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

Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, you will transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv in time to check-in. Enjoy dinner at the hotel before retiring for the evening.

Following breakfast at your hotel, your group will head to Caesarea, the former capital of Judea. Shortly after the time of Jesus Christ, it was revealed to Peter, in Caesarea, that the Good News (to repent) is not only intended for Jewish people but also, the entire world. This is also the place which officially ended the tradition of adhering to the Jewish ceremonial laws. As a result, Peter baptized a group of gentiles, the Roman Centurion, Cornelius, and his family. Your tour continues as you travel North to Haifa. In Haifa, you will find Stella Maris, a Carmelite Monastery. The monastery is located above the cave where Elijah, the prophet, once lived. A colorful painting of this “wonder-worker” can be found on the ceiling of the Church. Following this visit, your group will depart Stella Maris and enjoy the scenic drive (with view of the bay of Acco) to Nazareth. In Nazareth, you will experience the town where Mary once lived and where Jesus lived as a child (Matthew 2:23). During the visit to Nazareth, your group will visit the Byzantine Church of St. Joseph, to which tradition identifies as the workshop and home of the Holy Family. Also, your group will visit Mary’s Well where the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the Son of God (Luke 1:30-34). Your first day culminates with a transfer to Tiberias, where you will check-in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Your group will begin this day with breakfast at the hotel, followed by a boat ride on the beautiful and scenic Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1). During this ride, your group will also view the remains of a boat that dates back to the time of Jesus. Following the Sea of Galilee, your group will continue on to the Mount of Beatitudes. 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). Also, in Tabgha is St. Peter’s Primacy where Jesus bestowed church leadership upon Peter (John 21:9).Your tour continues as you visit the birthplace of Mary Magdalena, in Magdala. Your day concludes at Capernaum, the launching place of Jesus’ ministry. In Capernaum, your group will have the opportunity to see the Synagogue of where Jesus taught (Mark 1:21-29), and gave His sermon on the Bread of Life. Your group will enjoy dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Drive to the site of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor. At this site, you will have some time to reflect on Christ’s Humanity and Divinity. Your group will also have the opportunity to celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Transfiguration. Travel south to the oldest inhabited city in the world, Jericho, view the exact location, the Mount of Temptation, of where the Devil tempted Jesus during his forty-day fast. Continue to Jesus’ baptismal site on the River Jordan. End your day arriving in Jerusalem, for check-in, dinner and overnight.

Visit a model of the Second Temple, as it was in the time of Jesus. Take a short drive to the village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist. It is known that there are two churches in Ein Karem, both representing the two homes of Zechariah and Elizabeth. In the afternoon, transfer to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. In Bethlehem, view the Shepherd’s Fields. In the caves of these fields, you are still able to see the soot marks of fires that shepherds lit to keep warm. The tour concludes at the Manger Square, which stands in front of the Church of the Nativity. As you enter the Church, you will proceed down to the Grotto of the Nativity, which marks the spot of Our Savior’s birth. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Make your way to the Mount of Olives, where you will be able to take in the beautiful, panoramic view of Jerusalem. Visit the Pater Noster Shrine, where Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster) and Dominus Flevit, commemorating where Jesus wept for Jerusalem. The tour continues on 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. The Garden still contains trees with roots that date back to the time of Jesus. Beside the Garden is your next stop, the Church of All Nations, built over the “Rock of Agony”. This is where Jesus prayed alone on the night of His arrest. From there, head back to the Western Wall, which is the last remnant of the Jewish Temple after it was destroyed in 70 C.E. Visit 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, Peters’ repentance, and Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter. You will also visit the Upper Room on Mt. Zion, where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Last Supper and, where Jesus appeared to His disciples after His Death and Resurrection. Visit the nearby Benedictine Church of the Dormition. Tradition tells us that this Church is where Mary, the Mother of Jesus, “fell asleep.” At the end of this prayerful day, your group will return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Travel down the Jordan Valley to Qumran, made up of 2,000 year old ruins from the days of the Second Temple, and also the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written and discovered. Time and weather permitting, your group will have the opportunity to take a float in the Dead Sea, the lowest and saltiest spot on Earth. Your tour will continue as you travel through the Judean Wilderness, the site where Jesus spent His 40 days of fasting. The day of touring culminates with a transfer to Bethany, the site where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, which foreshadows His own Resurrection. Your group will celebrate Mass and return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.p>

Today is a very early morning wake-up, which will begin the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) at the Antonia Fortress. This is the spot where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. Following His condemnation, He was taken (on the Road to Calvary) to His place of Crucifixion. Here at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the site of Calvary (Jesus’ crucifixion place) and, His tomb. Celebrate Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and then return to the Hotel to enjoy breakfast. Visit to the Church of St. Anne and the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man. This afternoon, your group will enjoy a revisit to the Old City, followed by a Farewell Dinner and overnight.