Galilee • Jerusalem • Rome • Florence
- 14 Days - Airfare and All Inclusive
There are no trip dates scheduled at this time.
Flights to the Holy Land
- Flights from your hometown! Flights can originate from anywhere in the USA, where published. You will know your flight information only after you pay your balance 120 days prior to departure. We use only reliable major airlines.
Trip Includes
- Flights can originate from anywhere in the U.S. where published. (same price) There is no supplemental surcharge to fly from an airport near your home town!
- Daily Mass is available but not mandatory. Proximo Travel always has one or more Catholic Priests accompanying the group as chaplain(s).
- Airport Taxes, Security Fees & Fuel Surcharges Saving you an average of $400-$600!
- Transfers as per itinerary.
- 4 or 5 star hotels in downtown areas.
- Transportation with luxury bus.
- All breakfasts and all dinners. Dinners take place at upscale restaurants not at the hotel. (Except in the Holy Land, at the Shrines, or when there is a long day of travel and the circumstances necessitate it.) Wine included with all dinners.
- All tips to driver, hotel, and tour guide.
- Guided Tours and Tour Fees ~ Our tour guides are very caring, licensed, and well educated. Many of our guides have their PhD's.
- Luggage handling (1 suitcase and 1 carry-on per person)
- Single Supplement (as long as the passengers is willing to room with someone and allows us to provide them with a roommate. If the passenger wants a guaranteed room to of their own, then they have to pay the $900 single supplement)
- Remember: Passengers will never be expected to pay extra for anything while on the trip ~ We always wait for passengers and never leave anyone behind.
Trip Does Not Include
- Lunch
- Trip Insurance
Day 1: Depart from USA. Arrival next day.
Day 2: Arrive in Tel Aviv at Ben Gurion Airport. Meet your fellow pilgrims and tour guides, and transfer to the hotel by deluxe motor coach. We will have a brief orientation meeting, and acclimate to our new surroundings. Dinner with wine, and overnight in Galilee.
Day 3: We begin this day with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to visit the ruins of Capernaum. Next we visit the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes and the Chapel of the Primacy at Tabgha. Proceed to visit the Mount of Beatitudes, which commemorates the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5:1-12). After lunch visit Cana in Galilee where Jesus turned water into wine during a wedding feast, and we end our tour for the day at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Dinner with wine and overnight in Galilee.
Day 4: After breakfast we drive down through the Jordan Valley to the place of baptism for a visit and for renewal of baptismal vows if desired. Our next stop will be to the oldest city in the world, Jericho, and a visit to the Mount of Temptation on which our Lord was tempted 40 days and 40 nights. We shall also view Zacchaeus' tree, then proceed to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We continue our drive on up through the Judean Wilderness to Jerusalem, and take a first glimpse of the city from the heights of Mt. Scopus before checking into ourhotel. Dinner with wine, and overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 5: After breakfast we shall start our pilgrimage in Jerusalem with a drive to Mount of Olives, from which Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection. So, our first visit is the church of the Ascension next the church of Pater Noster commemorating Jesus teaching his disciples the Lord's Prayer. Walk down the 'Palm Sunday road,' and visit the chapel of Dominus Flevit, here Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. Then proceed to the garden of Gethsemane, and see the church of Mary Magdalene, and visit the Church of all Nations. Drive to Mount Zion and visit the upper room where Jesus had his last supper. Next visit the Dormition Abbey where the Virgin Mary assumed into heaven body and soul. Before lunch we visit the church of St. Peter in Galicantu, which built over the site of the house of the high priest Caiaphas and the dungeon where our Lord was imprisoned before his trial. It is also here that Peter denied knowing Jesus thrice. After lunch we will visit Bethlehem starting the Basilica of the Nativity and the Grotto, venerated as the birthplace of Jesus (Luke 2:1-7). We will also visit the church of St Catherine, the Crusaders' Cloister, the Chapel of St Jerome and the Grotto of the Holy Innocents. Finally, we will visit the shepherd's fields before returning to our hotel, for dinner with wine and overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 6: After breakfast we will drive to St. Steven's Gate where we shall enter the old city and start our morning tour at the Crusader's church of St. Anne and the pool of the Bethesda. Continuer to the tower of Antonia where Jesus was tried and the church of the flagellation from where we follow the Stations of the Cross ending inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. After lunch we shall visit the last standing remnant of the ancient Temple at the Western (Wailing) Wall. Next and drive to Ein Karem, home of St. Elizabeth, and mother of John the Baptist to visit of the visitation and the church of St. John the Baptist.
