5-Day Holy Land Tour

Starting in Nazareth (the hometown of Jesus), we venture through the market on our way to the Church of Annunciation and the Synagogue Church (from the Gospel of Luke). We may also visit St. Gabriel's Church & Mary's Well, and drive to Mount Precipice. After a lunch break in an Arab restaurant, we venture to Cana where Jesus turned water into wine (the first miracle mentioned in John 2). You'll be thrilled to visit Mount Tabor (the mount of transfiguration), and the Catholic Church there.

We enjoy a hearty breakfast at the hotel before heading to Capernaum (known as the town of Jesus). From there we head to Golan Heights where Paul is said to have had his Damascus Road experience and conversion to Christianity. Moving on to Caesaria Philippi (in Banias) where Peter declared Jesus as the Son of GOD (Matt 16, Mark 8, Luke 9), we take a rest for lunch. On the way back to the hotel, we may visit Mount of Beatitudes, The Church of the Multiplication of Loaves & Fishes, or the Sea of Galilee Boat exhibit.

On this day we visit the hometown of Mary Magdalene (Magdala). Then we venture along the Jordan River past Beit She'an (a Decapolis city), stopping by Jerico to the site where John baptized Jesus (qasr el-Yahud). Next we visit Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. From there we head towards Jerusalem past the Good Samaritan Inn, to the Mount of Olives.

We start our tour driving to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, dedicated to the birth of Christ. From Bethlehem, we head on to the Mount of Olives where Jesus preached His famous "Sermon on the Mount." You will visit the Chapel of Ascension, and drive by the Church of Pater Noster, & Dominus Flevit on our way to the Garden of Gethsemene, where Jesus prayed before His arrest after Judas betrayed Him to the Pharisees. From the Garden, we head over to the Jaffa Gate, walking past St James Cathedral near the Armenian Quarter where you will visit the upper room of the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples (Cenacle). Time permitting, we'll visit the First Century Church on Mount Zion, King David's Tomb, and Dormition Abbey. Finally, we walk to the Jewish Quarter for lunch then to the Western (Wailing) Wall. We follow the Catholic Stations of the Cross (Via Dolorosa) from the Place of the Pavement (where Pontius Pilate judged Him), to the site of His Crucifixion (Golgatha) and nearby Tomb (at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre).

Day 5 takes us along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea where the Apostle Paul spent much of his time writing letters in prison. In Jaffa we visit the house of Simon the Tanner (where Peter had his vision of opening the door of salvation to the Gentiles), or we may instead visit St Peter's Catholic Church, and the Samaritan community in Holon. If we have time, we will visit Emmaus-Nicopolis where Jesus appeared to the disciples after He rose from the dead (Luke 24).