Included excursions

• Optional early morning visits to the Holy Sepulchre
• Two days of walking tours in the Old City
• Jewish Quarter and Western Wall
• The Herodian Mansions & Burnt House
• The Davidson Center and optional tunnels walks
• The City of David
• The Armenian Quarter and Vespers at St James
• Early morning visit to the Garden Tomb
• Ramparts Walk with options for the fit and the not so fit
• St Anne's Church and the Pool of Bethesda
• King David's Tomb
• The Cenacle (Upper Room) & Dormition Abbey
• Optional Via Dolorosa walk
• Optional Palm Sunday walk from Bethphage to the Mount of Olives
• Mount of Olives and panorama of Jerusalem
• Al Shurooq school for the blind
• Bethlehem and the Basilica of the Nativity or Icon School
• Herodion National Park
• Jeel Al Amal school and boys home
• Emmaus Nicopolis
• Abu Ghosh
• Ancient Port City of Jaffa
• Worship at St Andrews Church of Scotland, Tiberias
• Magdala
• Capernaum and the Greek Orthodox Church
• Sea of Galilee cruise
• Mediterranean Port City of Acre
• Sepphoris, ancient capital of Galilee
• Beit She'an

Optional excursions

All excursions are included though there may be some days with optional deviations led by regular McCabe leaders.

Included extras

• Hotel baggage porterage
• Local guide and drivers’ gratuities
• All restaurant and hotel gratuities
• Other small local gratuities
• Personal audio guiding system

Included meals & drinks

Meals: most meals are included. throughout your pilgrimage you will enjoy lunches in local restaurants and dinners will be in your hotels.

In Acre, lunch is not included but during your free time your guides will recommend where to eat. We recommend having US$ or Israeli Shekels with you on this day.

Drinks: juices and tea or coffee are available with all breakfasts. All other drinks will be at your own expense. Jugs of water will be available at lunch and dinner.

Celebrations: our friends and partners in the Holy Land will be hosting special events to commemorate our 40th Anniversary year.

• Gala Dinner at the Golden Walls hotel
• Drinks reception at the Ron Beach Hotel

Our team in The Holy Land

This holiday includes a qualified local guide to bring the holy sites and ancient wonders to life. They will be escorting you throughout and staying with you in Tiberias. Our McCabe leaders will offer optional opportunities for worship and reflection for all during and after these moving visits.

Your journey

Direct flights to Tel Aviv are available from Luton and Gatwick.
Direct flights from London Heathrow are available at a supplement of £130 per person

Indirect flights from Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin can be arranged at a supplement. Please ask for details.

Your hotels 

Our partner hotels in the Holy Land have been receiving groups with great care and attention for 40 years. They are in excellent locations, privately owned and managed, and offer good food and comfortable accommodation with private facilities. The management and staff at the Golden Walls and Ron Beach have become friends to McCabe and to our pilgrim travellers.

Golden Walls Hotel, Jerusalem 

Ron Beach Hotel, Tiberias

Travelling alone

Some of our travellers prefer not to pay single room supplements. McCabe Pilgrimages will accept individual bookings on a 'guaranteed share' basis. We charge the basic price and accommodate you with a person of the same sex also requesting shared accommodation. If we do not find someone to share with you, you will be accommodated in a single room at only 50% of the usual single room supplement. For single travellers who do require single accommodation this should be requested when booking and, if available, the normal supplement will be payable.

Entry requirements

Passports should be valid for at least six months after the time of travel and a visa is issued free of charge to UK passport holders on entering Israel. There are currently no further requirements for entering the Palestinian territories. Non-British passport holders should consult the McCabe office as they may be required to apply in advance for a visa. No inoculations are essential, but we advise travellers to consult their GP regarding personal requirements.

For the latest and most up to date travel advice including entry requirements please consult the Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office travel advice website.

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

Health & wellbeing

If you haven't had a booster in the last ten years it is recommended that you be vaccinated for Tetanus and Polio. Food and waterborne diseases are more common, so we recommend vaccinations for typhoid (valid 3 years) and Hepatitis A (validity varies). Vaccination, Covid-19 and health information can change so please contact your local health care provider for the most up to date information. We will send up to date information on entry requirements with your final paperwork approximately 14 days before departure.

Adequate insurance cover will be required for all hospital emergencies and doctors’ visits.

Climate

Israel generally has a warm, sunny and dry climate. The weather is often sunny and clear in Israel. It is one of the least cloudy and least rainy regions on Earth.

In January the weather can be cool and showers should be expected so please do pack for all weathers.

Clothing

Israel is more liberal than its neighbouring countries, but you should dress inconspicuously and avoid wearing clothes that could be regarded as provocative (e.g. very short skirts, skimpy shorts, strappy tops where shoulders are exposed and low plunging neck lines). Shorts are fine as long as they are on or below the knee. Swimwear around hotel pools is perfectly acceptable. For some church visits legs and arms are required to be covered but a headscarf is not necessary, and you will find next to no other restrictions elsewhere throughout your holiday in the Holy Land.

We recommend you take clothing for spring weather and a couple of warmer items such as a fleece or sweater for the evenings when it may be a bit cooler. Sports or walking shoes with fairly thick cushioned soles for uneven pavements are also recommended as there will be lots of walking.

Mobility

There is a good amount of walking (and stairs) involved on a daily basis on this pilgrimage so please make sure you pack comfy footwear for this so that you are prepared.

The first two days will be without the support of a coach.

Your Local Guide will keep you updated on a daily basis with what to expect the following day. If you are finding it difficult to keep up then please make sure you tell them so they can help you to find places to rest and relax and then you can re-join the group at a later stage.

Whilst this is not a trekking or adventure holiday there will be some walking required where you may be on your feet for up to 90 minutes at some ancient sites and must be able to walk up to a mile. The paving may not always be smooth and seating not always available.

Travel insurance

Ensuring that your holidays are appropriately protected is one of our main priorities. That’s why we have specifically chosen Holiday Extras as our *preferred travel insurance provider to ensure that you are protected before and whilst you are travelling. Holiday Extras offer McCabe Travel guests favourable rates for single trip, multi-trip and annual policies.

For more information or to obtain a quote click below for their website

https://www.holidayextras.com/travel-insurance

Or call them on 0800 083 3551 to speak to a friendly advisor.

Please quote AG628 upon calling to receive the best rates

The McCabe Educational Trust

The McCabe Educational Trust is an independent registered charity with the aim of helping inspiring people we meet on some of our pilgrimages. As ‘the haves’ encounter the ‘have nots’ the Trust has become a practical tool for one to help the other.

McCabe Pilgrimages invite all travellers to become partners in this work. A £20 voluntary donation to the Trust’s work is added to every pilgrim’s invoice and all money raised in this way is given in full to the projects the Trust supports. This scheme is voluntary and confidential with nobody put under any pressure to participate.

During this pilgrimage we will visit the Al Shurooq school for the blind and Jeel Al Amal School and Boys' Home.

Full financial security

All money paid to McCabe is fully secure. Holidays including flights are covered by our ATOL license from the Civil Aviation Authority, and holidays without flights are protected by our membership of the ABTOT bonding scheme. If a pilgrimage is cancelled, for instance through lack of numbers or for political considerations, McCabe will promptly refund all monies paid.

AITO Quality Statement

McCabe Pilgrimages is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators. The Association represents Britain’s leading independent tour operators and encourages high standards of quality and service. McCabe abides by the Association’s Code of Conduct and adheres to the AITO Quality Charter.

You can read McCabe reviews on the AITO website here