We begin our journey today, departing Los Angeles International Airport on our overnight air journey to Rome.

Meals: In Flight | Overnight: Inflight

Arriving in Rome we are met and transferred into the city that once stood as the capital of the empire Paul appealed to as a Roman citizen (Acts 25:11). This afternoon we begin our exploration of the “Eternal City.” We will experience sites like the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Piazza Navona, and the Pantheon.

Meals: D | Overnight: Rome, Orazio Palace or Hotel Della Conciliazione or similar

We visit the Colosseum, which served as the site of some early Christian martyrdoms, and the Roman Forum. We will take time at the Mamertine Prison, where it is believed that the Apostle Paul was once held. We see the Circus Maximus, which was the site of more Christian martyrdoms, and visit St. Paul outside the Walls, which is believed to be the place where Paul is buried.

Meals: B/D | Overnight: Rome, Orazio Palace or Hotel Della Conciliazione or similar

This morning we fly from Rome to Athens. Arriving in Athens, we tour the city where Paul stood before the philosophers of the Areopagus and proclaimed the “unknown god” as the one true God (Acts 17:22–31), taking in Mars Hill, the Acropolis, and the Ancient agora.

Meals: B/D | Overnight: Athens, Royal Olympic or similar

We transfer to the port this morning to embark our cruise ship, setting sail into the Aegean Sea that Paul himself crossed on his missionary journeys. Our first port of call is the picturesque island of Mykonos, with its whitewashed streets and windmills overlooking the sea. We will explore the island at leisure.

Meals: B/L/D | Overnight: Cruising

We dock in Kusadasi and travel inland to ancient Ephesus, where Paul spent nearly three years teaching. Among other things, we will see the theater where the Ephesians gathered in protest of Paul and his message. We will also see Ephesus’ famous Terrace Houses. Later today our ship calls at Patmos, the rocky island where John received the visions recorded in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 1:9–11).

Meals: B/L/D | Overnight: Cruising

Today we arrive at Rhodes, a port Paul himself passed through on his final journey toward Jerusalem (Acts 21:1). We explore this island steeped in both ancient and Christian history at leisure before returning to the ship.

Meals: B/L/D | Overnight: Cruising

We call today at Crete, the island where Paul’s ship sought shelter during the storm-tossed voyage to Rome (Acts 27:8) and where his companion Titus later served in ministry (Titus 1:5). We explore the island at leisure before sailing on to Santorini, which we will also explore at leisure, marveling at the caldera views from this dramatic volcanic island.

Meals: B/L/D | Overnight: Cruising

We disembark this morning and travel to ancient Corinth, the bustling commercial city where Paul lived and ministered for eighteen months, and to whom he later wrote two of his most treasured epistles (Acts 18:1–11; 1 Corinthians 1:1–2). We walk among the ruins of the marketplace and the Bema, the very judgment seat before which Paul once stood (Acts 18:12–17).

Meals: B/D | Overnight: Athens, Royal Olympic or similar

Our pilgrimage in the footsteps of Paul comes to a close today as we transfer to the airport for our flight home, carrying with us the places and Scriptures that gave shape to the early Church.

Meals: B (if time permits) | Overnight: Home