USA, EN ROUTE TO EUROPE

Join your fellow travelers for the journey of a Lifetime!  It all begins with our non-stop flight to Europe, connecting on to Tel Aviv.  A great dinner and breakfast are served aloft according to the airline schedule.

ARRIVE TEL  AVIV, TIBERIAS  

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv we are met by our agent who assists us through customs and security.  We then motorcoach for Tiberias, where we will have dinner and overnight at our hotel right on the beautiful Sea of Galilee.

GALILEE, CAPERNAUM, MT. OF BEATITUDES, BOAT RIDE ,JORDAN RIVER  

There is nothing quite like watching a sunrise on the Sea of Galilee from your hotel room or from a boat.  Today will include many biblical sites along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and in the Upper Jordan Valley: e.g. Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Church of Peter of Primacy, Magdala, view Mt. Hermon, Tiberias.

We will board a replica wooden “Jesus Boat “, as we sail on the Sea of Galilee, We will include a visit to the Jesus Boat Museum.  Optional:  Baptism in the Jordan River.

Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.

GOLAN HEIGHTS, CAESAREA PHILIPPI, TEL DAN, GIDEON SPRINGS, BEIT SHEAN, GALILEE

After breakfast, we travel north to the Golan Heights for a beautiful view of northern Israel’s landscape. Then we head to Caesarea Philippi where Peter confessed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. We embark on a short hike to Tel Dan to see the altar of Jeroboam before heading to Gideon Springs. Next, we visit Beit Shean, one of the best preserved Decapolis Roman cities. This is where King Saul and his sons’ bodies were hung from the city walls after being defeated by the Philistines.

We return to our hotel in Tiberius for dinner and overnight.

TIBERIAS, CANA,NAZARETH,MEGIDDO, CAESAREA MARITIMA, JERUSALEM      

Early morning start.  Today we go up to Jerusalem.  The highway we take will include many of the following biblical sites: Cana, Nazareth, Megiddo, Caesarea, and on to

Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

JERUSALEM, MT. OF OLIVES, TEMPLE MOUNT, SOUTHERN STEPS, BETHLEHEM   

We begin our explorations with a drive to the beautiful Mt. of Olives to behold the breath-taking panorama of the Holy City.  Our pilgrimage will proceed to the Church of Ascension, descend to Gethsemane with its ancient olive grove, and there visit the Church of Agony, where tradition holds that Jesus prayed.  We will enter Jerusalem through the Dung Gate, a short walk takes us to stand on the original steps that Jesus walked on as he entered the Temple area, then walk to the holiest site in the whole Jewish world, the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) of Herod’s temple.  Beyond the wall lies the 35 acre temple area purchased by King David.  On this site now stands the magnificent Dome of the Rock (the third holiest shrine in all Islam) and the El-Aksa Mosque.  From the temple area, we make our way to St. Stephen’s Gate, St. Anne’s Crusader Church, and then onto the Pools of Bethesda.  This afternoon we will pass by Rachel’s Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem, and visit the Church of the Nativity and Shepherd’s Field.

Dinner &Overnight Jerusalem.

QUMRAN, EIN GEDI, MASADA, JERICHO, JERUSALEM     

This morning we depart Jerusalem via motorcoach and we will descend down to the Dead Sea and the wilderness of Judah.  Our first stop will be Qumran and the possible settlement of the first century sect known as the Essenes, the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Following the road south along the western shore of the Dead Sea, we will stop at Ein Gedi where David hid from King Saul, and everyone will have an opportunity to put her/his foot in the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on the earth.  Continuing south, the next stop is Masada, where we will ascend high upon the wilderness mountain by way of the cable car to the fortress built by King Herod.  Here we survey the ruins of the fortifications, waterworks, synagogues, temples and palaces.  From here we continue into Jericho for a short visit – conditions permitting.  The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is an ascent of 4000 feet in 13 miles.

Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

YAD VASHEM, ISRAEL MUSEUM, GARDEN TOMB     

We begin the day by driving to Ein Karem village, the birthplace of John the Baptist, to see the Church of Visitation, and then go to Yad Vashem and spend time touring The Holocaust Memorial.  From there we will go to the Israel Museum, including the Bronfman Archaeological Museum and the Shrine of the Book Museum, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed.  Late in the afternoon, we will visit the Garden Tomb with an optional communion service.

TEL AVIV, MUNICH, OBERAMMERGAU     

After breakfast at our hotel, we drive to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport for our non-stop flight to Munich.