Experiencing Footprints in the Holyland - Tour to Israel - Sponsored Tours by Friendly Planet Travel

10 days, $3054
from Los Angeles (LAX)

Includes airfare, fuel surcharges, great hotels, transfers, most meals, guided touring and more!

Hosted by Rev. Lola Penner & Marvin Penner
February 16- February 25, 2009

We are inviting you to join us on our 10th trip/tour to Israel. There is really no exhaustive description of the significance of being in The Land that is God's dwelling place in the earth. The current events confirm His Word and cause us to want to know what He has in mind for His People and the rest of the world. Friendly Planet Travel personnel are the greatest agents I have ever known in their concern for our most meaningful experiences in the land of Israel. They have smoothed out the rough details to a point of absolute wonder. You will in no way be disappointed with this tour schedule. Please make your plans to come with us. Whether you are a Bible student, enjoy archeology (including current digs) or antiquities, or simply enjoy different cultures, architecture, history, etc, you will find much to learn on this tour. But best of all, you will come home with a new and vital appreciation for God's faithful care of His People and His Land. You will never be the same. Space is limited and guests are being registered on a first come first served basis. Come with us to Israel!

Your tour hosts,
Rev. Lola and Marvin Penner

Our Touring Program

Day 1, Monday, Feb 16: Depart USA. Depart on the first leg of our overnight trip to Israel. Aloft, we will have dinner, a little sleep time, breakfast, and the opportunity to praise the Lord for His great creation from the vantage point of 35,000 feet!

Day 2, Tuesday, Feb 1: Arrive Zurich. Afternoon arrival in Switzerland (en route to Israel). Check in to our hotel in Zurich. Time to stroll downtown or explore some of the sites of this beautiful city on your own.

Tel Aviv, Israel © IMOT

Day 3, Wednesday Feb 18: Arrive Tel Aviv, Israel. Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Meet your guide who will assist you with customs formalities and escort you to your waiting touring coach. En route to your Tel Aviv hotel, visit Jaffa, ancient seaport and home of Simon the Tanner. Metropolitan Hotel (D)

Friendly Planet travelers in Caesarea

Day 4, Thursday, Feb 19: Caesarea, Mount Carmel, Megiddo & Tiberias. After your first Israeli breakfast, visit Independence Hall and witness the historical vote. Drive north along the Mediterranean Sea to Caesarea, the Roman capital of Judea, which King Herod built into the grandest city in Palestine, second only to Jerusalem. View the beautifully restored theater and extensive and ongoing excavations of the ruins of the ancient town, its harbor and aqueduct. Next, travel inland to Megiddo, Biblical Armageddon, and the inspiration for James Michener's great novel, The Source. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005, Megiddo's twenty major strata contain the remains of around 30 different cities and holds a central place in the biblical narrative. Continue to Muhraka on Mt Carmel, where Elijah defeated the priests of Ba'al then on to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. Kibbutz Ma’Agan (B,D)

Ancient Synagogue at Capernaum © Doron Horowitz

Day 5, Friday, Feb 20: Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes & Banias. Set sail on the Sea of Galilee aboard a wooden fishing boat built to represent vessels used during Bible times. Arrive at Capernaum, once a simple fishing village, where Jesus was often a guest of his disciple Peter, and where it is said He performed many miracles. Visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue and house of Peter, then continue to Tabgha, site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the Mount of Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount. Drive through the Hula Valley to Banias, ancient Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of Mount Hermon. After ascending the Golan Heights, visit the former Syrian fortifications, and then drive along the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee to Kursi, where Christian tradition relates that Jesus cast out the demons from the man of Gedara. (B,D)

Ruins at Beit She'an, Israel

Day 6, Saturday Feb 21: Jordan Valley, Beit She'an, Jericho & Jerusalem. Visit Kibbutz Ginossar on the Sea of Galilee to see the excavated boat dating from the time of Jesus, then drive to Cana, site of Jesus' first miracle, and Nazareth, His boyhood home. We drive south via the Jordan Valley to Beit She'an, an extraordinary excavation of an ancient Roman city, and Jericho, once destroyed by Joshua, and thought to be the world's oldest continuously inhabited settlement. Finally, we enter Jerusalem, highlight of our tour. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. Grand Court Hotel (B,D)

View from Masada

Day 7, Sunday Feb 22: Dead Sea, Masada & Qumran. Ascend by cable car this morning to experience the historic fortress of Masada where, after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., Jewish resistance continued against Rome. When the Romans completed an assault ramp to the top of Masada and stormed the fortress, they found only dead bodies. Rather than fall into the hands of the Romans and live as slaves, the Zealots died by their own means. After a tour of the extensive excavations at Masada, continue to Ein Gedi, David's waterfall and a wonderful nature center. (B,D)

9th Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa & Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Day 8, Monday Feb 23: Old City of Jerusalem. Today we'll visit the restored Jewish Quarter and the Temple Institute. A full day of sightseeing in Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus, Mount Zion, the site of the Upper Room, the Kidron Valley and the Garden of Gethsemane. Continue to the Old City within the walls, including the Via Dolorosa, the Western (Wailing) Wall, the Rabbinic Tunnels, the Temple Site on Mt. Moriah and the Garden Tomb for a private Communion service. (B,D)

The Shrine of the Book (interior) © IMOT

Day 9, Tuesday Feb 24: New City of Jerusalem. Today, we visit the new city outside the walls, the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed, and the Memorial to the Holocaust victims at Yad Vashem. Later, visit the Model of the city during the Second Temple period. We return to our hotel for a farewell dinner and overnight. (B,D)

Day 10, Wednesday Feb 25: Israel/USA. Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport and board your return flight to the USA, arriving in Los Angeles later this afternoon. (B)

Destination FAQs

For quick answers to Frequently Asked Questions about travel to Israel, click here.

Experiencing Footprints in the Holyland - Tour to Israel Prices

Per Person, double occupancy:	$3054
Single Room Supplement:	$410
Optional Travel Insurance:	$129
* Airline departure taxes, fuel surcharges & airport fees.

Reservations

Please download the reservation application and fax or mail it to us, together with your $300 per person deposit. Fax to: 215-572-9803. Mail to P.O. Box 505, Jenkintown, PA 19046.

Reservation application PDF (requires free Acrobat Reader)

For additional information, please contact:

Rev. Lola and Marvin Penner
1135 North Kent St,
Visalia, California 93291
Tel: 559-733-7892

About your tour host, Lola Penner

Lola is currently serving as Assisting Minister to the Pastor of the Heart of the Valley Church in Central California. She is a well seasoned traveler having been to more than 20 countries of the world. She is a student/teacher of the Bible and has taught in various venues and also is an accomplished musician having taught for more than 35 years. Among other things, she has directed church music programs and school choirs, performed in concert on some of the large pipe organs throughout Europe and United Kingdom. She says that her most meaningful travel experiences have been in the Land of Israel. Since 1982 when she and her husband Marv took their first trip to Israel, she has seen amazing advances in the Land and in the Jewish Community. It is with enthusiasm that Lola encourages clients to come and see for themselves why she continues to return to Israel.

10 days, $3054from Los Angeles (LAX)

Hosted by Rev. Lola Penner & Marvin Penner February 16- February 25, 2009