12 Day Itinerary
Wednesday, Day 1: Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, transfer to Tel Aviv
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, where you will be met by a Jewish Tours Israel representative and transferred to your hotel in Tel Aviv for check in. Suggested stroll along the beautiful beachfront.
Overnight in Tel Aviv
Thursday, Day 2: Independence Hall / Mini Israel / Latrun / Yad Mordechai
Enjoy breakfast! Start the tour with a visit to the Independence Hall where the establishment of the State of Israel was declared. Next, drive to Latrun to visit the new “Mini Israel” park including miniature models of the most important sites and buildings in the country. You will continue to visit Ayalon Institute, once an ammunition factory for the Hagana, the underground movement before May 1948. Precede to Yad Mordechai, named after Mordechai Anilevitz, leader of the rebellion in the Warsaw Ghetto; visit the restored battlefields of the war of liberation and learn about their heroic story.
Overnight in Tel-Aviv.
Friday, Day 3: Tel Aviv and Jaffa area
Following breakfast, you will visit the Diaspora Museum; drive around the main streets of Tel Aviv, center of business and entertainment of Israel. Stop at Rabin's Square, place of assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Continue to Old Jaffa, an 8000-year-old port city; visit the ancient ruins and walk along the restored artists' quarter. The tour will visit Neve Tzedek, the first neighborhood of Tel Aviv, built in 1909 and Nahalat Benyamin, the pedestrian street of the city with its musicians, hand made jewelry and artifacts. Next, stop at Sheinkin, the lively and colorful street especially known for the unique shops, café life and its youthful ambiance.
Overnight in Tel-Aviv.
Saturday, Day 4: Tel Aviv - Shabbat at Leisure
After Shabbat breakfast, you will enjoy a day at leisure in Jerusalem. Optional service at one of the many synagogues in Tel Aviv or just relax at our hotel. In the evening, walk the streets of Tel Aviv (on your own).
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Sunday, Day 5: Caesarea, Haifa, Akko (Acre), Rosh Hanikra
Following breakfast, you will check-out from your hotel and travel north along the Mediterranean Coast to visit the ancient city of Caesarea. View the excavated Roman Theater once used for many performances throughout the centuries. Today, it draws major venue attractions, for concerts and festivals. Continue through the excavated fortress and view the aqueduct, once used for conveying water to the city. The tour will proceed to Haifa for a panoramic view from Mt. Carmel and continue to visit “AF AL PI CHEN” the naval museum of the illegal immigration to Israel at the time of the British mandate. You will continue to the ancient city of Akko (Acre); walk along the old harbor and local market. The tour will proceed to the northernmost point of Israel at Rosh Hanikra and where the border meets Lebanon. Descend by cable car to see the limestone Grottos created by the Mediterranean Sea. You will continue through the hills of the Galilee to your Kibbutz guesthouse for overnight stay.
Monday, Day 6: Safed / Tel Facher / Banias / Tel Hai
After breakfast, the tour will drive to the Mystical City of Safed, one of the Four Holy Cities according to tradition and Kabalistic studies. Stroll through the narrow, winding alleys, visit some of the beautiful synagogues, such as the Joseph Caro and the Ha’ Ari synagogues. Enjoy the creative workshops and galleries found in the flourishing artists' quarter. Proceed to the Golan Heights for a Jeep adventure where you will explore the foot of the Golan Heights on 4 by 4 terrain. The tour will stop at an observation point over the city of Kuneitra, and the Syrian territory. You will stop at Tel Facher, a former Syrian army camp. Proceed north to Banias Springs and enjoy the waterfalls, which flows from the foot of Mount Hermon to the Jordan River; considered to be the largest spring feeding from Mt. Hermon and leading into the Jordan River. Next, a visit to Tel-Hai; See the “Roaring Lion” monument and learn about the heroic battle of Josef Trumpeldor and his comrades in 1920. You will return to our Kibbutz Guesthouse for overnight.
