Group Leader
We depart from Gracepoint on a private motorcoach which brings us to San Francisco International Airport, where we begin our overnight journey to Israel.
Today we arrive in Israel an Ben-Gurion Airport. We board our modern deluxe coach bus and depart from the airport. Time permitting, we visit the ancient town of Jaffa where Peter had his vision on the roof top of the house of Simon the Tanner. We make our way to our hotel in the Tel Aviv/Herzeliya area. Herods or similar. D.
Today we travel towards Caesarea Maritime (entrance included), where we will have a brief visit to the magnificent city with Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins. We continue to Mount Carmel (entrance included) and consider the contest between the Prophet Elijah and the false prophets of Baal, discussing the reasons why the Prophet chose that place for the contest, and the lessons we learn from the story. We depart for Nazareth where we will climb the Mount of Precipice, the brow of the hill on which the city was built. We travel towards the Sea of Galilee, passing Cana of Galilee where Jesus performed his first miracle. We arrive at our hotel. Kibbutz Nof Ginosar, Ron Beach, or similar. B, D.
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a boat ride on Sea of Galilee followed by a visit to the 2,000 year old ancient boat known as the “Jesus boat” (entrance included). On to Tel Dan, an ancient city of Dan with a 4,000 year old Canaanite gate and the high place of Jeroboam (entrance included). Return to the shores of the Sea of Galilee. We enjoy a lunch of “St. Peter’s Fish”. This afternoon, we visit Capernaum (entrance included), Jesus’ Galilean ministry base. We return to our hotel. Kibbutz Nof Ginosar, Ron Beach, or similar. B, L, D.
We visit the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount. We visit Tabgha, where Jesus fed the multitude and appeared to his disciples after the resurrection. We leave the area of Galilee and drive to Beth Shean (entrance included), the capital of the Decapolis. There we will see the ruins of the Roman and Byzantine cities. We visit the Tel of Jericho (entrance included) with its ancient ruins. We continue traveling south to Bet Arabah where John the Baptist was baptizing on the Jordan River. Arrive at Jerusalem hotel. Grand Court or similar. B, D.
Today we will have a free day on our own for personal prayer and reflection. A guide can be provided for this day for any portion of the group who wishes to partake in sightseeing activities for an additional cost. B, L, D.
We begin our day visiting Masada (entrance and 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 continue to En Gedi, the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took places and where many of the psalms were written by David. This afternoon visit Qumran (entrance included), the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin boy back in 1947. There we will see the caves and other buildings that the Essenes, the group of Jews who wrote the scrolls, lived. You will also be able to experience floating in the Dead Sea. We make our way back to Jerusalem. Grand Court or similar. B, D.
Today we visit the Southern Wall excavations (entrance included) where ruins of the retaining walls of the Temple Mount are still visible. Continue to Herodion (entrance included), one of Herod the Great’s most ambitious building projects, which served the Judean King as summer palace, fortress, monument, burial ground and district capital. We travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We begin with a visit to the Shepherds fields where the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Our Lord. We will then travel to the Church of the Nativity and view the actual place where, according to ancient tradition, Our Lord was born. We return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. Grand Court or similar. B, D.
We begin our day entering the Old City and with a visit to the Western Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and Judaism’s holiest site. We ascend the Temple Mount, discussing its connection to both the Old and New Testaments. On to visit St Anne’s church (entrance included) and a visit to nearby Pools of Bethesda where the healing at the pool took place. We will then walk the Via Dolorosa, the traditional path that Jesus walked from the Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This afternoon we travel to the Israel Museum (entrance included), where we will visit the Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem, a 1:50 scaled model of the city from the 1 st century AD, followed by a visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on exhibit. We enjoy an afternoon/evning visit to the Rabbinical Tunnels. Overnight in Jerusalem. King David or Grand Court or similar. B, D.
We begin our day with an orientation over the holy city from the Mount of Olives, pointing out important locations within the Old City, connecting them with Biblical stories and prophecies about the return of Jesus. We walk down the Palm Sunday Procession road to the Garden of Gethsemane, where the passion of Jesus began. We continue our day with a visit to the Upper Room, the traditional place of the Last Supper, followed by a visit to nearby location of the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (entrance included). We will visit the Garden Tomb (entrance included), where we will worship together and celebrate communion. The balance of the day will be spent at leisure. Your flight home may depart either late tonight or the following day. If the following day, overnight in Jerusalem. Grand Court or similar. B, D
Your flight home may depart either the previous night or this morning. If this morning and time allows, breakfast is included. Either way, today we arrrive at home. We arrive at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), where we are met by a private coach which brings us back to Gracepoint.