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The Itinerary as usual with traveling, especially across cultures, no stop is guaranteed, but we sure will do our best.
October 4th Sunday: Meet up at Denver Airport for the group flight (or make your own way to Tel Aviv.) (departure time TBA, hoping for 11 am arrival) FLY FLY FLY.
October 5th, Monday: Arrive, gather your luggage and meet Kim and our guide, Eliav (pronounced Ellie-AV), before we load on the bus to head up to the Galilee Region. Enroute, we will break to visit Atlit Detention Camp (So much history you didn't know you didn't know here!) on the coast from the 1940's. Then we will check into our sea-front hotel, Ein Gev for the next 4 nights. We will enjoy a nice dinner, option to stroll the beach, and early to bed. October 6th, Tuesday: We will visit some Christian sites we love: St Peter's Primacy, a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. For lunch we will go to the Fish restaurant (included) by Sar El with the gorgeous views. This afternoon we will drive up Mount Arbel for a light hike to some more gorgeous view of the whole region! Then drive back down through Tiberias and visit the ancient Magdela Village and stop by a local grocery store in the modern town of Magdela (to shop for snacks and your personal picnic lunch for tomorrow). Dinner is at the hotel. October 7th, Wednesday: We start with a contemplative time at Capernaum. Then we drive up to Gamla Nature Reserve (please check this one out! gorgeous!) for a moderate hike and picnic (from what you bought yesterday). This hike offers wildflowers, fields, views, some hills to prep for, and waterfalls! There is an easy 1-mile loop for anyone uninterested in the longer hike. (shade and ice cream available for the wait). The afternoon should include some free time at the Ein Gev resort. October 8th, Thursday: We start with a contemplative time at the Mount of Beatitudes, then continue north into the Golan for another day of fun. We have a wonderful and somewhat shaded moderate walk at the Dan Reserve. Our mid-day rest will include a wine tasting at Hermon Winery. If you need extra besides the little bites offered between tastings, feel free to bring some fruit or bread from breakfast to supplement our lunch. Then we return to Banias Falls and Caesarea Phillipi. Die-hards who can hike between the two in about 75 minutes will be invited to walk if they desire. The rest of us will ride the bus between the two sites. Then we ride back to Ein Gev Resort. October 9th, Friday: We will have a late morning to continue enjoying the resort amenities, pack the bus, and get going around 10. Then we ride directly to Nazareth Village to experience a 1st Century town where Jesus did some growing up and try a traditional biblical meal for an included lunch. Then we will take a short wander through Megiddo National Park (Valley of Armageddon) in the afternoon on our way to Jerusalem we will stop at the biblical gardens of Neot Kedumim, enjoy a walk through using all our senses to experience taste and see all the biblical species, culminating in an opportunity to leave a personal legacy in the land by planting a memorial tree with your own hands. Then we enter Jerusalem and check into our hotel for the night. October 10th Saturday: Today's main event is Bethlehem, and our visit is dependent on real-time security. We will pick up a new guide and bus for the day and do a border crossing. We will visit the Church of the Nativity and Shephard's field and get a look modern Bethlehem. Then we return and cross the border again. The timing is uncertain, so we have some options if we get back by 3 today. But it could be much later than that, so we will pack our patience and grace to take with us today. We will have a group reflection opportunity this evening. October 11th, Sunday: We start the day in the old city at David's Tower where we explore before continuing on top of the city walls (Rampart's walk) over to the Western Wall for individual prayer time. Then a visit to The Temple Institute to see the plans for the third temple already designed. After a lunch of your choice in the Cardo area we will go underground and visit the Rabbinical Tunnels. Then we will walk the Via Delarosa's stations of the cross ending at Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Then get a ride back to our hotel. We will visit a local congregation for their weekly service at King of Kings Jerusalem. It finishes around 7:30 so we will hustle (walking) back to the hotel for a good dinner. (Today is a good day to have snacks available for yourself). We are staying near Ben Yahuda Street at the Prima Vera Hotel. October 12th, Monday: Today will be three big things. We start at the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed with many other artifacts as well. Next, we will return to Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and Children's Memorial with a couple hours to walk through on your own. The cafe there will be our meet up and lunch option today. To finish the afternoon, we will tour and stop for contemplation at the Garden Tomb, and we will enjoy communion together. After dinner back at our hotel tonight, we will have another team reflection time together. October 13th, Tuesday: This morning, we check out of our Jerusalem hotel and load the bus. We stop at the Mount of Olives and walk down to the Garden of Gethsemane before we head out of town toward the Dead Sea. We will stop at the overlook of St. George's Monastery, also the site of the Valley of the Shadow of Death/Jesus' Temptation. In the afternoon we will stop at Ein Gedi for a little waterfall/pools hike. (Shaded seating back at entrance for those who don't want to continue past the first pool). We should arrive at our final hotel, David Resort & Spa, for our last two nights in time to get in a Dead Sea float on a clean, private beach. Delightful, plentiful buffet for dinner tonight. October 14th, Wednesday: In the morning we will get cracking and hit the road early and drive into the Negev Desert. We will have some gorgeous views on our drive through the mountains as we stop at the Ramon Crater. We will also stop at Avdat National Park, an ancient Nabatean city's ruins. We will find some lunch or a coffee snack at Lasha Bakery. We return to the resort for a free afternoon at the pools, spa appointments (not included), and another Dead Sea float. We will have an expansive dinner with tons of options at our resort. October 15th, Thursday: For our final day, we will enjoy a late morning, load up all our stuff and head to Masada with plenty of time to explore. Then we will stop by the Valley of Elah (David & Goliath field), perhaps pick up a smooth stone of your own. Our finale dinner (included) will be at Abu Gosh, an Arab village restaurant with world-renowned pita, great meats and salads too. Then we begin our final leg and head for the airport drop off @7:30-8pm. Airport lines begin 3 hours before the flight home. Planning on a 10:30pm-midnight flight home and fly most of the day Tuesday. October 16th Friday: Arrive home mid-day to early evening & begin RECOVERY and processing all your wonderful memories with each other and encounters with the Lord! |
Pricing
$3950.00* per person for the 12-day land tour portion. Includes basic tips!
Flight priced & billed separately, but plan on ~$900-1500 from DEN. TBA 11 months in advance. (as of Nov 26, we are still shopping for a good price and itinerary). When participating in the group flight, we will offer coordination of a moderate hotel with an airport shuttle to overnight in Denver before your flight.
You may use frequent flier miles or points and meet us in Tel Aviv if you prefer. Register Here
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