Paul's Missionary Journeys Map

By The Bible Parlor Team · July 21, 2026 · 10 min read

The book of Acts records three separate missionary journeys undertaken by Paul, covering roughly AD 46 to 57 and thousands of miles by land and sea across Asia Minor, Greece, and the eastern Mediterranean. Each journey has a distinct route, cast of companions, and turning point in Acts. Below is a city-by-city breakdown of all three, with the Acts passages that record each leg.

First missionary journey (Acts 13–14, c. AD 46–48)

Companions: Barnabas, and initially John Mark · Sent out from: Antioch in Syria · Sponsoring church: Antioch (Acts 13:1–3)

The first journey begins when the Holy Spirit sets apart Paul (still called Saul at this point) and Barnabas at Antioch in Syria, and the church commissions them by fasting and the laying on of hands (Acts 13:1–3). The pair sail from the port of Seleucia to Cyprus, then work their way through southern Asia Minor before returning to their sending church.

Route, in order:

  1. Antioch (Syria) — commissioned and sent out (Acts 13:1–3)
  2. Seleucia — port of departure, sailed to Cyprus (Acts 13:4)
  3. Salamis, Cyprus — preached in the Jewish synagogues (Acts 13:5)
  4. Paphos, Cyprus — confronted the sorcerer Elymas before the proconsul Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6–12)
  5. Perga, Pamphylia — John Mark departs and returns to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13)
  6. Antioch in Pisidia — Paul's major synagogue sermon; Gentiles turn to the gospel after Jewish leaders reject the message (Acts 13:14–52)
  7. Iconium — a great number of Jews and Greeks believe; the city divides and the missionaries flee a plot to stone them (Acts 14:1–7)
  8. Lystra — Paul heals a man lame from birth; the crowd first hails Paul and Barnabas as gods, then stones Paul after being incited by opponents (Acts 14:8–19)
  9. Derbe — the farthest point of the journey; they preach and make disciples (Acts 14:20–21)
  10. Return trip — back through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia, appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21–23)
  11. Perga and Attalia — final stops before sailing home (Acts 14:24–25)
  12. Antioch (Syria) — report back to the sending church; this journey directly leads to the Jerusalem Council debate over Gentile circumcision in Acts 15 (Acts 14:26–28)

This first journey established the pattern Paul would repeat: preach first in the synagogue, gather a mixed Jewish-and-Gentile following, face organized opposition, and appoint local elders before moving on. It also set up the theological controversy — whether Gentile converts needed to be circumcised and keep the Mosaic law — that the Jerusalem Council resolves in Acts 15.

Second missionary journey (Acts 15:36–18:22, c. AD 49–52)

Companions: Silas, later joined by Timothy (Lystra) and Luke (Troas) · Barnabas splits off with John Mark to Cyprus separately (Acts 15:39)

Paul proposes revisiting the churches from the first journey to see how they are doing. A sharp disagreement with Barnabas over whether to bring John Mark again leads the two to part ways — Barnabas takes Mark to Cyprus, and Paul takes Silas overland through Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:36–41). This journey is the one in which the gospel first reaches continental Europe.

Route, in order:

