Day 1: Depart USA
Depart the USA from your local airport. Enjoy a full meal and inflight entertainment (movies, music, etc.) on your overnight flight to Amman, Jordan.
Day 3: Amman | Petra
Day 4: Amman | Madaba | Mount Nebo | Mont Nebo | Qumran
Day 5: Bethlehem | Beit Sahour | Ein Karem
Breakfast at the hotel in Bethlehem prior to a short drive to Ein Karem to visit the Church of the Visitation where The Blessed Mother visited her cousin, Elizabeth, and proclaimed the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Here, we also visit The Church of John the Baptist, built on the site of his birth (Luke1:5). We drive to the town of Beit Sahour to visit The Shepherds’ Field where the angel announced the birth of Christ to the humble shepherds. Returning to Bethlehem, we visit the actual site of the birthplace of Jesus at the majestic Church of the Nativity. Mass time and location to be confirmed. Lunch on your own in Bethlehem. Schedule allowing, a visit to the Convent of the Carmelite Sisters and Betharam established by St. Mariam Baouardy, “The Little Arab”, patroness of Peace for the Holy Land, late this afternoon.
Dinner & overnight in Nazareth.
Day 6: Old Jerusalem | Dead Sea | Jericho | Mount of Temptation
A VERY early wake -up call. Breakfast this day will be prepared and boxed and will await you on the bus following a full, very early morning. We begin in Old Jerusalem at The Via Dolorosa where before dawn, we walk and pray The Stations of the Cross. This ancient road leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, site of Jesus’ Crucifixion, Burial and Resurrection (John 19: 17-41, John 20). We pause to venerate The Stone of Unction where Jesus’ body was cleaned and anointed for His burial. We visit Jesus’ tomb inside a small cave. Mass time and location to be confirmed. We proceed to visit the Church of the Flagellation, the site where Jesus was flogged and scourged prior to His crucifixion. We visit the birthplace of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Church of St Ann. This beautiful and acoustically sound structure stands just across the way from The Pools of Bethesda where the paralytic waited 38 years for his healing (John 5: 2-6). Lunch on your own in Old Jerusalem this day and we travel east toward the Dead Sea and Jericho! Modest swimwear required for those choosing to enter the most deep, hypersaline, and therapeutic lake in the world – towels provided. Here, those who choose not to swim may enjoy relaxation and snacks at the lovely beachside Snack Bar. Our day ends with a visit to Jericho, the oldest continually inhabited city in the world (Joshua 6: 12-24), and where Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, climbed a tree to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). We stop at the foothills of the Mount of Temptation to view where Jesus was tempted while in the wilderness for 40 days (Luke 4:1). Dinner & overnight in Nazareth.
Day 7: Jerusalem: Mount of Olives | Mount Zion
Day 8: Bethlehem | Haifa | Cana | Nazareth
Day 9: Tiberias | Sea of Galilee | Mount of Beatitudes | Capernaum
Breakfast at the hotel followed by a drive toward Tiberias, along the Sea of Galilee. We arrive at the peaceful and pristine Mount of Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-16) where we recall the Sermon on the Mount. Mass time and location to be confirmed. We travel to nearby Tabgha to visit The Church of the Multiplication where Jesus fed the crowds who came to hear Him (John 6:1-13). We then board for a sail across the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on water after feeding the 5000 (Mark 6: 45-51). A most memorable lunch (St. Peter’s Fish- approx. $30 per person) before we continue to The Church of Peter’s Primacy, where Peter declared his love for Jesus 3 times and where Jesus anointed Peter to lead His church and become the first pope (John 15: 15-17). This magnificent day ends in Capernaum to visit the spectacular ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus gave the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6), and The Church of St. Peter which is built over the ruins of his house near the sea. Dinner & overnight in Nazareth.
Day 10: Galilee: Mount Tabor | Amman
Breakfast and check-out ad we travel nearby to Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration, where we stand near the site where Peter, James and John stood to witness where the glorified Lord appeared with Moses and Elijah (Luke 28-36). Mass time and location to be confirmed. We begin our travel back to Amman, Jordan. Lunch on your own, and several rest stops en route.
Check-in, dinner & overnight in Amman.
Day 11: Departure