Day 1: DEPART USA
Board your overnight flight (not included).

Day 2: TEL AVIV AT LEISURE
Welcome to Israel. You are met at Ben Gurion airport and transferred to your hotel.

Day 3: JAFFA EXCURSION
A sightseeing tour of this lively city reveals all the highlights: the Habimah National Theatre, Rabin Square and the Carmel market. Then drive along the seashore to the ancient port of Jaffa to spend some time in the flea market and explore the artists’ galleries. Visit Mini Israel, a miniature park featuring 330 replica models which showcase Israel’s cultural, historic and religious diversity. Tonight enjoy a Shabbat dinner at your hotel.(Buffet Breakfast / Highlight Dinner)

Day 4: TEL AVIV - GALILEE
Drive along the coastal road to explore the Roman and Crusader ruins at Caesarea. Travel via Haifa, Israel’s northern port to Acre. See the fortress, the old harbour area and Crusader crypt before continuing to Nazareth. Visit the Church of the Annunciation, on the site where the angel is said to have appeared to Mary. The day concludes with a visit to a Kibbutz for a brief introduction to this communal way of life.(Buffet Breakfast / Dinner)

Day 5: GALILEE - DEAD SEA
Start the day with a morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Visit the ancient wooden boat, dating back to the time of Jesus. Visit Capernaum where Jesus is said to have entered the Synagogue and taught, and then head to the Mount of Beatitudes, where He preached the Sermon on the Mount. Now journey along the Jordan valley to take a dip in the therapeutic and mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea.(Buffet Breakfast / Dinner)

Day 6: DEAD SEA - JERUSALEM
In the cool of the morning, take a thrilling cable-car ride up to the awe-inspiring hill top fortress of Masada. It was here in 73 A.D that 960 Jewish Zealots held out against the Romans, until they finally chose mass suicide rather than slavery. Later, pass the caves of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, before driving through the Judean hills to Jerusalem. Begin your sightseeing with a breathtaking view over this most hallowed of cities from Mount Scopus. Visit King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion, the Room of the Last Supper and the Western Wall, Judaism’s most sacred site.(Buffet Breakfast)

Day 7: JERUSALEM
Tour Yad-Vashem, the moving museum commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. Continue to the Shrine of the Book, housed in the Israel Museum which also contains the Dead Sea Scrolls. Later, you have the opportunity of joining an optional excursion to visit Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.(Buffet Breakfast)

Day 8: JERUSALEM
Wander through the tranquil Garden of Gethsemene at the Church of All Nations before entering Jerusalem’s Old City to view the Temple Mount, one of Islam’s holiest sites. Continue in the footsteps of Jesus along the Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross. See the Ecce Homo Arch, Pool of Bethesda and finish at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site of the Crucifixion. This evening enjoy a Celebration Dinner with wine and good cheer at a lively Jerusalem restaurant.(Buffet Breakfast / Celebration Dinner)

Day 9: JERUSALEM - CAIRO
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Egypt - a land of wonder and mystery. You are met at Cairo airport and transferred to your hotel.(Buffet Breakfast)

Day 10: CAIRO SIGHTSEEING
After a detailed pre-tour briefing, begin your city sightseeing with Tahrir Square - the sprawling urban space that became famous over 18 historic days of protests. Continue to the Egyptian Museum where, Tutankhamun’s magnificent treasures are on display. Then visit the Citadel for a breath taking view of the city of Cairo. Salah El Din started the Citadel in the 12th century, but it owes its present outline to Mohammed Ali, whose great Mosque you will visit next. Then free time to enjoy as you wish. Later, enjoy the magical Sound & Light Show which literally illuminates the ancient history of Giza!(Buffet Breakfast)

Day 11: CAIRO - LUXOR - JOIN CRUISE
Fly to Luxor and transfer to your cruise ship. After lunch on board, visit Luxor Temple unearthed by Mariette in the 1860’s. Continue to Karnak, the largest temple complex ever built by man. Walk through the avenue of Ram-headed sphinxes to stand among the huge columns of the Hypostyle Hall.(Buffet Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 12: Day 14 - ON BOARD SHIP
Relax as you gently cruise along the Nile, past palm fringed villages and irrigated fields, to exotic Aswan. But before leaving Luxor, there is an excursion by coach to the west bank, which includes a photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon and visits to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut as well as some of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. As you drift up-stream stops are made at ancient sites along the way. These include the Temple of Horus at Edfu as well as the Kom Ombo Temple. On arrival in Aswan, an included sightseeing tour shows you the High Dam and unfinished obelisk in the granite quarries. It also includes a motorboat ride to the Philae Island Temple complex and sailing in a traditional Nile felucca. A sunset high tea is also included. While cruising breakfast, lunch and dinner (BB,L,D) are served daily and one night you get to celebrate Egyptian style at a galabeya party and dinner(Buffet Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 15: ASWAN - CAIRO
This morning, why not join an optional excursion by air to the magnificent Temples of Rameses II at Abu Simbel, cut from their hillside origin in the 1960’s and repositioned in their new home above the waterline of the newly created “Lake Nasser”? Otherwise, spend the morning in Aswan as you wish. There is lots here to enjoy; the Botanic Gardens, Elephantine Island, the mausoleum of the Aga Khan or hunt for bargains in the African atmosphere of the Nubian bazaar. Later, transfer to the airport for your return flight to Cairo.(Buffet Breakfast)

Day 16: CAIRO SIGHTSEEING
Enjoy a guided tour of Giza where you will see the enigmatic Sphinx and the magnificent Pyramids with a highlight visit inside one of these extraordinary creations! Nearby lies Memphis, capital of the Old Kingdom, see the colossal statue of Rameses II and great alabaster sphinx. Continue to Sakkara, view the Step Pyramid of Zoser I; dating from 2686BC, it’s the oldest in the world.(Buffet Breakfast)

Day 17: RETURN TO USA
(Buffet Breakfast)