Tour members meet at Tampa International Airport. We depart the U.S.A. on our flight for modern-day Israel. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the on-board, in-flight service. Meals will be served according to the airline flight schedule.

We arrive in Israel and meet our Israeli tour guide and board our air-conditioned coach for our drive to the Dead Sea. Along the way, we will enjoy a brief stop in Jaffa (time permitting). We will enjoy a light lunch and drive through Jerusalem, continuing down the western shore of the Dead Sea to our hotel for dinner and overnight at the David Dead Sea hotel.

We depart from our hotel to the Fortress of Arad which holds the only ever discovered, “House of Yahweh” in the land of Israel, then drive to Kfar Hanokdim. For lunch, we enjoy a rest at the Bedouin Experience, including a camel ride. Then, we visit a lookout at Sodom and Gomorrah. We return to our Dead Sea hotel in time for a swim in the therapeutic waters. Dinner and overnight are again at the David Dead Sea hotel.

After an early breakfast, we begin our drive from the Dead Sea region, the lowest place on earth, up to the Galilee. Our first stop will be at Masada. It was here in A.D. 70 that 960 Jewish zealots made their last stand against Rome and took their own lives rather than become slaves to the Romans. We will ascend this mountain fortress via cable car, and our guide will take us on a fascinating tour of the site. We will descend Masada and make our way to Ein Gedi where David hid from King Saul. Continue to Qumran, the home of the Essenes, where many of the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. We will stop for lunch in Qumran before making our way to Beit Shean, where King Saul was killed. In Beit Shean, we see the expansive archaeological ruins of an ancient city inhabited for 5000 years and one of the Roman cities through which Jesus passed during travels from Galilee to Jerusalem. After a special overlook at Ophir, we will finish our day with a drive to the Leonardo Plaza hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

There is nothing quite like sunrise on the Sea of Galilee. After breakfast, we will head north into the Golan Heights for an incredible view of Caesarea Philippi. We will take a short hike/ walk to Tel Dan where we will see the Banias waterfall and the altar of Jeroboam. For lunch, we will stop at a local restaurant, which includes the option of ordering the special St. Peter’s Fish. Then, we will visit the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. We will continue to Magdala where we will see the ancient Synagogue and the archeological excavations. Then, we drive to Capernaum, Jesus’ ministry center and the home of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Here, we see the first century synagogue where possibly Jesus performed several miracles. Then, we finish our day out on an inspiring private boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Dinner and overnight are at the Leonardo Plaza hotel, Tiberias.

After our fabulous Israeli buffet breakfast, we start the day at Megiddo, a fortress city of King Solomon and the site of 21 superimposed cities. Before we visit Mount Carmel - Muchraka, we will stop for lunch at the Druze village. On the highest point of the Carmel in the place where (according to tradition) the prophet Elijah competed with the 450 pagan prophets (1 Kings 18), an impressive Carmelite Monastery was built. From the balcony, an amazing 360-degree panorama can be seen: in the east – the valleys; in the north – the Galilee; in the west – the sea; and in the south – the Carmel, the Samaria, and the coastline. Next, we will drive to Caesarea by the Sea where Peter proclaimed the good news to the Roman centurion, Cornelius. This was the Roman capital of Israel at the time of Jesus and dates to the time of Pontius Pilate. We will sit in the ancient amphitheater, explore the remains of a Crusader fortress, and see the spectacular Roman aqueduct. we will then continue to Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight are at the Leonardo Boutique Hotel, Jerusalem.

After breakfast, we visit the Israel Museum and the model of Jerusalem (1:50 scale model of Herodian Jerusalem as it would have appeared in Jesus’ time). Here, we will see the Shrine of the Book where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed. Afterwards, we enter Bethlehem, passing by Rachel’s tomb on the outskirts, and visit the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd’s Field. We will have our lunch today in Bethlehem. We then visit an olivewood store. Dinner and overnight are at the Leonardo Boutique Hotel, Jerusalem.

After breakfast, we will walk the Rabbi’s Tunnel, a section of the ancient retaining wall of Solomon’s Temple. Then, we visit the Old City of Jerusalem, where we will sit on the Southern Steps - the actual steps that Jesus used when he visited the Temple. We also visit to the Davidson Center to view the Temple area as it would have appeared during the time of Christ. We will walk through the ancient Cardo, Jerusalem’s main street from the second century. We will stop for lunch at a favorite local spot. Then, we will have the option of either wading through Hezekiah’s Tunnel and seeing the Pool of Siloam or visiting Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial and museum. Dinner and overnight are at the Leonardo Boutique Hotel, Jerusalem.

Our day begins at the Mount of Olives. From there, our pilgrimage descends to the Garden of Gethsemane with its ancient olive grove. We will visit the Church of Agony, where tradition holds that Jesus prayed the night he was betrayed. We will enter Jerusalem through the Dung Gate and walk to the holiest site in the Jewish world, the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) of Herod’s temple. From the temple area, we make our way to St. Stephen’s Gate, St. Anne’s Crusader Church, Pools of Bethesda, the Sisters of Zion Convent (to see the Pavement where Jesus stood as he was being tried by Pilate), Ecce Homo Arch, and then continue the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We will enjoy a falafel lunch during the tour in the Old City of Jerusalem. Afterwards, we will visit the Garden Tomb. At the conclusion of our day, we enjoy our farewell dinner, return to our hotel for overnight.

Morning transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for flight back to the U.S.A.