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Israel & Jordan

A Once in a Lifetime tour of Israel!
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Israel & Jordan

A Once in a Lifetime tour of Israel! 11 day tour - May 19, 2023
Dr. S. Michael Wilcox
Special Guest Educator

This once in a lifetime tour of Israel will visit many sites that other tours miss, some even leave off Bethlehem.

Our special Holy Land Tour includes all of the important sites in Israel such as Jerusalem, Garden Tomb, Galilee, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, Christ’s baptismal site and more. It also includes Petra in Jordan.

This once in a lifetime tour will visit many sites that others are not able to see when they go to Israel. For example, we visit the Beit Lehi excavations, located a short distance down from Jerusalem. This is where caves were discovered with writings on the inside walls. It was determined that the writings were by a prophet in hiding that dates at approx. 600 BC. The Arabs have considered the hill above the cave to be a sacred place. As they put it – “before Mohamed there was a great prophet named Lehi and he taught from that hill.” Even the archaeologists in Jerusalem now call the area Beit Lehi. We do not know if this is our Lehi, but we do know this will be a huge highlight as you visit an active archaeological dig. The excavations are on an army base. Only those excavating and Fun For Less Tours have been given permission to go onto the site.  click to view a video on the Lehi excavations
NOTE: The excavations are now far enough along, there are stairs into the underground excavations.

Visiting the Holy Land is a life-changing experience. You will never read the scriptures in quite the same way after walking in the footsteps of prophets, apostles, and the Savior. The men and women whose stories have inspired us since childhood come to life in a manner that is remarkable and penetrating. When Jesus walked to Emmaus with two of his disciples they later remarked, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” We feel confident you too will feel the power of the Bible’s familiar stories as you experience the sights and sounds of the land that gave to us our shared spiritual heritage. After visiting the lands of the scriptures you will always feel a certain unique homesickness for them and a longing to return.

Package Price Includes:

Important Note: Our price is a complete package.  We do not give you free afternoons and then charge you more for additional touring!!!  Many travel companies show a low price, but by the time you add everything in, they become expensive.  Our pricing is a complete package that will actually give you more for less!
Package Price Includes:
  • 4-star deluxe hotels in Israel.
  • 5-star luxury hotel in Jordan.
  • Special Guest Educators in Israel: Dr. S. Michael Wilcox.
  • The best in guides and bus drivers!
  • All land taxes and booking fees.
  • All transfers, buses and entrance fees.
  • Petra in Jordan: Voted as one of the 7 Wonders of the World!
  • Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.
  • Breakfast & Dinner throughout your stay in Israel.
  • Important sites in Israel & Jordan.
  • The Beit Lehi excavations.
  • Fun For Less Tours staff throughout your tour – “We don’t send you, we take you.”
  • “Whisper Perfect” headset receivers. Everyone on this tour will have their own individual “whisper perfect” headset receiver. You will be able to hear every word clearly spoken by our guides and educators, even when you step away from the group to take that important picture.
  • Not included in our package is the option to purchase our group airfare.

Package Price: $4,395*

**Per person cash discount price, based on double occupancy.
Does not include international airfare to and from
the Middle East, visas and tips.

Your day by day itinerary is a partial list of your tour. The itinerary below is subject to change as needed at any time to accomplish everything we can in each area we visit. We will have local guides who will make sure we see the very best in the time we have.  Dr. S. Michael Wilcox will not be doing the Jordan portion of the tour.  Since he is not a licensed Jordanian guide he is not allowed to teach in this country.  We have wonderful local guides who will be with us during our time in Jordan. In Israel, you do not have to be a licensed guide to teach on site.  Dr. S. Michael Wilcox will do all of his teachings inside of Israel so you won’t miss out on any of his lectures that he does.
Day 1: May 19: Fly to Amman
Today the tour departs the USA and travels to Amman Jordan.
Day 2: May 20: Arrive Amman
After clearing customs we will transfer to your hotel in Amman Jordan.
Day 3: May 21: Petra
This morning we will travel to Petra, the newly voted “Wonder of the World”!  We will walk down the narrow canyon to the breathtaking view of the Treasury, Petra’s most famous landmark. You will have time to visit this fascinating city carved from the cliffs of the canyon and experience some of the best ruins found anywhere in the world. We will then head back to Amman to overnight.
Day 4: May 22: Amman – Galilee
This morning we will stop at the River Jordan where most scholars feel is the most likely place Jesus was baptized.  We plan to also swim in the Dead Sea before we cross the border into Israel. After crossing the border we will drive through the Judean wilderness to visit Masada.  On our way, we will make a quick stop for a photo of the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Rising above the desert floor is Herod the Great’s fortress of Masada which we will visit via cable car. During the Jewish revolt in 70 C.E., Masada’s defenders committed suicide rather than be taken prisoner by the Romans. We will then travel to our hotel in Tiberius near the Sea of the Galilee.
Day 5: May 23: Galilee
Our journey today takes us north of the Sea of Galilee. We begin by visiting Capernaum where so many wonderful events and teachings of the Savior took place. We then stop at the Mount of Beatitudes where we will ponder the great truths delivered by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Driving to the far north of Israel we will pass the Canaanite city of Hazor on our way to Tel Dan. Here Jeroboam erected a golden calf for the Israelites to worship, marking the beginning of the events that would end with the “lost ten tribes.” The restored walls and gates give us an excellent idea of the fortifications Joshua had to face as he conquered the land. We will visit Banias, known as Caesarea Philippi in the days of Jesus where he asked his disciples, “Whom do ye say that I am?” At the end of the day, we will return to our hotel in Galilee. Our day would not be complete without a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where we will discuss Jesus walking on the water and stilling the storm.

