Israel Christian Tour

Tour the coastal cities of Israel as we drive north of Tel Aviv and make our first stop in Caesarea. Here we tour the remains of an ancient Roman port city and see the amphitheater, hippodrome and ruins of palaces, temples and bathhouses. We travel further north along the coast to the port city of Haifa. Here we see the terraced Baha’i Gardens on Mt. Carmel and learn about the Baha’i faith. Continuing all the way to Israel’s border with Lebanon the tour takes you to the sea caves of Rosh HaNikra. Here we can enter the cave chambers and tunnels where waves crash against the rocks. We return south and the tour visits the Crusader city of Acre. Here we tour the Crusader fortress built in the 12th century, the Ottoman structures and a former Turkish and British Mandate citadel prison. 

The tour of Christian sites around the Sea of Galilee heads off towards northern Israel and travels through idyllic rural farmlands, hills and valleys. We see the Sea of Galilee nestled in a valley and make our way to Magdala, once a Biblical fishing village. Here we see the remains of a Second Temple Era synagogue where Jesus may have preached. The tour continues to Ginosar to see the Jesus Boat, a 1st century fishing boat found by the Sea of Galilee. We see the Mount of Beatitudes crowned by a beautiful church marking where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. Our final stop on this Christian tour is at Kafr Kanna or Cana where the Wedding Church marks the site of Jesus’ first miracle when he turned water into wine. The tour leaves the Galilee and takes the return journey to Tel Aviv.

We follow in the footsteps of Jesus on the Mount of Olives visiting the Church of the Ascension where Christ ascended to heaven and the nearby Church of the Pater Noster, where Christ taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer. See the Dominus Flevit, the place Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and wept as he foresaw its destruction. We visit the Church of all Nations and adjacent Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested on the eve of his crucifixion. We view the Pools of Bethesda then go into the Old City where we stop at the Church of Saint Anne plus the Convent of the Sisters of Zion. From here we walk the Via Dolorosa as Jesus did carrying his cross towards his crucifixion on Calvary.

Take this Bethlehem and Jericho tour past the Inn of the Good Samaritan and descend beneath sea level to the ancient city of Jericho. In Jericho see the sycamore tree climbed by Zacchaeus when he tried to get a better look at Jesus. Recall the Biblical tale of Joshua marching his troops around Jericho’s city walls until they fell. The tour leaves Jericho passing the Mount of Temptation and continues to Bethlehem where Jesus was born just over 2,000 years ago. The Bethlehem tour stops in Manger Square and we enter the Church of the Nativity which holds the Holy Grotto where the nativity took place. The tour visits the adjacent Church of St. Catherine and its subterranean caves holding ancient tombs and shrine. From here the tour passes Shepherds Field and returns to Jerusalem.

With this Dead Sea day trip you can really unwind and get rid of all that tension and stress. The tour takes you from Jerusalem through the Judean Hills past the Inn of the Good Samaritan and heads south. We stop briefly for a photo-op at the sign indicating “sea level” then continue to the Dead Sea at 430m beneath sea level – the lowest place on Earth. You can relax and enjoy one of the best Dead Sea beaches. Soak up the sun which has the lowest UVB rays on Earth; cover yourself in mineral-rich Dead Sea mud and swim in the sea. The water of the Dead Sea is 8.5 times saltier than the ocean so it is impossible to sink or for any living creature to live in the water. The Dead Sea environment has natural health and beauty benefits and gives visitors an overall sense of well-being.