Itinerary
DAY 1 TEL AVIV AIRPORT
Where you will be met by a Tala Tours Representative. Transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 2 JAFFA – CESAREA – DRUZE VILLAGES – MUKHRAQA – HAIFA
From your hotel we will head towards Jaffa, Jaffa is believed to be the place Jonah stepped ashore from the mouth of the whale and Perseus circled the harbor on his winged horse Pegasus. Jaffa also lays claim to the oldest working harbor in the world. Continue to Cesarea the city of Herod's, where you will visit the ruins of the Roman Theatre and the Crusaders City. Head towards the Druze Villages on the slopes of Mount Carmel and visit their street bazaars. Then we drive to Mukhraqa one of Israel's most renowned viewpoints and visit the Carmelite Monastery of St. Elijah. And finally we visit Haifa and enjoy the panoramic view from Mount Carmel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 3 HAIFA – BAHAI GARDENS – MEGIDDO – NAZARETH – CANA – SEPHORIS – AKKO – HAIFA
In Haifa we visit the domed shrine of the Bab with its breathtaking gardens, one of the City's landmarks and the world headquarters for the Baha'i faith. Continue to Megiddo where the last great battle on earth will take place, preserved by the National Parks Authority. Then onto Nazareth to visit the Basilica of Annunciation and the Well of the Virgin Mary. From Nazareth visit Cana, the site where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into to wine during a wedding celebration. Sephoris – considered to be the birthplace of Mary's parents Joachim and Anna. Onto Akko to visit the Crusaders City then onto Haifa Dinner and overnight stay in Haifa.
DAY 4 SEA OF GALILEE –TABGHA – CAPERNAUM – MOUNT BEATTITUDES – SAFED (KABALA & MISTICS) – TIBERIAS
Drive from Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee to Tabgha the site of the Miracles of the Fish and the Loaves. Capernaum is where Jesus started his preaching. Visit the old Synagogue and the house of St. Peter. Drive to the Mount of Beatitudes where the ceremony on the mount took place. Safed is an attractive hilltop town with a rich heritage of Jewish mysticism and an artists' colony. Then on to the Baptismal site on the River Jordan. Back to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 5 TEL HAZOR – BANIAS – BELVOIR – BEIT SHEAN- KIBBUTZ ALMOG AND OVER NIGHT.
Visit Tel Hazor and Banias, the beautiful nature reserve and the site of an important 1st century city. Continue towards Belvoir where there is a ruined 12th Century Crusader castle with great views over the Jezreel and the Jordan Valleys, Jordan's Gilead Mountains and the Sea of Galilee. Finally, drive to Beit Shean to see the Roman Theatre. Dinner and overnight stay in Kibbutz Almog
DAY 6 JERICHO – QUMRAN – EIN GEDI – DEAD SEA – MASSADA – AND OVER NIGHT IN ARAD
From Jericho, the oldest city in the world, we precede stopping by the Mount of Temptation. We will visit Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Drive to the Dead Sea, 420 meters below sea level, to obtain a floating experience. Then we will ascend by cable car to the top of the Massada Fortress – the last resistance place against the Romans and learn its heroic story. Proceed to Arad for dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 7 TEL ARAD – BEERSHEVA – ASHDOD – ASHKELON – BEIT GUVRIN AND OVER NIGHT IN JERUSALEM
Today we visit Tel Arad, Israel's best example of an Early Bronze Age city. Beersheba is our next destination, the capital of the Negev, things to see are Abraham's well and the ancient town with remains of city walls and houses. We continue on to Ashdod, one of the five great Philistine cities to visit a Fatimid fortress and gain a good view from the top of Yaffa Ben-Ami Memorial Hill of Ashdod and its surroundings. Close by, we visit Ashkelton another great Philistine cities, believed to be the birth place of Herod the Great. Finally, Beit Guvrin to view the 4000 caves and hollows eroded by the result of water on a soft limestone surface and learn the heroic story of the Jewish revolt against the Roman's. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
DAY 8 JERUSALEM – BETHLEHEM
We enter the Old City of Jerusalem via the Dung Gate to visit the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount. Proceed to Mount Zion to visit the Cenacle – the Last Supper Room, King David's Tomb and The Dormition Abbey. We drive then via the western new city of Jerusalem, observe the Hebrew University, the Parliament House and the Supreme Court. Drive to Bethlehem, to visit the Church of the Nativity and the Shepard's Fields. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 9 JERUSALEM
Drive to the Mount of Olives, where you can enjoy the spectacular view over the Holy City. On the Mount of Olives we visit the Pater Noster Church and the Church of Ascension. From there we descend to Josaphat Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. We then enter the old city to walk the 'Via of the Cross' (Via Dolorosa) to the Holy Sepulchre. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.
DAY 10 JERUSALEM – TEL AVIV AIRPORT
Transfer from your hotel to Tel Aviv Airport for departure. A Tala Tours representative will assist with your formalities.