Day 7: Fly to Rome. Check-in at your hotel. Have a leisurely afternoon.
Day 8: Start around 9:00am. Visit the Colosseum, the symbol of the city of Rome; a great building that has been standing since 80 A.D. Then visit St. John Lateran, the first Basilica ever to be built in the Roman Empire. In the afternoon, go to the breathtaking Catacombs where 500,000 people were buried. After the Catacombs our private bus will take us to enjoy a wine tasting and free time in Santa Maria in Trastevere, the most famous quarter of Rome for its beauty and quaintness. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
Day 9: Start the day around 9:30 am, by visiting St. Peter's in the Vatican, the largest Basilica in the world. There will be time for private devotion and shopping before lunch. In the afternoon we will see the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel (the Pope's private Chapel). Long pants, capris, or skirts below the knee, shoulders covered. Time to rest before dinner in the area of the hotel. Red and white wine included. Overnight in Rome.
Day 10: We will have an early start as our private bus leaves around 7:00 am to the Vatican to experience the 10:00 am Audience with the Pope. We will see the Pope very closely; sometimes we even shake his hand. There will be time for lunch in the area of the Vatican. Before we visit the Spanish Steps. This is the place where the Romans hung out. From there we will walk to Trevi Fountain, and have time for shopping. Followed by a walk to the Pantheon, the oldest functional building in the world, and then to the great artistic place of Piazza Navona around 4:30 pm. Dinner at Piazza Navona. Red and white wine included. Casual Dress throughout the day. Overnight in Rome.
Day 11: En route to Florence stop in Assisi. See the tombs of St. Francis and St. Clare; enjoy a peaceful walk on the streets of Assisi. Dinner in Tuscany. Overnight in Florence.
Day 12: Tour of Florence in the region of Tuscany. Tour of the Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, the Uffizzi, Michelangelo's masterpiece, The David, Flea Market, Duomo (Cathedral), and the Baptistery. Tour Guide will show to those interested the location of the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapel (where the Medici family was buried), and Basilica della Santa Croce (where Michelangelo and 15 other glorious Italian artists and thinkers were buried). Dinner in Florence. Red and white wine included. Casual dress throughout the day. Overnight in Florence.
Day 13: Tour of Venice: an amazing city built on water. Leave for Venice in the morning on our private bus. Estimated time of arrival is 12:00 noon. Visit St. Mark's plaza. Optional: Gondola ride and shopping. Long pants if you intend to go inside St. Mark's. Casual dress if you intend to go on a Gondola ride or spend time shopping and visiting the beautiful streets and bridges of Venice. Dinner and overnight in Venice.
Day 14: Our private bus brings us to the airport to fly back to USA.
Please note: We do our best to ensure that all sites listed in this itinerary will be seen. However, due to scheduling conflicts, or other circumstances beyond our control, sites may be visited on a different day than listed. If this happens it will also necessitate a change in the restaurant for dinner. However, we will never sacrifice the quality of the meal, all restaurants will meet Proximo Travel's very high standards. Since we have several different trip configurations touring at the same time, it is likely that groups on different tours will be combined when their itineraries overlap in certain areas. In addition, because of Jewish holidays and/or when the group is small, we may be able to add a few sites that are not on the itinerary. In order to do that, in some cases we might add one night in a certain hotel and take away a night from the other one.
