On board international flight to Israel.

Upon arrival, meet and greet then transfer to hotel (transfer is not included if you booked the land only package).

Remarks before tour starts:

1. 1. Conservative dress is recommended especially entering into the religious venues. No shorts or short skirts for ladies and bare shoulders are better to be covered. Men are encouraged to choose the long pants. At the King David’s Tomb, Temple Mount and Western Wall, guests are required to have heads covered by hat or scarf.
2. 2. Most hotels and restaurants provide kosher foods with no pork or shellfish.
   
3. 3. Shabbat starts on every Friday after sunset and ends on Saturday evening. Offices, public transportation (except for taxi), private businesses are closed (i.e., stores and restaurants) and reopen after the Shabbat.

Tel Aviv-Yafo is the second largest city in Israel and used to be the first capital after the country was founded in 1948. Old Jaffa section is one of the oldest cities in the world with 4000 years of history where early European pilgrims disembarked from their sea vessel and embarked on camel caravan here to continue their journey to Jerusalem. Walk through old alleyways paved by stone slabs from ancient time to absorb the ancient Greek, Turkish and Roman atmosphere. Afterwards, take the bus and drive by the UNESCO  listed White City, a unique area with over 4000 buildings in Bauhaus style. Keep driving to Caesarea, a thriving coastal town built by Herod the Great in memory of the first Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. In the 11th century AD, the Crusaders came and destroyed the City of Caesarea Maritima. The ruins now are protected in a national park where marble pillars, seaside theatre and mosaic flooring still reveal the city’s past splendor and glory. A brief visit to the Crusaders Castle before busing to Nazareth, the home town of Mary and the biggest Arab city in the country. Explore the Church of Annunciation standing over the caved home of Mary and learn how the archangel Gabriel told the 14-year-old Mary that she would be mother of the son of God. You are also scheduled to stop at Cana to see the Wedding Church where Jesus turned water into wine as his first miracle. Head to Haifa, the third largest city all over Israel and on the way, spend some time in the UNESCO  listed old town, Acre. Being one of the oldest cities in the world, Acre has a history of over 5000 years with a mixed flavor of different cultures. There is a huge underground city full of Crusader remains still buried underneath intact.

Dinner 

Check in the hotel in Haifa and rest up.

Haifa is the major seaport of the country, also home to the iconic Bahai World Center, which is the UNESCO  site. Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the whole complex of so called Bahai Gardens is a 0.6mi/1km long, 738ft/225m high construction on 19 terraces. On the top stands the Shrine of Bab crowned with a shinning golden dome overlooking the vast Mediterranean Sea. At the bottom is the Protestant German Colony, all depicting the fact that tolerance and harmony are the cultural norm in the country. Continue our journey to the Sea of Galilee, rich in Biblical history and also the second home town of Jesus. Adjacent to the Golan Heights, the Sea of Galilee is the lowest fresh water lake on earth. Jump aboard a cruise and enjoy the tranquil boat ride once we arrive at Galilee region. Back on land, enter the Yigal Allon Museum to immerse yourself in the story of a remarkably preserved wooden fishing boat from about 2000 years ago. Ascend to the top of Mountain of Beatitudes and step inside Church of the Beatitudes near Capernaum area where Jesus delivered his sermon and recruited his disciples. The day continues with a venture to Tabgha Church of Loaves and Fish and view the restored 5th-century mosaic floor pattern designed with five pieces of bread and two fish in the center which was the miraculous meal feeding 5000 followers by Jesus. Next to the Church of Multiplication is the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter where Jesus reinstated Peter as the chief Apostle. The last highlight today is to pay a visit to Yardenit, a baptism site situated on the banks of the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and this spot has been frequented by Christian pilgrims ever since.

Dinner 

Overnight in Tiberias.

Begin your day with a scenic bus ride southward to the sought-after and magnificent Jerusalem. En route, make a call at Beit She’an, an archeological excavation site of an old Roman town situated at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley where amphitheater, bath house, pillars, mosaic decoration and temple survived from an severe earthquake in 749 AD are still erecting in good shape. Discover the nearby unusual Zodiac-motif mosaics of Beit Alpha, a Byzantine synagogue in Polish style. A quick photo stop at the striking 1500-year-old St. George Monastery, still inhabited by monks and built into the side of a cliff.  Move forward to Bethlehem behind the Israeli Barrier, the birth place of Jesus and also a hustle and bustle Arabian town in the central West Bank, Palestine. Walk around at Manger Square and enter into the Church of the Nativity. This famed UNESCO  listed church is by far the oldest Christian church in the world built in 326 AD over the grotto believed to be the birthplace of Jesus with a Silver Star marking the exact spot where Christ was born. This Holy Land attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims to come over for praying, worshipping and commemorating.

Check in the hotel in Jerusalem and rest up.

If you are so eager to experience the charming Jerusalem in the evening with a different look and savor authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, come and join us for an optional night excursion.

 Optional Tour: Appreciate the Night Spectacular at Tower of David and try an Israel flavor dinner at U$99/person

Jerusalem, “a city closest to God”, is a 5000 year old holy city for the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Old Town section is the UNESCO  Cultural Heritage Site.

