Bethlehem and Jericho Day Trip: A Deep Dive into Historic Christian Sites from Tel Aviv

Embark on a captivating day trip from Tel Aviv to Bethlehem and Jericho, exploring historic Christian sites. Visit the Church and Grotto of the Nativity, Zacchaeus’ tree, and Mt Temptation, immersing yourself in the rich biblical history of these revered locations.

Duration: 11 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Judaean Desert - Pass through the Judean Desert

  • Jericho - Visit the ancient city of Jericho

  • Zaccheus’ Tree - Visit the Zaccheus’ Tree in Jericho

  • Mount of Temptation Monastery - Spot the Mount of Temptation

  • Bethlehem - Visit Bethlehem

  • Church of the Nativity - Visit the Church of Nativity

  • The Church of St. Catherine - Pass by the Church of St. Catherine

  • Qasr al-Yahud Baptismal Site - Qasr al-Yehud (Castle of the Jews) is a baptismal location on the Jordan River. The site is in the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank 15 km from the northern end of the Dead Sea and southeast of Jericho. Qasr Al-Yehud is believed to be the Biblical site where John baptized Jesus; this symbolized his spiritual birth.

What's Included
  • Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Guidance from a professional tour guide
  • All entrance fees included
  • Comfortable travel with in-vehicle air conditioning
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks, unless specified
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Travel back through the millennia to some of Christianity’s most revered sites on this full-day tour of Bethlehem and Jericho from Tel Aviv. Traveling with an expert guide, drive to Jericho to view its fabled biblical locations, including Zacchaeus’ tree and Mt Temptation. Afterward, visit Bethlehem to stand at the hallowed sites of the Nativity, such as the Church and Grotto of the Nativity. Also, view Shepherds’ Field, the scene of one of the Bible’s greatest stories, when shepherds were told of Jesus’ birth by an angel.

