Itinerary:
SUNDAY: TEL AVIV
Arrive Tel Aviv, transfer to hotel.
Overnight: Tel Aviv.
MONDAY: TEL AVIV - BEERSHEBA - MASADA - DEAD SEA - JERUSALEM
Depart Tel Aviv and travel to Beersheba for a short visit to the Negev capital. Continue via Arad to Masada. Ascend (by cable car) the Fortress, which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod’s Palaces, the Synagogue and Bathhouse. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Enjoy a swim in the salty waters of the Dead Sea (time permitting). Proceed to Jerusalem.
Overnight: Jerusalem. (B)
TUESDAY: JERUSALEM
Drive to Mt. Scopus for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. Visit the Garden of Gethsemane, Church of the Agony, Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea scrolls and the beautifully renovated Model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem dating back to the time of the Second Temple (2000 years ago). Travel to Yad Vashem, the memorial to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. Continue to the Hadassah Medical Centre for a short visit to the synagogue with Marc Chagall’s stained-glass windows. See Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist.
Overnight: Jerusalem. (B)
WEDNESDAY: JERUSALEM – BETHLEHEM - JERUSALEM
Walk through one of the gates to the Old City; see the renewed Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall, the Temple area and colourful bazaars. Drive to Mt. Zion and visit the tomb of King David, the Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey. Walk through the Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Continue to Bethlehem** and visit Rachel’s Tomb and the Church of the Nativity.
Overnight: Jerusalem. (B)
THURSDAY: JERUSALEM - BEIT SHEAN - TIBERIAS - GALILEE
Depart Jerusalem and travel north via Jericho** and the Jordan Valley to Beit Shean. Visit the excavations of this beautifully preserved Roman city. Continue to Tiberias, the old center of Jewish learning. Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum and visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue.
Overnight: Galilee. (B)
FRIDAY: GOLAN HEIGHTS - UPPER GALILEE - SAFED – NAZARETH - GALILEE
Drive to the Golan Heights. Visit the former Syrian fortifications and a Druze village. Continue to Banias, source of the Jordan River. Travel via the Hula Valley to Safed, city of the Kabala and visit a synagogue and the artists’ colony. Proceed to Nazareth and visit the Christian holy sites.
Overnight: Galilee. (B)
SATURDAY: GALILEE - ACRE - HAIFA – CAESAREA - TEL AVIV
Travel west to Acre and visit of the famous old Crusader stronghold and medieval fortifications. Continue to Haifa and see the Bahai Shrine and Persian Garden. Enjoy the panoramic view of the city and the bay from Mount Carmel. Travel along the coast to Caesarea and visit the Roman Theater and the Crusader fortress. End the day with a short city tour of Tel Aviv and Jaffa.
Overnight: Tel Aviv. (B)
SUNDAY: TEL AVIV
Departure transfer to Tel Aviv Airport. (B)
* Highlights of Israel can also start on a Thursday, parts of the Thursday itinerary differs from the one described above. Contact us for details.
**Bethlehem and Jericho are within the control of the Palestinian Authority and visits are subject to possible restrictions.
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