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Journey to the crossroads of history and religion

An illustrated itinerary of one of our many gay travel adventures. This information supplements our
shorter Overview of Israel: Pride and Heritage.

Join us for an in-depth exploration of several regions of Israel and Jordan. Together we will explore the complexities, beauty and challenges of ancient and modern Israel. Our trip will uncover the archeological beginnings of three great religions, engage you with members of the Israeli LGBT community, and expose you to the complexities of the political and social labyrinths of modern Israeli life.

Israel is an ever-changing mosaic of peoples, cultures, and identities. One of the most important historical and religious centers in the world, it is also a dynamic and somewhat daunting region to visit. On this tour, with the assistance of the local LGBT community, and under the care of experienced tour professionals, we will experience firsthand the social and ideological realities of contemporary Israeli life. We will also enjoy visiting the most famous and well-known sites throughout the region.

The following itinerary describes our planned itinerary. However, please note that the itinerary is subject to change based on local conditions.

North American travelers will depart home a day before the tour begins and fly overnight to Tel Aviv. (Flights are not included in the tour price.)

1: Arrival Day in Tel Aviv

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, half-way between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, you will be met and assisted by our local partners for your transfer to our beachside hotel in Tel Aviv. Tonight we will enjoy a welcome dinner where you can meet the other tour members. We will also provide all participants with a list of optional places to visit tonight, if you still have the energy to go out on the town.

2-3: Old Jaffa and New Tel Aviv

On our first full day in Israel, we'll explore the vibrant city of Tel Aviv together, including the old port of Jaffa and the Bauhaus-inspired new city of Tel Aviv. One memorable sight is Independence Hall on Rothchild Blvd, where David Ben Gurion declared Israel’s independence in 1948.

Along the way we will visit Neve Tsedek, the first Jewish neighborhood in the northern area of Jaffa, which today is a cultural and entertainment center. Another stop will be Old Jaffa, now home to many art galleries, but the most important port in ancient times. Through this port the ceders from Lebanon were imported for use in building Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.

Because this day falls on the weekend day of Friday, the outdoor arts and crafts market is open, and Rothschild Blvd will be packed with shoppers. Nightlife should also be quite festive!

On our second morning in Tel Aviv our guide will lead a walking tour, after which you'll have a free afternoon to visit the beach or cultural institutions such as the Diaspora Museum at the University of Tel Aviv. This museum illustrates the life of the Jews in different communities around the world during 2000 years of exile.

During our time in Tel Aviv and/or Jerusalem, we will meet with representatives from Israel's LGBT community to learn more about their lives and accomplishments in creating marriage rights and other achievements in this diverse but highly religious land.

4: Haifa and Caesarea

We start our day by driving north along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the well-preserved port city of Caesarea, the city that King Herod dedicated to Caesar Augustus more than 2,000 years ago. Among other sites that are still standing are a Roman amphitheatre and aqueduct.

We will take a panoramic drive through Haifa, including a visit to the newly renovated Bahai Temple with its golden dome and Persian gardens. Time permitting, we will also pause at the ancient city of Akko, before heading east toward the Sea of Galilee.

Along the way, we will pass the surprisingly lush green hillsides of the region called Galilee, as we drive through Tiberias, and alongside the Sea (a large lake). Our home for the next two nights will be in the comfortable, modern guesthouse of a Kibbutz in the thin finger of Israel between Lebanon and Syria.

5: The Galilee and the Golan Heights

During our one full day in the north, we'll take a jeep ride to the Golan Heights, and visit the Banias, also known by its Roman name of Caesarea Philippi, the major source of water for the Jordan River. We'll continue across the Golan Heights to visit the ancient synagogue at Katzrin and discuss the strategic value of this controversial region while viewing the Sea of Galilee to the west and Syria to the east. Enjoy a stop for wine tasting at one of the emerging boutique wineries in the region, before returning to our kibbutz for one more night.

Time permitting, during our stay in the Galilee we'll visit the picturesque town of Rosh Pina, and we'll drive by the holy city of Safed, birthplace of the Kabbalah, with its ancient synagogues and its contemporary artists' colony.

6: On to Jerusalem!

Today we drive south through the Jordan Valley, from Israel's northeastern tip toward Jerusalem. Along the way we will drive by Gilboa, where King Saul and his son Jonathan were killed and where David wrote his famous poetic legacy to his lover. We will also pass the modern Palestinian West Bank city of Jericho.

One of today's highlights will be a visit to Beit Shean, one of the most magnificent archaeological sites in Israel, located at the strategic juncture of the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys. Like Jericho, it has been almost continuously inhabited throughout history.

We'll start our exploration of Jerusalem with a panoramic overview from the Mount of Olives, which lies across an ancient valley from the Old City. Once we arrive at our deluxe hotel just outside the city walls, the rest of the evening will be free to start your exploration of this unique city.

7: Jerusalem: Old & New

Following is a summary of our exploration of both ancient and modern Jerusalem. Please note that this schedule may change based on local conditions, but we plan to offer all of these activities.

Our appreciation of the historic Old City of Jerusalem will include visiting elements of all four quarters: the Jewish, Arab, Christian and Armenian sections. To put the city in perspective, we'll start our tour with an overview at the David Citadel Museum at Jaffa Gate. Highlights of our Jerusalem touring will be our visits to King David's Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper. We'll also enjoy the recently opened Davidson Center with its 3-D reality program that makes the local archaeological sites come alive.

