Bethlehem & Monasteries Full Day Private Tour

The Bethlehem and Monasteries Full Day Private Tour is a guided journey through Bethlehem, the Judean Desert monasteries, and the ancient city of Jericho, led by a licensed tour guide registered by the Ministry of Tourism. Pickup is at 9:30 from your hotel or apartment, and the day combines Christian heritage sites with desert landscapes at a private, well-paced rhythm.

• Shepherds' Field
• Milk Grotto
• Church of the Nativity
• St. Catharine Church
• Handicrafts Olive Wood Factory
• Cooperative Souvenir Store
• Mar Saba Monastery
• Saint George Monastery
• Mount of Temptation (cable car optional)

The tour begins in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ. You meet your guide and visit Shepherds' Field in the nearby town of Beit Sahour, where the Angel Church, built in 1954, marks the place where an angel announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. In the old city of Bethlehem you enter the Church of the Nativity, one of the oldest churches in the world, where a small star beneath the church marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with guided explanation of its history. The tour continues to the Milk Grotto Church, associated with the rest of Mary and Joseph before the flight to Egypt, and includes a short coffee break at a local olive wood factory to meet artisans and see their craft, followed by the Cooperative Souvenir Store.

The day then heads into the Judean Desert to Mar Saba Monastery, one of the oldest continuously inhabited monasteries in the world and a long-standing center of learning and doctrinal development. Next is Saint George Monastery, also known as the Monastery of Choziba, set among the rocky cliffs and trees of the desert valley. The route continues down to Jericho, near the deepest point on earth, where the Mount of Temptation overlooks the city and recalls the forty day fast of Jesus. A cable car up the mountain is available as an optional add on. The itinerary is a proposal and can be customized for your private group.