Depart USA for Holy Land.

Arrive in Tel Aviv. Transfer to Jerusalem (included in tour pricing), and check in at our Jerusalem hotel. Tour to begin with a group dinner, and a good evening’s rest.

Accommodations:  Jerusalem (D)

Travel to Ain Kerem. Visit the Church of the Visitation, where Elizabeth greeted Mary. Visit the Church of St. John the Baptist, where is traditionally reverenced the birthplace of John the Baptist. Drive on to Bethlehem. Visit the Church of St. Catherine’s, where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Visit the Basilica of the Nativity, the site of the cave where Christ was born and the manger in which he was laid.

Accommodations:  Jerusalem (B,L,D)

Drive to the Mount of Olives and descend as Jesus did on his Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. Part way down the Mount of Olives, visit the Dominus Flevit Chapel, from where we can overlook the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. It is from this overlook that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Proceed on to the Garden of Gethsemane and visit the Grotto of Gethsemane, a cave where Jesus met his disciples. Visit the Basilica of Gethsemane (also called the Church of All Nations), the location of the rock of Jesus’ agony. Visit the Church of St. Peter Gallicantu, which is built over the house of the high priest Caiaphas (gallicantu is translated “the cock crows”), recalling St. Peter’s denial of Jesus, and see the place where Jesus was imprisoned and the steps he would have walked on the way to Gethsemane.

Accommodations:  Jerusalem (B,L,D)

Visit the Davidson Center (an archaeological park for the Temple Mount), the Southern Steps of the Temple, and the Western Wall. Visit the Church of St. Anne, a Crusader church reverencing the home of Joachim and Anne and the birthplace of Mary. Visit the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed 38 years. Walk the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrows), the Way of the Cross through the Old City of Jerusalem to the Holy Sepulchre.

Accommodations:  Jerusalem (B,L,D)

Rise early to visit the Holy Sepulchre, where we can venerate the site of Calvary, where Jesus died on the Cross, and the Tomb, where Jesus was buried and rose from the dead. Check out of our Jerusalem hotel. Drive to the Jordan River, the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism. Travel north to Galilee and check in to our Galilee hotel.

Accommodations:  Tiberias (B,L,D)

Travel to Capernaum, where Peter lived and which Jesus made his base of operations for his Galilean ministry. Visit the site of St. Peter’s house and the synagogue where Jesus healed and taught. Enjoy an extended boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. From the sea, view the nearby Church of St. Peter’s Primacy, recalling Jesus' direction to Peter to "Feed my sheep" after Jesus' resurrection. Visit an unearthed ancient fishing boat which was dated back to the time of Christ. Visit Tabgha, the location of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.

Accommodations:  Tiberias (B,L,D)

Travel to Mount Tabor, which overlooks the fertile Jezreel Valley. Jesus brought Peter, James, and John up this mountain where he was transfigured in glory. This mountaintop is still bathed in a peace from that heavenly encounter. Travel to Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. Proceed to Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle. Here couples may renew their wedding vows in the place where Jesus changed water into wine at the wedding in Cana.

Accommodations:  Tiberias (B,L,D)

Visit Kursi, the site where Jesus healed the demoniac and sent the swine into the sea. Visit Bethsaida along the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, the hometown of several Apostles. Visit the recently unearthed city of Magdala, Mary Magdalene’s home town.

Accommodations: Tiberias (B,L,D)

Check out of our Galilee hotel. Visit the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount. Travel to Caesarea Maritima where St. Paul was imprisoned, tried, and sent from this Mediterranean harbor to Rome. Visit the ruins of Herod the Great’s seaside palace, as well as the ancient hippodrome and theater along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant before heading to the airport for late evening return flights. (B,L,D)

Arrive back in the USA.

NOTE:
Itinerary details subject to change.
B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner