CLASSIC TOUR – THursday
arrival 10
nights
Thursday
Ben Gurion Airport / Tel Aviv
Arrival at Ben
Gurion Airport, where you will be met by a Diesenhaus Unitours representative
and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Friday
At leisure
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Saturday
At leisure
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Sunday
Diaspora Museum / Caesarea / Druze villages
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.
Monday
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.
Overnight in
Kibbutz.
Tuesday
Sea of Galilee / Nazareth
Start the day
with a visit of Tiberias. Drive to
Capernaum to see the ruins of the synagogue and octagonal church of St. Peter
and then proceed to Nazareth. Here
you will visit the church of the Annunciation. 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.
Wednesday
Jerusalem: The Old City
Visit the tomb of
King David and the room of the Last Supper on Mt. Zion. 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 Sepulchre, proceed to Mount Scopus and then to the
Mount of Olives for a magnificent panoramic view of the Old City. Continue to Bethlehem*, stopping at
Rachel’s Tomb and to visit the Church of the Nativity.
Overnight in
Jerusalem.
Thursday
Jerusalem: The New City
Drive to the
Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem to see the Chagall stained glass
windows. Proceed to Bayit Vegan to
visit the miniature model of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple
period. 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 and see the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, and the
Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew University.
Overnight in
Jerusalem.
Friday
Qumeran / 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
Qumeran 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.
Saturday
At leisure
Overnight in Jerusalem.
Sunday
Jerusalem / Ben Gurion Airport.
After breakfast, transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure.
* visit subject to availability
The above program can be extended and tailor-made for groups.