Day 6: May 24: Nazareth – Galilee
This morning we will travel to the top of Mt Carmel where Elijah had his historic confrontation with the priests of Baal with its dramatic conclusion. We travel on to Nazareth, home of the Savior for thirty years of his life. Our day ends with a sweeping view of the Jezreel Valley from Nazareth dominated by Mt. Tabor where we will discuss the transfiguration of the Savior. Deborah and Barak gathered their forces at Mt Tabor and defeated Sisera’s iron chariots. We will also visit today the Arbel Cliff for a fantastic overview of the Sea of Galilee.

Day 7: May 25: Caesarea – Bethlehem – Jerusalem
This morning we will head to the Mediterranean Sea where our focus now shifts to the Apostles Peter and Paul as we discover Caesarea. Here the Roman centurion, Cornelius, became the first gentile convert to Christianity and Paul related his account of his vision on the road to Damascus to King Agrippa. We will visit the picturesque old Roman aqueduct and let you wade in the Mediterranean Sea. We conclude our visit to Caesarea at the Roman theatre, and Hippodrome where chariot races were held. We will then visit Bethlehem remembering the wondrous account of the Savior’s birth as recorded in Matthew and Luke and retold each Christmas as we walk through the Church of the Nativity and sing Christmas Carols. There will be time to shop in the best Olive Wood store in Israel, Nissan Brother in Bethlehem.
Day 8: May 26: Jerusalem
Today our attention is drawn to the Old City of Jerusalem. We will explore the ruins located south of the Temple Mount where you can walk the sidewalks and stairs of Jesus’ time. We will climb the Temple Mount where both Solomon’s and Herod’s temples once stood and where the magnificent Dome of the Rock and Al Aksa Mosques now stand. We will stop at the Western Wall, the most sacred site for the Jewish faith. You can write a prayer on a piece of paper and place it into the cracks of the wall as millions have done before you. We will then travel to the new city of Jerusalem and visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are located, and the Model City, a reproduction of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. The day will end at your hotel in Jerusalem.
Day 9: Ma7 27:  Beit Lehi
We will walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, built over 2500 years ago to secure the water supply of Jerusalem during the Assyrian siege. You will need a flashlight for the tunnel. The end of the tunnel is the Pool of Siloam where the man born blind washed as instructed by Jesus and came away seeing. We will then head to Beit Lehi to experience firsthand an archaeological dig firsthand. Our visit to Beit Lehi includes beautiful early Christian mosaics, oil presses, a mikvah (a ritual bath) and the recently discovered columbary where doves were raised by the thousands for sacrifice at the Temple. There is also a New Testament period stable which will give you one of the best examples of what the birth of the Savior was possibly like. On our way back to Jerusalem we will stop at the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath on our way back to Jerusalem.
Day 10: May 28: Jerusalem 
Today we reach the spiritual pinnacle of our pilgrimage as we retrace the footsteps of our Savior during the last hours of his life and feel the deep appreciation these places create for the sacrifice of the Son of God. We begin on Mt. Zion at the traditional site of the Upper Room where the Last Supper was shared with devoted apostles. We will then visit St. Peter in Gallicantu, the possible site of the cock’s crowing and the Palace of Caiaphas where Jesus was tried. From there we descend into the Kidron Valley to visit Gethsemane, the Garden of the Savior’s deepest prayers. In the afternoon we will enter the Old City and continue the last hours of the Savior’s life. We will visit The Church of St Anne where the Pools of Bethesda were located. Here Jesus commanded the impotent man to take up his bed and walk. We continue on to the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, the location of the Antonia Fortress where Pilate tried the Savior. Our highlight day concludes at Golgotha and the Garden Tomb where we will have time to ponder the Resurrection and final triumph of Christ.  This evening we will transfer to the Tel Aviv airport for our return flight home.  (No hotel included this night.)
Day 11: May 29: Fly Home
We will arrive back to the USA and then continue back to our homes.