Christian Jerusalem, Bethlehem & Masada, 3 Days

Heading south through the Judean Hills and past the Inn of the Good Samaritan we travel below sea level to the lowest point on Earth. We take a cable car to the summit of Masada, a plateau where King Herod built a palace-fortress over 2,055 years ago. After touring Masada we drive through the desert past the Ein Gedi oasis and Qumran to one of the best Dead Sea beaches. Here you can spend time relaxing and floating in the water. Overnight stay: Jerusalem.

Take in the view of Jerusalem from Mount Scopus then pass through the Garden of Gethsemane, Church of All Nations and Kidron Valley to the Old City. Explore the Jewish Quarter; see the Byzantine Cardo and the sacred Western Wall. Walk the Via Dolorosa to the Holy Sepulchre Church and see the site of the crucifixion. In Bethlehem tour Manger Square and the Church of St. Catherine. In the Church of the Nativity see the Holy grotto where Jesus was born. Overnight stay: Jerusalem

Visit the places where Jesus spent time on the Mount of Olives including the Church of ascension; Church of Pater Noster and Dominus Flevit. Visit the Church of All Nations and the garden of Gethsemane. See the Pools of Bethesda and walk into the Old City of Jerusalem stopping at the Church of St. Anne and Convent of the Sisters of Zion. Retrace Jesus’ path down the via Dolorosa to the site of his crucifixion, now preserved in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and visit Jesus’ burial tomb.