ED HILL TOURS

Celebrating 46 Wonderful Years!  

      Top quality & value from America's most experienced           Christian group travel specialists.

  Ed Hill Tours presents...

              AUSTRIAN Delight                                                

with OBERAMMERGAU'S PASSION PLAY

August 15-23, 2010

Visit Innsbruck, the enchanting "capital of the Alps" | Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland | Musical city of Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart | Munich, the capital of Bavaria with it's old town | two nights at Oberammergau...this world-renowned Passion Play dates back to 1634 when the villagers vowed to perform a play depicting the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ every ten years if God would spare its residents from the Bubonic Plague.  No one died and an epic event was begun.  This 41st production is performed again by the citizens of Oberammergau and is again taking the world by storm.  Performed just once every 10 years, don't wait another decade for this incredible experience!  

Presented by Ed Hill Tours in cooperation with Collette Vacations.  For the complete itinerary and detailed information click on the web link below.

http://www.collettevacations.com/group-page/index.cfm?ID=373959

Operated by Collette Vacations

A sample 10-Day Holy Land Itinerary

Day 1 - USA  Tour members meet at New York's JFK, Newark or other departure airport for check-in and a time to get acquainted with other tour members.  After take-off, we have dinner, time to rest and breakfast before arrival in Israel. 

Day 2 - Tel Aviv, Israel  We arrive at the new Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Airport and after brief arrival formalities, we are met by our airport representative and escorted to our deluxe motor coach.  There we meet our Israeli guide and begin our first day in Israel with a tour of Joppa, the ancient seaport.  (if a morning arrival)  We then proceed directly to our hotel on the Mediterranean.  There is ample time for a walk on the seashore or some local exploring before dinner and overnight. 

Day 3 - Caesarea, Mount Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, Cana, Tiberias  We begin our day driving north along the Mediterranean to Caesarea-by-the-Sea, the ancient seaport built by Herod the Great.  Tour the Roman Theatre, the remains of Herod's seaside palace and the Crusader Fortress.  It was here that the first Gentile, Cornelius, was baptized.  We proceed up to Mount Carmel, site of Elijah and the prophets of Baal...here you'll view the entire Jezreel Valley/Valley of Armageddon.  We may have lunch at an authentic Druze restaurant, then go to Megiddo with it's 24 layers of civilization and tour the walls and water tunnel of this strategic ancient city.  Next we visit Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus and visit Nazareth Village, a full-scale re-creation of 1st century Nazareth. We drive on to Cana of Galilee where Jesus performed his first miracle.  Soon we arrive at Tiberias, with our first view of the beautiful Sea of Galilee and arrive at our hotel by the sea.

Day 4 - Mt. of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Capernaum, Galilee boat-ride, Golan Heights, Jordan River  View sunrise over the Sea of Galilee.  After breakfast, we go to the Mt. of Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.  Visit Tabgha, the place of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, Nof Ginosar, site of the 2000 year-old "Jesus boat", and Capernaum, the center of Jesus' ministry.  We take a boat-ride across the Sea of Galilee, stopping in the middle for a service and to view the surrounding panorama.  We enjoy "St. Peter's lunch" at a seaside Kibbutz, then ascend the Golan Heights for an outstanding view of the entire Galilee region. We end the day at the Jordan River with an opportunity for baptism.  Dinner & overnight.

Day 5 - Beit Shean, Jordan Valley, Qumran, Dead Sea, Masada, Jerusalem  Our journey today takes us down the Jordan River Valley to Beit Shean, one of the ancient cities of the Decapolis.  The recently discovered Roman city is the largest archaeological dig site in Israel.  Continuing south, we view Jericho, the world's oldest city, the Mt. of Temptation and Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked over the Promised Land.  We then visit Qumran and view the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.  After lunch we travel on to Masada, the mountaintop fortress and winter palace of Herod the Great.  Here In A.D. 70-73, Jewish defenders made their last stand against the Romans.  We will stop at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, where you may experience floating without any possibility of sinking.  Then we ascend over 4000 feet to Jerusalem...our first view of the Holy City from Mount Scopus will be breathtaking.  Dinner & overnight in Jerusalem.        

