Best of Israel + Athens

From Your Home to Tel Aviv

• Depart on an overnight flight, from the international airport closest to your city, to Tel Aviv. [Dinner and breakfast included]

Tel Aviv

• Arrive mid-afternoon in Tel-Aviv.
• Be greeted and transferred to our hotel.
• Check in and enjoy hotel’s amenities and dinner.

Jaffa, Caesarea, Acre and Sea of Galilee

• Depart hotel in the morning, and visit Jaffa, one of the oldest cities in the world.
• Tour the Church of St. Peter
• Explore Jaffa's reconstructed Old Quarter
• Travel to Caesarea, the city built by King Herod over 2000 years ago.
• View ruins dating back to the Byzantine Empire.
• Continue to Haifa and visit Mount Carmel summit for a spectacular view.
• Visit the Carmelite Monastery and Stella Maris.
• Travel to Acre.
• Visit the Subterranean Crusader Quarter and the beautiful alleys to the Turkish Khan and the ancient harbor.
• Depart Acre to your hotel in Tiberias, located on the Sea of Galilee’s shore, for dinner and overnight.

Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights, and Caesarea Philippi

• Enjoy the Sea of Galilee’s wonders.
• Embark on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee
• Explore the ruins of Capernaum.
• Visit Tabgha, the site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes miracle.
• Tour the Church of St. Peter Primacy.
• Travel through the Hula Valley and ascend the Golan Heights.
• Visit Banias, where the ruins of the city Caesarea Philippi lie.
• Return to Tiberias via the Mount of Beatitudes, where the Sermon on the Mount took place.
• Overnight in Tiberias hotel.

Nazareth, Beit She’an, Jericho, and Jerusalem

• See Mary's Well, and continue through Nazareth, visiting the Church of the Annunciation.
• Visit Mount Tabor, on the way to Beit She'an Valley.
• Continue through to Jericho, believed to be the world's oldest walled city.
• Drive to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Jerusalem

• Ascend the Mount of Olives and visit the Chapel of Ascension and Pater Noster Church.
• Visit the Garden of Gethsemane, as well as the Church of All Nations.
• Enter into the Old City.
• Visit the Pools of Bethesda and St. Anne's Church.
• Walk along the Via Dolorosa, past the Monastery of the Flagellation, and visit the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Walk through the Arab Bazaar to the Western Wall.
• Ascend to the Temple Mount, visiting the Dome of the Rock and El Aqsa Mosque.
• Visit Mount Zion, and explore where the Room of the Last Supper and King David's Tomb are located.
• Walk through Dormition Abbey and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu.
• Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Qumran, Dead Sea, and Masada

• While driving towards the Dead Sea, we'll stop in the Judean wilderness and see St. George's Monastery.
• Travel past Qumran and reach the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve.
• Continue to Masada, and ascend by cable car to the mountaintop.
• Explore King Herod's remarkable fortress
• Finish the day on the shores of the Dead Sea, where you may "float" on the one sea where you cannot sink.
• Pass the site of the Inn of the Good Samaritan.
• Drive through the city of Bethany to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Jerusalem and Bethlehem

• Drive to the Haas Promenade for a spectacular view of Jerusalem.
• Continue on to Bethlehem.
• Visit the Church of the Nativity and pass Rachel's Tomb.
• Visit Yad Vashem.
• Pass by Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, and view the Menorah, which is the symbol of the State of Israel.
• Visit the Israel Museum and see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Shrine of the Book, and the Holy Land model of Jerusalem.
• Drive to the beautiful village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist, and enter the Church of the Visitation.
• Return to the Jerusalem for the last night, and enjoy your Farewell.

Jerusalem and Athens

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of our Hotel.
• Today, we bid “Arrivederci” to Rome, transferring toFumincino Airport for our flight home.
• We arrive in the USA in the early afternoon, exhausted but exhilarated from twelve days exploring the life of Christ, and the life of Ancient Rome.

