Best of Israel Bible Study Tour 2026 – Israel with Pastor Bryan Hughes

There is a group air program out of Bozeman, or you can arrange your own airfare to arrive in Tel Aviv the night of December 1 or the very early hours of December 2. The group air program departs Bozeman today at 2:00PM, with changes in Atlanta and Amsterdam. You will arrive in Tel Aviv at 2:20AM on December 2, but your room will be ready for those of you who arrive before midnight on December 1 and arrange your own air and transfers to your Netanya hotel, the David Tower.

December 1:  Crossing the date line

The group arriving from Bozeman will arrive in Tel Aviv at 2:20AM, therefore, you will sleep in a bit today, December 2. There will be praise and worship facing the sea, then you will depart the hotel at 11:00AM, where you will have a heavy brunch. Your first stop is Caesarea Marittima, where you will see the area where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned prior to sailing to Rome. Next, you will stop at the celebration site of Mt. Carmel and then off to lunch and visit the overlook onto the plains of Armageddon and Megiddo, where the Nazarenes threatened to push Jesus over the cliffs of Nazareth.  You will then be driven into Tiberias, stopping at the site of Magdala, one of the synagogues of Jesus’ time, for a teaching. Your hotel is the kibbutz, Nof Ginnosar, on the Sea of Galilee (3 nights). 

You will visit the Mount of Beatitudes this morning.  Next, you will visit Capernaum – home of Peter’s mother-in-law and so much of Jesus’ ministry! You will also have time to see the Jesus boat and meander around the grounds and shop at the site at Ginnosar. You will have a fish lunch together as a group. This afternoon, there will be baptisms at the Jordan River baptismal site. You will join our private boat tour for a time of worship on the Sea of Galilee.  Overnight. 

You will be driven towards the north along the Sea of Galilee into the Golan Heights. Here, you will celebrate being at Caesarea Philippi – also called Banias, where Peter first said, “You are the Christ!” Next, you will visit ancient Tel Dan with its Abrahamic Gate and horned altar. You will stop for a Druze lunch and learn about this interesting people group. After lunch, you will visit Mount Bental, view the Road to Damascus and into Syria, and enjoy further vistas from Nimrod’s Palace. Afterwards, you will return to your hotel for dinner.

You will depart the Galilee and be driven to the archeological site of Shiloh.  Shiloh is so important as it is where the Ark of the Covenant was kept for 400 years. The archeological advancements at this site are incredible; you will be able to see the walls of the city gates and perhaps the footprint of the mobile Tabernacle that covered the Ark of God’s presence! The site is very in-depth and today also has the enclosures for the live Red Heifers that will be used for the 3rd Temple.  Afterwards, you will continue on to Qumran, the home of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Lunch is included, and then you can visit the site of Qumran and learn the history of the Essenes, or those who protected righteousness and the ancient books and scrolls pertaining to the history of the Bible that today is nothing if not miraculous. You will have a quick stop at the site of Ein Gedi, which is at the base of the hills where David cut the hem of King Saul’s garment.  You will then be driven to your Dead Sea hotel (David Dead Sea) in time for you to enjoy a soak in the healing mineral waters, either inside the pools or in the mysterious sea.  You will have dinner at your resort hotel.

You will have the morning at the Dead Sea to relax, enjoying another swim or massage. You will leave the hotel by 10:30AM, and be driven to Masada. Once at Masada, you are welcome to buy a gyro or a sandwich in one of the two coffee shops. You will take an exciting cable-car ride to the top and learn about the history of this command post. Finally, you will be driven into Jerusalem, where you will stop at the viewpoint of Mount Scopus and then for a quick visit to your celebrated U.S. Embassy for exterior photographs. Afterwards, you will be driven past Bethany and enter the area of Old Jerusalem, where you will spend the next 5 nights at the Ritz Hotel Jerusalem.

