Highlights of Israel Day Trip: Jerusalem and the Dead Sea

This full-day tour begins with a Jerusalem hotel pickup in an air-conditioned coach.

Start your sightseeing at the Mount of Olives, a ridge east of the Old City and named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. Enjoy a scenic overview of the entire city of Jerusalem, as well as the Dome of the Rock, a shrine located on the Temple Mount and one of the oldest works of Islamic architecture. It is arguably Jerusalem's most recognizable landmark.

The tour continues through the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives. This garden is known as the place where Jesus prayed, and also where his disciples slept, the night before his crucifixion. Then it’s off to the Walls of Jerusalem that surround the Old City. The walls were built in the 1530s, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire, to protect its borders from intruders.

Further along through the Armenian Quarter, visit the famous Western Wall, the holiest of Jewish sites, then to the Christian Quarter along the Via Dolorosa, the street that Jesus walked along on the way to his crucifixion. Here, look for the 14 stations of the cross while retracing Jesus’ steps to the Hill of Calvary, now the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Upon arrival at the Dead Sea, change into a swimsuit and head to the water. At 1,312 feet (400 meters) below sea level, this is the lowest place on earth. After applying a covering of mineral-rich black mud, washed it off in a sulphur pool before a therapeutic swim or float in the Dead Sea. After this treatment, you might just feel 10 years younger.

The tour concludes here for a return trip to the Jerusalem hotels.