ANZAC Day & Beersheba Battlefield Tour of Israel - April 2009

Sample itinerary & subject to slight changes

Day 1 – Friday 24 April
Arrival
Arrive Ben Gurion Airport with meeting assistance. Transfer to Jerusalem.
Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 2 – Saturday 25 April
ANZAC Day in Jerusalem
06:00 Participate in the Dawn Service for the Anzac Day commemorations at the Commonwealth War cemetery at Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem - Following the service will be a light breakfast reception at Government House (UNTSO Headquarters) - Meet with Kelvin Crombie (subject to confirmation), ANZAC Historian & Guide.
Overnight: Jerusalem (B, D)

Day 3 – Sunday 26 April
Jerusalem - Old City
08:00 Start your tour of the Old City - Walk through one of the Gates to the walled Old City - Visit the renewed Jewish Quarter; the Western Wall and the Temple Mount - Stroll through the colourful bazaars and walk the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa, until the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - Continue to Bethlehem (subject to security clearance) to visit Rachel’s Tomb and the Church of the Nativity and return to Jerusalem for overnight.
Overnight: Jerusalem (B, D)

Day 4 - Monday 27 April
Jerusalem – New City
Enjoy a tour of the new city of Jerusalem today - At 09:00 experience a moving visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial - See the original Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book - On to the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Agony - Drive to Mt. Zion for a visit to the tomb of King David and the Room of the Last Supper - Time permitting stop for a visit at Latrun Tank Museum - Transfer to Beersheva.
Overnight: Beersheva (B, D)

09:00 In the morning tour the battlefields of Beersheba where the ANZAC soldiers defeated the entrenched Turkish Army in the Charge of the Light Horse in October 1917 - See the ancient biblical site at Tel Sheva and visit the memorial to the Negev Brigade which distinguished itself in the 1948 War of Independence - Enjoy an authentic local lunch in a Bedouin tent - At 15:00 participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the Commonwealth Cemetery in Beersheba - At 16:30 Visit the Park of the Australian Solider and the recently unveiled Beersheba ANZAC Memorial
Overnight: Beersheva (B, L, D).

Day 6 – Wednesday 29 April
Masada and The Dead Sea Experience
08:00 Depart Beersheba to spend the day at the lowest point of the world: The Dead Sea - Ascend by cable car to the top of the Mountain Fortress of Masada; the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Enjoy the day at the Dead Sea including a float, mud treatment and the sulphur baths (treatments not included).
Overnight: Dead Sea (B, L, D)

Day 7 – Thursday 30 April
Lower Galilee
08:00 Drive north past Jericho the oldest city in the world, then via the Jordan Valley and the new settlements to Beit Shean - Visit the excavations of this beautiful Roman City - Proceed to Tiberias, the old centre of Jewish learning. Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum to visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue. Continue to a Kibbutz hotel for overnight.
Overnight: Kibbutz Hotel (B, D)

Day 8 – Friday 1 May
Upper Galilee
08:00 Drive to the Golan Heights and see the former Syrian fortifications, and Druze villages - Explore the beautiful Banias Falls, the source of the Jordan River. Proceed via Kiryat Shmone and the Hula Valley to Safed, city of the Kabala, to the ancient synagogue and artists’ colony and then onto Nazareth to visit the Christian Holy Sites. Return to the Kibbutz hotel for overnight.
Overnight: Kibbutz Hotel (B, D)

Day 9 – Saturday 2 May
Coastal Plain
08:00 Depart for Akko (Acre) to explore the Knights’ Halls and the secret Crusader tunnels - Onto Haifa to view the magnificent Bahai gardens from atop Mount Carmel - Stop at Caesarea, to visit the Roman Theatre and the Crusader Fortress - Continue south for a short city tour of Tel Aviv-Jaffa - Transfer to airport for your afternoon flight to Eilat on ISR #437 departing at 16:30 (baggage to be transferred separately).
Overnight: Eilat (B, D)

Day 10 – Sunday 3 May
Petra
07:00 Leave Eilat early in the morning, crossing the Arava border and drive through the scenic Jordanian desert - Enjoy a spectacular tour exploring the rose-red city of Petra. Enjoy a short horse ride, and then travel on foot through the awesome ‘SIQ’ valley - Visit the Treasury, and explore hundreds of buildings, tombs, temples, and a 3,000-seat theatre from the first-century AD. Stop for lunch, followed by a visit to Moses Spring before leaving Wadi Moussa - Drive to Aqaba for a short city tour, returning to the Arava border and back to Eilat hotel. Overnight: Eilat (B, L, D)

Day 11 – Monday 4 May
Departure
Depart Eilat on flight back to Tel Aviv Airport Depart on your flight home (B)

Please NOTE** This is the proposed itinerary only and is subject to slight changes**

Accommodation