Bethlehem Tour 

After a short 20-minute drive from Jerusalem past settlements and through the checkpoint, you will meet your Palestinian guide. On this full day tour you visit a refugee camp, see the Israeli West Bank barrier close up, tour the Old City, enter the Church of Nativity and visit Mar Saba.

The first stop is usually outside the Mar Saba Monastery. This amazing complex clings to the cliffs of the Judean Desert above the Kidron Valley. The oldest structures date from the 5th Century, and the views of the monastery and the surrounding natural environment are spectacular.

From there, you will head to Aida Refugee Camp which is under the supervision of UNRWA, a United Nations agency. At the camp, there will be a walking tour and a discussion about the situation with camp officials. Aida camp was established in 1950 on an area of 66 dunums between the towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jala.

From the Camp, you will see sections of the Separation Barrier and some of Banksy's famous graffiti. The Barrier surrounds Bethlehem on three sides and has resulted in travel restrictions for Palestinians and confiscated land. As well as his original works, you'll also be able to spend time at his most significant installation; the Walled Off Hotel. You can visit the lounge bar, gallery and see his original works on the wall, and there will usually be time for an optional visit to the museum there too.

After a break for lunch, you will be able to visit the old city center of Bethlehem. The visit to the Church of the Nativity and the old city markets of Bethlehem is an important highlight for many of our guests. Please note that we are required to engage one of the official church guides for the walk through the church, built over the place where tradition holds Jesus Christ was born. It is one of the oldest Christian places of worship in the world.

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, approximately 10 kilometers (6 mi) south of Jerusalem, with a population of 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism.

According to Christian tradition, Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth and the town is inhabited by one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, though the size of the community has shrunk in recent years due to emigration. According to Biblical tradition, the city is also believed to be the birthplace of David. The city was sacked by the Romans in 529 AD as a result of a revolt, and was rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Bethlehem was conquered by the Islamic Caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb in 637, who guaranteed safety for the city's religious shrines. In 1099, Crusaders captured and fortified Bethlehem and replaced its Greek Orthodox clergy with a Latin one. The Latin clergy were expelled after the city was captured by Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and Syria. With the coming of the Mamluks in 1250, the city's walls were demolished, and were subsequently rebuilt during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottomans lost the city to the British during World War I and it was to be included in an international zone under the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. Jordan occupied the city in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and it was subsequently occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. Israel has retained control over the entrances and exits to Bethlehem, though day-to-day administration has been under the purview of the Palestinian Authority since 1995.

Modern Bethlehem has a Muslim majority but is also home to one of the largest Palestinian Christian communities. The Bethlehem area includes the towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, as well as the refugee camps of 'Aida and Beit Jibrin. Bethlehem's dominant economic sector is tourism which is particularly high during the Christmas season as the city is a Christian pilgrimage center, being home of the Church of the Nativity. Bethlehem has over thirty hotels and three hundred handicraft work shops, employing several of the city's residents. Rachel's Tomb, an important Jewish holy site, is located at the entrance of Bethlehem.