Learn about the rich heritage of Judaism, the state of Israel and the Jewish people as you tour the land where their history began thousands of years ago. Relish the experience of walking in the steps of biblical and national heroes, seeing the remains of the most sacred places of Judaism and studying the history of both the religion and the people from a whole new perspective.
With these Israel tour packages, there’s no need to worry about planning, booking flights and hotels or managing your time—just pack your bags and enjoy the ride.
Highlights
Jerusalem, Dead Sea, Masada, Tel Aviv, Old Jaffa, Caesarea, Acre, Haifa, Rosh Hanikra, Safed, Golan Heights, Beit Shean, Gan Hashlosha, Tiberias
Itinerary
Wednesday
Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport
Upon your arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel, a tour representative will meet you and accompany you on the transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv.
Thursday
Tel Aviv, Latrun and Rehovot
Highlights: Independence Hall, armored corps museum, Ayalon Institute
Learn about the birth of the state of Israel as you visit historical sites from the dawn of the country’s independence.
Start your tour in the very place the state of Israel was born—Independence Hall in Tel Aviv. It was here, on May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion declared Israel’s independence and the nation’s founders signed the famous document.
From Tel Aviv, you’ll drive east to the armored corps museum in Latrun, famous for its collection of over a hundred different types of tanks and military vehicles.
Conclude your day with a visit to the Ayalon Institute in Rehovot to learn about the preparations of the Jewish underground movement in the years leading up to the war for independence.
Friday
Tel Aviv
Highlights: Diaspora Museum, Rabin Square, Jaffa, Neve Tzedek, Nahalat Binyamin, Shenkin St.
Learn about the history and experience the rich culture of Israel’s vibrant financial and cultural capital, starting at the Diaspora Museum.
Located at the Tel Aviv University Campus, the Diaspora Museum will offer you an insightful look into the history of the Jewish people all over the world.
On the way to Old Jaffa, you’ll stop at Rabin Square, where Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995.
In Jaffa, a city with a history dating back over 8,000 years, you’ll visit ancient ruins and see the many art galleries that dot the narrow alleyways of Jaffa’s artist quarter.
Stop by the charming streets of Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv’s first neighborhood, before you head to the heart of modern-day Tel Aviv to take in the sights and sounds of the Nahalat Binyamin pedestrian mall and Shenkin St., known for their street musicians, café’s and one-of-a-kind shops.
Saturday
Tel Aviv
Highlights: Tel Aviv Port
Enjoy a day of exploring Israel’s vibrant financial and entertainment capital on your own.
Relax on the any of the many beaches, visit some of the cities numerous museums and cultural venues or take a stroll on the promenade and sample the upscale restaurants at the restored Tel Aviv Port (Namal Tel Aviv). Regardless of how you like to spend your day off, Tel Aviv has a little of something for everybody.
Sunday
Caesarea, Haifa, Acre and Rosh Hanikra
Highlights: Roman ruins, Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum, old harbor, grottoes
The third day of your tour will take you up the Mediterranean coastline of Israel, with stops at some of the most impressive archaeological excavations and important historical sites.
Drive up the coastal plain to Caesarea, the capital of Judea under the Romans and home to a bevy of impressive ruins from many periods, including a complex of Crusader fortifications and a Roman theatre and aqueduct.
Continue north to the port city of Haifa for a panoramic view from Mt. Carmel before heading down to the coast for a tour of the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum housed aboard the “Af Al Pi Chen,” a ship that ran the British blockade and brought hundreds of Jewish immigrants to what was then British Mandate Palestine.
Learn about the story of pre-independence immigration and Israel’s naval development up to the 1973 Yom Kippur War through the museum’s impressive collection of documents, articles, photos, diagrams and its light and sound show.
In nearby Acre, you’ll tour the old harbor and local market of a city that has been continuously inhabited since 15th century BC and was a vibrant center of life during the First Crusade.
Next, you’ll drive to the northern border with Lebanon and descend by cable car to the limestone grottoes, where you’ll be able to walk the path through the sea caves and truly experience the power and beauty of the waves as they crash into the cliffs.
Monday
Safed and the Golan Heights
Highlights: Synagogues, artists’ quarter, jeep tour, Tel Facher, Tel Hai, Banias Springs, kibbutz
Travel to the northern reaches of Israel to discover the roots of Jewish mysticism and tour the frontier-like Golan Heights.
Take in the stunning views and feel the unique atmosphere of Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism. Walk through the cobblestone alleyways and stop to see some of its many important medieval synagogues and the quaint artists’ colony.
From Safed, you’ll take a scenic jeep tour to one of Israel’s most beautiful regions, the Golan Heights. Tour Tel Facher, an obsolete Syrian army camp, and view Syrian territory from an observation point over the city of Kuneitra.
After a break to test the waters at Banias Springs, head to Tel Hai to see the iconic “Roaring Lion” monument commemorating those who fell in 1920 when the Jewish inhabitants, led by Joseph Trumpeldor, attempted to defend the settlement against attackers even as they were outnumbered.
Settle in for a quiet night at the quaint Kibbutz Lavi and meet some of the members of the kibbutz to learn about their way of life.
