Itinerary

1. 

   Travel to The Holy Land (D)

   Meet your Group Leader at Heathrow Airport and fly to Tel Aviv. On arrival you will be met by our expert local guide and transferred to Jerusalem (approx. 90-minute drive) where you will check-in to your hotel by the Old City walls for a six-night stay.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel and a warm welcome from your Tour Leader.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

2. 

   Jerusalem – The Mount of Olives (B, L, D)

   Morning: a moving start to your pilgrimage. The Mount of Olives has many biblical and historical connections as well as being a sacred burial place. It leads to a panoramic view of Jerusalem as well as the Tomb of the Prophets, the Catholic Church of Dominus Flevit, and the Pater Noster Church. At the base we visit the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus frequently went with his disciples to pray and on the night before his crucifixion was arrested

   Afternoon: after an included lunch visit Ein Karem, a beautiful tranquil village and neighbourhood in the west of Jerusalem believed to be the place where Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, miraculously became pregnant and gave birth. During her pregnancy, Elizabeth was visited by a family relative – Mary, who was also pregnant, with Jesus and for this reason the village well is now called Mary’s Well.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

3. 

   Jerusalem – The Old City (B, L, D)

   Morning: visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, the traditional site of the High Priest's House, and the Upper Room. We enter the Old City and walk from the Zion Gate through the Jewish Quarter to the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, this iconic wall is the last remaining wall of the courtyard which surrounded the Second Temple towards where Jews around the world face to pray. We continue to the pool at Bethesda, identified as the scene of one of Jesus’ miracles, the healing of the paralysed man who had waited for 38 years for someone to help him into the pool “when the water is stirred” — an event believed to have curative powers

   Afternoon: after an included lunch, we stroll the Via Dolorosa “the sorrowful way” in which Jesus travelled on the day of his crucifixion from the judgement seat of Pilate to Mount Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ending the day in the Garden Tomb. Your guide will give a fascinating insight and pause at the fourteen stations of the cross and describe the incidents that took place at each one.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

4. 

   Jerusalem - Bethlehem (B, L, D)

   Morning: journey to the Shepherds Fields and join together in worship at the site where an angel of the Lord came and said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy’. A thoroughly moving experience.

   Afternoon: lunch will be at the Bethlehem Rehabilitation Centre for disabled children where we observe their great work and through the McCabe Educational trust our pilgrims have generously donated to for many years. After, we visit the Basilica of the Nativity in Manger Square, the oldest complete church in the Christian world, which was built by the emperor Justinian in the 6th century. It replaced the original church of Constantine the Great, built over the cave venerated as Christ’s birthplace, and dedicated in AD 339.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

5. 

   Masada & the Dead Sea (B, L, D)

   Morning: drive to Masada (Hebrew for fortress) that sits atop an isolated rock-cliff overlooking the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea and ascend in the cable car. Masada has become one of the Jewish people's greatest symbols as the place where the last Jewish stronghold against Roman invasion stood. After, continue to the Dead Sea with the chance to bathe in its briny waters.

   Afternoon: included lunch by the Dead Sea and then drive to Qumran, located on the north-western shore of the Dead Sea in the Judean Desert, known as the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. After continue to view Wadi Qelt, a beautiful oasis of waterfalls and towering rocks, located deep inside the Jordan Valley. The route passes one of the oldest synagogues in the world, and St. George’s Monastery, one of the oldest continuously active Greek Orthodox monasteries.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

6. 

   Abu Ghosh & Nablus (B, L, D)

   Morning: drive west of Jerusalem to the village of Abu Ghosh, a possible site of Emmaus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, to visit the Crusader church and Benedictine St. Mary of the Resurrection Abbey. After, continue north through The West Bank (via Ramallah) to Nablus and visit the site of Sebastiya, identified by many as the burial site of John the Baptist.

   Afternoon: included lunch in a local restaurant followed by a visit to the Greek Orthodox church above Jacob's Well before returning to Jerusalem.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

7. 

   The Jordan Valley to the Galilee (B, L, D)

   Morning: optional morning pre-breakfast visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Then the chance to worship joining together with a local congregation, usually in St George’s Cathedral, with the opportunity to chat with the local congregation. We then bid farewell to Jerusalem to drive to Jericho.

   Afternoon: lunch in a local restaurant followed by an orientation tour of Jericho and view of the Mount of Temptation. After we continue to the Jordan River Baptismal site where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. After, continue to your hotel on the shore of the Sea of Galilee for a four-night stay.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

8. 

   Nazareth & Sepphoris (B, L, D)

   Morning: journey the ruined city of Sepphoris, the largest town in Galilee at the time of Jesus and believed to be the birthplace of the Blessed virgin Mary and the village where Saints Anna and Joachim are said to have resided.