Of course, we'll also visit the Western Wall, the Southern Excavations, and the Broad Wall, and explore the Jewish Quarter. There will be a visit to the home of the Kathros Family, better know as the Burnt House. The Kathros Family were residents of Jerusalem during the first century AD, when this entire quarter of Jerusalem was burned in the year 70 AD. After lunch on your own, we head on to the Christian Quarter for a walk on a portion of the Via Delorosa and into the Church of the Holy Sephulchre, which is jointly maintained by six different Christian denominations.

No visit to the old city of Jerusalem would be complete without a visit to the Arab market to test your negotiating skills with the local merchants. As you make your way towards the Jaffa Gate, walk by the Citadel of David. Don't forget to pay your respects at the two almost forgotten tombs on your right - those of the architects of the Old City Walls. They were killed by the Ottoman sultan Suliman the Magnificent in 1538, since they were the only people who knew all of the "secrets of the wall."

Today we will also head outside the walls to visit Yad Vashem, Israel's recently renovated memorial to the Holocaust Victims.

During our tour we will learn more about the latest walls to surround Jerusalem, Israel’s controversial Security Barrier. We will gain insights as to why some Israeli's credit this wall for a significant reduction in violence against Israeli Jews, and why the Wall is viewed by others as a deep insult against Israel's Palestinian community.

For our farewell dinner in Jerusalem tonight we will invite some members of the local LGBT community to get their perspective on daily life in Israel today.

8: Masada and the Dead Sea

We depart Jerusalem with one last look at the Old City from Mount Scopus, home of Hebrew University.

Then we head east across the desert to begin our exploration of the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea. We will stop at Masada, where we will ascend to the top via a cable car. This mountaintop fortress is best-known for the long siege of a small band of martyrs who were trapped there by Roman soldiers. However, it was originally built by King Herod, and still retains colorful elements of his royal rooms.

After touring Masada, we slow down our busy touring schedule with lunch at a hotel overlooking the Dead Sea. There will be time for an enjoyable "swim/float" in the world famous rejuvenating waters of the Dead Sea. The water is so salty that it is actually easier to float than to try to swim! And because the Dead Sea is over 1000 feet below sea level, the distance from the sun, combined with the ambiance of the air, makes it almost impossible to get a sun burn.

We finish the day with a drive across the width of Israel from the Dead Sea coast to the Mediterranean coast, where we'll spend our last tour night at our waterfront hotel in Tel Aviv. You'll be just a short distance from the city's vast expanse of beach, and the active nightlife of this vibrant capital city, particularly lively on a Thursday night, the start of the weekend in Israel.

9: Departure Day or Start Jordan Extension

Today is a day at leisure to relax, recuperate and enjoy a sunny day in Tel Aviv before your flight home, or the start of some extra days in Israel. (The transfer from Tel Aviv to Ben Gurion International Airport is included in the tour fee).

Or you can join us for a brief but rewarding one-night extension to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, featuring the memorable archeological site at Petra. Petra was selected in a 2-year worldwide Internet vote as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, so join us to see why!

For those participating in the extension to Jordan, the program is as follows:

Pack an overnight bag for the night in Jordan, then check your main suitcase with our Tel Aviv hotel. We start with a late morning transfer to Tel Aviv's Sde Dov domestic airport, from which we make the one-hour flight south to Eilat. We'll take a short drive to the border crossing, where we will clear formalities on both sides, and walk through the fence separating these two neighbors who ended years of hostilities with the Camp David Accords. Your Jordanian guide will then meet you to begin your touring in Jordan!

We will drive through the portion of the Jordanian desert where Lawrence of Arabia once held sway to our hotel near the Bedouin hillside town of Wadi Moussa, five miles southeast of Petra. Our hotel itself is a special treat - the Taybet Zeman Village is built in the style of an ancient Arab village, so instead of taking elevators and walking down carpeted hallways, you walk along the meandering lanes of the village to get to your room. Weather permitting, dinner is a lavish open-air buffet on tables set in the village square.

10: Petra and the Shadow of Lawrence of Arabia!

The next morning, following an early breakfast, an extraordinary day awaits us as we drive 10 minutes to the entrance of the Nabatean capital of Petra. From the main entrance of the site we'll first ride in a horse-cart, then walk into the chasm (called a siq in Arabic) that ripped through the rock in a prehistoric quake.

Petra's most famous monument, the Treasury, appears dramatically at the end of the siq. We will explore the Treasury, the 3000-seat theater from the 1st century, the Monastery and other sites. Marvel at the rose red stone and how the colors change as the day progresses.

We will have lunch near Petra then return to the Jordanian port of Aqaba where we cross the border back to Eilat. We'll make the 5-minute drive to Eilat Airport, then fly to Sde Dov Airport from which a transfer will be provided to our Tel Aviv hotel to retrieve luggage, then to Ben Gurion Airport for those flying out tonight. Extra hotel nights can also be reserved in Tel Aviv for those wanting to stay longer.

For anyone with the time, this excursion into Jordan will provide a rich addition to your experiences within Israel.

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