Day trip from Ashdod Port to Jerusalem and Bethlehem (#32)

This tour is for people arriving to Israel by sea to Ashdod Port. It includes a visit to Jerusalem Old city and Mount of Olives and a visit to the Annunciation Church in Bethlehem.

If you have an extra day you can also enjoy our Nazareth, Sea of Galilee from Ashdod Port tour

At 8 am in the morning your guide will pick you up from Ashdod port to start the day. You will drive for about one hour to Jerusalem. The first stop will be at the top of the Mount of Olives with the most beautiful view of the city. Since antiquity, Jews have sought to be buried on the Mount of Olives, where according to the Bible the resurrection will begin. Eventually, the cemetery grew to cover much of the mountain and is still in use.

While walking down the Mount of Olives, you will visit some of the most important churches. The first one will be the Dominus Flevit (meaning “The Lord Wept”) teardrop chapel which was only built in 1955 over the site of a Byzantine construction and commemorates the occasion of Jesus looking at the city of Jerusalem and, when realizing that it was going to destroy itself by violence, weeping bitterly.

Later you will visit the Gethsemane Garden and Church of all Nations, the location where Jesus was betrayed and arrested.

Next you will drive and exit Israel (do not forget your passport!) through one of the checkpoints to enter the city of Bethlehem where you will pass by the different neighborhoods before arriving at the main Manger Square.
Here we meet a local Palestinian guide who will join us in the Church of Nativity, the oldest church building in the Holy Land and the place of birth of Jesus.

After having lunch in one of the typical local restaurants, you will go back to Jerusalem and finally enter into the walled city, which is divided in four quarters, each one of them with their unique population, buildings and traditions.

In the heart of Jewish Quarter is hidden one of the pearls of Jerusalem, the Roman Cardo, used for centuries as the main street of the city where most of the commercial and social activities were taking place. Today, while walking through the modern shopping area, one can learn about ritual objects and see the beautiful examples of Jewish modern art.

A few steps from the commercial area one go back in time more than 2700 years, with the help of archeology and the Old Testament, to the days of Hezekiah, when a miraculous event took place and Jerusalem was saved from destruction.

On the way is “the Hurva”, this majestic synagogue located in the center of the Jewish Quarter that became an emblem of Jerusalem and its Jewish Heritage after a turbulent history. Part of the quarter, the Western Wall –Kotel in Hebrew-, is the most significant site in the world for the Jewish people, where they had pray for centuries.

The Muslim Quarter is the biggest of the four, where some of the stations of the Via Dolorosa –the painful path of Jesus on his way to crucifixion- show us the way to the holiest place for most of the Christians: the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, located in the Christian Quarter.

Temple Mount is part of the Muslim Quarter, and the place where the two Jewish Temples stood thousands of years ago and where today we see the magnificent Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.

We will finish our day after crossing the Armenian Quarter, with it typical and colorful shops and ancient traditions.

You will drive back to Ashdod Port. The approximate arrival time is 7 pm.

Price per person:
$ based on 6 participants
$ based on 4 participants
$ based on 2 participants

Included in this tour:

Private guide and driver
Local licensed Palestinian guide during visit in Bethlehem

Not included in this tour:

Any tour not mentioned in the program
Lunches & Dinners where not mentioned
Personal insurance
All kinds of tips for guides and driver
Any personal expenses, (Drinks on Beverage, Phone Calls)