Athens, The Parthenon, Temple of Athena, The Temple of Olympian Zues, Royal Palace, Lycabettus Hill, The Flea Market

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• This morning, our full day of touring begins with a visit to the “sacred rock”, the Acropolis which is the most photographed site in all of Greece. Here you will see the Parthenon that was dedicated to the goddessAthena (Parthenos), Propylea, the monumental entrance to the sacred area, the temple of Athena Nike which was dedicated to Victory, the Erechtheionwith its famous female statues, the Maidensdedicated to both goddess Athena and godPoseidon, the Odeum of Herodus Atticus and the ruins of the first theatre in the whole world - theTheatre of Dionysus, and finally the Areopagus (Mars Hill).
• We will proceed to the Temple of Olympian Zeus and then to Panathenaic or Kallimarmaro Stadium which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
• We will drive by the Prime Minister’s Residence, the former Royal Palace, today’s Presidential Mansionand the House of Parliament with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a brief visit and to watch the changing of the Guard.
• We continue our tour by driving up to the highest point of Athens, Lycabettus Hill, which offers the best 360 degree panoramic view of the city.
• From here we proceed to the oldest and most picturesque neighborhood of Athens, Plaka with it’s stone-paved narrow streets, traditional Greek taverns - best gyros - and antique and souvenir stores. Celebrate Mass and then return to the hotel for dinner.
• After lunch in Plaka we’ll drive through the city centre to the Flea Market, where we’ll visit the Ancient Agora (the political, financial and commercial centre of ancient Athens).
• There we’ll see the temple of Hephaistos, known also as Theseum (best preserved ancient temple in Greece) and the Stoa of Attalos (an ancient shopping centre) which was restored in the fifties by the American Archaeological School.
• We end the day with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum, which has one of the most extensive and important archaeological collections in the world. It houses, among other important exhibits, the frescoes of the island of Santorini and the prehistoric golden collection of Mycenae with the famous mask of Agamemnon.
• Come back to our Athens hotel.
• Dinner at the Athens hotel.

Athens, Visit 3 Greek Islands

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Today, enjoy a full day of leisure exploring Athens on your own, visiting the Port of Piraeus or walking along the Mediterranean Sea. An optional cruise of three Greek islands is available, and is very worthwhile for the first-time traveler to Greece.
• Visit three Greek Islands in one day on an island-hopping cruise from Athens! This day of touring includes visits to the islands of Hydra, Poros and Egina, and includes a delicious Greek lunch and hydrofoil boat transfers. Sightsee, shop, swim or join exciting excursions at additional expense at each island.
• Meet your guide in central Athens and head to Piraeus Port by luxury, air-conditioned coach. You’ll set sail from here for the island of Poros, roughly two hours away, during which the cruise hostess will provide information about the 3 islands.
• Arrive in Poros, the smallest of the three islands, and enjoy 1-hour of free time to wander around this endearing island. Visit Trinzia, Poros’ Russian dockyard, and learn about Greece’s cooperation with the Russian army in the 18th and 19th centuries or take a stroll in the Lemon Forest and find pretty windmills and waterfalls as you walk through the densely wooded area of lemon and orange trees.
• Back on ship, enjoy lunch (first sitting) while sitting comfortably on the lounge and admiring the views of the Mediterranean Sea during our 1 hour trip to the second island, Hydra.
• We enter the port of Hydra, whose amphitheater shape once served as a safe shelter for Pirates. Hydra is best known for its colorful capital, full of quaint, narrow alleys, charming red-tiled houses and mansions silently standing witness to a long and turbulent history.
• Your guide will point out the best shops and cafes, and then leave you to explore independently for approximately 2 hours.
• When you return back on board, relax on the ship's deck and enjoy the warm breeze as you sail to your last stop, the larger island of Egina. Upon arrival, you can either join a sightseeing tour to the Temple of Aphaia or stroll around the main town at leisure.
• Also known as Port of Aegina, the island is a bustling one, with ferries, catamarans and flying dolphins dotting the harbor. Soak up the sights or perhaps relax in one of the town’s popular cafes.
• The journey back to Piraeus takes approximately one hour. A traditional Greek folk show with singers and dancers in original costumes will entertain and animate you up to the final moment as the ship docks in Piraeus.
• On arrival, you’ll be transferred the short distance back to central Athens where your tour ends.
• Return to Athens hotel.
• Dinner at the Athens hotel.

Athens to Your Home

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of our hotel.
• An early morning transfer takes us back to Athens International Airport for our flight home. We bid a fond “Yassas” to Greece, and board our flight.
• Arriving home early afternoon – exhausted but exhilarated by 12 wonderful days retracing the footsteps of Jesus and learning about early Greek culture.