Holy Land

Day 1: Arrival to Israel
Arrival to Israel. Meeting with the pilgrimage’s tour operator at the airport in Tel Aviv. We will transfer to the hotel in Bethlehem. Check-in to hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.
 
Day 2: Bethlehem, Yad Vashem
After breakfast we will travel to Bethlehem’s center, where we see the Milk Grotto which, according to tradition is where Mary fed Jesus during their escape to Egypt. Next we will go to St. Catherine’s Church and St. Hieronymus’ Grotto. Later we will visit the Nativity Basilica, which is one of the oldest Christian shrines. It was built above the Grotto of the Nativity, where the silver star shows the place of Jesus’ birth. In the end we will transfer to Yad Vashem – Israel’s official memorial to all the heroes and victims of the Holocaust. After that we will return to the hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.
 
Day 3: Mount of Olives, Christian Zion
After an early breakfast in the hotel we will travel to the Mount of Olives. We will visit the Ascension Mosque and then the Pater Noster Church, where Jesus taught the Our Father prayer. Later we will transfer to the observation deck that overlooks Jerusalem. We will go down on the Mount of Olives side to the Dominus Flevit shrine, a place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem’s fate. Afterwards we will see the symbolic Tomb of the Virgin Mary and the Agony Basilica, also known as the Church of all Nations. Next to the temple is the Garden of Olives - Gethsemane, where Jesus was betrayed. Farther on we will visit Mount Zion. We will visit the Church of Mary’s Dormition and Upper Room, the site of the Last Supper, for Christians a most important place. Later we will go to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, a place where the rooster crowed and the Apostle Peter denied Jesus. Finally we will return to the hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.
 
Day 4: Jerusalem
In the morning, after breakfast, we will travel to the Old Town in Jerusalem. We will visit St. Anne’s church. It is said to be the location of the house of Anne and Joachim – Mary’s parents, who was born there. Next we will be walking the Via Dolorosa and Stations of the Cross to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, which belongs to several Christian denominations. The most important place there is the mound - according to tradition this is where Jesus was crucified. Later we will be passing the Jewish district and go under the Wailing Wall. In the end we will return to the hotel in Bethlehem. Dinner and overnight stay.
 
Day 5: Jericho, Qasrl Al–Yehud, Dead Sea
After breakfast we will ride through the Judaean Desert to Jericho, which is one of the oldest cities in the world. Here is located the Mount of Temptation, where according to the Bible Jesus was tempted by the devil. Next we will go to Qasrl al Yehud, where the baptism of Jesus took place – where we will perform a renewal of our baptismal promises. Afterwards we will stop by the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on land in the world. There will be the possibility of taking a bath in the Dead Sea. Return to the hotel in Bethlehem. Dinner. Overnight stay.
 
Day 6: Mount Carmel, Cana Galilee, Nazareth
After breakfast travel to the Mount Carmel, where we will see Elijah’s Grotto and the Stella Maris church of the Most Holy Lady of Carmel. We will travel to Cana Galilee, where Jesus performed His first miracle – the tranformation of water into wine at the wedding of a poor family. For married couples there will be the possibility of renewing wedding promises. Next we will travel to Nazareth and visit the Annunciation Basilica, the largest temple in the Near East. We will also go to St. Joseph’s Church, which was built on the site of the former carpenter’s house. Next we will transfer to a hotel. Check-in to hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.
 
Day 7: Sea of Galilee – Mount of Beatitudes – Tabgha – Mount Tabor
In the morning, after breakfast, we will go to the Sea of Galilee for a boat cruise. Farther down the sea shore we will travel to Tabgha, a place where Jesus miraculously multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish. We will visit the Church of the Loaves and Fishes (also known as the Church of the Multiplication) as well as the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter. Next we will go the Mount of the Beatitudes – on the hillside there is an eight-sided Sanctuary. In the afternoon we will go on to Mount Tabor – the scene of the Transfiguration of Jesus. We will visit the Franciscan Basilica of the Lord’s Transfiguration with the chapels devoted to Moses and Elijah. Return to the hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay.
 
Day 8: Return
After breakfast (if the time of departure is early a group will receive a breakfast package to take out), we will transfer to the airport in Tel Aviv. Farewell with pilgrimage’s tour operator. Check-in and departure.

• Airline tickets;
• Entrance fees to sites visited, local guides, costs related to the implementation of the program, climatic tax, headphones (to be paid to the tour operator, settled at the end of pilgrimage); 
• Surcharge to a single room  – to be requested if there are places available;
• Personal expenditures;
• Lunches, beverages during dinners and services not specified in the offer;
• Tips to guides and drivers.

Please Note:   Although every effort is made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication of the tour, rather than a contract of places to be visited. Occasionally local religious holidays, national days, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of visits or of the missing of certain visits, but any changes will be advised prior to the tour commencing.
 
Payment terms: advance payment 30% on the day of signing the contract, additional payment for the whole month before the pilgrimage.