Join us to explore the Holy Land, a region steeped in history, diversity and local traditions. Explore the many iconic highlights of the region while also experiencing the unique opportunity to connect with families and community members from a broad cross-section of multicultural backgrounds. You'll visit some of the most revered and historically important archaeological and religious sites including, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Wailing Wall,  Sea of Galilee, Dead Sea,  and Megiddo.  Journey behind the scenes and join local families for a meal in their home; enjoy a local cooking class; meet the owner of a small coffee mill; visit with women from a local cooperative that is providing economic freedom for their families, and enjoy local dance performances. Journey with us to this Ancient Land to explore daily life and the many complexities of this beautiful and mysterious region. 

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OPTIONAL EXTENSION: EGYPT

 Program Highlights 

• Explore Tel Aviv, Haifa, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Dead Sea & Jerusalem. 

• Optional post-program extension to Egypt. 

• Many a bucket list includes taking a dip in the Dead Sea, one of the most spectacular natural and spiritual landscapes in the world. 

• Explore Jerusalem including a visit to the Jewish Wailing Wall, a walk along the Via Dolorosa, the Church of Holy Sepulcher, King David’s tomb, the Room of the Last Supper and much more. 

Cultural Exploration 

• Explore Yad Vashem, a memorial to six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. 

• Visit Nazareth Village to see and understand what life was like during the time of the Second Temple. Learn about the way of life in Israel thousands of years ago during the times of Jesus and his disciples. 

• Visit Megiddo which was one of the strongest and most important cities of Canaan. The remains of the palaces, temples, gates, and the sophisticated water system of the city are evidence of its great power. 

Community Focus 

• Gain authentic cultural insight during a home-cooked meals with local families. 

• Visit a family-owned coffee mill called El-Babo; meet the owner and learn about coffee making in the region. 

• Visit Beit Hagefen, an Arab Jewish cultural center. Founded in 1963, their mission is to establish shared spaces that contain the diversity of identities and cultures in Israel and worldwide. 

• Spend time with a local Bedouin woman, who will host you in her tent for a discussion on women in the Bedouin society, neighborly relations, traditions, and  modernization.

· Have time to explore local markets and do a little retail therapy!

Departure gateway tentatively set as Atlanta, GA. Gateway city is subject to change based on flight availability. Birmingham, AL will be explored as a priority as soon as flight schedules are known. Guests can book a land only package and use miles or airline credits to travel to Israel. Nanda Journeys will provide support and guidance on arrival and departure times approx 120-90 days before travel. 

Arrive in Tel Aviv late this afternoon at the Ben Gurion International Airport. Upon arrival, the group will be met and transferred to your Jerusalem hotel. Relax this evening and settle into your hotel.

Harmony Hotel Jerusalem is in the lively Nahalat Shiva district and offers free Wi-Fi. There is a large buffet breakfast and free snacks in the lounge each afternoon. The area has nearby shops, cafés, and bars. Guest rooms have a flat-screen TV and air conditioning.

All travelers will gather this evening with your national guide and receive further information on the program. Enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. . 

Overnight: Harmony Hotel (or similar)
Included meals: Dinner

After breakfast drive to the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of the city. Stop at Mount Zion to visit King David's Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper. Located on the upper floor of the tomb Cenacle (Latin for dining room), it is considered one of the holiest sites for Christianity in Jerusalem and the place where the last supper took place. Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion is known as the location of the passing of Virgin Mary into heaven at the end of her earthly life. It is a massive Benedictine church visible throughout the city. 

Head to Caiphas’ House at Peter in Gallicantu. Here is the site of Jesus' trial by the High Priests and where Peter denied Jesus three times just as Jesus prophesized. On this site is a 2nd Temple staircase that Jesus could have walked down on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane.

After lunch, enter the Old City and walk through the Armenian and Jewish quarters to the recently excavated and restored Cardo, the Roman Road. See the Jewish Wailing Wall (Kotel). The Western Wall is a place of pilgrimage and sacred to the Jewish people as the only remains of the Second Temple.

Continue to the Christian Quarter to walk along the Via Dolorosa to follow in the footsteps of Jesus before his crucifixion. Head onward to tour the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the location of the crucifixion and tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a site of great religious significance and pilgrimage.

Dinner is on your own this evening (own expense).

Overnight: The Harmony Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch 

After breakfast, travel to Ein Karem, the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist and the site of a beautiful Church bearing his name. See the remains of 2,000-year-old agricultural terraces, part of this ancient village. Today this picturesque village is just on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

After lunch on your own, head onward to visit the Church of Nativity and Shepherd’s Fields. The grotto is of great religious significance to Christians as the birthplace of Jesus. It is the oldest site used as a place of worship in the faith and is the oldest major church in the Holy Land. 

