Paul’s first missionary journey: map, route and study guide

Paul’s first missionary journey begins with the church in Syrian Antioch, crosses Cyprus, continues into southern Galatia, and returns through the new communities before the team reports home. Acts 13–14 supplies the sequence. Barnabas accompanies Paul; John Mark assists them until he leaves at Perga.

Explore the map · Read all 15 stops · Open the printable worksheet

Read the journey in three movements

Sending and Cyprus — Acts 13:1–12. The church worships, fasts and sends Barnabas and Saul. They travel through Seleucia to Salamis and Paphos. Watch how the story connects the sending community, the message and the resistance they meet. Acts 13:9 introduces Saul as also called Paul; it does not describe a name change at his conversion.

Southern Galatia — Acts 13:13–14:21. John leaves at Perga. Paul speaks in Pisidian Antioch, and the narrative moves through Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. The crowds do not respond uniformly. Some believe; some oppose the message. In Lystra, a healing leads to attempted worship of the messengers, which Paul and Barnabas refuse.

Return and report — Acts 14:21–28. The return includes Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, then Perga and Attalia. The focus shifts from first proclamation to strengthening disciples and appointing elders. Returning to Antioch completes the relationship with the church that sent them.

Two Antiochs, different roles

Syrian Antioch is the sending and reporting community. Pisidian Antioch is the inland destination where Paul gives the synagogue address in Acts 13. Reading both simply as “Antioch” can make the route seem to double back too early.

What the map can and cannot tell you

The interactive Leaflet map uses OpenStreetMap geography with the same journey record as the iOS app. Modern roads and borders provide context; they do not reconstruct the first-century landscape. Stop order, event summaries and references come from that record; coordinates and identification confidence come from OpenBible.info. Repeated cities remain separate stops because the return has its own purpose in the narrative.

Straight connectors are teaching aids, not recovered roads. The inland route from Perga to Pisidian Antioch is debated. Acts also does not give every overnight stop, exact sailing lane or daily distance. This guide therefore avoids a precise total mileage or a daily itinerary.

Questions for a small group

1. Compare the sending scene in Acts 13:1–3 with the report in Acts 14:26–28. What responsibilities does the sending community share?
2. What does Paul emphasize in the synagogue address? Separate his account of Israel’s story from the response of the audience.
3. Why do Paul and Barnabas reject the crowd’s response in Lystra? What does that reveal about the difference between a messenger and the message?
4. Why revisit places where there was opposition? What actions accompany encouragement in Acts 14:21–23?

For a first session, read Acts 13:1–12 together, mark the four opening stops and write one observation and one question. For a second, compare the outbound and return visits. The worksheet has room for observations and references.

Meet the people

Read Paul’s profile and Barnabas’ role in the mission. Each links back to passages so the profile supports a reading of Acts rather than replacing it.

Explore the journey, stop by stop

Acts names the journey's locations and sequence, but not every road, stop, or sailing course. Map connectors show a study sequence between mapped places; they are not reconstructed ancient roads or sailing lanes. Dashed lines indicate sea travel; solid lines indicate land travel.

The interactive map loads when you reach it. The complete route is also available in the table below.

Drag to explore; use + and − or pinch to zoom. Select a numbered marker to read its story. Modern roads and borders provide geographical context; journey lines show the sequence in Acts, not exact ancient travel paths.

Outbound Return Sea crossing (dashed)

Leaflet (BSD-2-Clause) · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors · Report a base-map issue. Historical coordinates: OpenBible.info, CC BY 4.0. The route table and worksheet can be printed without downloading map tiles.

Complete route and Scripture references

Stop	Place and event	Read the passage
1	Syrian Antioch The church worships, fasts, prays, and sets apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which the Holy Spirit has called them. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 13:1-4
2	Seleucia Sent out by the Holy Spirit, the team goes down to Seleucia and sails for Cyprus. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 13:4
3	Salamis On arriving in Salamis, they proclaim the word of God in Jewish synagogues; John is with them as an assistant. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 13:5
4	Paphos After travelling through the island, they meet Bar-Jesus and the proconsul Sergius Paulus at Paphos. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 13:6-12
5	Perga Paul and his companions sail from Paphos to Perga in Pamphylia, where John leaves them and returns to Jerusalem. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 13:13
6	Pisidian Antioch In the synagogue, Paul speaks about God's saving work; the message draws many listeners and fierce opposition. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 13:14-52
7	Iconium Paul and Barnabas speak in the synagogue, and a large number of Jews and Greeks believe before a threat forces them to leave. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:1-7
8	Lystra After a healing, Paul and Barnabas reject worship offered to them. Opposition then turns the crowd, and Paul is stoned. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:8-20
9	Derbe The team proclaims the good news in Derbe and makes many disciples before beginning the return journey. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:20-21
10	Lystra Paul and Barnabas return to strengthen the disciples and encourage them to remain in the faith. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:21-23
11	Iconium The return route includes Iconium as the team encourages the believers and appoints elders in each church. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:21-23
12	Pisidian Antioch The team returns to the community in Pisidian Antioch before passing through the surrounding region toward Pamphylia. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:21-24
13	Perga After passing through Pisidia and Pamphylia, Paul and Barnabas speak the word in Perga. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:24-25
14	Attalia From Perga they go down to Attalia, the port from which they sail back to Antioch. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:25-26
15	Syrian Antioch Back in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas gather the church and report what God has done and how a door of faith opened to the Gentiles. Mapped identification: likely.	Acts 14:26-28

How to read the route evidence

• Syrian Antioch to Seleucia: Acts names the movement from Syrian Antioch down to Seleucia; the exact road is not supplied.
• Seleucia to Salamis: Acts states that the team sailed from Seleucia to Cyprus; its precise course is not supplied.
• Salamis to Paphos: Acts says they travelled through the whole island to Paphos; the map does not claim a particular Cypriot road.
• Paphos to Perga: Acts names the sailing from Paphos to Perga but does not preserve a sailing lane.
• Perga to Pisidian Antioch: Acts names Perga and Pisidian Antioch, but the exact inland road remains debated in modern scholarship.
• Pisidian Antioch to Iconium: Acts places Iconium after the expulsion from Pisidian Antioch; the connector is a study sequence, not an exact road.
• Iconium to Lystra: Acts reports that Paul and Barnabas flee from Iconium to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe.
• Lystra to Derbe: After the events at Lystra, Acts says that Paul and Barnabas leave for Derbe the next day.
• Derbe to Lystra: Acts explicitly begins the return by naming Lystra after Derbe.
• Lystra to Iconium: Acts names Iconium next on the return route as the team strengthens the disciples.
• Iconium to Pisidian Antioch: Acts names Antioch after Iconium on the return route; the map distinguishes it from Syrian Antioch.
• Pisidian Antioch to Perga: Acts says the team passes through Pisidia and comes into Pamphylia before speaking in Perga; intermediate stops are not named.
• Perga to Attalia: Acts says that after speaking in Perga, the team goes down to Attalia.
• Attalia to Syrian Antioch: Acts names Attalia as the port from which Paul and Barnabas sail to Antioch; it does not identify a return call at Seleucia.