Highlights of Israel and Jordan

The beginning of your journey in the Holy Land.
Upon arrival to Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Tel Aviv for overnight.

Overnight: Tel Aviv

Start your day meeting up with your tour guide and setting out from Tel Aviv. Drive south and pass the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon on the way to Beersheba for a short visit in the capital of the Negev Desert. We continue through Arad to Masada, Israel’s prominent archaeological park. We ascend by cable car for a visit with insights into the rituals, politics, and culture of the people who inhabited the desert fortress. This was the last stronghold of Jewish Zealots fighting against the Romans. View excavations, Herod’s palaces, the synagogue, bathhouse, and cisterns. Witness the spectacular view of Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Move to the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea, to enjoy the mineral-rich black mud and go for a float in its salty waters. Pass by the oasis of Ein Gedi and travel through the Judean Desert to Jerusalem.

Overnight: Jerusalem

Begin your day at the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book which houses the famous Dead Sea scrolls. Move to the renovated model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem that dates back to the time of the Second Temple. Visit and enjoy Ein Karem, a beautiful village in the southern outskirts of Jerusalem. Ein Karem is significant in Christian traditions as the location where John the Baptist was born. Visit Yad Vashem, the official memorial of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Yad Vashem was established in 1953 and is located at the foot of Mt. Herzl. We continue to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus at the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square.

Overnight: Jerusalem

Visit the Old City of Jerusalem where sits the Western Wall and the site of the Second Temple, the Temple Mount. Walk the Way of the Cross, Via Dolorosa, to Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which includes the site of Crucifixion and the Tomb of the Resurrection. To the southwest lies Mount Zion and the traditional tomb of King David and the Room of the Last Supper. Experience a stunning panoramic view of Jerusalem atop the Mount of Olives. Jerusalem is the holy city for each of the world’s three major religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Continue to the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas once betrayed Jesus. In the middle of a bustling neighborhood in downtown Jerusalem, we visit Mahane Yehuda, the largest open market in Israel, to revel in the flavors, aromas, and colors.

Overnight: Jerusalem

In the morning we leave Jerusalem and drive north, passing Jericho, to the oldest city in the world. We move swiftly through the Jordan Valley and the new settlements of Beit Shean to visit the excavations of the wonderfully preserved Roman City. Next, we move to Nazareth to see the Church of the Annunciation and Christian holy sites. Then to Safed, the city of the Kabbalah and home of Jewish mysticism to walk the beautiful streets of the artists’ colony.

Overnight: Galilee

Drive up the Golan Heights, passing by Banias (the source of the Jordan River), former Syrian fortifications, and the Druze villages. We go through a beautiful Israeli wine country journey with vineyards encompassed by awe-inspiring views. Acquaint yourself with the vast collection of fine and rare wines while enjoying a tour, wine tasting, and presentation on the wine production process. Now descend to the shore of the Sea of Galilee and move to Capernaum to see the ruins of the ancient synagogue, the Mount of Beatitudes, traditional site of the ‘Sermon on the Mount,’ and Tabgha, the site of the ‘miracle of loaves and fish.’ On to Tiberias, the old center of Jewish learning. Optional sailing across the Sea of Galilee to enjoy its tranquility and beauty little changed over 2,000 years.

Overnight: Galilee

Start the day with a drive through the hills of Galilee and westward to Acre (Akko) to visit the ancient Crusader stronghold and medieval fortifications. On to Haifa and ascend Mount Carmel for stunning panoramic views of the city below including the Baha’i Shrine, Persian Garden, and Haifa Bay. We proceed along the Mediterranean coast to the Roman city of Caesarea to see the Roman Theater and Crusader fortress at what is commonly known as the “masterpiece of Herod the Great.” Finish your day with a tour of Tel Aviv and the ancient port of Jaffa.

Overnight: Tel Aviv

Begin by driving away from Tel Aviv toward the Sheikh Hussein border crossing to enter Jordan. Move to Jerash, the city of the Decapolis located 45km north of Amman in the bountiful heights of the Gilad. Visit the elaborate Roman city and its colonnaded streets, baths, and hill of the top Temple. Drive through to Amman for a city tour of the Jordanian capital. Overnight in Amman.

Overnight: Amman

Enjoy a delicious early breakfast and leave the hotel to travel south toward Wadi Musa, the modern village of Petra. Enjoy a horseback ride to the “Siq” (canyon) and then travel on foot to Petra, the red rock city and the ancient capital of the Nabateans from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD. Visit famous monuments like the Treasury, El Khazneh (a tomb of a Nabatean king), the field of tombs, obelisks, and the altar. From here you can view the entire red rock city.

Overnight: Petra

Travel north to Madaba to visit what remains of the Byzantine church and an ancient mosaic floor map that is the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the mosaic map of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. Move 10km to Mount Nebo, where Moses laid witness to the Promised Land. From this vantage point, you can see the Jordan Valley, Jericho, and the Dead Sea. Return to the border toward Tel Aviv where you will overnight.

Overnight: Tel Aviv

Check out of the hotel following breakfast.

Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for the flight home.

Goodbye to Israel! Hope to see you again on your next visit.