Make your way to your airport where you will board your overnight flight. Your meals are served on board.

Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, you will be greeted by a tour guide and/or driver. Your group will transfer to your hotel in Tiberias in time to check-in. Enjoy dinner at the hotel before retiring for the evening.

This morning we drive to Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation and St. Joseph’s workshop, now a church. Within the Church of the Annunciation, we will make our way down to the Grotto to see the remains of the house of the Blessed Mother, and where the Angel of the Lord announced the good news to Mary. Celebrate Mass in this Church then continue to Cana. It was here that Jesus performed His first miracle, changing water into wine (John 2.). During your time at the Wedding Church, married couples will have the chance to take part in a ceremony to renew their wedding vows to each other. At the end of the day we return to the Sea of Galilee region.

After breakfast, enjoy a boat ride on the beautiful and scenic Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1). Upon docking, have the opportunity to view the remains of the boat dating back to the time of Jesus. Following the Sea of Galilee, continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus proclaimed His great Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-49). Near the Mount is Tabgha, one of Jesus’ miracle sites. At Tabgha, Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish (Luke 9:10-17). In Tabgha is St. Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus bestowed church leadership upon Peter (John 21:9). Continue to visit the birthplace of Mary Magdalene in Magdala. During the time of Jesus, this village was a prosperous fishing village that exported fish and garum (a fish sauce reduction popular in Roman cooking). Your day concludes at Capernaum, the launching place of Jesus’ ministry. In Capernaum, see the Synagogue where Jesus taught (Mark 1:21-29) and gave His sermon on the Bread of Life. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning we ascend Mt Tabor (Matthew 17:1-50). At this site, Christ’s Divinity was revealed. Celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Transfiguration. From the top of Mt Tabor, enjoy a dramatic view the Valley of Armageddon, before driving to Caesarea Maritima located on the shores of the Mediterranean. Built by Herod the Great, Caesarea was where St. Peter baptized the first gentile convert, Cornelius (Acts 10). We will see the Roman theatre Herod’s Palace, view the Hippodrome, and the harbor from which St. Paul sailed on his journeys to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the ancient world. Continue the drive up to the Judean Hills where you enjoy your first view of holy, complicated, Jerusalem from Mt Scopus.

This morning we go to the village of Ein Karem to visit the Church of St John the Baptist, which marks his birthplace (Luke 1.5). Nearby is the Church of Visitation that commemorates the visit of our Blessed Mother to her cousin, Elizabeth, who stayed with her for three months (Luke 1.39). Many people pray the Mystery of the Rosary as they walk up the hill to the Church. Later drive to Bethlehem to visit the fields where the Angel appeared to the shepherds to proclaim the birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2:8). We enter the caves where shepherds took shelter in ancient times and see the soot marks of the fires they lit to keep warm. Continue to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. We enter the Church through the door of humility and proceed down to the Grotto of the Nativity, which marks the place of Our Saviour’s birth (Matthew 2:1-18). Beneath the altar is a silver star and a Latin inscription that states: HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS (Here, Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Following Mass in Bethlehem, return to the hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, you will make your way to the Mount of Olives, where you will be able to take in the beautiful, panoramic view of Jerusalem. Historically, the Mount of Olives was a mandatory transit point for Jesus during many iconic moments. Visit the Pater Noster Shrine where Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster) (Luke 11:1-4). You will have the opportunity to stop at Dominus Flevit, the Church that commemorates where Jesus wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Continue to Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Jesus brought His disciples here to pray the night before He was crucified (Luke 22:29-53). The Garden still contains trees with roots that date back to the time of Jesus. Your next stop, the Church of All Nations, is built over the “Rock of Agony”. Jesus prayed here alone on the night of His arrest. Take time to Pray and reflect on Christ’s agony that He experienced. You will have the opportunity to visit the Western Wall, which is the last remnant of the Jewish Temple after it was destroyed in 70 A.D. Continue with a visit to the house of the High Priest Caiaphas (Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu). This Church commemorates where Jesus was examined and eventually imprisoned before the Council in Jerusalem. It also commemorates Peter’s Denial of Christ (John 18:15-18), Peters’ repentance, and Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter. You will also visit the Upper Room on Mt. Zion. The Upper Room is where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30) and where Jesus appeared to His disciples after His Death and Resurrection (Mark 16:14). Also, visit the nearby Benedictine Church of the Dormition. Tradition tells us that this is the Church where Mary, the Mother of Jesus, fell asleep. At the end of this prayerful day, return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Following breakfast, we will travel down the Jordan Valley through the Judean wilderness, where Jesus spent 40 days of fasting. We arrive at the Jordan River where He was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17). After renewing our Baptismal Promises, we continue to the oldest inhabited city in the world, Jericho (Joshua 6:12-25). Here, we will celebrate Mass and view the Mount of Temptation, where the Devil tempted Jesus during his forty-day fast (Luke 4:1). South of Jericho is the ancient site of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written and discovered (Ezekiel 47:8-10). These writings have helped further the understanding of the Jewish background to Christianity. Time and weather permitting, you will have the opportunity to take a float in the Dead Sea, the lowest and saltiest place on Earth. Return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight.

This morning you will have a very early wake-up to begin the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) at the Antonia Fortress, the spot where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate (John 18:28-19:16). Following His condemnation, He was taken (on the Road to Calvary) to His place of Crucifixion. Reflect upon the Stations of the Cross, as you travel through the markets of the Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Luke 23:26-33). This sacred destination is the site of Calvary (Jesus’ crucifixion place) and His tomb (Luke 23: 50-55). Celebrate Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Following Mass, we will return to the hotel to enjoy breakfast. Continue your day with a visit to the Church of St. Anne’s, the home of Jesus’ maternal grandparents (Anne and Joachim); and the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the cripple man (John 5:1-9). This afternoon, enjoy a revisit to the Old City. Following this visit, return to the hotel to enjoy dinner and overnight at your hotel.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, transfer to the Tel Aviv airport for return flights home.

*206 Tours Disclaimer:
Occasionally local religious and national holidays, weather, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of events or the missing of certain events/places. Though every effort will be made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication, rather than a contract of events and places to be visited.