The above land rates include the following services:
– Sharing transfer on arrival and departure (from/to Ben Gurion Airport)
– Assistance at the airport upon arrival
– 11 night accommodation on BED & BREAKFAST basis except for Kibbutz Lavi on HALF BOARD basis
– 8 touring days as per itinerary, with English speaking guide
– Dinner in Jerusalem on Thursday followed by a Sound and Light show at David Citadel
– Entrance fees to the sites visited as per itinerary
Your land arrangements do not include:
– Airfare to and from Tel Aviv
– Departure taxes, fuel surcharges or airport improvement fees
– Porterage at the airport or hotels
– Insurance
– Early check-in/late checkout
– Single room supplement – a limited number of single rooms available on payment of supplement
– Meals and beverages not mentioned
– Optional tours not mentioned
– Gratuities for individual services, laundry and valet service, and any other items of a purely personal nature
– Tipping to guide, driver, hotel or restaurant staff
– E. & O.E.
Please contact Janice Snider for current rates and dates.
Wednesday – Day 1 Ben Gurion Airport / Tel Aviv
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, where you will be met by a representative and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Thursday – Day 2 Latrun / Beit Guvrin / Ayalon Institute / Weizmann House
Drive to Latrun to visit the Armored Corps Museum and memorial, considered one of the most diverse tank museums in the world. Continue to Beit Guvrin National Park declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Explore parts of the archaeological remains and unique caves. Proceed to Ayalon Institute, once a secret underground ammunition factory established by the “Haganah,” who were the Jewish underground movement before May 1948. Continue to Weizmann House in Rehovot built in 1936, the private home and later the formal residence of Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the first president of the State of Israel and founder of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Visit the house with its impressive structure and fascinating gardens, which now form part of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Learn the story of Dr. Chaim Weizmann, an outstanding scientist and head of the Zionist movement for over 30 years.
Overnight Tel Aviv. B
Friday – Day 3 Tel Aviv / ANU / Old Jaffa
Your day starts with a visit to ANU where the compelling story of the Jewish people is narrated. Drive around the main streets of Tel Aviv, the center of business and entertainment in Israel. Also known as the “White City,” Tel Aviv was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its collection of over 4,000 Bauhaus-style buildings. Stop at Rabin Square, the site of the assassination of Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin in 1995. Continue to Old Jaffa, one of the oldest port cities in the world. Visit the ancient ruins and walk along the Artist’s Quarter. Visit Neve Tzedek, the first neighborhood of Tel Aviv built in 1887 followed by Nachalat Binyamin, the pedestrian mall of the city where you can enjoy live street music, arts, crafts and handmade jewelry.
Overnight Tel Aviv. B
Saturday – Day 4 Tel Aviv
At leisure
Overnight Tel Aviv. B
Sunday – Day 5 Caesarea / Megiddo / Druze village / Haifa / Galilee
Drive along the coastal plain to Caesarea, once the Roman capital of the region. See the excavations of the Crusader-era city, the Roman port, aqueduct and the amphitheater that has been restored to its former glory as a concert venue. Proceed to Megiddo, identified as the site of Armageddon. Visit the archaeological excavations, including the well-preserved water supply system. Drive through Daliat el Carmel, a Druze village, and Mount Carmel to Haifa for a panoramic view of Haifa Bay and the Golden domed Baha’i Shrine and Gardens. Proceed to the Galilee.
Overnight in a Kibbutz guesthouse. B/D
Monday – Day 6 Safed / Katzrin / Golan winery
Drive to Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism. Visit the ancient synagogues and the Artist Quarter. Continue to the strategic Golan Heights to see the former Syrian bunkers, Quneitra and the new Israeli town of Katzrin. Stop at Golan Heights Winery for a tour and wine tasting. Proceed to “Golan Magic” for a multimedia presentation of the area and its history.
Overnight in a Kibbutz guesthouse. B/D
Tuesday – Day 7 Sea of Galilee / Nazareth / Beit Alpha / Jerusalem
Start the day with a visit to Nazareth where you will visit the Church of Annunciation. Continue to Tiberias then visit Capernaum to see the ruins of the synagogue and octagonal Church of St. Peter. Visit the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Drive via Beit She’an to Beit Alpha to see the remains of the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue depicting the zodiac. Continue to Jerusalem.
Overnight Jerusalem. B
Wednesday – Day 8 Mt. of Olives / Old City / Bethlehem*
Start the day with a magnificent panoramic view from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Drive to the Old City and visit the Tomb of King David and the Room of Last Supper on Mt. Zion. Enter the walled city and walk through the newly restored Jewish Quarter. Visit the Roman Cardo, the Herodian Quarter and continue to the Western Wall. Walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of Holy Sepulchre. Continue to Bethlehem* and view Rachel’s Tomb before proceeding to the Church of Nativity and Manger’s Square.
Overnight Jerusalem. B
Thursday – Day 9 Israel Museum / Knesset / Mt. Herzl / Yad Vashem
Drive to the Israel Museum and visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. See the Miniature Model of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple period. Drive by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament and continue to visit Mount Herzl Cemetery and Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the Holocaust. Drive to Nachlaot and walk through its narrow alleys uncovering the rich tapestry of the city’s past.
Overnight Jerusalem. B
Friday – Day 10 Qumran / Masada / Dead Sea
Drive through the Judaean Desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth at almost 1300 feet (400 meters) below sea level. Stop at Qumran to visit the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada. Ascend by cable car and tour the ancient isolated mountaintop fortress where the Zealots made their last stand against the Romans before committing mass suicide in 73 AD. Descend by cable car. Continue to the Dead Sea and cover yourself with the mineral rich mud. Experience floating in the Dead Sea** which many believe offers therapeutic effects****. Return to Jerusalem.
Overnight Jerusalem. B
Saturday – Day 11 – Jerusalem
At leisure
Overnight in Jerusalem. B
Sunday – Day 12 – Jerusalem / Ben Gurion Airport
After breakfast, transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure.
* Site under the Palestinian Authority Jurisdiction. Visit subject to situation.
** Visit subject to weather conditions.
*** Program sequence is subject to change without advance notice.
**** The cost of spa treatments is not included.
B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner