9 days and 8 nights
Holy Land in Nine Days and Eight Nights
Day 1: Home - Tel Aviv - Galilee
Begin your spiritual journey with an evening departure
from your hometown, on the overnight flight to Tel-Aviv.
 |
| Lake Galilee Flowers |
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. Exit
the terminal at the sign marked ‘groups’ and meet your
guide. Transfer to your hotel in Nazareth or Tiberias, with
a stop on the way at Caesarea Maritime, if time
permits (this depends on your flight arrival time). Dinner and
lodging at your hotel.
Day 2: Haifa – Nazareth
This morning we drive to Haifa and the
Carmel Mountains, heading for the place where Elijah challenged the
prophets of Baal at a site now called Mukhraka. Up
on the Carmel Mountains we also visit the church of
Stella Maris, where we will have a panoramic view of
the city Haifa.
 |
| Basilica of the Annunciation |
In the
afternoon 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, the Fountain of Mary and the Synagogue.
Dinner and lodging at your hotel.
Day 3: The
ministry of Christ in the Galilee
This morning
we 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 he fed the
Five Thousand.
 |
| Jordan River |
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. You will have to try the St. Peter’s
fish for lunch that day. One of today´s highlights is
a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, and a
visit to the ‘Jesus Boat’ - a 2000 year old
boat found on the shores of Magdala.
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 4: 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.
 |
| Basilica of the Transfiguration |
Next we head towards Mount
Tabor, the Mount of the Transfiguration, 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 5: Bethlehem – Ein Karem
This
morning we drive to Bethlehem to visit the place of
our Lord’s birth in the 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.
 |
| Shepherds Cave |
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 6: 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
 |
| 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, 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, where our Blessed Mother fell asleep.
Next we go to the Cenacle, the place of the
Last Supper and Pentecost. Today we also visit the Church
of Saint Peter in Gallicantu, which commemorates 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 7: Jerusalem, The Passion of Jesus´
last hours
Our tour this morning will be
dedicated to the Old City of Jerusalem. We’ll start at the
Western Wall,
 |
| Wailing 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.
Day 8: The wilderness: Bethany - Qumran -
Masada - Dead Sea
 |
| Qumran |
Today we have a rather different experience. We will drive
to nearby Bethany to visit the church and the Tomb
of St. Lazarus. 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 video about the place. 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 9: Jerusalem
– Home
Transfer to the airport, filled
with cherished memories, for your return flight home.
|
| |
