ITINERARY

Day 1. Tuesday, April 7: Transatlantic Flight

Take your transatlantic flight to Tel Aviv.

Day 2. Wednesday, April 8: Arrival in Tel Aviv – Transfer to Tiberias

Upon arrival into Tel Aviv, board your private motor-coach and head to Tiberias for dinner and overnight. Time permitting, visit Caesarea Maritima, where St. Peter converted the Centurion Cornelius, the first pagan to become a Christian, and where St. Paul was imprisoned before his trial in Rome; also visit the Crusader walled city and Roman ruins. (WD)

Day 3. Thursday, April 9: Cana – Stella Maris – Nazareth

This morning journey to Cana were Our Lord performed his first miracle transforming water into wine. Visit the church that commemorates this miracle. Married couples will have the opportunity to renew their wedding vows. Continue to visit Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery, built in an area that for centuries was frequented by hermits, and where the Carmelite Order was founded. Below the monastery is Elias’ Cave, where the prophet lived. Continue to visit the Carmelite Monastery of St. Elias, where this holy prophet triumphed over the false prophets of Baal.  Enjoy a panoramic view of the bay of Acco. After lunch, travel to Nazareth, where Our Lord spent much of His life. Visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, which incorporates the site where the Blessed Virgin Mary received the news from the Archangel St. Gabriel that she would give birth to Christ Jesus. In the same compound, visit the Church of St. Joseph’s Carpentry that contains ruins dating to the 1st century, and is revered as the original workshop of St. Joseph and home of the Holy Family. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias (BB, L, D)

Day 4. Friday, April 10: Tiberias: Sea of Galilee – Mount of Beatitudes – Tabgha - Primacy of St. Peter – Capharnaum – Magdala

Begin your day with a boat ride through the Sea of Galilee, followed by the visit to the Ancient Boat Museum that houses a 2000-year-old fishing boat found buried in mud on the shores of Galilee. Visit the Mount of Beatitudes, the scene of Our Lord’s great Sermon on the Mount. Then, visit the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes to commemorate the miracle. Continue to the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, where Our Lord appeared to the Apostles after His Resurrection. Continue to Capharnaum to visit the church built over the ruins of St. Peter’s house and the synagogue where Our Lord used to preach. See the Valley of Doves; this valley is the route Jesus Christ would have taken from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. Finally, visit the fishing village of Magdala, where St. Mary Magdalene lived. Here in 2009, a chance discovery revealed a 1st-century synagogue, where Our Lord likely preached during His ministry. For lunch, enjoy the famous St. Peter’s Fish at a local restaurant. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.  (BB, L, D)

Day 5. Saturday, April 11: Mount Tabor – Jericho – Jordan River “Bet Arabah” – Bethlehem

Start this morning with a visit Mount Tabor the site of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, during which He began to radiate light and was seen conversing with Moses and Elias. Continue to the Jordan river to the site considered the place where St. John the Baptist baptized Our Lord. Then, head to Jericho, one of the world’s oldest cities for a distant view of the Mount of Temptation, traditionally regarded as the mountain on which Our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil during His 40-day fast. It is in Jericho that Our Lord healed Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, and dined with Zacchaeus, the rich tax collector. See a sycamore tree like the one Zacchaeus climbed to have a look at Our Lord. In the afternoon, continue to Bethlehem for dinner and overnight. (BB, L, D)

