The day has arrived! Today we board our coach bus at Calvary Chapel Vero Beach and drive to the airport (MIA). We check in for our flight and begin our overnight journey to Israel.

We arrive in Israel at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. We meet our guide and board our coach bus which will bring us to our hotel. Overnight Netanya. Leonardo Plaza or similar. D.

This morning after breakfast we head north to Caesarea Maritima (entrance included). Acts 10 tells us that the Gentile Cornelius received a vision at Caesarea, which prompted him to send for the Apostle Peter, who then came to Caesarea and preached the Gospel to Cornelius and those assembled at his house. All those who heard the message received the Holy Spirit! We will enjoy lunch together (included). On to the Jezreel Valley, to Tel Megiddo (entrance included), where we will take in majestic views of the Armageddon Battlefield of Revelation 16. We drive to Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus. In Nazareth we visit Nazareth Village (entrance included), which is a re-creation of Nazareth during biblical times. En route to the Sea of Galilee area we pass Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle. Overnight Sea of Galilee area. Ron Beach or similar. B, L, D.

We begin our day at the Mount of Beatitudes, a potential site for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. We visit Capernaum (entrance included), where we see the remains of the village, including the home of Peter. We will enjoy a “St. Peter’s Fish” lunch together (included). We board a boat (included) to ride on the Sea of Galilee before making our way to Magdala (entrance included), the hometown of Mary Magdalene, which also boasts the remains of a First Century synagogue. We conclude the day at the Yardenit Baptismal site on the Jordan River, where there will be an opportunity to be baptized. (Please note that Yardenit charges approximately $20 to rent baptismal gowns and for access to changing rooms). Overnight Sea of Galilee area. Ron Beach or similar. B, L, D.

This morning we visit the Valley of Tears which was the site of a crucial battle during the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and Syria. We will drive by Mt. Hermon, a possible site of Jesus’ transfiguration. Then, we drive by Nimrod’s Castle, a crusade-era fortress. We visit Caesarea Philippi, where Peter made his famous confession, recorded in Matthew 16, that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16). We visit nearby Tel Dan, ancient home of the tribe of Dan (Judges 18) which is the site of headwaters of the Jordan River, as well as the site of an ancient city with important biblical connections. Overnight Sea of Galilee area. Ron Beach or similar. B, D.

*Visits to this day’s sites are subject to availability.

This morning, we leave the Sea of Galilee area heading south. We stop to visit Beth She’an, or Scythopolis as it was called by the Romans. 1 Samuel 31 tells us that King Saul was defeated by the Philistines and died on nearby Mount Gilboa. When the Philistines found Saul’s body, they fastened it to the wall of Beth She’an. Later, during Jesus’ time, Scythopolis was a member of the Decapolis, a group of ten cities sharing Greek culture and government, mentioned at Matthew 4:25, Mark 5:20, and Mark 7:31. We move on to Gideon’s Spring, where Gideon chose 300 men for battle. Here we will enjoy a picnic lunch (included). Driving to the south, we come to Qasr al Yahud on the Jordan River, the area where the Israelites entered the Promised Land and where Jesus was baptized. Overnight Dead Sea. David Resort and Spa or similar. B, L, D.

After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day visiting Masada (entrance & cable car included), the fortress built by King Herod the Great and made famous by the Zealots in 73/74 AD with their standoff against the Romans. We visit the fortress and see the ruins that are considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We then continue to Ein Gedi, the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took place and where many of the psalms were written by David. We will return to our resort and enjoy time at leisure at the Dead Sea. Overnight Dead Sea. David Resort and Spa or similar. B, D.

This morning we visit Qumran (entrance included), the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin boy in 1947. There we will see the caves and other buildings where the Essenes, the group of Jews who wrote the scrolls, lived. We drive to Jerusalem where we overlook the city from Mount Scopus. We ascend the Temple Mount (pending availability), where the Jewish Temple once stood. We visit St. Anne’s, a well-preserved crusader-era church that is noteworthy for its acoustics. We see the nearby Pool of Bethesda, where, John 5 recounts, Jesus healed a disabled man. Then it’s on to the Mount of Olives where we take in an incredible view of Jerusalem, Mount Moriah, and the Dome of the Rock. We walk along the Palm Sunday Road, stopping at Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over the city. We visit the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus agonized on the night before his crucifixion. We visit the Southern Steps, where we walk on the very stones walked upon by Jesus as he made his way to the Temple. At the City of David we visit Jeremiah’s Cistern, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and the Pool of Siloam. We also experience the Western Wall tunnels. Overnight Jerusalem. Leonardo Plaza or similar. B, D.

This morning, we visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum, along with the Israel Museum where we see an impressive model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period (entrance included). We will enjoy lunch together on Mount Scopus (included), from where we will be able to overlook Jerusalem. We travel to the Elah Valley, the site of David’s confrontation with Goliath. We visit Beth Shemesh and Philistine Country before making our way to the Shepherds’ Fields, where the birth of Jesus was announced to the shepherds and where some of the events from the book of Ruth took place. We take in a view of Bethlehem before returning to Jerusalem. Overnight Jerusalem. Leonardo Plaza or similar. B, L, D.

We drive to Mount Zion, where we see the Cenacle, the traditional site of the Last Supper. We visit the House of Caiaphas (entrance included) believed to be the site of Jesus’ appearance before Caiaphas. We will visit Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter including the Herodian Mansion (included) which is believed to have been home to a family of senior priests. We see the Western Wall, a portion of the Temple’s western retaining wall, as well as the Antonia Fortress (included), the military headquarters built by Herod the Great, and believed to be the site of Jesus’ appearance before Pontius Pilate. We will walk the Via Dolorosa, traditionally held to be the route Jesus took to the cross. We see Calvary, the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and the Garden Tomb, a possible site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection. Your flight home may depart either late tonight or the following day. If the following day, and an overnight is required, overnight Jerusalem. Leonardo Plaza or similar. B, D.

Your flight home may depart either the previous night or today. If today and time allows, breakfast is included today. Today we arrive back in the United States are taken by our coach bus back to Calvary Chapel Vero Beach.