This 9 night Jewish Heritage Tour Friday arrival to Israel is a perfect first-time introduction to Israel and the culture of this ancient land. There is no better way to learn about our homeland than to connect with your roots and actually visit historic landmarks. Take part in this meaningful experience discovering Jewish history in an ancient land.
(the tour will be operated with a max of 34 participants)
Your land arrangements include:
Sharing transfer on arrival and departure (from/to Ben Gurion Airport)
9 nights accommodation based on double occupancy, bed and breakfast basis
Half board for 2 nights at Kibbutz Hotel Lavi
Lunch and Spa at the Dead Sea area (treatment cost not included)
6 touring days as per itinerary, with English speaking guide
Entrance fees to the sites visited as per itinerary
The jeep tour in the Galilee
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 check out
Single room supplement – a limited number of single rooms available on payment of supplement
Meals and beverages not mentioned
Optional tours not quoted
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.
For information or reservations please contact Janice Snider.
Day 1 Friday Ben Gurion Airport / Tel Aviv
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport where you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Day 2 Saturday
At leisure
Overnight in Tel Aviv. B
Day 3 Sunday Caesarea / Megiddo / Druze village / Haifa
Drive along the coastal plain to Caesarea located halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. Once the Roman capital of the region, we stop to view the excavations of the Crusader-era city, the Roman port, the picturesque and well preserved aqueduct and the amphitheater that has been restored to its former glory and today used as a concert venue. Head to the port city of Haifa located on the slopes of Mount Carmel for a panoramic view of Haifa Bay. Visit the Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum where you will see the Af Al Pi Chen (in spite of it all) immigration vessel and learn the story of the struggle of the illegal immigrants coming to Israel at the time of the British Mandate. Travelling up the coast we arrive at Akko also known as Acre. This ancient city possesses a long history intertwined with various cultures. Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site we will take a walk through the old port and the local market. From here we continue to Rosh Hanikra on the northern Israeli border between Israel and Lebanon. Enjoy a breathtaking view of the sea as you descend on a two minute exhilarating cable car ride to view the grottoes which are cavernous tunnels that have been formed by sea action for thousands of years.
Overnight in a Kibbutz guesthouse. B/D
Day 4 Monday Jeep Tour/Safed/Golan Heights/Tel Hai
Today’s program begins in Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism and one of the four holy cities in Israel. View the Caro and Ari synagogues. Stroll through the Artist Quarter lined with galleries and workshops where artists spend their days at work creating magical masterpieces. For a change of pace of pace enjoy a jeep tour at the foot of the Golan while learning the history of this strategic area. Stop at the Gadot Overlook with its memorial dedicated to the fallen of the Golan located over former Syrian bunkers and view the triangular monument built on the site in honour of the fallen Alexandroni Brigade in 1967. Pay tribute to the Roaring Lion Monument in Tel Hai in the Upper Galilee and learn about the heroic battle fought on March 01, 1920, where six men (including Joseph Trumpeldor, the Russian born Jewish commander) and two women were killed. Afterwards take part in a kibbutz experience as you meet a kibbutz member and learn about their unique lifestyle.
Overnight in a Kibbutz guesthouse. B/D
Day 5 Tuesday Tiberias/Beit She’an/Beit Alpha/Gan Hashlosha/Jerusalem
Leaving the hotel we drive to Tiberias situated on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee named after the Roman Emperor Tiberias. Here we will visit Rambam’s grave, the Tomb of Maimonides, one of the major figures in the history of the Jewish people and one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Israel. Continue through the Jordan Valley to Beit She’an known as Scythopolis, the largest archaeological park in Israel its beautiful excavations dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Stop at Beit Alpha to admire the remains of the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue discovered in 1929 depicting the zodiac. Just to the west of the Valley of the Springs (Beit She’an Valley) is Gan Hashlosha National Park, also known as Sachne. Located in the Lower Galilee without doubt is one of the most breathtaking places in Israel. Enjoy the warm spring pools and waterfalls before continuing via the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem stopping at Mount Scopus to recite the Shehecheyanu blessing, a Jewish prayer said to express gratitude for new and unusual experiences.
