Tour Description:
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Friday - Ben Gurion Airport / Tel Aviv
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, where you will be met by a Diesenhaus Unitours representative and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight: Tel Aviv.
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Saturday - At leisure
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
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Sunday - Diaspora Museum / Caesarea / Druze villages
Depart Tel Aviv and drive to the Diaspora Museumfor a visit. Proceed along the coastal plain to Caesarea, capital of Judea under the Romans. See the excavations of the Crusader City and the Roman Port, Aqueduct and the Amphitheater that has been restored to its former splendor as a concert venue. Continue via the Druze Villages to Haifa.
Overnigh in: Haifa.
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Monday - Haifa / Safed / Golan Heights
The tour of Haifa will begin at the summit of Mount Carmel for a breathtaking panoramic view of the Haifa Bay and Western Galilee. Continue on to the golden domed Bahai Shrine to visit the exotic Persian Gardens. Proceed to Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism, where you will visit the ancient synagogues and the artists’ colony. Continue to the Golan Heights to see the former Syrian bunkers, Kuneitra and the new Israeli town of Katzrin.
Overnight at a Kibbutz guesthouse.
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Tuesday - Sea of Galilee / Nazareth
Start the day with a visit of Tiberias. Drive to Capernaum to view the ruins of the synagogue and octagonal church of St. Peter. Proceed to Nazareth. Here you will visit the Church of the Annunciation. Drive via Beit Shean to Beit Alpha to see the remains of the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue depicting the zodiac.
Overnight: Jerusalem.
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Wednesday - Jerusalem: Old City
Visit King David's tomb and the Room of the Last Supper on Mt. Zion. Enter the walled city and walk through the newly restored Jewish Quarter. Visit the Roman Cardo, the Herodian Quarter and continue to the Western Wall. Walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Proceed to Mount Scopus and then on to the Mount of Olives for a magnificent panoramic view of the Old City. Continue to Bethlehem, stopping at Rachel’s Tomb and to visit the Church of the Nativity (visit subject to availability).
Overnight in Jerusalem.
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Thursday - Jerusalem: New City
Drive to the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem to see the Chagall stained glass windows. Continue to Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust and then on to the Israel Museum. Visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed and the miniature model of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple period . View the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, and the Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew University.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
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Friday - Qumran / Masada / Dead Sea
Drive through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth, almost 1300 feet (400 meters) below sea level. Stop at Qumran to visit the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada. Ascend by cable car and tour the ancient fortress where the Zealots made their last stand against the Romans before committing mass suicide in 73 AD. Descend by cable car. Time and weather permitting, an opportunity will be provided to float in the Dead Sea.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
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Saturday - At leisure
Overnight in Jerusalem.
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Sunday - Beer Sheva / Sde Boker / Mitzpe Ramon / Eilat
Travel south to the Negev desert; Visit Israel's Air Force Museum at Hatzerim to view the planes and equipment and to hear the story of this brave fighting force. Stop for a camel riding experience and a visit to an authentic Bedouin tent, learn about the Bedouin hospitality and enjoy a light lunch. Proceed to visit Sde Boker and see Ben Gurion's hut and grave, overlooking the magnificent Zin valley. Stop at Mitzpeh Ramon to gaze into the Ramon Crater, an otherworldly geological wonder.
Arrive to Eilat for overnight.
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Monday - At leisure or optional tour to Petra (additional charge)
After visa assistance at the Jordaian border, drive straight to Petra through desert highways. Your ultimate destination is the astonishing rose-red city of Petra which was built by the Nabateans (an early Arab tribe). Petra was renowned for its massive architecture, pools, dams and water channels. Petra is the legacy of the Nabateans who settled in the South of Jordan more than two-thousand years ago. The visit begins with the possibility of short horseback-riding of about 700 m. until the entrance of the Siq, which is about 1.2 km long (walking distance). There is a possibility to rent a chariot (extra) to get inside Petra and back to the gate outside. Petra is famous for its huge monuments such as the Treasury, Royal Tombs, The Court, Roman Theatre, Roman Street, Qassier El-Bint (Palace of Pharaoh's daughter) and many other smaller monuments which facsinate visitors. The city itself is almost 45 square km and is considered to be the second wonder of the world. After the visit, enjoy lunch at a nice restaurant followed by a drive back to the border. En-route, stop for a short visitat Aqaba with possibility for a short walk. Transfer to border at approximately 18:00 for crossing to Eilat.
Overnight in Eilat.
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Tuesday - Eilat / Timna / Tel Aviv
Visit the underwater observatory, one of the largest seaquariums in the world, built into the coral reef. Drive to Timna to see the copper mines and King Solomon's pillars and marvel at the huge multi-colored rock formations.
Drive back to Tel Aviv for overnight.
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Wednesday - Tel Aviv / Ben Gurion Airport.
After breakfast, transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure.
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