Best of Holy Land Israel & Jordan and Egypt Tour with Nile Cruise

Our representative holding a sign with your name on it will meet you at the Tel Aviv Airport upon your arrival, just after passport control. The representative will help you to pick up your luggage; afterwards you will be accompanied via Customs to meet the arranged driver that will transfer you to the hotel.

You get an evening to rest in Tel Aviv.

The overnight is in Tel Aviv.

• In the morning you will meet the tour guide and you will start your journey south from Tel Aviv, passing through cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba, the capital of the Negev Desert
• You will then continue through Arad to Masada, Israel’s leading archaeological park.
• You will have an opportunity to mount by a cable-car and visit the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots during the war they fought with the Romans, and get a perception of rituals, culture, and politics of the people whole lived there. The tour includes a visit to Herod’s palaces, the excavations, the synagogue, bathhouse and cisterns, and a spectacular view on the Roman camps and the Dead Sea that you will be able to delight in.
• The lowest site on Earth is the Dead Sea, and you will have an opportunity to enjoy in the black mud that’s full of minerals and to float in the salty water of the Dead Sea.
• Through the Judean Desert you will pass the magnificent oasis of Ein Gedi, and will continue to Jerusalem.
• Your overnight will be in Jerusalem.

• The first place you will visit will be the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book where you can see the well-known Dead Sea scrolls. After that you will have a visit to the newly renovated model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem that dates back to the period of the Second Temple.
• Your next visit will be dedicated to the scenic village of Ein Karem that sits in the south western bounds of Jerusalem. The village is very imperative in Christian traditions, as it is the place of birth of John the Baptist.
• Situated at the bottom of Mt. Hertzl is the next location you are going to visit, the Yad Vashem from 1953, the official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
• Next stop is Bethlehem, and the Church of the Nativity, the place where Jesus was born, and Manger Square.
• Return to the hotel in Jerusalem.

• A day for visiting the Old City of Jerusalem, the Western Wall, and the location of the Temple Mount, the Second Temple.
• You will have the opportunity to walk the Way of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the customary site of Crucifixion and the Tomb of the Resurrection are located.
• The Mount Zion is located in the southwest on the outskirts of the Old City, and there you can see the tomb of King David and the Room where the Last Supper happened.
• The most exquisite panoramic view on the sacred city of Jerusalem can be found on the crest of Mount of Olives.
• You can visit the place where Judas betrayed Jesus, the Garden of Gethsemane.
• Something that you can’t miss when visiting Jerusalem is Mahane Yehuda, in the downtown. It’s a specific open market, the largest in Israel, and there you will be able to experience the traditional flavors, smell the aromas, enjoy the colors and blend with the locals.

• You will leave Jerusalem and go north passing by Jericho, the eldest city in the world.
• You will travel through the Jordan Valley and the new settlements to Beit Shean, and you will be able to visit the archaeological site of this exquisitely preserved Roman City.
• You will head off to Nazareth so you could visit the Church of the Annunciation and Christian holy sites.
• The world famous artistic colony is located in the center of Jewish mysticism, Safed, the city of the Kabbalah.
• Your overnight is in a Kibbutz hotel in the Galilee.

• You will pass by the source of the Jordan River and the former Syrian fortifications, Banias, as you go to the Golan Heights, as well as the Druze villages.
• The wine in Israel is exquisite so you will have an opportunity to enjoy in wine tasting alongside a stunning view of vineyards. On your tour you will become familiar with some fine and rare wines and learn about the whole process of wine production.
• After the tour you will go to the shore of the Sea of Galilee and head to Capernaum to see the ruins of an early synagogue, as well as the Mount of Beatitudes, where the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ happened and the traditional location of the ‘miracle of the fish and the loaves’, Tabgha.
• Near is the old center of Jewish learning, Tiberias.
• There is an option of sailing with a boat across the lake, the Sea of Galilee. If you choose that you will experience the serenity of the water and stunning background that didn’t change much during the past 2000 years (subject to conditions and fee).
• You will return to the Kibbutz hotel for overnight.

• A drive through the hills of the Galilee, all the way to Acre where you will visit the old stronghold of the Crusaders and medieval defenses, is scheduled after breakfast.
• You will go to Haifa, and go up the Mount Carmel to delight in in a panoramic view of the city and the landscape, such as Baha’i Shrine, Persian Garden, and Haifa bay.
• Alongside the Mediterranean cost you will arrive to Caesarea to see the Roman Theater and the fortress of the Crusaders, also known as the “masterpiece of Herod the Great”.
• You will end your day in a brief walk in Tel Aviv and the old port of Jaffa.
• Overnight is in Tel Aviv.

