MAY 08 – 19, 2023
ITINERARY: TEL AVIV / NAZARETH / CAPERNAUM / TABGHA / CANA / TIBERIAS / HAIFA / CAESAREA / BETHLEHEM /JERUSALEM / EIN KAREM / BETHANY/ JERICHO / DEAD SEA / QUMRAN / MASSADA / QASR EL YAHUD / NETANIA / RISHON LEZION
MAY 08 CHECK-IN AT NAIA TERMINAL 3 AT 2000HRS / DEPARTURE FROM MANILA TO TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
MAY 09 TEL AVIV / NAZARETH
Morning arrival in Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv. Meet and assist by a local guide. Move on to Nazareth to visit the Basilica of Annunciation where the Archangel Gabriel announced to Virgin Mary the birth of Jesus Christ. Visit also St. Joseph’s workshop and Home of the Holy Family. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.
MAY 10 CAPERNAUM / TABGHA / NAZARETH / CANA
Breakfast at the hotel. Have a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Drive to Capernaum, the town where Jesus made His home after leaving Nazareth. View the remains of the ancient Synagogue in which He taught, and on to Tabgha, where the Miracle of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes took place. Drive to Mount of Beatitudes; this is the site of the Sermon on the Mount and St. Peter’s Primacy Church. Then proceed to Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle. He turned the water into wine at the Wedding in Cana. (Those who wish may renew their wedding vows at the Church). Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
MAY 11 TIBERIAS / HAIFA / CAESAREA / BETHLEHEM
After breakfast and check-out at the hotel, we will go up to Mt. Tabor to see Basilica of Transfiguration. Enroute to Mt. Carmel to visit Stella Maris Church and pass by Haifa where one can enjoy a panoramic view of the Bahai Gardens. Drive down to Caesarea, which was built by Herod the Great, to catch sight of the Aqueducts and the Roman Theater. Proceed to your hotel in Bethlehem for check-in, dinner and overnight.
MAY 12 JERUSALEM / BETHLEHEM
Breakfast at the hotel. Start the full day tour at the Pool of Bethesda and Church of St. Anne. Then proceed to Via Dolorosa starting at Ecce Homo where Pontius Pilate washed his hands. Proceed to the Flagellation until you reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was crucified, died and rose from the dead. Then continue to the Wailing Wall. Visit the Shepherds Field, the site where the star appeared to the shepherds which lead them to the manger where baby Jesus was born. Proceed to Milk Grotto. Visit also the Basilica and Grotto of the Nativity and the Church of Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, and the Manger Square. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
MAY 13 JERUSALEM / BETHLEHEM
Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the Mount Zion area to see the Dormition Abbey. Then visit the Upper Room where Jesus and his disciples had their last supper. See also King David’s tomb. Proceed to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Proceed to the Shrine of the Book and see the scale model of Jerusalem. Return to your hotel in Bethlehem for dinner and overnight.
MAY 14 JERUSALEM
Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to the Mount of Olives to visit the Ascension Chapel where Jesus ascended into Heaven. Visit the Church of Pater Noster to see the “Lord’s Prayer” written in several languages. Proceed to the Church of Dominus Flevit (God Wept) where God wept over Jerusalem. Move on and continue by walking down the Palm Sunday road to the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane to see the Rock of Agony, the place where Jesus prayed before the Roman soldiers came for Him. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
MAY 15 JERUSALEM / EIN KAREM
Breakfast at the hotel. We will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in the morning. Continue on to Ein Karem to visit St. John the Baptist Church and Church of Visitation (Magnificat) where the Blessed Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth. Return to the hotel for overnight stay.
MAY 16 BETHANY/ JERICHO / DEAD SEA
Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Drive to Bethany to visit the Church of Lazarus. Then drive on to Jericho, pass by to see the “Sycamore Tree”, where Zaccheus, the tax collector, climbed the tree to see Jesus who was passing by. After lunch, view the Mount of Temptation. It is a high mountain west of Jericho where satan tempted Jesus. Proceed to Dead Sea hotel for check-in. You may spend the rest of the time for your quick dip in the lowest and saltiest sea on earth. Have dinner and overnight at the hotel.
MAY 17 QUMRAN / MASSADA / QASR EL YAHUD / NETANIA
Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Drive to Qumran, the caves of the Essenes where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a wandering shepherd boy. Continue on to Massada. Experience the cable car ride going to the peak of the ancient fortress, overlooking the Dead Sea. Proceed to the Baptismal Site, Qasr El Yahud, for the renewal of baptism. Proceed to Netanya. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.
MAY 18 RISHON LEZION / TEL AVIV / MANILA
Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Visit to Rishon Lezion Municipality. We will see the “Open Doors” Monument which was built in honor of President Manuel L. Quezon and the Philippine Nation. Have some free time around Jaffa and the Tel Aviv port. You may have your last minute shopping around the area before transfer to Tel Aviv Airport to catch your flight back to Manila.
MAY 19 MANILA
HOME SWEET HOME!!!