   Afternoon: continue to Nazareth for a simple, but tasty lunch in a local village cooked in the style of the time of Jesus. We walk from Mary's Well to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation where Mary the mother of Jesus was first visited by the Angel Gabriel. It is Nazareth where Jesus spent most of his life, and the surrounding region of Galilee where he spent most of the few short years of his ministry. Later we visit Cana where the miracle of the turning of water to wine is said to have taken place.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

9. 

   Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes & Sea of Galilee cruise (B, L, D)

   Morning: depart and say farewell to Jerusalem and en route visit Capernaum where Jesus lived after being driven from Nazareth and also the home of the disciples Peter, Andrew and Matthew and where several healings took place. We visit the Mensa Christi Church dedicated to Jesus and his disciples down a winding street in the neighbourhood.

   Afternoon: lakeside worship at Tabgha the site of the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes where Jesus fed the 5,000. After, continue for lunch in a local restaurant on the Mount of Beatitudes, where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered, followed by a relaxing cruise across the Sea of Galilee on a traditional wooden boat. A great time to contemplate the path you have followed these last days. After, Check-in to your hotel by the shores of Lake Galilee for a four night-stay.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

10. 

    Northern Galilee (B, L, D)

    Morning: from Tiberias head to Northern Galilee through the Hula Valley to Banias (biblical Caesarea Philippi). Located at the foot of Mt Herman where the Banias River is one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River. The ancient city was mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, as the place where Jesus confirmed Peter's assumption that Jesus was the Messiah. We take a stroll through the nature reserve.

    Afternoon: lunch in a local restaurant followed by the scenic drive over the Golan Heights to Tiberius and a chance to swim and relax in the hotel.

    Evening: dinner in the hotel.

    Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

11. 

    Cross into Jordan and Jerash (B, L, D)

    Morning: depart Tiberius to drive across the Sheikh Hussein Bridge and cross into the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Once across we head to Jerash. The city's golden age came under Roman rule and the site is now generally acknowledged to be one of the best-preserved Roman provincial towns in the world and one of the Decapolis cities once named Gerasa. We explore the ruins of the site including the oval forum, the colonnaded street and the theatre.

    Afternoon: continue to Amman the capital of Jordan and check into your hotel for an overnight stay.

    Evening: dinner in the hotel.

    Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

12. 

    Mt Nebo & Madaba (B, L, D)

    Morning: depart Amman and dive to Mt Nebo known for being the site where Moses overlooked the Holy Land but did not enter it and where a church and a monastery were built to honor him. The book of Numbers (33:47) mentions that when the children of Israel moved from Almon Diblathaim they camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo, and that the children of Reuben rebuilt the city (Numbers 32:38). We also visit the Baptismal site and take the opportunity for communion.

    Afternoon: lunch in Madaba, noted in the Bible for the notable conquest by King Sihon of Heshbon. Though very few evidence of the city’s regal past remains, there are still some churches and pathways with remnants of the Byzantine era. The mosaics that adorn these ancient buildings provided Madaba with the name ‘City of Mosaics’. You will visit the 6th century mosaic map located within St George's Church. After continue to Petra for a two-night stay.

    Evening: dinner in the hotel.

    Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

13. 

    Petra (B, L, D)

    Morning: the city of Petra, capital of the Nabataean Arabs also known as the rose-red city, a name it gets from the wonderful colour of the rock from which many of the city’s structures were carved. At the time of Jesus Petra was a city of enormous wealth controlling much of the trade that passed through the region. Enter through the narrow Siq and the stand before the Treasury with the sun highlighting how it is hewn out of the red sandstone. Enjoy a full guided tour of many of the breath-taking monuments and buildings as well as the Royal Tombs.

    Afternoon: lunch within Petra followed by free time to explore Petra at your leisure.

    Evening: dinner in the hotel.

    Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

14. 

    Wadi Rum (B, L, D)

    Morning: head to Wadi Rum or 'Valley of the Moon' to explore this amazing desert landscape in jeeps. Made famous in the film Lawrence of Arabia, which followed the story of TE Lawrence during the Second World War, you will see the rock formations know as The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. In recent years, Wadi Rum has become a popular filming location for movies looking for lunar, moon-like, landscapes. Notable recent movies filmed here include ‘The Martian’, and scenes from ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’. Today only a handful of Bedouin tribes live in the area, mostly in the Rum Village, which is the only population center for the area and where you will have lunch.

    Afternoon: continue to the Dead Sea for an overnight stay.

    Evening: farewell dinner in the hotel.

    Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

15. 

    Homeward bound (B)

    Early departure for the Amman Queen Alia International Airport to check-in for your return flight to the UK and bid farewell to your Local Guide, Tour Leader and fellow pilgrims.

    Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, DR = Drink

Essential Information

Practical information

Dates