• From Tel Aviv you will head off to the border crossing called Sheikh Hussein where you will proceed to enter Jordan.
• When you arrive in Jordan you will go to Jerash, a city that’s around 45km of Amman. There you will be able to visit the old Roman city with colonnaded roads, the baths and the hill of the top Temple, and many more.
• You will get to know the capital of Jordan, Amman, through a panoramic tour of the city.
• Overnight is in Amman.

• The plan is to leave the hotel after breakfast and travel to Wadi Musa, the contemporary village of Petra.
• You will have a chance to ride a horse to the “Siq” canyon, and proceed on foot to Petra, the world-famous city of red rocks, which was the capital of Nabateans from 3rd century BC to 2nd Century AD.
• The important sites that you will see while at Petra are the Treasury, the tomb of a Nabatean King – El Khazneh, the field of tombs, obelisks, the altar, and Al Madhbah – from this point you can view the whole of the rock city.
• After that you will return to Wadi Musa village.
• Overnight is in Petra.

• Visit the remains of the church from the time of Byzantine, at Madaba, and the most magnificent mosaic floor map that shows the Holy Land and Jerusalem. It is the oldest original cartographic representation that survived of these locations.
• Visit Mount Nebo, the place where Moses first saw the Promised Land, the Jordan Valley, Jericho, and the Dead Sea.
• You will go to Queen Alia International Airport located in Amman.
• A flight is arranged from Amman to Cairo.
• Our representative holding a sign with your name on it will meet you at the Cairo International Airport upon your arrival, just after passport control. The representative will help you with the formalities concerning passport and visa; afterwards you will be accompanied to meet the arranged driver that will transfer you to the hotel.
• Overnight is in Cairo.

• You will start your day with a tour of the Egyptian Museum that houses the treasures and possessions from the Tut-Ankh-Amun burial site.
• You will have a chance to enjoy a marvelous view of the city of Cairo from the Citadel.
• You’ll visit the Alabaster Mosque, which is a gem of Cairo’s skyline.
• One thing that you shouldn’t miss when visiting Cario is the world-known Khan-el-Khalili bazaar, so you will have some free time to roam the labyrinth of cobbled pathways and enjoy shopping. There you can buy many interesting souvenirs, traditional spices, perfumes, and jewelry.
• Overnight is in Cairo.

• The ancient capital of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Memphis is the first location on the list. You will see the titanic Statue of Ramesses II and the Alabaster Sphinx.
• The next is the “Cemetery City” of Sakkara and the oldest of all Pyramids, the Step Pyramid of King Zoser.
• The afternoon is reserved for the visit to the magnificent Great Pyramids of Giza, the one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one wonder that survived the burden of time.
• Nearby, the mystical Sphinx surveys the plains of Giza. The 20m high man-animal Sphinx, created as a “living image of the sun-god”, built by Chephren to guard the entrance to the Pyramids.
• Overnight is in Cairo.

• You will be transferred to Cairo Airport for a flight to Aswan.
• There you will get on your cruise ship, and start off your journey to the rock-fill dam, Aswan High Dam, that captures the best known river in the world, the Nile.
• You will visit a temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, the Philae Temple.
• In the afternoon revel in a Felucca trip to the lavish Botanic Garden on Kitchener’s Island. You will also have a chance to visit Elephantine Island and to cruise past Aga Khan’s Mausoleum on the west bank.
• Overnight is on-board the Nile Cruiser.

• The cruise will continue to Kom Ombo to visit the Temple of Sobek and Haroeris, which are dedicated to the crocodile god and the falcon-headed god.
• From that point the cruise continues alongside the Nile towards Edfu.
• Overnight is on-board Nile Cruiser.

• When you arrive to Edfu you will have an amazing experience riding in a horse-drawn carriage, that will drive you to the ancient Greek-built Horus temple, that is still greatly preserved. The temple is dedicated to the Falcon God, and built high enough so that it doesn’t damage from the flooding of the Nile that happens every year.
• You will return to your Nile Cruiser and delight in the shifting backdrops as you cruise to Esna and cross through the Esna Lock.
• Overnight is on-board Nile Cruiser.

• Travel to the West Bank and visit Thebes Necropolis and the Valley of Kings, a vast City of the Dead for generations of Pharaohs, where magnificent tombs were carved into the desert rock, richly decorated and filled with treasures for the afterlife.
• Visit the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
• See the Colossi of Memnon, which is all that remains of the Temple of Amenophis, destroyed by the annual flooding of the Nile.
• Visit the Luxor Temple, discovered beneath the shifting desert sands and originally joined to the Karnak Temple by an avenue of Sphinxes.
• Transfer to Luxor Airport for flight to Cairo and transfer to Cairo hotel.
• Overnight is in Cairo.

You will be transferred to Cairo Airport for a departing international flight.