5 Things You Should Do at The Sea of Galilee

I went to Israel in November of 2019 and it was the trip of a lifetime. My senses were in overload from taking in so many sights, smells, and feelings. It has taken me months to process everything that I experienced in 3.5 days. My only regret is not having more time in the Holy Land. We visited The Sea of Galilee and it was my favorite place in Israel. Here are 5 things you should do at The Sea of Galilee.

#1 Check out the location where Jesus fed the 5,000 in Luke 9!

If you are someone who has been in church most of your life – or even if you’re new to the Bible, you’ve probably heard this story. In case you haven’t, here’s what happened.

Jesus was traveling with his apostles and crowds were following him as he went along. Instead of running away from them, Jesus healed many of them and taught them all about the Kingdom of God. As it was getting late, the 12 disciples told Jesus to send the people away to villages nearby so that they could eat and find a place to sleep. Instead of going along with this idea, Jesus told the disciples to feed the people.

They only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Jesus instructed them on how to prepare for the dinner, blessed the food, and the disciples began handing it out to the people. Everyone ate and there was plenty of food leftover!

I completely paraphrased this, but, you can read this story in Luke 9:10-17. Right near the Sea of Galilee is the very spot where {according to tradition -tour guides say that frequently} Jesus performed this very miracle.

#2 Visit the Church of the Multiplication

After you see the spot where Jesus fed the 5,000, you should visit the Church of the Multiplication. At this church, you can see the rock that is believed {according to tradition} to be the rock that Jesus blessed and multiplied the bread and the fish!

#3 Visit the Town of Capernaum

The town of Capernaum is known as “The Town of Jesus”. Back in the Bible days, the town was inhabited by mostly fishermen. Jesus spent a good deal of time teaching in this town and did many miracles. He met 5 of his disciples in this town!

When visiting the town of Capernaum, you can see the ruins that archaeologists discovered of The Ancient Synagogue and what is to believed to to have been the house of Peter!

#4 Eat at St. Peter’s Restaurant

This authentic restaurant is nestled right at the edge of the Sea of Galilee. I got the salad bar and the fish! It was all very unique for my taste buds but I truly enjoyed it! At the end of the meal, we were given some cardamom coffee to try.

Quick back story… I HATE citronella. I know this sounds super random. But, I cannot stand the smell of it OR to even get close to it! Cardamom is an essential oil just like citronella is. Cardamom smells EXACTLY like citronella to me.

So, I tried this coffee {not knowing it was “cardamom” coffee} and I nearly spit it over the table at the people sitting across from me. Other people at the table were talking about how wonderful it was… and since these were complete strangers and I couldn’t be rude and spit it out… I forced myself to NOT spit it out.

#5 Spend time SOAKING IN the views at The Sea of Galilee!

The Sea of Galilee was my favorite spot in Israel. Hands down. First, I walked up to an area where I could look out over the water. Honestly, it took my breath away. You see the Golan Heights mountains in the distance and it is just spectacular.

Then, I walked over to the shore. I put my feet in the water… and it was COLD. I went with it, though… because EHHHEMMM excuse me, Jesus walked ON THAT WATER. {Matthew 14:22-26}

After that, I sat down on the shore to let my feet and legs dry off. I put my hands in… what I thought was sand… only to realize they were TINY SHELLS. The shore is COVERED in the tiny shells.

Once I got over the shells, I sat. I prayed. I looked out on the water and I imagined what it must have been like to see Jesus walk across it. As I sat there, I thought about what it would’ve been like to have Jesus Christ walk up to me and tell me to “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” {Matthew 4:19}

We did go with a tour to all of these places. To be honest, when I go back to Israel I do NOT want to go with a tour to see the Sea of Galilee. I don’t even know if I want to go with my husband! {hehe, I’m kidding. Of course he’ll come along} What I truly wanted that day was to have more time sitting and thinking and praying. The 45 minutes that I was allotted during the tour was not nearly enough for my mind to fully comprehend what I was seeing. The tour bus was waiting for ME – Kevin had to basically come drag me off the shore.