Tuesday
Beit Shean, Tiberias, Gan Hashlosha and Jerusalem
Highlights: Tomb of Maimonides, Beit Alpha synagogue, Roman ruins, springs, Mt. Scopus
Start your day at the seaside city of Tiberias, where you’ll visit the Tomb of Maimonides, resting place of one of Judaism’s greatest figures. Thousands of people every year make the pilgrimage here to honor the12th century Egyptian physician and scholar.
Continue to Beit Shean National Park, where you’ll see some of Israel’s best preserved Roman ruins, as well as other remnants that date back to the ancient Egyptian dynasties and even earlier. You’ll also stop at nearby Beit Alpha Synagogue for a look at the 6th century synagogues extensive mosaic floors.
Then enjoy a bit of relaxation at the Gan Hashlosha natural springs at the foot of Mt. Gilboa, where King Saul met his end after falling in battle to the Philistines.
Finally, make your way to Jerusalem, stopping at Mt. Scopus for a traditional blessing as you enter the holy city.
Wednesday
Jerusalem—Old City
Highlights: King David’s tomb, Cardo, Davidson Center, Western Wall Tunnels, Tower of David Museum, Jewish Quarter
The first stop on your guided tour of Jerusalem will be King David’s tomb on Mt. Zion. David first established the city as the capital of the Jewish kingdom over 3,000 years ago.
From there, you will enter the walls of the Old City through the nearby Zion Gate and walk along the Byzantine Cardo through the Jewish Quarter for a look at the massive fortification wall built by King Hezekiah during the First Temple era, and visit four 16th century Sephardic synagogues that were restored after the 1967 war.
Travel back through time on a tour the Western Wall Tunnels, where archaeologists have uncovered countless significant remnants from some of Jerusalem’s most prosperous eras, and the Davidson Center’s virtual reconstruction of the Second Temple.
Finally, meander through the local Arab bazaar until you reach the Jaffa Gate and Tower of David Museum for an illustration of Jerusalem’s history from its very beginnings as a city in second millennium BCE until it became the modern day capital of Israel.
Thursday
Jerusalem—New City
Highlights: Western Wall, Mea Shearim, Yad Vashem, Knesset, Israel Museum, Shrine of the Book, Dead Sea scrolls
Enjoy an eclectic day in West Jerusalem, home to some of Israel’s most impressive artistic and cultural venues.
After a short trip to see the daily prayers and special celebrations at the Western Wall, move on to one of West Jerusalem’s oldest neighborhoods, Mea Shearim, where you’ll see a unique example of ultra-Orthodox Jewish lifestyle that originated hundreds of years ago in Eastern Europe and is preserved by the neighborhood inhabitants.
Next, your tour will take you to one of the most sacred places to the modern state of Israel, Mt. Herzl for a moving tour of Israel’s national civil and military cemeteries and Yad Vashem, Israel’s national memorial to the Holocaust and arguably its most important museum.
Head to the center of the city for a visit to Ammunition Hill. Once a Jordanian bunker, it was the site of one of the fiercest battles of the 1967 Six Day War and now houses a memorial and museum honoring all of the Israeli soldiers who died in the war.
On the way to the Israel Museum, stop by the Knesset to see the impressive Menorah sculpture emblazoned with depictions from Jewish traditions.
At the Israel Museum, immerse yourself in its massive collection of archaeological, fine arts and Jewish arts exhibits, and visit the Shrine of the Book complex, where you’ll see some of the most important original ancient texts in the world, including the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls and the Aleppo Codex.
Friday
The Dead Sea and Masada
Highlights: Qumran, Masada, Herod’s palace, spa
Head south on an unforgettable exploration of the archaeological and natural treasures of the Dead Sea region.
After a scenic morning drive through the Judean Desert, your first stop will be Qumran, where archaeologists first unearthed the Dead Sea scrolls you saw at the Israel Museum.
Touring the excavations, you’ll be able to get an idea of how the writers of the texts lived and see the room where experts think they may have written them.
From Qumran, your tour will take you on a scenic drive along the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth, to the foot of Masada.
Ascend the mountain by cable car for a tour of the fortress built by King Herod in 31-37 BC, where the Jewish Zealots made their last stand against the Romans in 73 CE.
Here, you’ll see the remains of the walls, synagogue, water cisterns, mosaic floors and Roman baths that once made up the city, as well as King Herod’s personal palace.
Finally, stop for lunch and relax in the spa facilities of one of the top Dead Sea hotels.
Saturday
Jerusalem
Highlights: Mahane Yehuda market, East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, restaurants
Use a day of leisure in Israel’s capital to see anything you might have missed, such as the Mahane Yehuda Market, more of East Jerusalem, nearby Bethlehem (15km) or perhaps sample the city’s thriving fine-dining culture with a meal at one of the many unique world-class restaurants.
Sunday
Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport
Bid farewell to Israel as you enjoy the ride from your hotel in Jerusalem to Ben Gurion International Airport for your flight home.
Additional Tour Information
What’s included
Transfer on arrival and departure (Ben Gurion International Airport), 11 nights bed and breakfast accommodation, 8 guided touring days with English-speaking guide, entrance fees to sites on itinerary, 2 dinners at kibbutz hotel, lunch and spa at Dead Sea hotel, jeep tour in the Galilee
What to bring and wear
Comfortable walking shoes, modest dress (no shorts or sleeveless shirts) and head covering for holy sites, sunscreen
Departure
Year-round
Special notes
This tour is only available in English and can be extended and tailor-made for private tours according to different religious interests.