Itinerary Details
Insight Vacations: Israel & Jordan - Small Group, Winter
Day 1 - Welcome to Tel Aviv
You will be met at Ben Gurion Airport and driven to your hotel in Tel Aviv.
Accommodations: Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel.
Day 2 - Exploring Vibrant Tel Aviv Relaxed Start
Morning sightseeing showcases the highlights of this vibrant city, including the Habimah National Theater, Rabin Square and Carmel Market. Venture along the seashore to the ancient city of Jaffa to see the famous clock tower and the old harbor. Visit the artists' quarter with its galleries, boutiques and picturesque narrow lanes. Walk along the seaside promenade at sunset for spectacular views, as local musicians and street artists take to the stage. Meet a local artist at their gallery for an insight into their work and inspiration.
Accommodations: Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 3 - Caesarea to Galilee
Travel from Tel Aviv, along the coastal road to Caesarea. Explore the ancient Roman and Crusader ruins, including the huge amphitheater. Travel via Haifa to Acre, fought over for centuries and captured in turn by Saracens and Crusaders, including Richard the Lionheart. See the fortress, the old harbor area and Crusader crypt. Continue to Nazareth and visit one of Christianity’s most sacred places, the Church of Annunciation, built on the site where the angel Gabriel is said to have appeared to Mary. Head on to your hotel in Tiberias, which is located on the Sea of Galilee. The day concludes with a brief introduction to life on a Kibbutz. This evening, break traditional challah bread with your travel companions over a cheerful Shabbat dinner.
Accommodations: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Tiberias.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Day 4 - Hula Valley Relaxed Start
Join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience and meet a ranger for a tour of the Agmon Hahula natural reserve. This nature reserve is home to endangered plant species native of the Hula Valley, and also hosts a bird park on one of the most important migration routes in the world.
Accommodations: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Tiberias.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5 - To the Dead Sea
Explore Galilee with Insight Choice. Choose to cruise the serene waters of lake Kinneret for glorious views of the Golan Heights. Alternatively, find out more about the remains of a first century fishing boat that was found embedded at the bottom of the lake. Visit Capernaum, where Jesus is said to have entered the synagogue to teach, before heading to the Mount of Beatitudes, where he preached the Sermon on the Mount. Journey through ever-changing landscapes along the Jordan Valley, past ancient Jericho, to take a dip in the buoyant salt waters of the Dead Sea.
Accommodations: Milos Dead Sea Hotel, Ein Bokek.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 - Masada and the Holy City of Jerusalem
Take a cable car ride up to the fortress of Masada, where Jewish zealots held out for three years against King Herod's armies. Travel through the Judean Hills to Mount Scopus for breathtaking views of Jerusalem. Visit King David's Tomb on Mount Zion, and the Room of the Last Supper. Enter the Old City and follow the winding cobbled alleyways to the magnificent Wailing Wall, the most sacred monument in Judaism.
Accommodations: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 7 - Exploring Jerusalem
Today is dedicated to exploring the multiple facets of Jerusalem. Visit Yad Vashem, a memorial for those who perished in the Holocaust. Continue to the Israel Museum and retrace the history of the city. Visit the Shrine of the Book, home to ancient Dead Sea scrolls, and look out for the most ancient one, the Isaiah scroll, dating from the third century B.C.
Accommodations: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 8 - Optional Bethlehem Experience Relaxed Start
Enjoy a relaxed morning or alternatively choose to meet your Local Expert at the West Bank border and continue to the Holy city of Bethlehem. The Optional Experience includes visiting the Church of the Nativity, one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Christ, and is considered sacred by followers of both Christianity and Islam. In the afternoon, visit the Garden of Gethsemene and walk through the Old City to see the Temple Mount, one of Islam’s holiest sites. Continue along the Via Dolorosa past the Stations of the Cross, Ecce Homo Arch, and the Pool of Bethesda, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At night, toast your adventures over a hearty Highlight Dinner with wine.
Accommodations: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Day 9 - From Jerusalem to Amman
Travel through the Judaean Desert to the border of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. You are met on the other side to journey through a landscape that has changed little in the last 2,000 years. Once at your Amman hotel, relax and settle in before meeting your Jordanian Travel Director for drinks and dinner.
Accommodations: Amman Marriott Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Day 10 - Exploring Amman and Jerash
After breakfast depart for Iraq Al-Amir. Join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience and visit a women's cooperative, working with women and girls from the nearby Wadi Al Seer villages. The association is supported by Insight Vacations through The TreadRight Foundation and provides training and work opportunities for women in the region. Then, the journey to Jerash reveals the most beautifully preserved example of a Greco-Roman city still in existence. Enter through Hadrian's Arch, to explore the grand ruins of the Temples of Artemis and Zeus, where you can listen to the Whispering Column. Overlook the vast Oval Plaza and Cardo Maximus, the key Roman road. Enjoy an al fresco lunch of natural produce and family recipes at Beit Khairat Souf, during a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. This women-owned café is combatting female unemployment and aims to build a strong community of women leaders. Return to Amman where the rest of the day is at leisure.
Accommodations: Amman Marriott Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 11 - Red city of Petra
Continue to Mount Nebo, one of the most revered holy sites of Jordan, where Moses stood and saw before him the Promised Land. At Madaba, visit the famous Greek Orthodox Church of St. George with its amazing 6th century mosaic map depicting the entire Holy Land, stretching from Jordan and Palestine in the north, to Egypt in the south. Follow the King's Highway to visit Shobak, an authentic 12th century crusader fortress, perched on the side of a rocky mountain, standing guard over a barren and desolate land. Admire the towers and Arabic calligraphy on the external walls before discovering the original Crusader chapel, palace complex, and even a set of secret passages!Then head south for one of the highlights of your journey: the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Petra, voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Accommodations: Petra Marriott Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Day 12 - Exploring the Lost City of Petra
This day is devoted to the beautiful ‘rose-red city, half as old as time'. You enter this lost city through a narrow gorge, the Siq, with walls that rise up to 200 meters. Emerge from the path to see the magnificent Treasury, carved out of solid rock and standing over 40 meters high. Wind your way through the canyon to explore the ancient tombs and the Roman Amphitheater, which once seated 3,000 spectators. Dine with locals at the Ammarin desert camp with a stunning backdrop.
Accommodations: Petra Marriott Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 13 - Wadi Rum with the Bedouin
Head to Wadi Rum. Enjoy beautiful vistas as you make your way on a jeep safari deep, into the heart of Wadi Rum's majestic desert. Enjoy the spectacular Bedouin hospitality tonight as you dine with locals under the stars. Wadi Rum is known as one of the world's best place for stargazing. After dinner join an astronomer for a private stargazing session, a magical experience. Stay in elegant simplicity in a desert camp for the night.
Accommodations: Sun City Camp, Wadi Rum.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 14 - Amman
If you wish, start the day with sunrise yoga at the Bedouin camp, before returning to Amman. Explore Amman with Insight Choice. Choose between joining a guided sightseeing to discover the highlights of the city and learn about the history and culture or alternatively, explore Amman's street art scene on a guided graffiti walking tour. Later, Check in at your hotel where the rest of your day is at leisure. Join in a lively dinner to celebrate the end of your Jordanian adventures.
Accommodations: Amman Marriott Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Day 15 - Depart Amman
After breakfast, you are transferred to Amman Airport for your onward flight.
Meals: Breakfast
