Check out my spiritual journey, of being baptized in the Jordan River!

Unreal to see Jesus’ hometown, where the miracle of the loaves and fishes happened. And where he taught people to be fishers of men. And to take part in a baptism in the Jordan River, the same river where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Little did I know that my trip to Israel was going to be a spiritual journey!

Visiting the Holy Sites in Israel

During my time in Israel, since I was working during the weeks. So I decided to structure my days by going out to explore in the mornings and on the weekends, and then working in the afternoons/nights, due to the time difference for work.

Some of the nearby places that were a bit farther out than just Tel Aviv and the Old City of Jerusalem. I felt would be better visited by taking a tour where I could also get some insight into the history and significance. This was a great idea. I did an online search to find the tour groups. The first one I did was to Nazareth, Capernaum, Galilee, and the Jordan River baptism site.

Nazareth, Capernaum, and the Sea of Galilee

Since the tour was a bit expensive considering my budget, I decided to pack my own breakfast, lunch, and beverages. That worked out well! We stopped at a rest area for breakfast and there was a picnic table so I ate my Greek yogurt and granola there. For lunch, we stopped at another restaurant/rest area. Since there was another picnic table, I was able to eat my sandwich and carrots.

It was a really incredible tour to learn more about Jesus’s life from a historical rather than religious perspective. The tour guide was a lovely Jewish woman who even broke down some of the mistranslations from the Bible for us. It was so cool to visit these sites I had only heard about before.

At the last stop on the trip, we also had the option to get baptized in the Jordan River. Although I had not planned that in advance, I decided it would be a great idea to do. So, along with others from our tour, we rented a white robe to get baptized in for about $15. We had access to bathrooms/dressing rooms where we could change our clothes and head down to the baptism site. The robes are completely see-through when wet, so I recommend wearing undergarments underneath. 

Getting baptized in the Jordan River

The baptism site is literally a spot in the river where fish and birds swim. You walk down some stairs and can perform your own ritual if you like. There is no official ceremony or anything of the like. There was a family that was part of my tour group and they were all getting baptized, so we all decided to let the uncle of the group baptize us. He made sure we knew he wasn’t a pastor, and he asked each of us a series of questions about our faith before briefly submerging us in the water. It was a beautiful moment with a lovely group of people.

After that, you have plenty of free time to buy souvenirs, sit back and reflect in the garden area (that’s what I did), or fill up a bottle with water from the river. I went back to the changing rooms, took a shower (they had hot water and soap), and changed my clothes. I had paid extra for the tour group to drop me off in Tel Aviv because I had to change Airbnb that day. They connected me with the tour bus to go back to Tel Aviv. They dropped me off near a bus station and I took the bus to my new Airbnb with all my luggage. What an incredible opportunity!

By the way, Jesus was actually baptized in another site on the Jordan River. Unfortunately, the water is now too low and muddy at the original site to get baptized. Although you can still visit, which I did on another tour. And don’t forget to add to your list of places to see the Holy Sites in Jerusalem Old City.

Solo female travel to Nazareth

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