GCT's Classic Tour of Israel
11 days / 9 nights and 6 touring days

En Route
Departure from North America.

WELCOME TO ISRAEL!
Tel Aviv

Upon your arrival in Israel, you'll complete your customs formalities and then meet your driver to be transferred to your luxurious Tel Aviv hotel.

After you're comfortably settled, enjoy a delicious dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants. Afterwards, enjoy a stroll along the blue Mediterranean Sea.

Tel Aviv

Today you'll enjoy a free day in Tel Aviv. Explore the ancient market, or perhaps the Artisan Fair. If you prefer, you can take a 5 minute taxi ride to Jaffa (ancient Joppa), and view the harbor where Jonah tried to flee his calling, or the home of Simon the Tanner, where the Apostle Peter received his vision.

Overnight, Tel Aviv.

Diaspora Museum | Caesarea | Druze Villages | Haifa

Depart Tel Aviv and drive to the Diaspora Museum for a visit. Proceed along the coastal plain to Caesarea, capital of Judea under the Romans. See the excavations of the Crusader city and the Roman port, aqueduct and the amphitheater that has been restored to its former glory as a concert venue. Continue via the Druze villages to Haifa.

Overnight in Haifa.

Haifa | Safed | Golan Heights

The tour of Haifa will begin at the summit of Mount Carmel where you will take in a breathtaking panoramic view of the Haifa Bay and Western Galilee. Continue on to the golden domed Bahai Shrine to visit the exotic Persian Gardens. Proceed to Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism, where you will visit the ancient synagogues and the artists’ colony. Continue to the Golan Heights to see the former Syrian bunkers, Kuneitra and the new Israeli town of Katzrin.

Dinner & overnight Kibbutz hotel Lavi, Galilee.

Sea of Galilee | Nazareth | Beit Shean | Jerusalem

Start the day with a visit to Tiberias. Drive to Capernaum to see the ruins of the synagogue and octagonal Church of St . Peter. Proceed to Nazareth , here you will visit the Church of the Annunciation. Drive around the new Jewish town and visit the Arab market. Drive via Beit Shean to Beit Alpha to see the remains of the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue depicting the zodiac.

Overnight in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem: Old City

Visit the tomb of King David on Mount Zion and the Upper Room where Jesus may have held the Last Supper with His disciples. Enter the walled city and walk through the newly restored Jewish Quarter. Visit the Roman Cardo, the Herodian Quarter and continue to the Western Wall. Walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Proceed to Mount Scopus and then to the Mount of Olives for a magnificent panoramic view of the Old City.

Overnight in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem: New City

Drive to the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem to see the Chagall stained glass windows. Continue to Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust and then to the Israel Museum. Visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. At the same grounds of the Museum we will visit the Miniature model of Jerusalem, and see Jerusalem as it was 2000 years ago. We will see the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, and the Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew University.

Overnight in Jerusalem.

Qumran | Massada | Dead Sea

Drive through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, almost 1300 feet (400 meters) below sea level. Stop at Qumran to visit the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to Massada. Ascend by cable car and tour the ancient fortress where the Zealots made their last stand against the Romans before committing mass suicide in 73 AD. Descend by cable car. Time and weather permitting, an opportunity will be provided to float on the Dead Sea.

Overnight in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem

Today you'll enjoy a free day in Jerusalem. This is your opportunity to re-visit your favoirite holy sites, pray at the Western Wall, or wander through the market in the Old City and haggle for the best deals you can get! As you meander along the streets that Jesus walked, take the opportunity to snack on some of freshly-baked bread available from teh street vendors. It is a treat not to be missed!

You may even want to stroll out of the Damascus gate and visit the Garden Tomb.

Overnight, Jerusalem.

En Route
Transfer to you flight back to North America.