Depart the USA for the Biblical Heartland.

Arrive in Tel Aviv. Transfer to our hotel in Netanya overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Travel to Caesarea-by-the-Sea, a site built as the imperial center for the Roman government. Its harbor, theater, and marbled streets signal the arrival of foreign occupation in the Heartland and, not surprisingly, the beginning point for Christianity in the Gentile world. Visit Mount Carmel, where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal. Visit the site of Megiddo, an ancient command post. Many battles were waged in its shadow, including those of Israelite kings and Egyptian pharaohs. Overnight in Tiberias.

Dawn comes early at Magdala, an industrial site on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. View impressive remains that illustrate the fishing industry from the time of Christ. From Magdala, travel to other nearby places linked to specific Gospel moments: the calling of the disciples, miracle feedings, the Sermon on the Mount, and the restoration of Peter. Travel to Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry. Visit the synagogue that stands on the site where Jesus taught. Finally, board a boat of your own and ride across the Sea of Galilee. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.

Spend a day in the rolling hills of Galilee, visiting sites and people connected to early Christianity. Walk through the Church of the Annunciation, a structure built over the traditional home of Jesus. Explore Nazareth Village, a living display of lifeways in biblical times. Visit nearby Sepphoris, an opulent Galilean capital from the Roman and Byzantine Periods. On the return to Tiberias, stop for a stunning view overlooking the Sea of Galilee at Mount Arbel. Return to Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

Experience the beauty of the far north. Leave the Sea of Galilee behind and travel to the site of Dan. Here, an Israelite “high place,” gate complex, and fortification walls are visible. Continue to the birthplace of Jordan River at Panias, named after the goat-god, Pan. Consider the nearby site of Caesarea Philippi, where Peter declared Jesus to be “the Christ.” Finally, climb into the heights of Mount Hermon, a snowy peak that marks the highest spot in all the Heartland. From a castle built in the crusader period, take in a view to the region where Jesus was transfigured. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.

Explore the ruins of Jericho where the walls came tumbling down! Travel to Qasr al-Yahud for a personal experience with the Jordan River. Stop for a peek at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Go for an optional swim in the Dead Sea. Continue to Bethlehem for dinner and a well-deserved rest.

Rise early to visit the Herodium, Herod’s mountain fortress. Here, the First Jewish Revolt was brought to a bitter end by the Romans. Travel to Shepherds’ Field, where the Good News was first heard. Continue to Bethlehem and experience the place where the Christian story begins: the Church of the Nativity. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem

Stand on the Mount of Olives for a view to the Old City of Jerusalem, Walk down the Palm Sunday Road to the Garden of Gethsemane. Enter the Old City and walk the path of the Via Dolorosa. Along the way, visit the Pool of Bethesda, the Church of St Anne and Ecce Homo. Finally, visit the site dubbed the most sacred in all Christianity: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.

Consider the roots of Jerusalem as a sacred city to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Walk on the Temple Mount, where Solomon’s glorious temple once stood and Muslims continue to pray today. Experience the Western Wall, a place of meditation and celebration. Go underground and witness Jerusalem’s earliest remains, including a Canaanite wall, the possible site of David’s palace, and a spectacular water system (conditions permitting) that terminates in the Pool of Siloam. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Travel west into Philistine country. Walk the Valley of Elah, a site where David once faced the Goliath. Scamper through the man-made caves of Beth Guvrin, a center of life for the region in the New Testament period and beyond. Explore the site of Lachish, an Old Testament site twice captured by Judah’s enemies. Return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Start this relaxing last day in the Israel Museum, a treasure-house of artifacts. Return to our Jerusalem hotel after lunch for cleanup, packing, dinner, and a transfer to the airport for an overnight flight home.

Arrive home in the USA.