  • A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
  • When visiting Bethlehem, you will be met by a Palestinan guide at the boarder and may require a change of vehicle
  • A moderate dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. Please refrain from wearing shorts. Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
  • Due to visitors overload a visit down to Nativity cave is not always possible
  • Please note this tour is not suitable for children under the age of 4
Location
Judaean Desert
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(99 Ratings)
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Koredea2016
Sep 20, 2023
Well organised Tour - This was my second Tour booked with Bein Harim. It was well organised just like the first. Got a WhatsApp reminder a day before, pick up was on time, we met up in Jerusalem and switched vehicles depending on the tour we were booked on. Information was clear and everything went smoothly. The vehicles were clean, fully air conditioned with Wi-Fi and charging ports. Our guides Maria and Yoav were really good. We had Yoav the whole day and multilingual Maria just for Bethlehem cos we had English and Spanish speakers in the group for the Bethlehem leg of the tour. Yoav was kind and accommodating as we had an elderly lady who struggled with mobility on the group. He was very funny and entertaining too. Enjoyed every bit of this tour and would definitely recommend Bein Harim.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Passport829972
Sep 6, 2023
Itamar our guide is one of a kind! - Itamar is an amazing guide! He is exactly what any group needs for an exellent tour experience, Knowledgeable, fluent, cheerful, full of energy, respectful, inclusive in words and deeds, funny. Explained processes in detail, repeated many times to ensure we knew when and what during change of buses etc. He even made sure we beat the crowd and left first or arrived first to cafes, meeting points etc. So we had enough time for undisturbed photos, coffee etc. Thank you nephew of Moses!! Hope to have you in all my other tours in the future.
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Dennisp19902023
Aug 20, 2023
Zahi is excellent! - Zahi did an incredible job as our guide. He was knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and kind. Would love to take a tour with him again.
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Rhonaw257
May 12, 2023
Great Tour with a fabulous guide - This tour covered a lot in a short period of time. Itamar is very knowledgable and provided a great deal of information with humour and in both English and Spanish, which helped many of the guests enjoy the experience even more. This was the second tour I did with the company and I can only say fantastic service on both tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bernadett
Apr 13, 2023
It was my dream to visit the Holy land, and the place where Jesus born - It was safe, and well organized, I think this kind of trips are practical if you visit a country like Israel. The tour was amazing
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Teresa_beverley
Mar 29, 2023
Bein Harim Bethlehem and Jericho Tour with Dan Porges - Dan Porges was the BEST tour guide I had while touring Israel. He was not only extremely knowledgeable about the historical and biblical facts BUT he never stopped giving us information as we traveled between stops. He also brought Mariam on board to help us better understand Bethlehem. Having an Israeli Jew and Christian on board was instrumental in understanding the historical perspective. The 2 of them together were incredible. Dan's bedside manner was professional while being funny and warm. I so enjoyed Dan that I got a picture with him! ALWAYS ask for Dan Porges for your Israel Trips with Bein Harim! I choose Bein Harim as it came recommended by my hotel. Having nothing to do with Dan, the only negative thing I would say is that the company should consider a slight refund as we could not visit our Jordan River stop due to flash flooding AND the driver did not take me up to my hotel (it was a short walk).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nana004
Feb 3, 2023
Great day tour - The tour was very well organized, tour guides (Itamar and Mariam) are knowledgeable and very inclusive.
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Jmsosa1609
Apr 22, 2023
Bethlehem, Qasr Al Yahud and Jericho - We are group of 4 and first time to visit Israel. This tour is Our second tour in Bein harim. Our tour guide Yoav and Merriam (Bethlehem) are very Nice. Yoav keep us information about the history of Jericho and Qasr El Yahud (baptism site). We honestly enjoy the trip but the time is so limited to the point that we are unable to visit the chamber where Jesus was born (which is the highlight in Bethlehem), my suggestion is that this site should give allowable time so that we, the tourist can go in the queue and wait to see this biblical site that was very important specially for us Christian. Bein Harim bus is very comportable and a lot of space. Overall we had a great experience with this agency.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ellahorn12
Apr 9, 2023
Extremely average… - Pros: Our guide Dan & the Palestinian guide (sorry I forget her name) were both very nice. The coach bus you go on is large with good AC. Cons: This tour is really only okay if you just care about transport to the sites. Tour info is misleading - duration does NOT include the time you spend being switched off between buses/getting to the first site so don’t make time-sensitive plans for after the tour. Didn’t get a ton of info from the guides. One of the sites was closed unexpectedly the day we went so it was skipped & somehow we still arrived back in Tel Aviv 2 hours late. The whole tour is just very time inefficient and didn’t feel worth the 12+ hours we were on it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gab20000000000
Jul 7, 2023
Poor organization and guides, good driver - PICKUP First of all, poor organization. It wasn’t at all clear that after leaving the pickup point (one of the hotels in Tel Aviv) the bus was to stop at a main meeting point in Tel Aviv with other buses and that most passengers would then transfer to the bus specific to their tour for that day. Bein Harim, I strongly suggest you specify this upon booking, you will avoid so much confusion for so many people! Though pickup time was 06:40, we actually started driving towards Jerusalem to pick up more people over an hour later. And in Jerusalem, we waisted more time because someone had put their suitcase on the wrong bus! AVISHAI, ISRAELI GUIDE Our Israeli guide Avishai, who described himself as a history professor, started the tour with a historically inaccurate statement, saying that “in 1947 the United Nations granted Israel/the Israelis a state”. Not true! In November 1947 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution proposing the partition of British Mandate Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Jews of Palestine established the state of Israel in May 1948, hence the term “Israeli” for its citizens, Jews and non Jews alike. The Arabs of Palestine who did not declared a state in 1948 are those today referred to as Palestinians. One must also note that some Israeli arabs identify as Palestinians for political reasons. During the tour Avishai twice pointed to the Dead Sea saying it was the Sea of Galilee (that’s on the opposite side of Israel!) and twice more pointed to the main square of Jericho saying we were in the center of Bethlehem! He seemed more concentrated on sugarcoating Israeli -Palestinian relations with half truths and unclear statements throughout the tour and having us spend money in the Bethlehem shop than paying attention to what he was saying about the locations we visited. I would suggest that guides who are unable to speak factually about politics simply avoid speaking of politics ! After all, we were there to visit biblical locations! ADEL, PALESTINIAN GUIDE. In fact, our Palestinian guide Adel who took over in Bethlehem was much more coherent. In a remarkable linguistic feet, while describing Bethlehem as the city of David and then Jesus , he managed to not once utter the words Israel/Israeli, Palestine/Palestinian, Jew or Arab. While not ideal, his choice was coherent. I appreciated that Adel instructed us on how to deal with the aggressive street vendors , but did not appreciate the long time he dedicated to speaking about the shop we were taken to and how we could support the local Christian community. Too much time spent in the shop and talking about it. Especially because he then asked if we wanted to skip entering the church of nativity because of the long line. That is what we were in Bethlehem for ! Thank goodness we were nevertheless able to enter and see where Jesus was born. YIGAL, ISRAELI DRIVER Calm, polite, very skilled driver who drove safely and smoothly through narrow streets and tiny parking lots without ever losing his patience. Five stars for Yigal! In conclusion, do go visit Bethlehem and Jericho , but based on my experience I cannot honestly recommend this company.
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