Christmas Tour
ITINERARY
Day 1 - Monday 22nd December - Jerusalem
Upon arrival to the airport you will meet our representative and transfer to your hotel in Jerusalem for overnight.
Day 2 - Tuesday 23rd December - Jerusalem
sightseeing of the new city. Start the day with a panoramic view of Jerusalem from atop the Mt. of Olives.
On to the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Agony.
Continue to the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea scrolls, then a visit to the beautifully renovated model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem, dating back to the time of the Second Temple.
Continue to Yad Vashem (the memorial to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust).
A fternoon drive to the picturesque village of Ein Karem (the birth place of John the Baptist). Return to Hotel.
Day 3 - Wednesday 24th December - Jerusalem - Old City & Bethlehem*
Enter through one of the Gates to the walled Old City to visit the renewed Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall, the Temple area and the colorful bazaars.
Walk along the Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Drive to Mt. Zion and visit the tomb of King David, the Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey.
Afternoon free.
In the early evening travel to Bethlehem for a city tour, followed by a festive dinner in a restaurant by Manger Square, across the street from the Church of Nativity where the traditional Midnight Mass in Bethlehem takes place.
Return to Jerusalem for overnight.
Day 4 - Thursday 25th December - Beit Shean / Nazareth / Galilee
Leave Jerusalem and drive north passing by Jericho, the oldest city in the world.
Travel through the Jordan Valley and the new settlements to Beit Shean. Visit the excavations of this beautiful preserved Roman City.
Proceed to Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation and Joseph’s carpentry workshop, while enjoying the celebrations of Christmas Day.
On to Safed, city of the Kabala, for a walk through the mystic alley and the artists’ colony.
Continue to a Kibbutz hotel for overnight.
Day 5 - Friday 26th December - Golan Heights and around the Sea of Galilee
Drive to the Golan Heights.
Visit the former Syrian fortifications and the Druze villages
Travel via Banias, source of the Jordan River to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum. Visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue and Peter's house.
Visit Tabgha, where the miracle of the fish and bread took place and on to the Mount of Beatitudes.
Continue to Tiberias for a short tour of the old center of Jewish learning.
Return to the Kibbutz hotel for overnight.
Day 6 - Saturday - 27th December - Acre / Haifa / Caesarea / Tel Aviv
After Breakfast drive west to Acre for a visit of the old, famous Crusader stronghold and medieval fortifications.
Continue to Haifa, for a sightseeing tour, including the Baha'i Shrine, Persian Garden and Mount Carmel for a panoramic view of the city.
Proceed southwards to Caesarea to visit the Roman Theater and the Crusader fortress.
Continue to Tel Aviv-Jaffa for a short city tour and to your hotel for overnight.
Day 7 - Sunday - 28th December
Day at leisure in Tel Aviv, or an optional tour to the Dead Sea.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Day 8 Monday 29th December
Breakfast and transfer to the airport for departure.
* Site under the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction. Visit subject to situation.