  1. Antioch (Syria) — departure point after the split with Barnabas (Acts 15:39–41)
  2. Syria and Cilicia — strengthening existing churches overland (Acts 15:41)
  3. Derbe and Lystra — Timothy joins the team here (Acts 16:1–5)
  4. Phrygia and Galatia — forbidden by the Spirit to preach in Asia, so they pass through instead (Acts 16:6)
  5. Troas — Paul's vision of a Macedonian man calling him to come help; Luke apparently joins the party here, as the narration shifts to "we" (Acts 16:8–10)
  6. Samothracia and Neapolis — sea crossing into Macedonia (Acts 16:11)
  7. Philippi — a Roman colony; Lydia converts, and Paul and Silas are jailed after casting a spirit of divination out of a servant girl, then freed by an earthquake that opens the prison doors (Acts 16:12–40)
  8. Amphipolis and Apollonia — pass-through stops en route to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1)
  9. Thessalonica — three weeks of synagogue preaching before a mob forces Paul and Silas to leave by night (Acts 17:1–10)
  10. Berea — the Berean Jews are commended for searching the Scriptures daily to test Paul's teaching (Acts 17:10–14)
  11. Athens — Paul's address at the Areopagus (Mars Hill), engaging Greek philosophy directly and quoting Greek poets (Acts 17:15–34)
  12. Corinth — an 18-month stay; Paul works with Aquila and Priscilla making tents, and is brought before the proconsul Gallio, who dismisses the charges against him (Acts 18:1–17)
  13. Ephesus (brief stop), Caesarea, and Jerusalem — before returning to the sending church (Acts 18:18–22)
  14. Antioch (Syria) — journey concludes (Acts 18:22)

The second journey is the hinge point where the Christian mission moves decisively from Asia Minor into Greece. Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth all become recipient churches of New Testament letters — Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and 1 and 2 Corinthians — making this route essential background for reading Paul's epistles in context.

Third missionary journey (Acts 18:23–21:16, c. AD 53–57)

Extended stay: roughly 2–3 years at Ephesus · Ends with Paul's arrest in Jerusalem

The third journey is dominated by an extended ministry at Ephesus, followed by a farewell tour through Macedonia and Greece and a final voyage back toward Jerusalem, where Paul anticipates arrest (Acts 20:22–23).

Route, in order:

  1. Antioch (Syria) — departure point (Acts 18:23)
  2. Galatia and Phrygia — revisiting earlier churches (Acts 18:23)
  3. Ephesus — roughly two to three years of ministry; disciples of John the Baptist receive the Holy Spirit; a riot breaks out among the silversmiths who fear losing business from the cult of Artemis (Acts 19:1–41)
  4. Macedonia — revisiting Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea (Acts 20:1–2)
  5. Greece (likely Corinth) — a three-month stay; likely when Paul writes Romans (Acts 20:2–3)
  6. Troas — Paul raises Eutychus after the young man falls from a third-story window during an overnight sermon (Acts 20:6–12)
  7. Miletus — Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders, who meet him there; he tells them he does not expect to see their faces again (Acts 20:17–38)
  8. Tyre, Ptolemais, and Caesarea — the prophet Agabus warns Paul that he will be bound if he goes to Jerusalem (Acts 21:1–14)
  9. Jerusalem — journey ends; Paul is arrested in the temple shortly after arriving, beginning the narrative that leads to his trials and eventual voyage to Rome (Acts 21:15–17, continuing into Acts 21:27 onward)

The third journey produces some of Paul's most theologically dense writing — most scholars place the writing of Romans during the three-month stay in Greece near the end of this journey, and 1 Corinthians during the extended Ephesus stay. It also ends the pattern of "journeys" altogether: after his arrest in Jerusalem, Paul's remaining travel in Acts happens as a prisoner, culminating in the voyage to Rome recorded in Acts 27–28.

See the routes on an interactive map

A city list captures the sequence, but seeing the actual distances and terrain changes how these journeys read. Cyprus is a sea crossing; Antioch in Pisidia sits in mountainous central Anatolia, a demanding overland route from the coast; the jump from Troas to Neapolis is where the mission physically crosses from Asia into Europe. Bible Parlor's Atlas plots every city named above as a marker tied to its Acts reference, so you can follow each journey visually and click through to the exact verse for any stop. Open the Atlas and jump to Acts 13, Acts 16, or Acts 20 to see each journey's route rendered on the map in sequence.

For deeper word-level study of any term in these passages — such as the Greek word behind "colony" in Acts 16:12, or "riot" in Acts 19 — pair the Atlas with Strong's Concordance and Word Study to see the original Greek behind Luke's narration in Acts.