Holy Land & Jordan: The Footsteps of Jesus

Day 1: Depart USA
Depart the USA from your local airport. Enjoy a full meal and inflight entertainment (movies, music, etc.) on your overnight fight to Amman, Jordan.
 

Day 2: Arrival in Amman
Arrive at Amman International Airport. Meet, assist and transfer to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Petra | Amman
After breakfast, drive through the King's Highway to Petra, the Rose City, capital of the Nabateans, excavated totally in the red rock of the mountain. Walk through the Siq (a narrow passage) to the first monument: the Treasury Temple. Visit also the House of Justice, the Royal Tombs and the theater. In the afternoon, back to Amman, dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 4: Madaba  |  Mount Nebo  |  Jerash 
After breakfast, drive to Madaba to visit the Orthodox Church, which hosts the famous mosaic map of the Holy Land from the sixth century. We travel to Mount Nebo, from where Moses saw the Promised Land, and visit the remains of the Byzantine church. Proceed to Jerash, the well-preserved Greco-Roman city. Enter through the Arch of Hadrian and walk through the oval plaza and the main streets to visit a large number of temples, the theater and the remains of several Byzantine churches. Transfer to Sheick Hussein Bridge, the crossing point between Jordan and Israel. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Nazareth.

Day 5: Cana  |  Nazareth  |  Haifa
After breakfast, leave for Cana of Galilee, the place of the first miracle of Jesus. Continue to Nazareth and start a walking tour from Mary’s Fountain to the Basilica of the Annunciation for a visit to Mary’s House, the Upper Basilica, the museum and the Church of the Holy Family. In the afternoon, leave for Haifa, capital of the industry and the major port. Head to Mount Carmel passing by the Persian Gardens of the Bahai sect. Visit the Church of Stella Maris, the birthplace of the Carmelite Order, which contains a natural grotto of the Prophet Elijah. Back to your hotel in Nazareth for dinner and overnight. 

Day 6: Sea of Galilee  |  Mount Tabor  |  Jordan River
After breakfast, leave for Mount of Beatitudes to recall the Sermon on the Mount. Continue to Tabgha (Heptapegon) to visit the Church of the Multiplication of Fish and Loaves, admiring the well-conserved Byzantine mosaic from the fifth century. Then visit the small chapel of the Primacy of St. Peter before heading to Capernaum, the Town of Jesus, for a detailed visit of its ruins: the remains of the House of Peter, the “Insula Sacra” and the White Synagogue. Then, you will experience a boat ride crossing the Sea of Galilee. In the afternoon, we travel to Mount Tabor and visit the Basilica of the Transfiguration, built on the ruins of two earlier sanctuaries: Byzantine and Crusader. Descend and continue to River Jordan, where we will have the opportunity to renew your baptismal vows. Back to hotel in Nazareth for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Jordan Valley  |  Jericho |  Dead Sea  |  Qumran  |  Bethlehem
After breakfast, drive through the Jordan Valley to Jericho, the oldest city in the world, to visit Tel El-Sultan, the site of the biblical Jericho and a view of Mount of Temptations. Enjoy a bath in the salty waters of the Dead Sea. In the afternoon, continue to Qumran for a visit to the ruins of the Essenes Monastery and view the Caves of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Then drive through the Judaean Desert, passing by the Good Samaritan Inn to Jerusalem for a view of the Holy City from Mount Scopus. Arrive at your hotel in Bethlehem for dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Bethlehem  |  Ein Karem
Breakfast at the hotel in Bethlehem prior to a drive to Ein Karem to visit the Church of the Visitation, where the Blessed Mother visited her cousin, Elizabeth and proclaimed the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55). Here, we also visit the Church of John the Baptist, built on the site of his birth (Lk 1:5). We drive to the town of Beit Sahour to visit The Shepherds’ Field, where the angel announced the birth of Christ to the humble shepherds. Returning to Bethlehem, we visit the actual site of the birthplace of Jesus at the majestic Church of the Nativity and celebrate Mass in one of its side chapels. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.

Day 9: Mount of Olives  |  Mount Zion
After breakfast, drive to Mount of Olives to visit the Ascension Chapel and then to Pater Noster Church. Walk down to the small chapel of Dominus Flevit and enjoy a panoramic view of the Holy City with all its major shrines. Continue to the Garden of Gethsemane to visit the Church of Agony (also called All Nations) and Mary’s Tomb in the Josaphat Valley. In the afternoon, explore Mount of Zion: St. Peter in Gallicantu, David’s Tomb, the Last Supper Room (The Cenacle) and the Dormition Abbey. Then entering Zion’s Gate, walk through the Cardo Maximum and the Jewish Quarter to the Wailing Wall. Continue in a panoramic tour through the new city of Jerusalem to visit the Shrines of Ein Karem: The Visitation and St. John the Baptist churches. Back to hotel in Bethlehem for dinner and overnight.

Day 10: Old Jerusalem
A very early wake-up call. Breakfast this day will be prepared and boxed and will await you on the bus following a full, very early morning. We begin in Old Jerusalem at the Via Dolorosa, where before dawn, we walk and pray the Stations of the Cross. This ancient road leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection (Jn 19:17-41, Jn 20). Mass will be celebrated here. We pause to venerate the Stone of Unction, where Jesus’ body was cleaned and anointed for His burial. We visit Jesus’ tomb inside a small cave. 
We proceed to visit the Church of the Flagellation, the site where Jesus was flogged and scourged prior to His crucifixion.
Lastly, we visit the birthplace of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church of St. Ann. This beautiful and acoustically sound structure stands just across the way from the Pools of Bethesda, where the paralytic waited 38 years for his healing (Jn 5:2-6).
A most amazing day ends with an unforgettable Farewell Boudin Dinner at a culturally rich restaurant in Bethlehem! Overnight at the hotel in Bethlehem.

Day 11: Tel Aviv Departure
Breakfast at the hotel with heartfelt goodbyes to our local staff prior to traveling by bus to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for your return flight to the USA. We are confident that reading the Word of God, praying the rosary, and participating in the Stations of the Cross will never be the same. You will treasure the beauty and truth of our faith and you will carry the memories of this journey in your hearts for a lifetime!