Sunday Departure.
Upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel in Tel Aviv. Evening at leisure in Tel Aviv. Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Meet you tour guide in the morning and set off from Tel Aviv to Masada, Israel’s foremost archaeological park. Ascend via cable-car for a thorough visit that gives insight to the rituals, politics and culture of the people who inhabited this desert fortress, which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod’s palaces, the synagogue, bathhouse and cisterns, and enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Descend to the lowest place on earth – the Dead Sea, to experience the mineral-rich black mud and to float in its salty waters. Passing by the oasis of Ein Gedi, proceed through the Judean Desert to Jerusalem.
Start the day at the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea scrolls, then a visit to the beautifully renovated model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem, dating back to the time of the Second Temple. Visit Yad Vashem the official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953, located at the foot of Mt. Hertzl. Enjoy Ein Karem, a picturesque village on the southwestern outskirts of Jerusalem. This small village has great significance in Christian traditions, since this is where according to tradition John the Baptist was born. Visit Bethlehem – the birthplace of Jesus at the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square.
Enter the Old City of Jerusalem where you will see the Western Wall and the actual site of the Second Temple, the Temple Mount. Walk the Way of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, to Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, housing both the traditional site of Crucifixion and the Tomb of the Resurrection. To the southwest, just outside the Old City, is Mount Zion, with the traditional tomb of King David and the Room of the Last Supper. Enjoy the spectacular panoramic view of Jerusalem - the holy city for each of the world’s three great religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam, from atop the Mount of Olives. Visit the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas betrayed Jesus. In the heart of a neighbourhood in downtown Jerusalem, visit Mahane Yehuda to experience the flavours, aromas, colours, and the traders’ interaction with the crowds, at the largest open market in Israel.
Drive from Jerusalem to the Sheikh Hussein border crossing for procedures to enter Jordan. Proceed to Jerash - city of the Decapolis, located about 45km north of Amman in the fertile heights of the Gilad. Visit the ancient Roman city with colonnaded streets, the baths and the hill of the top Temple. Drive to Amman for a panoramic city tour of the Jordanian capital including the Citadel and Roman Amphitheatre.
After breakfast drive to Mount Nebo, from where Moses viewed the Promised Land. From here you will see the Jordan Valley, Jericho, and the Dead Sea. Continue south along the Desert Highway to Wadi Musa, the modern village of Petra. Enter the site of Petra and walk, or ride on horseback, to the “Siq” (Canyon). Walk through the “Siq” to the red rock city, the ancient capital of the Nabateans from 3rd Century BC to 2nd Century AD. Visit the most interesting carved monuments such as the Treasury (El Khazneh - a tomb of a Nabatean king) then the field of tombs, obelisks and the altar. From this point, you can view the whole of rock city. After the visit, return to Wadi Musa.
After breakfast drive south to the towering mountains and rock formations of Wadi Rum, which mesmerized Lawrence of Arabia. Drive through the stunning landscapes in open Bedouin trucks, visiting the Lawrence Spring and Khazali Canyon. Drive north to Madaba to visit the remains of the Byzantine church with its ancient mosaic floor map, the oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the mosaic map of the Holy Land and Jerusalem.
After breakfast, leave the hotel and drive to the border. Cross the Jordan River and drive back to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Ben Gurion Airport for departing flight.
• Transfer on arrival (from Ben Gurion Airport)
• 7 nights accommodation on Bed & Breakfast basis
• 6 touring days as per itinerary
• Entrance fees to the sites visited as per itinerary.
• Assistance at Ben Gurion Airport upon arrival.
• Border taxes and border shuttle transfers, approximately AUD 145 per person to be paid on the spot.
• Entry visa to Jordan ( if required for restricted nationalities).
* Supplements for 6 dinners, daily except arrival day, per person available on request.
Hotels Used or similar
Deluxe
Tel Aviv - Carlton
Jerusalem - David Citadel / Mamilla
Amman - Movenpick
Petra - Movenpick Resort Petra
Superior
Tel Aviv - Dan Panorama / Crowne Plaza Beach
Jerusalem - Dan Panorama / Cassia / Vert
Amman - Regency Palace
Petra - Old Village Resort
First Class
Tel Aviv - Metropolitan / Grand Beach
Jerusalem - Grand Court / Ramada
Amman - Grand Palace
Petra -Petra Moon / Petra Canyon / Petra Elite
Please note that the sequence of the tour and sites visited may be amended due to circumstances at the company’s or the guide’s discretion.
- Children under the age of 5 years are not accepted on this tour
SUNDAY DEPARTURE.