The Classic 5 Days Holyland tour can start/end for the same rate at Allenby/Sheik Hussein borders (as part of combination tours Israel/Jordan). This itinerary is one of the best ways to travel & explore Israel highlights. The tour below is a smart choice for a Church Budget Tour.
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Day 1
Arrival to Ben Gurion International Airport (or Jordan–Israel border Sheik Hussein – Jordan River border terminal). Meet and assist by our guide, and transfer to your hotel in Nazareth or Tiberias for overnight.
Day 2
We start the tour in Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water to wine at a wedding, continue to Nazareth, where we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation and the Greek-Orthodox St. Gabriel Church near Mary’s Well. We continue to “Mt. of Beatitudes” where we can not only enjoy the special church built by the Italian architect Berluzzi, but also the wide view over the Sea of Galilee. We visit the archaeological excavations of Capernaum, “The Town of Jesus”, and its well-known Synagogue and the Church of the Fish & Bread in Tabgha.
Overnight in Tiberias/Nazareth.
Day 3
We start driving to Jerusalem and stop for an introduction to the city from the top of the Mount of Olives and then walk down to the Garden of Gethsemane. We also visit the “Wailing Wall”, the last remnants of the Temple in Jerusalem. If the current situation allows it, we will try to visit the Temple Mount as well. We continue in the footsteps of Jesus along the Stations of the Via Dolorosa, Jesus’ “Way of Suffering”, and unto the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus was crucified and buried. The Via Dolorosa also passes through the Old City’s oriental “Suq” (Bazaar). At the end of the day, we visit King David’s Tomb and the “Room of the Last Supper”, the Ceanaculum.
Overnight in Jerusalem
Day 4
We travel to Bethlehem, where we first visit the ancient Church of the Nativity, where we can really touch the very place where Jesus was born. Built by St. Helena already in the 4th century, it has been an active church and never destroyed ever since! Here St. Hieronymus wrote the first Latin translation of the Bible – the “Volgata”. We shall also visit the “Milk Grotto” and the “Shepherds Fields”. Please note that the tour to Bethlehem can be canceled without prior notice due to security circumstances. As this area is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, responsibility for your security there is by the Palestinian Authorities. Returning to Jerusalem we drive to the picturesque village Ein Karem, the place where John the Baptist was born. We will visit the “St. John in the Mountains” church, built on the place where the house of St. John was standing. We will also visit the Church of Visitation, where St. Mary visited Elisabeth out in the vineyard and prophesized her the birth of St. John.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 5
Depending on your scheduled flight, we walk in the Old City of Jaffa, one of the ancient gateways to the Holy Land. Today Jaffa’s romantic alley-ways attract many artists, who have their galleries there. Depending on the time we have left, we can drive through the pulsating city of Tel Aviv, and maybe spend some time at its markets, beaches, and boulevards… Transfer to the Ben Gurion Airport for your flight home or to Sheik Hussein border terminal (in case of combination Israel/Jordan tour). – End of the trip . . .
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