Make your way to your local airport where you will board your first leg of flights to Tel Aviv, Israel. Your meals will be served on board, on overnight transatlantic flight.

Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, you will collect your luggage in the baggage claim area, and continue to the Arrivals Hall where you will be greeted by a tour guide and/or driver. The Group Heading to Caesarea Maritima, capital of Judea in 1st century AD. It was here where Peter baptized the first gentile Cornelius and where St Paul gave his defense of the faith. We visit the Roman theater, Herodian Palace and view the ancient Hippodrome and Harbor Your tour continues as you travel north to Haifa. In Haifa, you will find Stella Maris, a Carmelite Monastery. The monastery is located above the cave where Elijah, the prophet, once lived. A colorful painting of this “wonder-worker” can be found on the ceiling of the Church. Head towards Galilee with a stop to visit Sepphoris, which in the time of Jesus was a great center of learning. Your group will transfer to your hotel in Tiberias in time to check-in. Enjoy dinner at the hotel.  

Travel north to Haifa. In Haifa, you will find Stella Maris, a Carmelite Monastery. The monastery is located above the cave where Elijah, the prophet, once lived. A colorful painting of this “wonder-worker” can be found on the ceiling of the Church. Your group will head to Cana where you will visit the Franciscan Wedding Church. Couples will have the opportunity to participate in the ceremony to renew their wedding vows. Following this visit, your group will enjoy the scenic drive (with view of the bay of Acco) to Nazareth. In Nazareth you will experience the town where Mary once lived and where Jesus lived as a child (Matthew 2:23). During the visit to Nazareth we visit the Church of the Annunciation which includes the Church of St Joseph ( It’s not Byzantine – it’s from 1914-21 built over Byzantine ruins) which tradition identifies it with the workshop of Joseph and the house of the Holy family. We will continue with a visit of the Church of the Annunciation, viewing at Grotto the remains of the house of the Blessed Virgin where the Angel appeared and announced the good news. Following Pilgrims path we visit Mary’s well, where often the Virgin Mary would have walked to draw water from the spring. Transfer to the hotel in Galilee for check in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast drive to the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus proclaimed His great Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20- 49). Your tour continues to Capernaum, the launching place of Jesus’ ministry. In Capernaum, your group will have the opportunity to see the Synagogue of where Jesus taught (Mark 1:21-29), and gave His sermon on the Bread of Life. Visit Bethsaida, the town where Jesus healed the blind man. Next, your group will depart for Banias ‘Caesarea Philippi’; it was in Banias where Jesus called Peter “the rock” upon his future church will be founded. Your group will enjoy dinner and overnight at your hotel.

