Jewish Heritage Tour

This tour offers a wide variety of special interest tours and the latest attractions in the country, along with traditional “must visit” sites.

  • Visit Caesarea, one of Israel’s most important cities during the period of Herod.
  • The Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River.
  • Climb the Golan Heights.
  • In Western Galilee- the Rosh Hanikra, a rock formation at the very northern tip of Israel that was created when the strong Mediterranean waters carved subterranean tunnels out of the soft limestone rock, creating beautiful caves and formations.
  • Acre (Akko), a UNESCO Heritage Site.
  • The newly renovated Crusaders’ City and the famous British Prison used in pre-state days for Jewish and Arab prisoners and the site of the famous prison break re-enacted in the movie Exodus.
  • Drive to Jerusalem via the Trans-Israel Highway for a view of the ‘Security Barrier’.
  • Walk through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, to the sites excavated over the past 30 years, including the Cardo, a Byzantine street that is now the oldest shopping arcade in the world, the 2,000-year old Herodian Mansions and the Davidson Archaeological Park and the Davidson Center, followed by the Southern Wall Excavations.
  • Experience the sites, smells and tastes of Jerusalem while walking through the Machaneh Yehuda Market with Kabbalat Shabbat services at a local Reform Synagogue.
  • Swim and float in the Dead Sea, the lowest section on the earth’s crust.
Day 1
Tel Aviv (D)

Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. Shalom and welcome to Israel! Met and assisted by our representative and your tour guide. Proceed on a short tour of Tel Aviv including Dizengoff Center, Rabbin Square and walk along the sea shore. Dinner and orientation at a restaurant in Tel Aviv. Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 2
Tel Aviv/Caesarea/Galilee (B/D)

Check-out of your hotel after breakfast. Meet with your guide and visit Independence Hall, site of David Ben Gurion’s monumental declaration of the State of Israel in May 1948. Visit Nachalat Binyamin pedestrian mall and the colourful Carmel Market, continuing to Shenkin street, the Israeli Soho. Depart Tel Aviv and drive north along the coastal highway to Caesarea. Lunch on your own overlooking the Mediterranean sea. Visit Caesarea, one of Israel’s most important cities during the Roman Empire, the Herodian Theater and the new excavations along the Mediterranean shore concluding with a visit to the 900 year old crusader city built on the same site. Continue north to the Upper Galilee and check in to the Kibbutz Hotel. Dinner and overnight at Kibbutz Hotel, Galilee

Day 3
Metula /Tel Dan/Golan/Katzrin (B/D)

After breakfast drive to Metulla, Israel’s northern-most town and learn about the issues relating to the security of communities in Northern Israel. Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River and near the Biblical settlement of Dan. Take a jeep tour climbing the Golan Heights in the footsteps of IDF soldiers and their battles in the Six Day War, enjoying the beautiful natural scenery and gain an insight into the strategic complexity of the Golan, followed by a tour of the Golan Heights. Lunch on your own in Katzrin, the capital of the Golan. Visit a winery on the Golan Heights. Enjoy rafting on the Jordan River (during May-Sep tours). Return to the Kibbutz Hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 4
Safed/Rosh Hanikra/Acre/Haifa (B)

After breakfast check out of your hotel and explore the city of Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years. Continue to the Western Galilee to Rosh Hanikra, a rock formation at the very northern tip of Israel. Lunch on your own. Visit Acre (Akko), a UNESCO Heritage Site. Guided visits to the newly renovated Crusaders’ City and the famous British Prison. Tour the Ottoman Fortifications around the city. Drive south to Haifa and walk along the Louis Promenade on Mt Carmel overlooking Haifa Bay. Check into your hotel. Free evening and dinner on your own in Haifa. Overnight stay at your hotel in Haifa.

Day 5
Haifa/Jerusalem Old City & Jewish Quarter (B/D)

After breakfast check out of your hotel and take an overview of the Bahai Gardens and Shrine, the holiest site of the Bahai religion, located on Mount Carmel. Drive to Jerusalem via the Trans-Israel Highway for a close up view of the ‘Security Barrier’ along the seam zone between Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Upon entering Jerusalem stop at Mt Zion to recite the “shehechiyanu” blessing, traditionally recited upon entering Jerusalem. Walk through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. Visit the Hurva Square, the central square of the Jewish Quarter and the 2,000-year old Herodian Mansions in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, the Davidson Archaeological Park and the Davidson Center, followed by a guided visit to the Southern Wall Excavations. Lunch on your own. Check into your hotel. Kabbalat Shabbat services at a local Reform Synagogue. Shabbat Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 6
Free Day (B)

Breakfast at hotel. Free day in Jerusalem. Optional activities and tours are offered. Dinner on own at one of the many recommended restaurants. Overnight stay in Jerusalem

Day 7
Yad Vashem/City of David (B/D)

After breakfast depart on a guided visit through the newly renovated Yad Vashem complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, including the new Historical Museum and the Children’s Memorial, with a memorial service. Lunch on your own. Proceed to the City of David. Return to the hotel and get ready for dinner in a fine restaurant in Jerusalem. Overnight stay in your hotel in Jerusalem.

Day 8
Massada/Dead Sea/Ein Gedi (B)

After breakfast at your hotel start the descent to the Dead Sea Basin. Ascend the cable car to Massada, Herod’s mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots’ last stand against the Roman Legionnaires. Swim and float in the Dead Sea waters. Lunch on your own. Hike to David’s River, the freshwater spring at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. Return to Jerusalem. Dinner on your own at one of the many recommended restaurants. Overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 9
Beit Guvrin Caves/Rehovot/Jerusalem (B/D)

After breakfast depart to an active dig at the Beit Guvrin Caves and prepare to get your hands dirty as you uncover pottery from the Hellenistic period 2,300 years ago, followed by a crawl through the Maresha Cave Labyrinth. Lunch on your own. Proceed to Rehovot to visit the Ayalon Institute for a tour of a clandestine munitions factory used during the British Mandate. Return to Jerusalem and visit the Israel Museum followed by a visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Shrine of the Book and the newly restored Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem. Farewell dinner at one of Jerusalem’s fine restaurants. Overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 10
Depart Israel (B)

After breakfast check out of the hotel and transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport for your flight back home.

  • Meet and greet on arrival at Airport.
  • Accommodation and meals as indicated in the itinerary (B – Breakfast, L – Lunch, D – Dinner).
  • Entrance fees where applicable.
  • Tours as indicated in the itinerary.
  • Professional English-speaking guide/driver guide.
  • Transfers
  • Travel Protection is offered on all packages at an additional cost.