Israel sightseeing Program

Day 1 Tel Aviv

Arrival at Ben Gurion airport, assistance then if time permits:
Drive to the old city of Jaffa with its cobblestone streets and reconstructed buildings. Visit the artists quarter and view the modern city of Tel Aviv.
Continue along the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea and Drive through the White City looking at the Bauhaus style buildings designated as a UNESCO world heritage site and the Tel Aviv cultural center.

Transfer to your Tel Aviv hotel for dinner and overnight

Day 2 – Caesarea Haifa – Akko

Drive to the north, to the ancient Roman city of Caesarea with its famous Hippodrome Theater

and Harbor, then on to the Bahai Gardens in Haifa with a spectacular view of Haifa harbor and bay.
Continue to the old city of Akko, the Knight’s Kingdom of the Crusader settlement dating from the 11th century AD, Akko city walls and the El Jazzar Mosque dating from the Ottoman Empire

Dinner and overnight in a hotel in the Galilee

Day 3 Safed- Dan – Banias – Mount Bental – Tiberias

After breakfast continue further north to visit:
– Safed, known as the city of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) with its picturesque streets and artists quarter with its many galleries and synagogues. Continue to the beautiful nature reserves of Dan and Banias, two of the three sources of the Jordan river. Continue to Mount Bental – an observation point overlooking the Syrian border

Dinner and overnight in the Galilee

Day 4 Tiberias – the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem

Drive along the Sea of Galilee to the Mount of the Beatitudes then on to the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha and to Capernaum, a village from the time of Jesus. Visit the remnants
of the town of Magdala, then take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee
Visit the Jordan River Baptism Site at Yardenit near Tiberias and proceed to Jerusalem stopping
at Beit Shean Scythopolis, one of the ancient Roman Decapolis cities.
Proceed to Jerusalem View Jericho, the oldest city in the world, and if daylight permits, view the St. George’s Monastery, built on the cliffs of the Wadi Quelt ravine, the ancient Roman road to Jerusalem

Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem

Day 5 Jerusalem

– Observation point with a panoramic view of the old city from the Mount of Olives, then walk down the ancient lane to Gethsemane to visit the Church of All Nations. Enter the Old City via the Lions Gate to walk the Via Dolorosa and enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Visit The Jewish Quarter and the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock + Al Aqsa Mosque) and the Western Wall, holiest site of the Jewish faith (remnants of two 3000 and 2000 year old temples),
drive to the city center to visit the Dead Sea scrolls at the Shrine of the Book and see the model of 2000 year old Jerusalem at the time of Jesus at the Israel Museum.
Dinner and overnight in a Jerusalem hotel
Optional recommendation in Jerusalem :
Night tour of Jerusalem illuminated buildings
Night spectacular at the Tower of David in Jerusalem
Or 3D movie at the Time Elevator

Day 6 Jerusalem – Bethlehem – Jerusalem

Mount Zion – King David’s Tomb, the Last Supper Room and drive into Bethlehem, where King David and Jesus were born, to visit the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd’s Field
View the Knesset (Israeli Parliament and its Menora (Candelabra)
Mahane Yehuda Market and visit Yad Vashem the Museum of the Holocaust
Dinner and overnight in a Jerusalem hotel

Day 7 Dead Sea – Masada – Judean Desert

Drive to the Judean Desert to the national park reserve of Ein Gedi, an oasis with waterfalls and free roaming wild animals. Visit the national park of Qumran (where the 2000 year old Dead Sea scrolls were discovered, well preserved in natural caves).

Drive to Masada, the desert fortress of King Herod. Ascend by cable car and enjoy a fantastic view of the Dead Sea and the Kingdom of Jordan, then bathe and float in the saline waters of the Dead Sea.

Dinner and overnight at a hotel near the Dead Sea

Day 8

Drive to Ben Gurion airport, assistance for your flight home