Day 1 Departure from the US
Day 2 – Welcome to Israel!
We are greeted at the airport by our Travelujah representative, our guide, and board our bus. Then we are off to our hotel in Netanya for a much-needed night’s sleep!
Dinner & overnight: Seasons/ Leonardo hotel, Netanya or similar
Day 3 – Judea and Jesus – the Early Years
After an awesome Israeli breakfast (which we will enjoy each morning) we will depart the hotel early and be at the ancient Roman seaport of Caesarea where Paul was imprisoned before going to Rome. Here we will begin to understand the turbulent reign of King Herod and how this impacted the life of Jesus (Acts 10) the Roman invasion into Judea, and the clash of civilizations between Rome and the Jews. From here we will travel to Mt. Carmel and then to Nazareth. We will visit the Church of the Annunciation, then to Mary and Joseph’s house. We will also see Mary’s well and the ancient Synagogue. From here we will visit Cana (John 2) for an opportunity to renew our wedding vows. We will then continue to our hotel near Tiberias for check in.
Dinner & overnight: Ma’agan hotel, Kibbutz Ma’agan or similar
Day 4 – The Miracles of Jesus and the Sea of Galilee
Begin the day with a visit to Magdala Center. Here one can find a first century synagogue, a complete first century city and remains of a once prosperous fish processing industry. It is a city where Jesus himself visited and taught. Continue with a boat-ride on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on the water (Matthew 14:22-23). Visit Capernaum and visit the ruins of this village, often called the hometown of Jesus, with its synagogue church marking the home of Peter, and dwellings from the time of Jesus.. Stop nearby Chapel of the Primacy of Peter, where Jesus appeared to the Apostles after the resurrection. Nearby is the site of the miracle of the loaves and fishes at Tabgha (Luke 9:10-17) with its famed mosaic depicting the two fishes and the five loaves Jesus multiplied. Enjoy lunch of St. Peters Fish. Visit the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee where Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6). We will continue to Kursi, where Jesus transferred the demons to the swine. Our day will conclude at the baptismal site of Yardenit.
Dinner & overnight: Ma’agan hotel, Kibbutz Ma’agan or similar
Day 5 – Mt. Tabor, Jericho and the Jordan Valley
We will begin our day driving up to Mt. Tabor! From here we will drive through Jericho and see the Zacheaus Tree and view the Mt. of Temptations and the old Jericho excavations. We will will stop for an overlook of Wadi Kelt to see the desert expanse where Elijah, Jesus, John the Baptist and many others wandered. Visit Eretz Beresheet for a camel ride and hospitality to meet “Abraham”. Upon arrival to Jerusalem we will stop for a panoramic view of Jerusalem and for a better understanding of its geography and some of the key sites surrounding the area.
Dinner & overnight: Grand Court or similar Jerusalem
Day 6 – Walking in His Footsteps in Jerusalem
This morning we will begin at the Mt. of Olives and then make a very special visit to Pater Naster. Afterwards, we will walk together down the Palm Sunday road to the church of Dominus Flevit, where our Lord wept over the city. We continue our walk on the Palm Sunday road to the Garden of Gethsemane.
At Gethsemane, there is the Rock of Agony, where Jesus uttered his last prayer. We will visit the Church designed to look like the Garden at night and celebrate mass it the Garden.
In the afternoon, we will visit Mt. Zion, just outside the City Walls, to view the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, where the Apostle denied Jesus three times, and where Jesus was imprisoned on the night He was betrayed. See the Room of the Last Supper and King David’s Tomb. Our day will end with a visit to the Israel Museum to see the model of Jerusalem during the second Temple.
Dinner & overnight: Grand Court or similar, Jerusalem.
Day 7 – The Dead Sea Valley
We will drive via Bethany (where we will have mass) and down to the lowest place on earth to the caves at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden. We will travel further south to Herod’s mountain fortress of Masada, where the Zealots hid out after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple and later committed suicide when they were surrounded by Herod’s army.
We will stop at a Dead Sea hotel for a lunch and swim in the mineral-rich waters renowned for its healing properties.
Optional :Enjoy Shabbat dinner hospitality with a local family
Dinner & overnight: Grand Court or similar, Jerusalem
Day 8 – Via Dolorosa and the Final Days of Jesus
We will wake at 4:30am for a 5 am walk down the Via Dolorosa through the markets of the Old City praying the Stations of the Cross; reflecting on the greatness of His sacrifice, stopping at each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, until we reach the church of Holy Sepulchre where we will celebrate morning Mass at Calvary at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and visit Calvary and the Tomb of our Lord.
We will return to the hotel for breakfast (or take breakfast boxes and eat breakfast en route)
We will walk through the Jewish Quarter and make our way to the Western Wall where we can slip our prayers into the stones. We will have time at leisure for lunch and shopping and then visit the Crusader Church of St Anne’s.
Optional: Enjoy Jerusalem’s Sound and Light show at the ancient Herod’s Citadel
Dinner & overnight: Grand Court or similar
Day 9 – Israel Museum, Bethlehem and Ein Karem and Departure
We will begin our day with a visit to the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Holy Land model of Jerusalem. Then we will enter Bethlehem to visit the birthplace of our Lord and tour the Basilica of the Nativity. We will visit the Grotto of Nativity and the Church of St. Catherine, where the Midnight Mass is celebrated and the Caves of St. Joseph and St. Jerome underneath the church. After we will drive to Beit Sahoour for lunch and to the nearby Shepherds Fields to see where the angels appeared to the shepherds who were watching over their flocks during the night. Continue through the Ella Valley on the way to Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist, and where Mary and Elizabeth met. Here we will visit the Church of the Visitation considered the third most important holy shrine and where we will have Mass.
Farewell Dinner in Abu Gosh and transfer to the airport for your return flight home.