This evening you will have dinner with a local family to enjoy delicious homemade Middle Eastern dishes and their warm hospitality.

Overnight: The Harmony Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast & Dinner

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart for the Dead Sea area. Traveling east through the Judean Desert, arrive at the shores of the Dead Sea and descend to the lowest land point on earth at 1388 feet (423m) below sea level.

Continue to Qumran, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls which were first discovered in the caves in 1947 by a Bedouin Sheppard who looked for a lost goat. The scrolls revealed to be the oldest biblical Hebrew scriptures ever found, shedding light on practices and beliefs of ancient Judaism, during the time of Christian origins. 

Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.

Continue to the legendary mountaintop plateau of Masada and ascend by cable car to the ancient fortress. Explore the site with its synagogue and bathhouse. Here, was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their struggle against the Romans.

Enjoy the remainder of the afternoon at leisure to put mud on yourself and to float in the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea. Return to the hotel in Jerusalem and overnight.

Dinner is on your own this evening (own expense).

Overnight: The Harmony Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

After breakfast visit Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center. This memorial is dedicated to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. This incredible museum will walk you through the lives of those lost and those who were left behind who are honoring their memories. End the visit at the very moving exhibit at the Children’s Pavilion, commemorating the death of over 1.5 million Jewish children in the Holocaust.

Lunch is on your own this afternoon with time to explore the “Machaneh Yehuda” market, one of the most charming marketplaces in Israel, where you will feel the special atmosphere of Jerusalem & the preparations for the Sabbath. You will receive a special card that includes 6 Shuk Bites - tastings at various vendors in the market.

Return to the hotel for time to refresh and get ready for dinner and your evening show.

This evening the group will enjoy dinner followed by a night spectacular show at the Tower of David.

Overnight: The Harmony Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast, tasting lunch & dinner

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and drive to visit ancient Shiloh, the site of the Tabernacle and the first capital of the Israelite Kingdom, is one of the most importance heritage sites in Israel, with a history of 3,000 years. The layers of the different historical periods present the story of the region and its people. 

Tour the ancient remains of Beit Shean, founded six millennia ago, mentioned in Scripture in the tragedy of King Saul’s defeat on nearby Mount Gilboa. Some 2,300 years ago it was rebuilt as a Hellenistic city. It rose to greatness under the Romans and the Byzantines but was felled by an earthquake in 749 CE, leaving behind splendid colonnaded streets, a bathhouse, theater, and shrines, reconstructed in the shadow of the biblical tell.

Lunch is on your own.

Visit Megiddo which was one of the strongest and most important cities of Canaan. The remains of the palaces, temples, gates, and the sophisticated water system of the city are evidence of its great power. Megiddo’s strategic location at the crossing of military and trade routes gave the city an importance far beyond its size. For Christians, the word Megiddo is synonymous with the end of the world as mentioned in the Book of Revelation, Megiddo, or Armageddon as it is also known will be the site of the Final Battle.

Drive to Nazareth and check in your hotel where you will enjoy dinner.

Legacy Hotel is in the heart of the city. The hotel has onsite dining, a gym, and free Wi-Fi. They are strategically located just a short walking distance from the famous Basilica of the Annunciation and the lively colorful market.

Overnight: Legacy Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast & Dinner

 After breakfast, visit Capernaum, where a second century synagogue was discovered throwing light on the life of the community of that era. According to the Christian tradition, Jesus served here as a local rabbi and performed miracles. The traditional house of Saint Peter is also located here.

Visit Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus gave his famous Sermon on the Mount. Enjoy a magnificent view of the northern part of Sea of Galilee including Tabgha and Capernaum. Next visit Tabgha - Church of the Multiplication, the traditional site of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the third resurrection appearance of Jesus. 

After time for lunch on your own, visit Bethsaida, Birthplace of the apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip, and where Jesus performed several miracles. It was here that Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fishes and fed the multitude (Luke 9:10-17). When Jesus came to Bethsaida they brought a blind man to him, and Jesus healed him (Mark 8:22). 

Take a boat ride on the calm waters of the Sea of Galilee sail across the same waters that Jesus and his disciples did 2,000 years ago. Return to your hotel to freshen up.

This evening, have dinner with a local family and enjoy delicious homemade Middle Eastern dishes and their warm hospitality.

Overnight: Legacy Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast & Dinner

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and explore Nazareth, the cradle of Christianity, the city where according to tradition, the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the place where Jesus spent his childhood and youth.

Stop at an old and special coffee mill owned by one of the local families, named El-Babor, meet the owner and hear from him about the process of making the best cup of freshly ground coffee.

