Israel: The Holy Land & Timeless Cultures (2012)

Tel Aviv • Nazareth • Golan Heights & The Sea of Galilee • Jerusalem • Dead Sea & Masada
  • 15 days
  • from only:
  • $2995
  • $200 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 16 days
  • from only:
  • $3845
  • $241 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
NEW-Private Departures
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
Jordan
Palestinian Discovery
Optional Tours
Trip Leaders
Grand Circle Foundation
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your adventure, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two adventures to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the OAT adventure that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your adventure
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your adventure with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of OAT adventures to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta

12hrs

Boston, New York (JFK)

14hrs

Denver, Minneapolis, Seattle

17hrs

Chicago, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

15hrs

Houston, Miami, Tampa

16hrs

Los Angeles, Portland, OR, San Francisco

19hrs

Phoenix

22hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Tel Aviv, Israel. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the OAT family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on an OAT trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-955-1925 or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Jordan

5 nights from only $1395

 

Before your adventure in Israel, experience another facet of the region’s fascinating culture in Jordan. You’ll explore Roman ruins in Amman and stroll ancient city streets in Jerash. And spend two nights in the Nabataen “Lost City” of Petra, described in poetry as a “rose-red city half as old as time.”

Single Supplement: FREE

Please note: Availability and price may vary by departure date. Please call for details.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 3 nights in Amman and 2 nights in Petra
  • 15 meals—5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 5 dinners (including 1 Home-Hosted Dinner)
  • 5 small group activities
  • Services of our own resident Jordanian Trip Leader, who speaks English and the native language
  • All transfers
Day 1
Fly from U.S. to Amman, Jordan

You fly overnight from the U.S. to Jordan.
Day 2
Arrive in Amman, Jordan

Arrive in Amman in the late evening. Upon arrival, you’ll have time to check in and then enjoy dinner at the hotel.
Day 3
Amman City Tour/Visit the Citadel and Roman Theatre

After breakfast, enjoy a tour of this ancient city. Amman was once besieged and captured by King David and the Egyptian King Ptolemy, and occupied by the Byzantine Empire and Christian Crusaders. Today, it is a thriving modern metropolis that has taken great care to preserve its historical heritage. We visit Amman’s citadel, with its blend of ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic ruins. We'll also have free time to explore the small archaeological museum, with its treasure trove of ancient coins, glassware, and statuary.

After enjoying the views of the Old City, with its 5,000-seat Roman amphitheater and lovely Abu Darwish Mosque, we continue to the older section of downtown Amman. We also walk through the “gold souk,” named for its concentration of gold jewelry shops selling unique local items. After lunch in a local restaurant, we continue our discoveries with a walk in the Jabel Amman area. Dinner is included at our hotel this evening.
Day 4
Discover Jerash and Ajlun/Home-Hosted Dinner

Today, we'll explore ancient Jerash, the world’s best-preserved and most complete Greco-Roman city. First established as a town in the year AD 70, it’s a sprawling open-air museum of monumental temples, baths, theaters, and lovely Byzantine churches. We’ll be greeted by the triple-arched gateway built to honor the arrival of the Emperor Hadrian in AD 129. Next to Hadrian’s Arch stands the massive hippodrome, partially reconstructed. Wander through this amazing site and marvel at the Zeus Temple, Oval Plaza, and splendid avenues and plazas lined with graceful colonnades.

We’ll have lunch in Jerash, and then drive through fertile green hills lined with olive groves to Ajlun—famous for its imposing Saracen castle. Built in the late twelfth century by the nephew of Saladin, it is known as Qalat ar-Rabad and dominates the skyline for miles.

Back in Amman this evening, we are the guests of local residents for dinner in their home and a personal glimpse of Jordanian life.
Day 5
Ride to Petra along King's Highway

After breakfast, we set off on our drive to Petra along the King’s Highway, which has been an international trade route for the last 5,000 years. The route is scenic, and dotted with picturesque villages and historic sites mentioned in the Bible. En route, we’ll visit Mount Nebo, the place where Moses is purported to have gazed upon the Holy Land that he was not meant to reach—it is said that his tomb lies here. From here, we’ll enjoy spectacular views across the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea.

We then continue to Madaba, known for its striking Byzantine mosaics, including the earliest surviving map of the Holy Land. Set in a mosaic floor, the map dates to about the sixth century. Mosaic-making is a tradition that endures with local artists throughout this region, as we'll discover during a visit to a local workshop.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we'll witness scenic views of the Mujib Valley on our way to Petra. We'll also stop for a panoramic view over Wadi Mujib before arriving in Petra in time to relax before an included dinner at our hotel.
Day 6
Explore Petra

We set off for a full-day walking tour of one of the most beautiful of all ancient ruins—the fabled red city of Petra. Reached through a towering narrow canyon, the city is carved into the solid red sandstone cliffs, and features soaring temples, a 3,000-seat amphitheater, houses, banquet halls, churches, and tombs. It is said that Petra’s massive Treasury, with its portico and pillars, was the storeroom for the Queen of Sheba’s gifts to Solomon.

For more than 2,000 years, the name Petra was just a mysterious sound, a name in dusty documents. Only the local Bedouin people knew of its existence, because they lived in its caves. Converted to Islam and disguised as an Arab, Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt found the lost city in 1812. You’ll recognize several views of Petra from the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

We’ll enjoy lunch in Petra during our tour. Later this evening, we'll have dinner together at our hotel.
Day 7
Petra/Transfer to Tel Aviv
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, transfer to Tel Aviv where we begin our discovery of Israel: The Holy Lands & Timeless Cultures.