What Is Christian Travel? Inside Kristi McLelland's Israel Tour, Day by Day

People ask us all the time what to expect on a Christian Israel tour.

It's easy to picture Bible study on a cruise ship or a devotional at a pretty overlook, but a Holy Land tour is something else entirely. So instead of describing it, we’re putting you in it. What follows is drawn from one of Kristi McLelland's recent Christian Israel tours, walked day by day as if it were your own journey from departure to homecoming.

Before the journey through Israel began, Kristi shared this invitation:

"We have the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage together. I invite you to experience Israel with me. We are going to eat the same foods that Jesus ate. We will sit in places where Jesus sat... The Bible is not only the best story that's ever been told, but it is also the truest. Let's go lay hold of it together!" —Kristi McLelland

Day 1: Departure

Bags zipped, packing list checked twice and boarding pass in hand—this is finally happening.

You settle into your seat, and somewhere over the Atlantic as you stare out at nothing but clouds, it hits you: You've been praying about this trip for longer than you can remember.

Day 2: Arrival in Israel

As your plane lands, something in your chest settles. You’re here!

The air at Ben Gurion Airport carries the faint scent of the nearby citrus groves. After you clear customs, your bus winds through hills dotted with olive trees toward Galilee.

That evening, you sit down for your first meal with strangers who, by dessert, become friends. Everyone at the table is here for the same reason: to draw closer to Christ and to experience the land where He walked.

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Also that day: Transfer to your Galilee hotel, group check-in and welcome briefing

Day 3: The Mount of Beatitudes

You climb a gentle hillside for a panoramic view of the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, with the Golan Heights in the distance. The grass is soft, and there's almost always a breeze coming off the water.

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This is where Jesus once taught the crowds who followed Him out of the towns.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit... Blessed are those who mourn."

You’ve heard Jesus’ words from Matthew 5 during Sunday services, but now they have a hillside, a view and a body of water attached to them.

Kristi gathers the group, and you find yourself doing the math without meaning to: This is close to where Jesus taught. Maybe even the actual spot.

Also that day: Capernaum National Park, where Kristi teaches on the steps of the ancient synagogue in the town Jesus called home, plus Magdala, where an ancient synagogue was discovered, and Beit She'an

Day 4: The Sea of Galilee

Aboard a first-century-style wooden boat, the engine cuts out somewhere in the middle of the sea. For a moment, everyone is silent. This is where Jesus calmed a storm.

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Kristi McLelland teaches right there on the water, her voice carrying over the waves, unpacking Scripture as the boat rocks gently beneath you. Here’s why she says the Sea of Galilee is a must for Christian travelers.

Also that day: Optional Mount Arbel hike, Capernaum and teaching at St. Peter's Primacy along the shore

Day 5: Baptism at Yardenit

The Jordan River is colder than you expected as you wade in. A few words are spoken, and you go under.

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When you come up, smiling and laughing, the whole group is cheering from the banks. Someone hands you a towel still warm from the sun.

You’ll remember this moment for the rest of your life.

Also that day: Caesarea Philippi and Tel Dan, with teaching near the archaeological site

Day 6: Jerusalem Comes into View

After a full day tracing Megiddo and Caesarea by the Sea, your bus climbs a final hill, and there it is: Jerusalem, gold and white stone catching the late afternoon light exactly the way it's described in old hymns.

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The whole bus goes quiet.

Then someone starts singing in worship, and within seconds the entire group has joined in.

Also that day: Teaching at Megiddo overlooking the Jezreel Valley, Caesarea by the Sea and Israel Museum

Day 7: The Garden of Gethsemane

Olive trees twist overhead, ancient and gnarled. They look almost sculptural and were already ancient when the Gospels were written.

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This is where Jesus prayed the night before His crucifixion, where He asked God to let the cup pass and where He surrendered anyway.

No one in your group says much here. No one needs to.

Also that day: Mount of Olives, Palm Sunday Road, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulcher and optional evening tour of the Western Wall Tunnels

Day 8: Sitting Where Jesus Taught at the Southern Steps

Kristi leads the group to the Southern Steps at the base of the Temple Mount. The stone steps are worn unevenly by 2,000 years of footsteps, including Jesus'. You sit down on the stone.

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This is where Jesus taught, where He likely sat with His disciples the way you're sitting now.

Close your eyes as gratitude rises within you. What a moment to bask in His presence and study His Word alongside other believers on the very steps He climbed.

Also that day: Davidson Center, Western Wall, City of David and Pool of Siloam

Day 9: Masada

The cable car climbs as sunlight spreads across the desert, and you step out onto a fortress that feels like it shouldn't exist: a flat plateau of ancient stone, floating above the Judean wilderness with the Dead Sea shimmering far below.

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This is where nearly 1,000 Jewish rebels made their final stand against Rome, choosing death over captivity.

Standing on that same ground, Kristi doesn't talk about ancient history so much as what it costs to cling to conviction when everything is stacked against you.

Also that day: Ein Gedi, Qumran, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls and free time to float in the Dead Sea itself

Day 10: Communion at the Garden Tomb

Enter a quiet garden that feels worlds away from the bustling streets of the Old City, even though it’s right next to it.

You see the tomb, empty, its rolling stone track still carved into the entrance just as it's been for 2,000 years.

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Someone reads Matthew 28:6 aloud: "He is not here, for He is risen."

The group takes communion together, right there in the garden, and it's unlike any communion you've ever taken before.

Also that day: Free time in Jerusalem before your final dinner together

Day 11: Going Home

You board your plane spiritually refreshed, challenged and changed. Souvenirs may fade and the jet lag will pass, but something in you has shifted permanently.

You don't just know God's Word anymore; you've stood and walked inside its sacred pages.

Your Own Israel Journey Awaits

If reading this stirred something in you, that's not a coincidence. Join Kristi McLelland on her next tour here, or view other Israel tours below.