Tuesday, Day 7: Beit Shean, Beit Alpha, Gan Hashlosha to Jerusalem
Following breakfast, you will drive to Tiberias to visit Rambam’s grave. You will proceed to Beit Shean, also called "Scythopolis", and walk through the largest ongoing archaeological dig in the land of Israel with its amphitheater, colonnaded Roman streets, mosaics and the Roman bathhouse. The tour will stop at Beit Alpha to see the beautiful mosaic floor of a Byzantine synagogue. Next is a visit to Gan Hashlosha, (Sachne), where you will have an opportunity to enjoy the water springs, located at the foot of the Gilboa mountain, the famous mountain where King Saul was killed in the battle against the Philistines. Continue south through the lush Jordan Valley where the dessert now blooms and upon arriving in Jerusalem, you will stop at Mt. Scopus for a Sheyichyanu Blessing. You will arrive at your hotel for overnight.
Wednesday, Day 8: Old City of Jerusalem
After breakfast, the tour will drive to Mt. Zion to visit the tomb of King David. You will enter the walled city and proceed to the Jewish Quarter, reconstructed after the city was unified at the conclusion of the Six-Day War in 1967. You will see the ancient Roman road and visit the four Sephardic synagogues in the Jewish quarter. View the unearthed main Roman thoroughfare and ancient marketplace. The tour will proceed through the broad stone stairway down to the holy Western Wall - the "Kotel" (Beit Hamikdash). In front of the Beit Hamikdash (the Temple Mount), is the incredible labyrinth of tunnels, arches, and passageways remained untouched for centuries. Enjoy a tour of the incredible "Underground Rabbi Tunnels" of the Western Wall. You will continue towards the Southern Wall excavations to see the Davidson Center, one of the most significant archeological sites in the country. Return back via the "Cardo" to the local Arab Bazaar (Suk). You will walk out of the Old City through Jaffa gate to visit David’s Tower Museum to see the ancient remains of the city beginning with the first Temple period. You will return to our hotel for overnight.
Thursday, Day 9: New City of Jerusalem
Following breakfast, you begin with a visit to Mea Shearim to learn about the unique lifestyle of the Ultra orthodox communities. Drive by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament before you will visit the Israel Museum, where you will see the Shrine of the Book Museum, where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed along with the new Holy Land Model which is a miniature replica of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple period. You will drive to Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery where you can visit the gravesites of Israel’s greatest leaders and heroes, including Theodore Herzl, Ze’ev Jabotinski, and Yitzchak Rabin. Proceed to Yad Vashem, considered to be the first memorial to mankind’s darkest period. You will visit the very moving exhibit at the Children’s Pavilion. The tour will proceed to visit Ammunition Hill (Givat-Hatahmoshet), sight of one of the fiercest battles for Jerusalem. You will return back to your hotel for overnight.
Friday, Day 10: Qumran, Masada and The Dead Sea area
(Remember to bring your hats, swim suits and suntan lotion with you!) Enjoy an early breakfast, before you depart to the Dead Sea area. The tour will traveling south through the Judean Wilderness, and arrive at the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the surface of the earth, situated at 1305 feet (398m) below sea level. Stop at Qumran to visit the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Proceed south to the legendary mountaintop plateau of Masada and ascend by cable car to the ancient synagogue of Masada and explore the ancient fortress. Here, was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their struggle against the Romans. From the top of Masada, the outlines of the Roman encampments are still visible below. Following the tour of Masada, descend by cable car and if weather permitting, stop at one on the hotels at the Dead Sea resort for lunch, spa and to experience floating in the mystical waters of the Dead Sea. Enjoy the remainder of the afternoon at leisure to put mud on and to float at the Dead Sea. You will return to your hotel in Jerusalem for overnight stay.
Saturday (Shabbat), Day 11: Jerusalem at leisure
After Shabbat breakfast, you will enjoy a day at leisure in Jerusalem. Overnight in Jerusalem
Sunday, Day 12: Departure
Following breakfast, a JTI representative will transfer you to Ben Gurion Airport for your return flight home with everlasting memories of the Land of Israel.
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