13 Day Tour

Day 1 - TUESDAY
Departure from North American or other International Gateway

Day 2 - WEDNESDAY
Tel Aviv
Welcome to Israel! Upon arrival into Ben Gurion International Airport, you are met and assisted by our airport representative and transferred to your hotel in Tel Aviv for overnight.

Day 3 - THURSDAY
Independence Hall / Mini Israel/ Latrun/ Yad Mordechai
Start the day 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. Continue to visit Ayalon Institute, once an ammunition factory for the Hagana, the underground movement before May 1948. Proceed to Yad Mordechai, named after Mordechai Anilevitz, leader of the Warsaw Ghetto; visit the restored battle fields of the war of liberation and learn about their heroic story.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Day 4 - FRIDAY
Tel Aviv
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. 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 youthful ambiance.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Day 5 - SATURDAY
At Leisure
At leisure Overnight Tel-Aviv.

Day 6 - SUNDAY
Caesarea / Haifa / Acre / Rosh Hanikra
Drive north to Caesarea, once the Roman capital of the region. See the excavations of the crusaders' city, the aqueduct and the amphitheatre which has been restored as a concert venue. Proceed to Haifa for a panoramic view from Mount Carmel and visit “AF AL PI CHEN” , the naval museum of the illegal immigration to Israel at the time of the British mandate. Drive to Acre; walk along the old harbor and local market; continue to the northernmost point of Israel at Rosh Hanikra. Descend by cable into the limestone grottoes.
Overnight at a Kibbutz guesthouse.

Day 7 - MONDAY
Safed / Tel Facher / Banias / Tel Hai
Drive to Safed, center of the Kaballa movement; visit the Joseph Caro and the Ha’Ari synagogues, the most important synagogues in the city; stroll around the Artist’s quarter. Enjoy a Jeep tour at the foot of the Golan. Continue to the Golan Heights; stop at an observation point over the city of Kuneitra and the Syrian territory. Stop at Tel Facher, a former Syrian army camp; visit the Banias springs. 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.
Overnight at a Kibbutz guesthouse.

Day 8 - TUESDAY
Beit Shean / Beit Alpha / Gan Hashlosha / Jerusalem
Drive to Tiberias to visit Rambam’s grave; proceed to Beit Shean, also called "Scythopolis", the biggest archeological park in Israel with beautiful excavations from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Stop at Beit Alpha to see the beautiful mosaic floor of a synagogue from the Byzantine period. Onto 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 on which King Saul was killed in the battle against the Philistines. Continue via the Jordan valley to Jerusalem with a stop at Mount Scopus for a blessing as you enter the city.
Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 9 - WEDNESDAY
Jerusalem: Old City
Tour the old city of Jerusalem. Start with a visit of the Tomb of King David on Mount Zion. Walk along the Cardo, the ancient Roman road; visit the four Sephardic synagogues restored after the 1967 war in the Jewish quarter. Tour the Western Wall Tunnels; visit Davidson center and walk through the Roman Cardo to the local Arab bazaar. Walk through Jaffa gate to David’s Tower museum and see the ancient remains of the city beginning with the first Temple period.
Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 10 - THURSDAY
Jerusalem: New City
Depart the hotel and arrive to the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem.

*Optional: Celebrate the Bar/Bat-Mitzvah ceremonies at the kotel.

Continue to Mea Shearim and learn about the unique lifestyle of the ultra orthodox communities. Drive by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament and see the Menorah with the biblical emblems.  Next visit the Israel Museum, the Shrine of the book where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed, and the new holy land model – a miniature replica of Jerusalem as it was during the second temple period. Drive to mount Hertzel, the military cemetery and Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust. Visit the ammunition hill, a former Jordanian army stronghold, conquered by the Israeli army in the Six Day War, and converted into a national memorial site and museum, Overnight Jerusalem.

* Optional: For families who wish to celebrate a Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony at the Wall. This will be a perfect opportunity, while the rest of the group will tour Mea Shearim, arrangements will be made at the Wall with a Rabbi. At the end of the service, you will be transferred from the Western Wall area to meet the group at the entrance of the Israel Museum. For prices for this special option, see bellow.

Day 11 - FRIDAY
Qumran / Massada / Dead Sea
Drive through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea. Stop at Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Continue to Massada, ascend by cable car and tour the ancient fortress; visit the remains of the walls, palaces, synagogue, the bathhouses etc. Descend by cable car. Next stop for lunch and Spa facilities in one of the leading hotels in the area.
Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 12 - SATURDAY
At Leisure
At leisure. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 13 - SUNDAY
Jerusalem / Ben Gurion Airport
Transfer to Ben-Gurion airport for departure.