Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel and meet and assist.

Transfer from the airport to the city of Netanya for dinner and overnight stay.

Up the Coast We begin our pilgrimage with the amazing excavation of Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea. King Herod built this grand Roman city between 22 and 10 bce. and the remains of a beautiful theater, hippodrome, and man-made harbor are still there to see. In Acts chapters 24–26, Caesarea is the place where St. Paul, after his arrest, argued his defense before Felix, Festus, and King Agrippa. You will head north to Haifa, and then drive to the top of Mount Carmel where Elijah contended against the priests of Baal .

Next, you are on to Nazareth, the hometown of Mary and Joseph and the beautiful Basilica of the Annunciation. It is here we believe “the Word became flesh” when Gabriel announced the miraculous birth. The last stop is Cana of Galilee, the site of Jesus’s first miracle of turning water into wine.

Tiberias/ Nazareth for dinner and overnight stay.

Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Next, you visit Capernaum, the hometown of brothers Peter and Andrew, James and John. Jesus also lived in Capernaum after leaving Nazareth and taught in the Capernaum synagogue . You will proceed to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered his famous Sermon on the Mount, and then to nearby Tabgha, the site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Lastly, we will drive north to Caesarea Philippi (now called Banias), the source of the Jordan River and the place where St. Peter declared Jesus to be “The Christ, the Son of the living God” in Matthew .
Tiberias/ Nazareth for dinner and overnight stay.

Will start the day at the Jordan river where you will renew your baptismal vows, and then visit Mt. Tabor, the site of Jesus’s transfiguration in the presence of Moses and Elijah. Next, to Jericho, the world’s oldest inhabited city, which features a fascinating excavation of the ancient city walls. Lastly, journey through the Judean wilderness where Jesus fasted for 40 days. Time permitting, hike down to the Orthodox monastery in the scenic Wadi Qelt.
Jerusalem/ Bethlehem for dinner and overnight stay.

The Holy City you begin the day atop the Mount of Olives with a beautiful, panoramic view of Jerusalem. From the Chapel of the Ascension, you will walk the Palm Sunday route down the Mount of Olives, a road walked by pilgrims for millennia. On your way, you will visit the Church of Paternoster (commemorating the Lord’s Prayer) and Dominus Flevit (where Christ wept over Jerusalem). Finally, you come to the Garden of Gethsemane, the site of Jesus’ prayerful agony before his passion. and the beautiful Church of All Nations which commemorates this moment in the Lord’s final hours. Visit Judaism’s holiest site, the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. Sacred to Muslims as well, the Temple Mount is the location of Al Aqsa Mosque, the destination of Muhammad’s Night Journey, and the Dome of the Rock, where tradition places Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis. Nearby is also Mount Zion, where you will conclude your day by visiting the Church of St. Peter Gallicantu, which means “cock’s crow.” The church is built on the House of Caiaphas, where Jesus was brought upon his arrest and where St. Peter denied his master three times.
Jerusalem/ Bethlehem for dinner and overnight stay.

Start at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the best way to have a quiet, contemplative experience at the holiest site in Christianity. A church with a rich and complex history, Holy Sepulcher features the Rock of Golgotha (Mount Calvary) and the Tomb of Jesus, the place of his resurrection. Following, you see the beautifully austere Church of St. Anne, built during the Crusader era, and the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed a lame man in John 5. Then walk the final footsteps of our Lord along the Via Dolorosa, “the Way of Sorrows,” making the Stations of the Cross back to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Then, to Bethlehem. First, we will see the Shepherd’s Field on the outskirts of town, and then to the Church of the Nativity, built above the grotto where Jesus was born. This massive, ancient basilica was constructed around the year 550 ad and is the oldest church in the world that has been in continuous use.
Jerusalem/ Bethlehem for dinner and overnight stay.

Free Day in Jerusalem, you have seen so much in such a short time, so today is a good day to take a breath. You can spend some more time at a site previously visited, or you can head out for a new destination of your choosing. Possibilities include Hezekiah’s tunnel, the Ramparts Walk around Jerusalem’s walls, the modern Mahane Yehuda Market in West Jerusalem, the Yad Vashem holocaust museum, the Israel Museum, and the Garden Tomb.
Jerusalem/ Bethlehem for dinner and overnight stay.

You will travel southeast to the Dead Sea and your first stop is Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Next, travel south to Ein Gedi for a scenic stroll through a beautiful nature reserve. Here, in the caves among the craggy hills, young David hid from crazy King Saul in 1 Samuel 24. Last, you will visit amazing Masada. An isolated plateau along the Dead Sea, Masada was the site of Herod’s southern palace and later the final standoff between Rome and Jewish rebels in AD 74.
Dead Sea for dinner and overnight stay.

Back at Ben Gurion International airport- Tel aviv for flight to Cairo.
When you reach Egypt, you will settle into the hotel.
Cairo for dinner and overnight stay.

In the morning you will tour the Egypt Museum, home to thousands of artifacts from this fascinating civilization. There are a lot of treasures from the pharaohs here, including the famous King Tutankhamun. In the afternoon, will see Coptic Cairo, home to many ancient churches, and will end the day with a Nile dinner cruise, offering a beautiful view of the city of Cairo by night.
Cairo for dinner and overnight stay.

Today you see Egypt’s most famous attractions: the Pyramids of Giza and the iconic Sphinx. This is also a great place to ride a camel if this experience has eluded you during the earlier days of our trip. In the afternoon, you will visit Church of Our Savior in Suez, a suburb of Cairo.
Cairo for dinner and overnight stay.

Visit the famous Muhammad Ali Mosque and then have some last-minute shopping at the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, where you can pick up everything from food to locally made perfumes to papyrus paintings.
Then to the airport for your flight Back home .