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The season of the Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land typically starts after the Feast of Tabernacles. People travel from all over the world to complete their pilgrimage from this date until the beginning of the New Year. Christians have been doing this since the 4th century.

A pilgrimage is defined as a journey to a sacred place. Few places could be more sacred to a Christian than Nazareth and Bethlehem. Nazareth is the name of the small village where Jesus grew up, whereas Bethlehem is where he was born. Today, Bethlehem is controlled by the Palestine authority. For those who wish to travel in the same footsteps as Jesus and see the great monuments built to memorialize and honor him, there are several options.

First, if you have a group of friends who would like to make the pilgrimage with you, there are group tours. Unitours.com arranges tours for groups of friends or family as well as churches. Although the headquarters are in New York, offices and staff are also located in Tel Aviv, London and Athens. A higher quality tour than some provide, Unitours offers hotels with private baths and tour managers and guide escorts which help your group navigate through your country of choice from beginning to end. Although the price is determined according to airfare, hotel cost and the number of days spent travelling, the towns and locations visited are mostly up to the traveler. Other sites such as classic-pilgrimages.com give customers set prices, though the tour is fixed as well. For example, the "10 Day Holy Land" tour is $1,999, however one cannot chose where to go or to visit elsewhere.

If you prefer to plan the trip yourself, the first step is airfare. Several air lines have direct flights from the U.S. There are no direct flights to Israel from countries which do not have diplomatic standards in place with them. If you take a late flight or an early morning flight, these tend to be less expensive. For direct flights from New York, it takes approximately 11 hours to reach Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv. From London it takes 5 hours. Once in Israel, your money will need to be converted to shekels. There are 100 agorot per shekel (like 100 pennies to a dollar). Money can be converted at airports, banks, hotels and any licensed agency. Once you have done this, consider taking the train as opposed to renting a car. It saves money and allows you to observe and talk with natives.

When in other countries, it is important to be sensitive to their customs. Most Isralis

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