homo – Via Dolorosa – Holy Sepulcher – House of Caiaphas – Garden Tomb
6:00 AM Quick buffet breakfast. 6:30 AM Leave the hotel and drive towards the Old City to Temple Mount. Please note that, due to security reasons, the only items the visitors can carry into Temple Mount are telephone, small camera, notebook and a bottle of water. Groups are not allowed to enter with professional cameras, iPad s, backpacks, purses, any religious symbols such as Bible or crosses as well as Swiss penknives and clippers. 7:30 AM Visit Temple Mount where the Jewish temple stood until it’s destruction in 70 A.D. Here we reflect over Jesus’ ministry at the Temple of Jerusalem, seeing the Dome of the Rock, a possible location of the Holy of Holies. Leave Temple Mount.8:45 AM Visit Church of St. Anne’s (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).We reach Ecce Homo (included), the site named for Pontius Pilate's words “Behold the man”, where Jesus was beaten, crowned with thorns and clothed in a purple robe. We see the Stone Pavement called Lithostratos and have some time for prayers and meditations. We walk the Via Dolorosa following Christ passion toward the church of the Holy Sepulcher.We visit House of Caiaphas, the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (included), where we can see parts of the streets that Our Lord was dragged on by his capturers. We will have a chance to visit and pray at the dungeon where He was kept overnight. Lunch on your own.3:00 PM In the afternoon, we visit Garden Tomb (included), a peaceful spot where we can remember Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection. We see the Calvary and the empty Tomb. Celebrate communion service at the Garden reaching the climax of Pilgrimage at the empty Tomb.Enjoy Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant (included) – Option 8 nights/9 days.Transfer to the airport for your homebound flight – Option 8 nights/9 days. (B/D) Farewell dinner. Drive to the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport and board your homebound flight (B/D)