“Ten measures of beauty were bestowed upon the world; nine were taken by Jerusalem and one by the rest of the world”

Depart for a journey to delve into this fascinating city by climbing up to the top of Mount of Olives, one of the two holy mountains. Standing at the observation platform will enable you to admire the postcard city skyline with Dome of the Rock and Aqsa Mosque. Snap a panoramic view of the whole city and learn the beauty of this ancient town before following the Palm Route and Swinging by Dominus Flevit, built in the shape of a tear drop since Jesus was moved to tears when seeing the stunning Second Temple from this location and knowing the temple would be destructed later. Inspect the multi-national symbols in the Church of All Nations, a Byzantine style structure sponsored by 12 countries. The rock in the middle of the church was where Jesus knelt down and prayed before he was arrested. There are eight 2000-year-old olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane right in front of the church who witnessed what had happened to Jesus. Proceed to the Temple Mount and of course the Western Wall, also called “Wailing Wall”, a piece of 164ft/50m long, 59ft/18m high wall that has inspired and enlightened the Jews around the globe for 2000 years. As one remaining section of the retaining wall outside of the Second Temple, this is where people make wishes and believe the good wills are going to be fulfilled. Head to Via Dolorosa and retrace the steps of Jesus on 14 stations of the Cross ending at Holy Sepulchre Church. Considered to be the most holy place by Christianity, this site was where Jesus spent his last hours and eventfully was buried. Pilgrims, believers and visitors have been coming from across the globe and lining up to pay respect to the Stone of Anointing and Edicule for 1700 years.

Wonder around at Jewish Quarter and Muslim Bazzar and see how people live together harmoniously and peacefully in this legendary city before we head back to the hotel.

Dinner 

Overnight stay in Jerusalem.

After breakfast, start off the day with an educational trip to Israel Museum, the largest and most sophisticated art and archaeology museum nationwide and one of the leading ones worldwide. Among the collections, the valuable Dead Sea Scrolls are eye-catching as these are the oldest Biblical manuscripts in the world found in caves near the Dead Sea by accident in the year of 1947. A quick photo stop for the Big Menorah in front of the Knesset followed by a visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum, a world-famous place established in memory of the Jewish victims during World War II.

Drive back from the new district and walk up on the Mount Zion, the other holy mountain in town. Drop by two renowned sites close to each other, Cenacle, the site of the Last Supper of Jesus together with his 12 disciples, and King David’s Tomb. David was the 2nd emperor of Israel Kingdom and also a poet and a musician. His exceptional capability to unify the country and handsome figure have earned fame for him far and wide. Continue to the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu where Jesus was detained and Peter came to inquire information but denied his relationship with Jesus three times. Do not miss out the exquisite mosaic mural paintings and the intricately carved statue of reclining Mary made from ivory and walnut wood in the Church Monastery of the Dormition. Your last highlight today is strolling in the century-old Mahane Yehuda Market which is a big, covered, busy and noisy marketplace featuring food, drinks, daily necessities, garments, house wares and gifts for locals and tourists.

Dinner 

Overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Today is free for you to plan your sightseeing or shopping in Jerusalem on your own or join us for a day trip of “Never let Masada fall” by the Dead Sea with cable car ride and lunch included.

 Optional Tour: Epic Masada by Dead Sea excursion with lunch at U$109/person

Hop on our bus and drive to the southern Judean Desert where the UNESCO World Heritage Site Masada is located atop a massive and flat plateau, a perfect lookout over the Dead Sea. First constructed as the Roman style summer palace for King Herod in about 30 BC, the strategically located complex was conquered and converted by Jewish zealots to be their last stronghold in 68 AD during the Great Revolt against Roman regime. In 73 AD, the Romans besieged the hilltop and broke through the defenses and right before they took over the garrison, 960 Jewish rebels living in the camp chose to kill themselves rather than fall into the hands of the Romans alive. The determination and martyrdom of these heroic patriots in the face of powerful invaders have touched and encouraged Jewish descendant generations by generations until today.

Take the cable car up and reach the high, rocky mesa about 1476ft/450m above and marvel at the ruins of this age-old fortress which was untouched for 1300 years and rediscovered in 1828. You can still see the remains of some surrounding Roman camps, siegeworks and a ramp on a slope of the western side made of earth and wooden supporters for attacking the fort. The northern palace set on three rock terraces with opulent architectural design as well as the bath house decorated with colorful mosaic flooring, precious murals, wall embossments are the most impressive archeological relics. Storage rooms, watch towers, synagogue, rainwater collecting device, theater and even tomb stones are all well preserved.

Embark on our bus to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on land of the earth and also one of the saltiest lakes on the planet.  The unique lake is 1390ft/424m below the sea level and the salinity content of water here is about averagely 8.7 times higher than that of ocean.Travel to the site of Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were first found by a sheepherder.

Dinner 

Overnight stay in Jerusalem.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and board the flight back to your home (transfer is not included if you booked the land only package).

*Please note: Depending on the air scheduling and availability, your flight back to USA/Canada may depart in very early morning the next day (00:00 am-03: 00 am).

For your final day, you may explore the city on your own and transfer to the airport in the evening. Hotel check-out is before noontime. (Late check-out may be available for a fee subject to the hotel policy).