2-Day Best of Israel Tour from Tel Aviv: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Masada and the Dead Sea

Highlights of your 2-Day Best of Israel tour from Tel Aviv include full-day guided tours to the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where you will see attractions such as the Garden of Gethsemane, the Dome of the Rock (for external views), Western Wall (Wailing Wall), the Via Dolorosa (Stations of the Cross), Manger Square.
Visit Masada by cable-car, and see the ruins of King Herod's mansion, followed by a passing visit of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Qumran caves.  The tour concludes at the Dead Sea, where you will have time to relax on the mineral beach and float in the salt-rich sea before heading back to Tel Aviv.
Due to maintenance working of the cable car, the site of Masada will be closed between January 13th-27th 2019.
As a substitution, tour will visit at Qumran caves and Baptism site on the Jordan River.

Day 1
Departing from Tel Aviv in your air-conditioned coach, stop at the Mount of Olives for scenic views of the Dome of the Rock at the Temple Mount Esplanade of Old Jerusalem.

Pass the Garden of Gethsemane before continuing into the Old City. See the famous Western Wall (Wailing Wall) which functions as an open-air synagogue, before walking the pilgrimage route of the Via Dolorosa. Look out for the 14 Stations of the Cross as you trace Jesus' steps to the site of his crucifixion at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

A short 6-mile coach journey takes you to Bethlehem, where you will see the Manger Square - flanked by the Church of the Nativity and also the Mosque of Oman.  From here you will visit the Shepherd Fields where the 'shepherds watched their flocks by night'.  You will then be driven to your overnight accommodation at the following hotel (or one of a similiar tourist grade standard):


• Park Plaza Hotel, JerusalemDay 2
After breakfast the next morning, you will set off through the Judean desert before arriving at the cable car which will take you to the mountaintop site of Masada. It was here that King Herod built two fortified palaces over 2,000 years ago.

Continue to the Dead Sea passing by bus to the Ein Gedi oasis to the ancient caves of Qumran.

Final stop is the Dead Sea, where you'll have approximately two hours to relax on a mineral beach and opportunity to float in the salt-rich water, 400m (1,312 ft) below sea level! Don't miss the chance to have a mud bath in the world's richest source of natural salts.

On the drive back to Tel Aviv, see the ancient city of Jericho, referred to in the Hebrew Bible as the 'City of Palm Trees' from the distance, before your multi-day tour concludes at approximately 5:00pm.