Mini- tour juif, 6 jours

In Jerusalem see the city from Mt. Scopus; travel through the Kidron Valley, site of ancient Jewish tombs and enter the Old City via the Zion Gate. See the Armenian Quarter and in the Jewish Quarter stop at the Cardo, the Byzantine-era main street and the sacred Western Wall. Visit the City of David, an excavated 3,000-year-old underground kingdom with tunnels hewn from rock that brought water from the Spring of Gihon.

Overnight stay: Jerusalem

Heading south through the Judean Hills and past the Inn of the Good Samaritan we travel below sea level to the lowest point on Earth. We take a cable car to the summit of Masada, a plateau where King Herod built a palace-fortress over 2,055 years ago. After touring Masada we drive through the desert past the Ein Gedi oasis and Qumran to one of the best Dead Sea beaches. Here you can spend time relaxing and floating in the water.

Overnight stay: Tel Aviv

Travel through the Valley of Armageddon; pass Megiddo and cross the Jordan River then ascend the Golan mountains covered with forests, farmlands and vineyards. Pass the hot springs of Hamat Gader and stop at the Shalom Observatory for views across the Sea of Galilee below. In Katzrin tour an excavated Talmudic-era village and visit the Golan Antiquities Museum. At Mount Bental explore the abandoned Syrian bunkers from 1967.

Overnight stay: Golan Kibbutz.

Start with a walk around the kibbutz and learn about this unique way of life. Travel to the Hermon River at the foot of Mt. Hermon, Israeli’s highest peak. Stop at the Banias, an area of lush vegetation, forests, streams, natural pools and waterfalls. Tour the remains of a 13th century fortress; stop for lunch in a Druze village. In the holy hilltop city of Safed tour the ancient synagogues.

Overnight stay: Tel Aviv.

See the coastal cities of Israel north of Tel Aviv. Tour the ancient Roman port city of Caesarea and in Haifa see the cascading terraced Baha’i Gardens. Our journey takes us to the northernmost point on Israel’s coastline where we walk though the white sea caves of Rosh HaNikra. Returning south the tour arrives in the Crusader city of Acre to visit structures from the 12th century, Ottoman era and British Mandate Period.