14 Days in the Holy Land and Rome
Day 1: Departure
Depart USA
Day 2: Arrival
Arrive at Rome airport, meet, assist and transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Rome
After breakfast we’ll be transferred to the Vatican to attend the Papal audience. In the afternoon we’ll have a guided tour into the Vatican Museums and St. Peter Basilica celebrates mass. Back to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Rome Classical and Ancient
After breakfast we’ll dedicate this day to explore the most important churches and monuments of Rome starting with Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano celebrate mass. Then we’ll visit the famous roman Coliseum with the Forum. Panoramic tour through the streets of Rome. Passing by the monument of Vittorio Emmanuele. Then continue for a walking tour to visit the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Spagna and the Spanish steps. Back to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Rome – San Giovanni Rotondo
After breakfast leave to San Giovanni Rotondo, the home town of Padre Pio. We will make a stop at the Church of St. Paul outside the wall before getting to the highway celebrates mass. Arrive, dinner and overnight.
Day 6: San Giovanni Rotondo Rome
After breakfast, visit the Chapel dedicated to the Saint and also the nearby sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel celebrate mass. Back to Rome, Dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Rome – Tel Aviv – Tiberias
After breakfast and in due time, transfer to Rome Airport to board your flight to Tel Aviv. Arrive, meet, assist and transfer by coach to your hotel in Tiberias, Dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Cana – Nazareth – Haifa
After breakfast, leave to Cana of Galilee: the place of the first miracle of Jesus. Continue to Nazareth and start a walking tour from Mary’s Fountain till the Basilica of the Annunciation for a visit to Mary’s House celebrate mass, the Upper Basilica, the Museum and the Church of the Holy Family. In the afternoon, leave to Haifa, capital of the industry and the major port. Ascend 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 Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Sea of Galilee – Mount Tabor – River Jordan
After breakfast, leave to Mount of Beatitudes to recall the Sermon of the Mountain. Continue to Tabgha (Heptapegon) for a visit to 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 along the Sea of Galilee. In the afternoon, ascend to Mount Tabor and visit the Basilica of the Transfiguration celebrate mass, built of 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 your hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Tiberias – Qumran – Dead Sea – Jericho – Bethlehem
After breakfast, leave Tiberias through the Jordan Valley and travel South wards to Qumran to visit the ruins of the Essenes Monastery and view the Caves of the Scrolls. Transfer then to the Dead Sea for a possible bath in its salty waters. Continue to Jericho, considered as the oldest city in the world for a visit to Tel El-Sultan, the site of the biblical Jericho and view of Mount of Temptation. In the afternoon, drive through the Judaean Desert, passing by the Good Samaritan Inn to Bethlehem, the city of King David. Arrive to your selected hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Mount of Olives and Mount Zion
After breakfast, drive to Mount of Olives for a visit to 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 for a visit to the Church of Agony (called also of All Nations) and Mary’s Tomb in the Josaphat Valley celebrate mass.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. Back to your hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
Day 12: Jerusalem New City – Ein Karem – Bethlehem
After breakfast, an orientation tour through the New City of Jerusalem, passing by the Knesset (the Parliament) and the Hebrew University to the Israel Museum for a visit the Model of Jerusalem from the Second Temple. (Possible visit to the Shrine of the Book which hosts most of the Dead Sea Scrolls and findings). Continue then to Ein Karem, the birthplace of St. John the Baptist for a visit to the Church that recalls his birth and the one of the Visitation. In the afternoon, drive to Bethlehem for a detailed visit to the Basilica of the Nativity: the Grotto of Nativity, the Manger, St. Catherine Church, St. Joseph and St. Jerome Chapels celebrate mass. Continue to the village of Beit Sahour o visit the Shepherds’ Field with the natural grottos and the remains of the Byzantine churches and monasteries. Back to your hotel in Bethlehem for dinner and overnight.
Day 13: OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM
After breakfast, transfer to the Lions’ Gate and enter the Old City for a visit to St. Anne Church and the Pool of Bethesda. Continue then walking through the Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Cross) to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher for a detailed visit to Mount Calvary, the Holy Tomb and St. Helen Chapel celebrates mass. In the afternoon, free time for rest and/or personal activities. It could be dedicated to walk one more time through the narrow streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, Back to Bethlehem. Farewell dinner at a special Bedouin style restaurant with the intervention of a traditional folkloric dance group, overnight at the hotel.
Day 14: Bethlehem – Tel Aviv Airport – USA
After breakfast and in due time, transfer to Tel Aviv Airport to board your flight back home, assistance in the check-in procedures.