Highlights Tour – 8 Days/7 Nights – arrival on Sunday

Day 1 – Sunday – Tel Aviv

Upon arrival to the airport you will meet our representative and transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv for overnight.

Day 2 – Monday – Tel Aviv – Beer Sheba – Massada & Dead Sea

Leave Tel Aviv via Ashdod and Ashkelon to Beersheba, for a short visit to the Negev capital. Continue via Arad to Masada. Ascend by cable car to the fortress, which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod’s palaces, the synagogue, bathhouse, etc. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Descend for a possible “float” in the in the salty water of the world’s lowest place – the Dead Sea. Via Ein Gedi & Kalya, proceed to Jerusalem for overnight.

Day 3 – Tuesday – Jerusalem – sightseeing of the new city

Drive to Mt. Scopus for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. 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). Afternoon drive to the picturesque village of Ein Karem (the birth place of John the Baptist). Return to Hotel.

Day 4 – Wednesday – 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. In the afternoon continue to Bethlehem* to visit the Church of the Nativity and return to Jerusalem for overnight. *Site under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction. Visit subject to situation.

Day 5 – Thursday – Beit Shean / Tiberias / Galilee

Leave Jerusalem and drive north via Jericho*, the oldest city in the world Travel through the Jordan Valley and the new settlements to Beit Shean. Visit the excavations of this beautifully preserved Roman City. Proceed to Tiberias, the old center of Jewish learning. Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, to visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue Continue to a Kibbutz hotel for overnight. *Site under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction. Visit subject to situation.

Day 6 – Friday – Upper Galilee / Golan Heights / Nazareth

Drive to the Golan Heights Visit the former Syrian fortifications and the Druze villages via Banias, source of the Jordan River. Proceed via the Hula Valley to Safed, city of the Kabbalah, to visit a synagogue and the artists’ colony. Then to Nazareth to visit the Christian holy sites. Return to the Kibbutz hotel for overnight.

Day 7 – Saturday – Acre / Haifa / Caesarea / Tel Aviv

After breakfast drive west to Acre (Akko) 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 and the bay. Proceed along the coast to Caesarea to visit the Roman Theater and the Crusader fortress. End the day with a short city tour of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and overnight.

Day 8 – Sunday – Breakfast and transfer to the airport for departure.

Highlights Tour – Prices in USD, per person with breakfast

The above rates are NET quoted in US$.

Family Plan:

• Tourist & First Class: Child (2-12) sharing parents’ room – reduction on dbl rate – 20%
• Superior & Deluxe: Chd up to age 18 sharing parents’ room – reduction on dbl rate – 40%

Rates include:

• 7 nights hotel accommodation on bed and breakfast basis.
• Assistance at the airport upon arrival.
• Transfers from/to airport on arrival and departure.
• Sightseeing in a modern air conditioned motor-coach.
• Service of a Government licensed guide on all touring days.
• Entrance fees to places of interest while touring.

Not included:

• Porterage at airport.
• Tipping for guide, driver and hotel staff.
• Beverages with meals.
• Traveler’s medical baggage insurance.

Notes:

1. The tour is on a guaranteed departure basis – subject to a minimum of 2 participants.
2. The sequence of the tour, hotels used, and sites visited may be amended due to circumstances.
3. Reservations received less than 14 days prior to departure are on a request only basis.