Day 6 - Jerusalem, Bethlehem  We begin our first day in Jerusalem driving around the Walls of the Old City to the Mount of Olives.  We view the world's oldest Jewish cemetery, then descend the Palm Sunday Road to the Garden of Gethsemane.  It is believed that some of the old olive trees there today were standing at the time of Christ.  There will be a time for prayer and meditation in this lovely garden where Jesus prayed.  We continue by coach, viewing the Eastern (Golden) Gate and the Tombs of Absalom and Zachariah, then to the House of Caiphas and visit the dungeon where Jesus was held before the crucifixion.  You'll stand on the actual stone steps Jesus walked up Mount Zion.  We visit the Upper/Last Supper Room and the Tomb of David, then travel a short distance to Bethlehem to visit the Shepherd's Fields, Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. 

Day 7 - Jerusalem  This morning we tour the modern City of Jerusalem visiting the Shrine of the Book, where copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed and view a spectacular Model of the Old City.  We then make a moving visit to Yad Vashem, the Memorial to six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.  After lunch, we return to the Old City and visit the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount, the Davidson Museum and the City of David.  We visit the Western (Wailing) Wall where prayers on paper may be placed in the Wall.  We tour the amazing Western Wall (Kotel) Tunnels and arrive at the place nearest the Holy of Holies.  We visit the Pool of Bethesda, sing in the unique acoustics of St. Anne's Church, then depart the Old City by the Lion's Gate. 

Day 8 - Jerusalem  Today we travel back 2000 years as we take a walking tour of the Old City.  We go underground at the Lithostratos and stand on the streets of Jerusalem that existed at the time of Christ.  We view the remains of the Antonia Fortress, Pilate's Judgment Hall, and the Ecce Homo Arch.  We walk the Via Dolorosa viewing the Stations of the Cross, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, bustling markets and bazaars, and continue to the Jewish Quarter for lunch.  We walk the Roman Cardo (main street) and see an exact replica of the Menorrah from the 2nd Temple.  Then the highlight of our tour, a visit to the Garden Tomb where we view Golgotha (Place of the Skull), and celebrate communion by the empty Tomb.  Truly a memorable day!

Day 9 - Jerusalem at Leisure  Your day is free for relaxing, revisiting a special place, shopping for some last-minute bargains, or even walking the walls of the Old City!  In the evening we enjoy a special farewell dinner and fellowship with new friends, then depart for the airport and our homeward flight.

Day 10 - Tel Aviv/USA  We arrive back in the USA with many fond memories of our wonderful tour of Israel...probably already making plans for a return trip!

We also offer longer or shorter custom Holy Land tours with optional extensions to Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Turkey and Europe.  Petra in Jordan is now designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and is our most popular Holy Land extension tour.

The above itinerary is a sample of a standard tour.  Tour leaders may select this exact tour, make certain changes, or work with us to design a custom itinerary.  Every effort is made to include all sites in any itinerary, however the sequence may change and sites may be added or deleted due to arrival time or local conditions.  Requests for the addition of sites while on tour will be considered if feasible, but may incur extra costs.

Israel Tourism Facts

For 3000 years, pilgrims have been coming to this tiny corner of the Mediterranean known as the Holy Land. Since the modern State of Israel was founded in 1948, the country has developed a sophisticated tourism infrastructure which has transformed Israel's cities, countryside, and beaches into one of the most tourist-friendly destinations in the world.  Even during the lowest years for tourism from late 2000 through 2002, never less than a million tourists a year visited Israel.

"Israel Tourism Soars" - 2008 was the best year ever for tourism to Israel and even with the economic downturn, 2.7 million tourists visited Israel in 2009.  2010 is already on track to be another record-breaking year.  Fifty-four percent of incoming tourists in 2009 were Christians.  The largest number of tourists came from the United States with 550,000 visitors recorded.  Russia was in second place, followed by France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Ukraine, Canada and Spain. 

Safety considerations: We occasionally speak to people who are fearful of traveling to Israel.  Their fears are typically based on misconceptions of a recent event or even events which occurred years ago.  The reality of conditions in Israel is that it is very safe, and hotels in Israel and flights to Israel are consistently full with tourists and pilgrims. Tour groups do not travel to or near the Gaza Strip and events there have no effect on touring conditions in Israel.  To the best of our knowledge, no one touring in Israel has ever been killed.   

For testimonials and comments about our tours and safety in Israel, please see the "Testimonials" page.