Peter said, “Teacher, where do you live? Come and see” John 1:39  

Welcome to the Holy Land! here you will see the place where it all happened and you will experience firsthand the sites where Jesus lived and conducted his ministry, as well as you will follow the road he traveled during his final days on earth.  Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, you will be met by your catholic guide and transferred to your accommodations in Tel Aviv/Netanya for dinner and restful overnight before we begin the thrilling journey of following in the footsteps of Jesus in the next day.   (D)

Metropolitan Hotel or Similar in Tiberias

“He will be called a Nazarene.” Matthew 2:23

Breakfast & check out. We make our way to the site of the Transfiguration at Mt. Tabor. Proceed to Nazareth the hometown of Jesus, where we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation for Mass, then continue to the Church of St Joseph built over the carpentry workshop of St Joseph. We visit Mary’s Well a spring is in the center of downtown Nazareth. According to a tradition, this was the place where angel Gabriel announced to Virgin Mary that she will give birth to the son of God. “And she took the pitcher and went out to fill it with water…”. Finally, we make our way to Cana, site of Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding feast; here we invite couples to renew their wedding vows.  We return to our hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)

Ron Beach hotel or Similar

“Jesus left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea” Matt 4:13.

This morning we begin with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. We prayer and sing along as we sail the peaceful waters of the Sea of Galilee. At a nearby museum, we will visit a replica of a fishing boat from the time of Christ. Our visit continues to the Mt. of Beatitudes to gain a panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee. The bible teaches that Jesus climbs a hill near En Tabgha and teaches how to be blessed by God the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. From there we will visit Capernaum where Jesus began his Galilean ministry, visiting the synagogue which dates to the time of Jesus and the site of Peter’s home. We will visit Tabgha where it is believed that Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 and the nearby Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter commemorating Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter as chief apostle. Here we see the altar built upon a cliff known in Latin as Mensa Christi, the Table of Christ, where the resurrected Jesus prepared bread and fishes over a fire for his disciples. we return to our hotel for dinner and overnight (B, L, D)

Ron Beach hotel or Similar

Breakfast and check out.. Travel along the fertile Jordan Valley where Jesus walked with His disciples, we stop at first at the baptismal site on the banks of the Jordan River- Qasr al-Yahud- the traditional baptism spot on the Jordan River. Here we renew our baptismal vows. Thereafter we arrive in Jericho, being the normal route from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through it several times. We will see the traditional sycamore tree of Zacchaeus & view Mt. Temptation. We will have an opportunity to “float” in the salty Dead Sea water.

Then we drive to Jerusalem, the Holy City! Check in, dinner and overnight in Jerusalem (B, L, D)

Grand Court Hotel or Similar

“Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” Luke 2:12

Breakfast, we drive to The Shepherd’s Fields the location where the Shepherds sited the Star of Nativity before venturing to visit Jesus then we continue the oldest churches in the world, where it all began, The Church of The Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus. A huge church with a long history of religious significance, you will be able to see the various chapels of the Catholic, Armenian and Greek Orthodox Christians. We will visit the caves and the Grotto of the Manger. A short distance south of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is a shrine called the Milk Grotto, on a street of the same name. According to tradition, while Mary and Joseph were fleeing Herod’s soldiers on their way to Egypt, they stopped in this cave while Mary nursed the baby Jesus. A drop of Mary’s milk fell upon the stone and it turned white. back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)

Grand Court Hotel or Similar

“Stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:36-39).

We begin this day with a ride the Mt. of Olives, a prominent site in the life of Jesus.  Here Jesus taught his pupils, and where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and where Jesus says “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” (Matthew 26:36-39). We gain a panoramic view of the old City of Jerusalem from the top of the mountain and visit the place of the Ascension, Pater Noster (commemorating the “Our Father”), Dominus Flevit, (where Jesus wept over Jerusalem). At the foot of the mountain, stands the Church of All Nations in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

We enjoy lunch then we visit Mt Zion, also called Sion, in Old Testament.  Several important events in the early Christian Church have taken place on Mount Zion.  We visit the Upper Room commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples, and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. We continue onto the Church of the Dormition of Our Lady The location is identified in Christian tradition as the place where the Virgin Mary died — or “fell asleep.” Finally, we visit the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, (Latin for ‘cockcrow’) The church is located on the site of the house of the Jewish high priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was taken after His arrest. It was there in the courtyard that Apostle Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, as Jesus predicted. The church is contemporary and has beautiful stained glass and murals depicting Peter’s denial, his immediate repentance, and his later reconciliation with Jesus after the Resurrection. back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)

Grand Court Hotel or Similar

“Behold the Man!” John 19:5

Breakfast.  We Enter the Old City of Jerusalem through St. Stephen’s Gate to visit the Crusader Church of St. Anne, the best-preserved Crusader church in Jerusalem, marking the traditional site of the home of Jesus’ maternal grandparents, Anne and Joachim, and the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. We observe the nearby The Ecco Homo (“Behold the Man”) Arch, located at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa. Tradition holds that this was where Pilate pronounced judgment on Jesus. Then we gather at the Antonia Palace to walk the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross or the Way of Suffering, where nearly 2000 years ago Jesus of Nazareth carried his cross to his crucifixion.  We conclude the Via Dolorosa at the site of Calvary for Mass at the Crusader’s Chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We take a moment here to reflect about the sorrows of Jesus and to repent our own sins. And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” We enjoy a guided tour of the Holy Sepulcher and the Empty Tomb. 

After lunch, we can have some free time in the Old City of Jerusalem and its colorful bazars. For those who which can return to the church of the Holy Sepulcher for more time inside the church. 

back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)

Grand Court Hotel or Similar

The village of Emmaus was the setting for one of the most touching of Christ’s post-Resurrection appearances. Today we hike The Emmaus Trail a newly inaugurated hiking path and one of the prettiest, least traveled routes in the Judean Hills, The Emmaus Trail starts from the midpoint between Jerusalem and Emmaus, near the village of Abu Ghosh, cutting the total distance to a more manageable 18 kilometers (11 miles).  The final stop on the tour is the monastery of Emmaus Nicopolis. Back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)

Grand Court Hotel or Similar