Why you should go…
Below is a suggested itinerary for an exciting 10-day tour to Israel that incorporates the wonderful sights and sounds of the modern and the historic sites of the Holy Land.
Sample itinerary for preorganized groups ONLY – For tours for individuals to join please click here to see our Guaranteed Departure tours
Join this biblical Tour of the Holy Land
Travel ltinerary Highlights
Beit Shean | Bethlehem | Caesarea | Capernaum | Dead Sea Region | Jericho | Jerusalem | Nazareth | Qumran | Sea of Galilee | Tel Aviv-Yafo | Tiberias
Suggested Length
10 Days / 9 Nights
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Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. You will be met by a Vered Hasharon Tours representative, assisted through customs, and transferred to your hotel in Tel Aviv for dinner and overnight.
After a delicious breakfast, view the Metropolitan city of Tel Aviv and visit Jaffa – South of Tel Aviv. Jaffa is considered the world’s oldest sea-port, with Jewish legend attributing it to Japeth, son of Noah, and the Greek legend to Joppa, daughter of the gods of the winds. It was here, in the 8th Century B.C., that Jonah started his journey to Nineveh. Much of Old Jaffa has been lovingly restored and now houses an artist’s colony and galleries and many churches and mosques. Then travel along the coastal road to Caesarea, an ancient Mediterranean city halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa, containing many ruins, most of which date from the Crusader period. Prominent among these are the hippodrome, the Crusader city, and the Roman amphitheater. Next, continue to Muhraka on Mount Carmel with its breathtaking views of Israel. Here Elijah confronted and defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings: 18). Next, travel to Megiddo overlooking the Jezreel Valley, considered the Armageddon of the New Testament. From here, continue to Nazareth to tour the Church of the Annunciation. Finally, travel to Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
Start the day with breakfast, followed by a Boat Ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum on the northwest shore, where Jesus began his ministry. The town is also well known for Second Temple, Roman, and Byzantine periods. Next, drive up to the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-49). On to Banias, one of the primary sources of the Jordan River, which runs through lush woodlands and the footsteps of Mount Hermon. Philip, son of Herod, established here the city by the name of Caesarea Philippi, and the town is mentioned in the New Testament and Talmud. Drive up to the Golan Heights, the site of fierce battles between Israel and Syria between 1967 and 1973. Finally, drive to Yardenit, where the Jordan River flows out from the Sea of Galilee. This spot was developed as a baptism area. Dinner and overnight in hotel.
After breakfast, travel through the beautiful Jordan Valley to Beit Shean to visit the Roman archaeological excavations. Continue via Jericho, a flourishing oasis in the Judean Desert at the northern end of the Dead Sea. Archaeological research has confirmed Jericho as being the oldest city in the world. Jericho was the first city conquered by Joshua in the Promised Land (Joshua 6:12-25), and it appears as the background for many incidents in the New Testament. Check into the hotel in Jerusalem for Dinner and Overnight.
Start the day with breakfast followed by a full day of New City sightseeing: Mount of Olives – a mountain to the east of the Old City which has been used as a cemetery since ancient times. Christian tradition maintains that many events related to the life of Jesus took place on the mountain, hence the many holy sites that are situated there. Next, visit Yad Vashem Museum, a memorial to the Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust. Entering through the Valley of the Righteous, which commemorates the heroic acts of gentiles who saved Jews, one reaches the Memorial Hall containing an eternal flame and the names of the concentration camps inscribed on the black granite floor. An adjoining hall bears the names of the victims and a photo exhibition and Holocaust library. Next, drive to Bethlehem, where you will visit the birthplace of Jesus. The town is dominated by the Church of the Nativity, built on the grotto where Jesus is believed to have been born. It has many other sites of great historical and religious interest. Dinner and overnight in hotel.
After breakfast, there will be a full-day walking tour of Old City. You will visit Via Dolorosa, also called the Way of the Cross, a series of lanes in the Old City that, according to Christian tradition, was Jesus’ route from Pilate’s judgment hall to Golgotha (John 19:16-18). There are 14 Stations along the route, each commemorating an event along Jesus’ path to crucifixion. Walk through colorful bazaars. View the Temple Mount in the southeast corner of the Old City. This walled-in platform was the site of both the First and Second Temples but is now occupied by five Muslim Mosques. The Dome of the Rock, the Mosque of Al Aqsa, the Dome of the Prophet, and the Dome of Elijah. Visit the Western Wall, part of the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, which became the focal point of the Jewish religion after the Second Temple was destroyed. Access to Jews was denied when the area was under Jordanian rule, but since the 1967 War, the site has been enlarged and renovated. In addition, archaeological work has been conducted in the vicinity. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight.
Start the day with a delicious breakfast and then drive through the desert and along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada, a massive rocky outcrop in the Judean Desert 2 km from the shore of the Dead Sea. Masada is the site of the most dramatic act in Jewish history when Jewish rebels elected mass suicide rather than submit to Roman capture in 73 A.C. The site has been fully excavated. Herod’s impregnable fortress remains have been exposed, as have the remains of the eight roman army camps that surrounded the mountain and the rebel’s living quarters. After the visit, there will be time for a swim in the Dead Sea – in Hebrew called the “Sea of Salt” – this is the lowest spot on the globe’s surface. Here you can experience floating and swimming in these waters with extraordinary healing powers. Next, continue to Qumran, the remains of a settlement on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea and the site of the Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by desert Bedouins. Finally, return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
After breakfast, visit the Scroll of Fire Memorial. Continue to Soreq Stalactite Cave, a natural cave near Beit Shemesh, deep within the hills of Judea. This miraculous cave is filled with natural sculptures that have been formed over millennia and dazzle visitors with its varied and wonderful world of stalactites and stalagmites, many of which are at least 300,000 years old. This unique cave was accidentally discovered in 1968 by workers from a nearby quarry. Next, drive to Emmaus just outside of Jerusalem, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus after he was crucified days before (Luke 24:13-35). Visit Mini Israel and see mini replicas of the buildings and structures showcasing the country from the North all the way down to the South. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight.
Today will be a day at leisure to relax, shop and re-visit any site that caught your interest. Breakfast and dinner are provided in the hotel.
You will be transferred to Ben Gurion Airport, and a Vered Hasharon representative will help you through your formalities. Departure flight.