After breakfast, drive to the site of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor (Matthew 17:1-50). At this site, you will have some time to reflect on Christ’s Humanity and Divinity. Your group will also have the opportunity to celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Transfiguration. Following the visit to this mountain, continue to Jesus' baptismal site on the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17). After some time at the Jordan River, you will transfer to Jerusalem to check-in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning, you will have breakfast and then your group will transfer to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. In Bethlehem, you will have the opportunity to view the Shepherd’s Fields (Luke 2:8). In the caves of these fields, you are still able to see the soot marks of fires that shepherds lit to keep warm. The tour concludes at the Manger Square, which stands in front of the Church of the Nativity. As you enter the Church, you will proceed down to the Grotto of the Nativity, which marks the spot of Our Savior’s birth (Matthew 2:1-18). Beneath the Altar, there is a silver star and a Latin inscription that states: HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Following Mass in this Sacred space we’ll be heading to a day in Jerusalem, which houses the temple to which Jesus was Presented (Luke 2:22). Then Your group will visit a model of the Second Temple, as it was in the time of Jesus. Following this visit, your group will take a short drive to the village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist. It is known that there are two churches in Ein Karem, both representing the two homes of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The first is in a valley where the birth of St. John the Baptist is commemorated (Luke 1:39-80) in the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The second is on a hill where Elizabeth spent five months in seclusion (Luke 1:24) at the Church of the Visitation. Your group will visit both of these churches and have the opportunity to pray the Mystery of the Rosary as you walk up the hill to the Church of the Visitation. In the afternoon, your group will return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, we will make our way to the Mount of Olives, where you will be able to take in the beautiful, panoramic view of Jerusalem. Historically, the Mount of Olives was a mandatory transit point for Jesus during many iconic moments. Your group will visit the Pater Noster Shrine, where Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster) (Luke 11:1-4). You will have the opportunity to stop at Dominus Flevit, which is a Church that commemorates where Jesus wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). The tour continues on to Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Jesus brought His disciples here to pray the night before He was crucified (Luke 22:29-53). The Garden still contains trees with roots that date back to the time of Jesus. Beside the Garden is your next stop, the Church of All Nations, built over the “Rock of Agony”. This is where Jesus prayed alone on the night of His arrest. Throughout this time, you are invited to remain in prayer and to reflect on Christ’s agony that he experienced. Your group will have the opportunity to visit the Western Wall, which is the last remnant of the Jewish Temple after it was destroyed in 70 C.E. The tour continues as you will visit the house of the High Priest Caiaphas (Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu). This Church commemorates where Jesus was examined and eventually imprisoned before the Council in Jerusalem. It also commemorates Peter’s Denial of Christ (John 18:15-18), Peters’ repentance, and Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter. You will also visit the Upper Room on Mt. Zion. The Upper Room is where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30) and, where Jesus appeared to His disciples after His Death and Resurrection (Mark 16:14). In addition, your group will visit the nearby Benedictine Church of the Dormition. Tradition tells us that this Church is where Mary, the Mother of Jesus, “fell asleep.” At the end of this prayerful day, your group will return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast depart to walk on the plaza around the Dome of the Rock is easily one of the most contested pieces of land anywhere. For Jews it is the site of the Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. For Muslims it is their third most important holy site and where the Dome of the Rock is situated. This tour provides an opportunity to walk on what many people believe is the sacred ground where Abraham intended to sacrifice his son and where the Temple housed the Ark of the Covenant. You are able to circle the Dome of the Rock and to take in the tremendous history and tensions of this Holy site. Walk through the Jewish Quarter to the Davidson Centre where you will have a tour of the fascinating archaeological park. At the steps of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount remember the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, the finding of Jesus at the Temple and the healing of the blind man in defiance of the Priests. After viewing the Western Wall visit the City of David Excavations which reveal Jerusalem’s earliest beginnings as a city. We’ll end a day with Walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Facing an invasion in approximately 700 BC, King Hezekiah, in a decision to protect the city’s water supply, cut a tunnel through the bedrock, known as the Tunnel of Hezekiah or Siloam Tunnel.  The tunnel is 1,750 feet long and was carved through solid rock from the spring to the pool of Siloam that was a storage pool for the city’s water supply. You can wade through some of the tunnel, but the water levels vary depending on the times of the year (from ankle to thigh height). This is an incredible trip through thousands of years of the city’s history.

Your group will have a very early morning wake-up, which will begin the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) at the Antonia Fortress. This is the spot where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate (John 18:28-19:16). Following His condemnation, He was taken (on the Road to Calvary) to His place of Crucifixion. Your group will reflect upon the Stations of the Cross as you travel through the markets of the Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Luke 23:26-33). This Sacred destination is the site of Calvary (Jesus’ crucifixion place) and, His tomb (Luke 23: 50-55). Your group will celebrate Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Following Mass, your group will return to the Hotel to enjoy breakfast. We will continue our day with a visit to the Church of St. Anne’s, the home of Jesus’ maternal grandparents (Anne and Joachim); and the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man (John 5:1-9). This afternoon, your group will enjoy a revisit to the Old City. Following this visit, your group will enjoy dinner and overnight at your hotel.

After breakfast, group will head to Bethany; the site where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, which foreshadows His own Resurrection (John 11:38-44). Your group will celebrate Mass here. Continue to Qumran; Qumran is made up of 2,000 year old ruins from the days of the Second Temple, and also the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written and discovered (Ezekiel 47:8-10). These writings have helped further the understanding of Jewish background in Christianity. Continue to the Dead Sea (Time and weather permitting), your group will have the opportunity to take a float in the Dead Sea, the lowest and saltiest spot on Earth. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

After breakfast and heartfelt farewells, enjoy free day in Jerusalem for prayers, reflection or maybe last minute shopping. In the afternoon transfer to the Tel Aviv airport for return flights home.