After breakfast, you will “go up” to the Mt. of Olives. Those who are able to walk on cobblestones will walk together down Palm Sunday Road, where the crowds yelled “Hosanna Hosanna” to Jesus. You will enter the Garden of Gethsemane for a time of peace,  contemplation, and prayer. You will take a somber walk through the Kidron Valley and over the Peace Bridge near the Field of Blood, followed by a picnic at the Peace Park in the Kidron. Next, you will visit Mt. Zion and walk the traditional Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross), visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. You will return to your hotel – the Sephardic hotel, which is the hotel at Jaffa Gate. You can walk to Jaffa Gate easily from the hotel if you wish, either before or after dinner.

Morning begins with a visit to Temple Mount. You will visit the expansive and highly contested platform, with a teaching very near the Golden Gate – important, in that this is the gate through which Jesus will return one day. As you descend from the impressive platform, you will enter the area where Jesus performed the miracle at the Pools of Bethesda. You will sing with your group at St. Anne’s and then have free time for lunch and shopping inside the Old City. This afternoon, you will walk back through the area of the Jewish Quarter, see the Burnt Wall, and the area of the Cardo. Your bus will pick you up, and you will be driven to the Israel Museum. Here, you will be able to walk into the cherished Shrine of the Book—home to the Dead Sea Scrolls, where it showcases many of its pieces, but of greatest import is Isaiah 53—the Isaiah scroll—and other treasures of the museum, including the Caiaphas Ossuary, the ankle from a Roman cross, and so much more.

You will be driven outside of Jerusalem late this morning to Jericho. Jericho, the oldest city in the world, has a wall that remains, which you will see for yourself. It is the miraculously placed wall that provided the way by which Rahab and her entire family were saved. It has been preserved at its original geographical location. You will have the opportunity to ride a camel this morning. As you leave Jericho, you will visit the rarely-visited area known as Gilgal. An aerial view of the site shows that it is in the shape of a foot. From this vantage point, you will gaze over to the Jordan River and its border with the modern-day border of Jordan. This is the place where Joshua crossed the river Jordan, and God called Joshua to circumcise Israel. In one of the adjacent hills, God told Joshua to remove his shoes, as he was standing on holy ground. Gilgal is also the staging point for the first battles where they overtook the land. You will then come into the city of Bethlehem, the City of David. Here, you will visit some unique caves where the shepherds kept their sheep, and you will see stone troughs, much like the one in which Jesus would have been laid in a swaddling cloth. You will visit the ancient church, built over the place of Jesus’ birth, called the Church of the Nativity. You will finish your visit to the little town of Bethlehem at a favorite restaurant called the “Tents.” It is facing the historic Shepherds’ Fields. You will then be returned to Jerusalem.  For those who have an abundance of energy, you will be directed as to how to walk to Yad Vashem – the Holocaust Museum.

This morning, you will be able to go into the newest archeological discovery for Jerusalem: the newly-completed underground site of the City of David. You will be able to come out at Hezekiah’s tunnel and see the precious Pool of Siloam. You will have free time for lunch near the Old City to partake in some last-minute shopping and a quick lunch on your own.  As a group, you will visit the quiet Garden Tomb for a time of worship and communion together. 

You will have free time this morning and then visit the site of Hebron and the Tomb of the Patriarchs of Abraham and Sarah. Next, you will see the recently-discovered gate where Abraham procured the land of Hebron for his wife’s burial and the place of importance for the genealogies of the children of Israel. This is also the land that was granted by special request to Caleb for his faithfulness to God. There will be a brief break so that you can have a gyro or lunch break, and then be driven to the Valley of Elah, where David pulled the 3 smooth stones and killed Goliath. Afterwards, you will be driven back through the lush route that David would have walked and back towards Jerusalem. You will end your day with your farewell dinner at Joppa. You will arrive at the airport this evening at 10:30PM for your departure to Atlanta, where you are scheduled for a 6-hour layover.

You will arrive in Bozeman at 1:16PM from Atlanta.