Join hosts Daniel and Carol Ketchum on this Israel Journey of a Lifetime with Becoming Love Ministries. This 11-day Israel journey will take you to some of the country’s most significant cities and landmarks. See the Bible come to life before your eyes on this educational tour through Israel.
AT A GLANCE
STATUS
Registration is closed.
DATES
Departing: May 3, 2024
Returning: May 13, 2024
PRICING
Starting at $3,300 per person for double-room occupancy; LAND ONLY (flights are secured individually)
A single room is available at a supplemental cost of $1,100
Each traveler must have:
Current US Passport valid until at least six months AFTER the return date;
Travel insurance.
Your tour includes:
First-class and deluxe hotels;
Land transportation via a deluxe motor coach (WiFi equipped);
Professional tour guide and driver;
Entrance fees to all activities listed on the itinerary;
Breakfast and dinner daily with special meals noted on the itinerary (lunch is purchased on own unless otherwise noted);
Luggage handling at hotels.
Your tour does NOT include:
Travel insurance (required);
Domestic or international flights;
Gratuities for guide and driver (Please give at least $120 per registrant in cash to your tour host at the beginning of your journey. You may give more at the end of your journey if you desire.).
*See Terms and Conditions for details.
ITINERARY Land itinerary is subject to change due to touring availability.
Day 1: Friday, May 3, 2024
Today we depart on our Israel journey from the USA on our overnight flight to Tel Aviv, Israel.
Day 2: Saturday, May 4, 2024
Upon arrival at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, our Israeli host will assist us with the transfer of our luggage. We will meet our guide, board our deluxe motor coach, and drive to our hotel on the beautiful shores of the Mediterranean Sea in Netanya.
Day 3: Sunday, May 5, 2024
After our first Israeli breakfast, we will drive north up the coast to Caesarea Maritima, built by King Herod the Great in 22 BC. After viewing the extensive ruins of this ancient port city, we will continue to Megiddo and see the site overlooking the Valley of Armageddon where the final battle is prophesied to happen. After lunch, we will visit the ancient city of Zippori where Jesus would have visited and worked as a young man. Then we will drive through Nazareth as we travel to Mount Precipice, the traditional site for where Jesus was rejected by an angry mob and where a miracle occurred. The view of the Jezreel Valley below is magnificent. Dinner and overnight at our Sea of Galilee hotel.
Day 4: Monday, May 6, 2024
After breakfast at the hotel, we set out to see the beautiful Mt. of Beatitudes believed to be the setting for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. We will then stop at Tabgha on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. This spot is traditionally thought to be where the miracle of the loaves and fish took place. Then we drive to Capernaum, known as Jesus’ hometown and the scene of many of his miracles and where he called his first disciples. Next, we will see an ancient boat dated to the time of Jesus, enjoy a delicious fish lunch, and take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Afterward, we drive to Magdala, a major 1st-century port on the Sea of Galilee, a center of trade and commerce, and an exporter of salted fish to markets as far away as Europe. It is here we will see a 1st-century synagogue where Jesus would have taught. We end our day with dinner and overnight at our Sea of Galilee hotel.
Day 5: Tuesday, May 7, 2024
After breakfast at the hotel, we begin our day with a drive to Caesarea Philippi (Banias), a city of Greek-Roman culture known for its worship of foreign gods, and where Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Next, we visit Tel Dan, where the tribe of Dan lived. Dan introduced idolatry into the land of Israel, and it was here where King Jeroboam set up a high place of worship for a golden calf. After lunch, we will drive the Road to Damascus and visit Mt. Bental, an abandoned IDF bunker overlooking the Syrian border where we will learn of the battles that took place here. We will visit the ancient city of Gamla and see the largest and oldest synagogue in the Galilee before we experience true Israeli hospitality and dinner in the home of our CEO, Omer Eshel, on the Cliffs of Gadara where Jesus cast the demons (legion) into the swine. Omer’s wife, Michal, will offer for sale jewelry that she designed originally. Overnight at our Sea of Galilee hotel.
Day 6: Wednesday, May 8, 2024
After breakfast at the hotel, we begin our day with a time of spiritual blessing as we stop at Yardenit, the baptismal site at the headwaters of the Jordan River. Here you are invited to be baptized if you choose. We will then travel to Beit She’an where we will see the most extensive and best preserved ruins of this Decapolis city. It is here that King Saul was defeated and killed, along with his three sons. This city was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 749. After lunch, we travel to Qumran, the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We will drive through Jericho and can see the Mt. of Temptation along the way. We have a brief stop at the beautiful desert oasis, Ein Gedi, where David hid from Saul when he pursued him to kill him, before arriving at the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea. Dinner and overnight are at our Dead Sea hotel.
Day 7: Thursday, May 9, 2024
Breakfast is at the hotel and today we will enjoy a later check out to allow you time to float on the Dead Sea if you choose. Afterward, we set out to see the incredible rock-top fortress of Masada. This once palatial refuge for Herod the Great is better known as the location of a Roman siege against 960 Jewish defenders in AD 74. After lunch, we will drive to the Elah Valley where we will see an authentic 1st century tomb owned by a wealthy family and a Roman Theater where early Christians were fed to the wild beasts. Next, we will visit Tel Azeqa and overlook the valley where the battle of David and Goliath took place. We will then drive to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight at our Jerusalem hotel.
Day 8: Friday, May 10, 2024
After breakfast at our hotel, we will visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial and Museum, and the Friends of Zion Museum dedicated to the Christian friends of the Jewish nation. After lunch, we will visit the Garden Tomb, the traditional Golgotha, believed by many to be the burial place of Jesus. We will observe communion with those who choose to participate. Next, we will visit the Church of the Nazarene in Jerusalem before returning to our hotel for Shabbat dinner and overnight at our Jerusalem hotel. Shabbat Shalom!
Day 9: Saturday, May 11, 2024
After breakfast at the hotel, we will have an early morning visit to The Temple Mount (depending on accessibility) and observe a time of prayer at the Western Wall (Kotel). Next, we will enjoy an amazing view of Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives and then visit the Garden of Gethsemane. This is the site where Jesus prayed in agony before his arrest. We will have a time of reflection and prayer in a private garden. After lunch, we will visit the Israel Museum and see a large model of Jerusalem from the time of Jesus, the Shrine of the Book, where you will see pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls and many other artifacts. Dinner and overnight are at our Jerusalem hotel.
Day 10: Sunday, May 12, 2024
After breakfast at the hotel, we will visit the City of David, see the Pool of Siloam, and walk through the Canaanite (dry) tunnel. We will see areas where Jesus would have walked and perhaps taught such as the Southern Steps of the Temple (Gate Beautiful) at the Davidson Center, the Trumpeter Stone, and Robinson’s Arch. We will have lunch in the Old City of Jerusalem and tour the Four Quarters with free time at the Cardo, Israel’s oldest marketplace. Afterward, we will visit the King of Kings Community Jerusalem, one of the main centers of Messianic Jews and Evangelical local communities in Jerusalem. We will see the King of Kings’ “Summit Prayer Tower” with an overlook of the city and visit with leaders of the Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries (FIRM). We will enjoy a farewell dinner before departing for the airport to begin our overnight journey home.
Day 11: Monday, May 13, 2024
Overnight flight home to USA. Shalom and Blessings until next time!