Overnight in Jerusalem. B
Day 6 Wednesday Kotel Tunnels/Sephardic Synagogues/Davidson Center/Tower of David
We begin our day at the Tomb of King David, one of the most sacred sights visited by the Jewish people. NOTE: There is a separate entrance for men and women. Since men must wear a kippah you may want to bring your own even though they are supplied. From here we walk along the Cardo, the main street running from north to south lined with a row of columns. Within the Jewish Quarter there is a complex of Four Sephardic Synagogues which was restored after the 1967 war. The complex was built to meet the needs of the Sephardic community. The complex is comprised of the Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue, the Istanbuli Synagogue, the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue and finally, the Emtsai. Moving on we come to the Western Wall****, an ancient limestone wall in the Old City also known as the Wailing Wall or the Kotel. Learn the story of ancient Jerusalem as you tour the Western Wall tunnels. Discover the hidden layers of the walls revealed underground. Nearby is the archaeological park at the Davidson Center where you will find displays including the ancient city wall and a preserved ancient street dating from the First and Second Temple periods. Walk through the colourful local bazaar and visit the Tower of David Museum presenting the history of Jerusalem and the ancient remains of the city beginning with the First Temple Period.
Overnight in Jerusalem. B
Day 7 Thursday Yad Vashem / Mt. Herzl /Ammunition Hill / Israel Museum
A wonderful opportunity this morning to observe Bar Mitzvah ceremonies at the Western Wall. Drive through Mea Shearim, one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, and learn about the unique lifestyle of the ultra-orthodox communities. Proceed to Mount Herzl, the military cemetery, and Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the Holocaust. Visit Ammunition Hill, a former Jordanian army stronghold conquered by the Israeli army in the Six Day War and later converted into a national memorial site and museum. Drive by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. At the edge of the rose garden stands the large Bronze Menorah a gift from the UK Parliament. Next is the Israel Museum with its Shrine of the Book housing the priceless Dead Sea Scrolls and the Holyland Model of Jerusalem, a miniature replica of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple period.
Overnight in Jerusalem. B
Day 8 Friday Qumran / Masada / Dead Sea
Drive through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. Visit Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in 11 nearby caves in 1947 by a young shepherd looking for a stray goat. Continue to Masada, the isolated mountaintop fortress of King Herod where you will ascend by cable car and tour the mountain fortress where the Zealots made their last stand against the Romans by committing mass suicide rather than be enslaved. Visit the remains of the walls, palaces, synagogue and bathhouse. Afterwards descend by cable car and proceed to one of the leading hotels in the area for lunch and have the option of using the spa facilities of the hotel (at additional cost). Enjoy floating in the mineral rich Dead Sea said to possess therapeutic mineral qualities. Mud is available at additional costs.
Overnight in Jerusalem. B/L
Day 9 Saturday Jerusalem
At leisure. The day is free.
Overnight in Jerusalem. B
Day 10 Sunday Jerusalem / Ben Gurion Airport
After breakfast, transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure. Today marks the end of your journey. B
*Site under the Palestinian Authority Jurisdiction – visit subject to situation
**Visit subject to weather conditions
***The sequence of the tour, border crossing point used, hotels used and sites visited may be amended due to circumstances
****Men must cover their head while in the prayer area and women must cover their shoulders and wear long pants or a knee-length skirt. If you forget to bring a covering, guards will provide you with a piece of fabric for that purpose before you enter. The prayer area is separated by gender. If you want to be super respectful follow Jewish custom by never turning your back on the wall. You will see many people walking away from the wall backwards because it is simply disrespectful to turn away.
* Program sequence is subject to change without advance notice.
B=Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner