Holy Land in Eight Days and Seven Nights

• The itinerary could be subject to changes which do not depend on our organization.

Day 1: Home - Tel Aviv - Galilee

     Begin your spiritual journey

Nazareth

with an evening departure from your hometown, on the overnight  flight to Tel-Aviv.
     Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. Exit the terminal and meet your guide. Transfer to your hotel in Nazareth or Tiberias,  with a stop on the way at Caesarea Maritima, if time permits (this depends on your flight arrival time). Dinner and lodging at your hotel.

Day 2: The ministry of Christ in the Galilee

     This morning we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation starting at the Grotto  where the Annunciation took place, then we will visit the house of the Holy Family under the Church of St. Joseph.

Grotto of the Annunciation

      Then we will drive to the Sea of Galilee to visit the Mt. of Beatitudes where our Lord gave the Sermon on the Mount. Continue to Tabgha to see the splendid mosaic of the loaves and fishes with which Jesus fed the Five Thousand. Visit the Church of St. Peter’s Primacy and then go to visit Capernaum to see the house of St. Peter and the Synagogue where our Lord preached.  One of today´s highlights is a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. We finish our day with a visit to the Jordan River to renew our Baptismal Vows, then drive back to the hotel for dinner and lodging.

Day 3: Cana of Galilee – Transfiguration – Jericho - Jerusalem

     Drive to Cana of Galilee to visit the church of the wedding where Jesus performed the first of his signs, changing water to wine. Here couples can renew their wedding vows. Next we head towards Mount Tabor, the Mount of the Transfiguration

Mount Tabor

and visit the beautiful Basilica and the rock under the altar where the Transfiguration took place.We will spend some time on this peaceful mountain for meditation and reflection. Leaving the mountain, we drive via the Jordan Valley to Jericho, where we view the Mount of Temptation and the Sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed in order to see Jesus. We continue our drive up to Jerusalem and check into the hotel for dinner and lodging overnight.

Day 4: Bethlehem – Ein Karem

     This morning we drive to Bethlehem to visit the place of our Lord’s birth in the Basilica of the Nativity.

Basilica of the Nativity

      We will see the Grotto of the Nativity, the Church of St. Catherine, where the Midnight Mass is celebrated, and the Caves of St. Joseph and St. Jerome underneath the church. Visit to the Shepherds’ Fields, where the Angels appeared to the shepherds who were watching over their flocks during the night. In the afternoon we drive to the nearby village of Ein Karem to visit the birth-place of St. John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation, where Mary came to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth and proclaimed the ´Magnificat’. If time permits we will stop to visit the Holy Land Model, before returning to the hotel for dinner and lodging.

Day 5: Introduction to Jerusalem

     After breakfast we drive to the top of the Mt. Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem and a better understanding of its geography and some of the key sites surrounding the area. Visit the Church of Pater Noster where Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, and then proceed down the Palm Sunday route to the Church of Dominus Flevit, where our Lord wept over the city. We continue our walk on the Palm Sunday route to the Garden of Gethsemane,

Gethsemane

where we find the Rock of Agony where Jesus prayed before his betrayal.
     Before going back to the hotel, we will have free time at the dimly-lit church for prayer and reflection. This afternoon we go on Mount Zion to visit the Church of the Dormition Abbey, and then the Cenacle, the place of the Last Supper and Pentecost. Today we also visit the Church of Saint Peter In Gallicantu and the house of Caiphas, the high priest of the Jews, where Jesus was imprisoned for the night and where Peter denied our Lord. After this we return to our Hotel for dinner and lodging.

Day 6: Jerusalem, The Passion of Jesus´ last hours

Our tour this morning will be in the Old City of Jerusalén.
     

The Holy Sepulchre

 We’ll start at the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, including St. Anne’s Church and the Pools of Bethesda. From there we continue to the Judgment Hall known as the Antonia Fortress where Jesus was led to be condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. At that place we start following the Vía Dolorosa through the markets of the Old City, praying at the Stations of the Cross: we reflect on the greatness of His sacrifice, stopping at each of the fourteen stations of the Cross until we reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There we will visit Calvary and the empty Tomb of our Lord, and the different sections of the church.We will have free time at the church for prayers and reflection before going back to the hotel for dinner and lodging. through the markets of the Old City, praying at the Stations of the Cross: we reflect on the greatness of His sacrifice, stopping at each of the fourteen stations of the Cross until we reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There we will visit Calvary and the empty Tomb of our Lord, and the different sections of the church.We will have free time at the church for prayers and reflection before going back to the hotel for dinner and lodging.

Day 7: The Wilderness:  Bethany - Qumran – Masada - Dead Sea

     Today we have a rather different experience. We will drive to nearby Bethany to visit the church and the Tomb of St. Lazarus 

Masada

      From here we drive to the Dead Sea area to see the caves at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden. We will also visit the archeological site there and see a three-dimensional movie about the place. We continue to Masada  to visit the fortress palace of Herod the Great and the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots. Then we drive further south along the Dead Sea and stop for a swim in the mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea, renowned for its healing properties, before returning for dinner and lodging at the hotel in Jerusalem.

Day 8:  Jerusalem - Home

     Transfer to the airport, filled with cherished memories, for your return flight home.