Note: The links below go straight to the websites mentioned. I do not receive commissions for sending you there. Also, my tours to Israel were with Jerusalem University College. So, I am more familiar with them, and there is probably a bias there as well.
Finding the tour that is right for you is a difficult task. Particularly because there are so many variables at play, such as dates, cost and theological commitment. I can’t help you out with dates. Sorry. That’s determined by your individual schedules. But I can give you some guidance on the other variables.
It can be easy to look at the bottom line of a tour price and make a decision, but we want to avoid this. The value in a tour is in it’s cost per day. For a discussion on tour costs, check out my post on the topic. (Or click on the picture to the left)
What we want to look for are Christian led tours that have a daily cost between $250 to $350 per day. There may be a few tours that go over this amount, so you’ll have to get into the details to figure out why. Most often it’s the quality of lodging.
For the most part, any tour that lands outside the $250 to $350 range starts to stray theologically.
Below are three websites that set up tours for Christian ministries and churches. Some of the trips are open to the public as well as a few that are led by the website organizations themselves.
The fourth website is an educational institution that is headquarted in the US, but has their main campus in Jerusalem. Because they administer their tours and lodging in house, they are able to offer a lower rate per day than the other tours.
Even though Jerusalem University College runs academic programs, all their short term trips are open to the public. You do not need to be in an academic program to attend a course.
Educational Opportunities Tours
Holy Land Travel Tours
GTI Tours
Jerusalem University College
Also, check out this video on JUC’s FaceBook page for a better intro. (I couldn’t embed it in this page, so you’ll have to follow the link to view it.)