Stop at Nazareth Village to see and understand what life was like during the time of the Second Temple. Learn about the way of life in Israel thousands of years ago during the times of Jesus and his disciples.

Stop at Kfar Cana to visit the Church of the Wedding where Jesus turned water into wine.

Proceed to Wadi Nisnas, a unique Arab neighborhood, known locally for its delicious culinary delights. Enjoy lunch at one of the restaurants in the area, at the footsteps of the spectacular Bahai Gardens.

Head to Haifa and visit Beit Hagefen, an Arab Jewish cultural center. Founded in 1963, their mission is to establish shared spaces that contain the diversity of identities and cultures in Israel and worldwide.

Head to Tel Aviv this evening to check into your hotel with dinner on your own.

Tal Hotel by the Beach is just a minute's walk from Tel Aviv's Metzizim Beach. The hotel has a gym, sauna, gym, and free Wi-Fi.

Overnight: Tal Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

After breakfast, drive to the Negev Desert and visit Mitzpeh Ramon, the world’s largest natural crater. Stop at the Visitor’s Center, which offers an experience combining the life story of the Israeli astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon, while enabling visitors to become familiar with the largest makhtesh in the world and its unique natural phenomena.

Head to the impressive remains of the ancient Nabatean city of Avdat, located on the hilltop above the Tsin Stream watercourse.

Drive to the city of Yerocham, where Salima Sagaira, a local Bedouin woman, will host you in her tent for a discussion on women in the Bedouin society, neighborly relations, traditions, and modernization (traditional Bedouin tea and light food tastings will be served during your visit).

Visit Shivta National Park, which showcases the impressive remains of a Byzantine city that existed in the heart of a desert area with no natural water sources. The splendid churches, streets and homes are astonishing even today.

This evening the group will enjoy a special farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight: Tal Hotel (or similar)

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After breakfast say farewell to Israel and fly back to the U.S., with arrival the same day.

Egyptian civilization spans 5,000+ years of recorded history. For millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Cairo has long been the hub not only for Egypt but also for the whole world. It seems never to lose its sense of history—only to add it to it—and still boasts 12th-century fortifications alongside modern shopping malls. Camels and street bazaars add texture to this center for government and education. Enjoy a 3-day excursion to Egypt to explore the Sinai Peninsula and ancient sites of Cairo. Cross a few bucket list items off with a tour of the amazing Giza Pyramid Complex and old Egyptian Museum. Plus, you will get to explore St. Catherine’s Monastery and watch the sun rise at Mount Sinai.
 

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DAY 1: MAY 14, 2023 

Head to the Egypt After breakfast, check out of your hotel and transfer to the airport for your domestic flight to Eilat. Upon arrival you will be transferred to the Taba border to cross into Egypt, where a local representative will collect you to connect you with your guide & driver. Head to St. CatherineS and check into your hotel. Dinner will be provided at the Monastery guest house. 

DAY 2: MAY 15, 2023 Mount Sinai 

This morning you have an opportunity to ascent Mount Sinai to watch the sun rise, a truly unique and spectacular moment to see. This is optional for those interested in getting up early for this activity. We highly recommend that you do! After breakfast back at the hotel, check out and head to the Monastery of St. Catherine. This Greek Orthodox monastery in Mount Sinai is located at the very place where God was said to have appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush, beneath the Mount of the Decalogue. It is at this site that the holy relics of Saint Catherine are enshrined. This is reportedly the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery in the world, tracing back over seventeen centuries. After a chance to stop for lunch on your own arrangement, depart for the road trip to Cairo. Although a long drive your guide will make sure to make rest stops for your comfort. It is a stunning way to see this part of the country outside the touristy center, see the countryside and observe the local way of living. Dinner will be provided at the Movenpick Media City. 

DAY 3: MAY 16, 2023 Cairo 

After breakfast at the hotel head out for a full day of explorations. Start first with a visit to the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, an archaeological site on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of the city. This complex of ancient monuments includes the three pyramid complexes known as the Great Pyramids, the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers' village, and an industrial complex. Next visit the old Egyptian Museum in Cairo which is the first and most important in the world. It contains the world's most extensive collection of Pharaonic antiquities. You will have time to stop for lunch this afternoon (own expense). Continue to Coptic Cairo, where we will visit the famous Suspended Church (Hanging Church), dating to the late 4th and early 5th century. This basilica was named "Al-Mu'allaqah" because it was built atop the south gate of the Fortress of Babylon. Continue to the Church of St. Sergius, a 5th century Coptic Church. This basilica is built on the cave in which the Holy Family stayed and is regarded by visitors as a source of blessing. Wrap up your tour with a dinner cruise on the Nile River. 

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