Day 6. Sunday, April 12: Ein Karem – Shepherds’ Field – Bethlehem

Today, head to Ein Karem to visit St. John the Baptist Church, built above the house where the saint was born. Inside, to the left of the main altar, one can see a small cave considered the place of his birth. Up on a hill, visit the Church of the Visitation, where the meeting between St. Elizabeth and Our Lady took place. The present Church of the Visitation incorporates a natural grotto that once contained a small spring. Continue to  Shepherds’ Field, the traditional place of the angel’s visit to the shepherds. Here, the Gospel of St. Luke tells us, an angel announced the birth of Jesus. After lunch on your own and time for souvenir shopping in Bethlehem, visit the Church of the Nativity, whose focal point is the Grotto that marks the place where Our Lord was born. Adjacent to the church is the Church of St. Catherine, that connects to the crypt that includes the Cave of St. Jerome, where traditionally he translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate); St. Joseph’s Chapel, recalling the dream in which an angel warned St. Joseph to take the Holy Family to Egypt; and the Chapel of the Holy Innocents, commemorating the children massacred by Herod. Outside the complex is the Milk Grotto, a small and peaceful chapel. Tradition has it that when escaping to Egypt, the Blessed Virgin Mary was nursing the Baby Jesus, and a few drops of milk spilled to the ground turning the rocks white. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem. (BB, D)

Day 7. Monday, April 13: Bethany – Qumran – Dead Sea – Jerusalem

Today’s sightseeing begins with the village of Bethany, where Our Lord often received hospitality in the house of His friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Around the complex is the narrow, deep entrance to Lazarus’ Tomb. Next, visit the Qumran Museum located on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea at the settlement nearest to the hiding place of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves of the sheer desert cliffs. The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include some of the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 AD. Continue for an opportunity to wade in the Dead Sea. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (BB, D)

Day 8. Tuesday, April 14: Excursion to Masada

Today visit Masada, the fortress built by King Herod the Great and made famous by the Zealots in 73/74 AD with the standoff against the Romans. We visit the fortress and see the ruins that are considered a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem (BB, D)

Day 9. Wednesday, April 15: Jerusalem: Mount of Olives – Gethsemane – Mount Zion – Western Wall

Today head to the Mount of Olives for a beautiful panoramic view of Jerusalem. Visit the Chapel of the Ascension and the Church of Pater Noster, where Our Lord taught His disciples how to pray. On to the Church of Dominus Flevit, where Our Lord wept over the city of Jerusalem. Continue to the Garden of Gethsemani and the Church of All Nations, officially named the Basilica of the Agony, built over the rock on which Our Lord prayed the night before He was crucified. Continue along the Kidron Valley to Mount Zion to visit the Church of St. Peter of Gallicanctu, where St. Peter denied Our Lord, and to the Palace of Caiaphas, where Our Lord was imprisoned. Afterwards, visit the Church of the Dormition, where tradition reveals that the Mother of God was laid in a tomb before her body was assumed into heaven. Next, see the Last Supper Room, where Our Lord shared the Last Supper with His Apostles. In the afternoon, walk into the Old City of Jerusalem, pass by the Armenian Quarter into the Jewish Quarter, where we will see the Roman Cardo, King Hezekiah broad wall that leads Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount and Judaism holiest site. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (BB, D)

Day 10. Thursday, April 16: Jerusalem: Via Dolorosa – Holy Sepulcher – St. Anne’s Church – Pool of Bethesda – Flagellation Church – Ecce Homo Church

Early this morning, carry the cross and follow the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross, and end at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Then, enjoy an in-depth tour of this church, including a visit to the tomb of our forefather Adam and the tombs of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, as well as a tour of the Holy Sepulcher chapels. After breakfast, visit the Church of St. Anne, erected over the traditional site of the birthplace of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Continue to the Pool of Bethesda excavations, identified as the scene of the healing of the paralytic. Afterwards, visit the Flagellation Church that enshrines the spot where Our Lord was flogged, and, the Ecce Homo Church (include entrance to the underground), commemorating the place where Pontius Pilate presented Our Lord to the hostile Jewish crowd. In the afternoon, we will have time to revisit the old city of Jerusalem. Rest of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (BB, D)

Day 11. Friday, April 17: Jerusalem

Today enjoy a free day in Jerusalem. Tonight, share a farewell dinner with your travel companions. (BB, FD)

Day 12. Saturday, April 18: Homebound Flight

Very early transfer to the airport for your flight home. (Boxed breakfast)