Day 1. USA / Tel Aviv.

This afternoon make your way to your home airport and board your flight to Tel Aviv.

Overnight: En Route.

Day 2. Arrive Tel Aviv. (Flight to be advised)

Tel Aviv / Jerusalem. (Private transfer to Jerusalem)

Jerusalem. (Jewish Quarter Walking Tour)

This morning arrive at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport.

Please make certain your passport is valid for at least six months beyond the last day of your trip. After touching down, we will clear immigration, collect our luggage onto a trolley and then proceed to the arrival hall, where we will meet our private driver.

Lunch Break: Arrive in Jerusalem and explore the area nearby our hotel or enjoy lunch at our hotel on your own account late this morning or early afternoon while waiting for our rooms.

2:00pm – 5:00pm: This afternoon, we will meet in the lobby of our hotel. As everyone has arrived from their long flight to Israel, everyone needs fresh air and exercise to get over any jetlag. This exciting tour of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem is a great way to set the mood for our trip to Israel.

Greetings to our guide and we begin walking from our hotel to the Jewish Quarter which is one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. The 116,000 square meter area lies in the south eastern section of the walled city. This stretches from the Zion Gate in the south, along the Armenian Quarter on the west, up to the Street of Chain in the north and then extends to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in the East. In the early 20th Century, the Jewish population of the quarter reached 19,000 inhabitants. Today, the quarter is home to 2000 residents. It is also home to numerous Yeshivas and synagogues, most notably the Hurva Synagogue, destroyed numerous times and rededicated in 2010. Our private guide will be explaining all the sites and history as we walk together on a relaxing trip through the Jewish Quarter.

Continue to the broad wall, which was built during Hezekiah’s expansion of the city. Jews from the northern tribes of Israel, who had been overrun by the Assyrians in 721 BC, migrated down to Judah and the city of Jerusalem for protection at this time. They settled outside the city walls to the west on the Western Hill.

The Cardo – The Cardo (in Hebrew: HaCardo) was the main street in Ancient Roman cities, running from north to south and lined with a row of columns on each side. The Cardo of Jerusalem begins at the Damascus Gate in the north and crosses the city southwards until the area of the Zion Gate.

Continue our walking tour as we visit the Burnt House. This was the house of the Katros family, one of 24 priestly families from the Second Temple period.

A striking audio-visual presentation will take you back in time, telling the story of the family and of its last days before the destruction of the Second Temple.

The Herodian Quarter – Next we arrive at the Herodian Quarter – Come and see the quarter of the priests, the wealthy and important residents of Jerusalem. Here the houses of the priest who served in the Second Temple were discovered, containing beautiful mosaics, warehouses and ritual immersion baths, all in one place. The site is underground and has a pleasant cool temperature in the summer months.

This is a stunning historic find with amazing facts as outlined by our guide during our visit. Walk back to the hotel and settle into the hotel, time to freshen up and prepare for dinner in the evening. We are settling in for 5 nights in Jerusalem.

Overnight: David Citadel Hotel Jerusalem (Double superior or triple superior rooms).

Day 3. Jerusalem. (Transfer to Haas Tayelet Promenade – Jerusalem )

(Morning for Bar Mitzvah)

(Transfer to David Citadel Hotel to change )

(Bar Mitzvah Celebration Brunch)

(Afternoon transfer to Israeli Defense Museum )

After breakfast, please be ready for departure by private coach 10 – 15 minutes to the Haas Tayelet Promenade located along the city’s highest ridges with amazing views overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.

9:15am: Arrive at Haas Tayelet. According to Jewish legend, it was from the location of today’s promenade that God showed Abraham where one day his descendants would build their holy city, but the old nomad even in his wildest visions could not have foreseen the view that greets travelers today. At the center, appropriately enough, is the Old City, Dome of the Rock glinting in the sun. Beyond stretches the expanse of modern Jerusalem, a forest of white buildings and red cranes with the hills of Judea looming behind. Immediately below are several of the scattered Arab villages around the outskirts of Jerusalem, and dense groves of the Jerusalem pines that Naomi Shemer immortalized in “Jerusalem of Gold.” A must-see site for any first-time visitor to the city.

11:30am – 1:00pm: Ticho House Restaurant Brunch: Bar Mitzvah Brunch.

This morning, we would like to invite everyone to an included Bar Mitzvah Lunch / Brunch at the Mediterranean restaurant in Jerusalem.

1:00pm – 1:45pm: Transfer from restaurant by our private coach to the town of Latrun.

2:00pm – 3:30pm: Enjoy the Israeli Defense Museum. This afternoon we reach the Armored Corps Memorial and Museum at Latrun. This is a kid- friendly post Bar Mitzvah fun place.

The setting for Latrun is truly magnificent. It was built by the British as a police fortress outpost that overlooks the surrounding terrain and controls the main road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Whoever held Latrun controlled the movements of a country.

3:30pm – 4:00pm: Our guide and coach driver will escort us back to Mt. Herzl, a suburb of Jerusalem where we will visit another fun place for youth that is interesting for parents alike.

4:00pm – 5:00pm: The Herzl Museum – The Herzl Museum is a museum inside the city in Jerusalem, which deals with activities and the vision of Theodor Herzl. The museum is located at the main entrance plaza to Mount Herzl. The Herzl Museum is a great place to learn during our trip to Israel. The museum gives kids, teens and adults the background to the founding of the State of Israel. At the Herzl Museum you will learn about the life of Binyamin Ze’ev Herzl and his vision of Zionism.

5:00pm – 5:30pm: Board our waiting coach and head back to our hotel. The evening is at leisure to either dine at the hotel or go out with other families on a dine around Jerusalem.

Enjoy the evening at leisure and a good night’s rest again this evening.

Breakfast and Bar Mitzvah Lunch is included today. Dinner is on your own each evening.

Overnight: David Citadel Hotel Jerusalem (Double superior or triple superior rooms).

Day Four. Jerusalem. (Full day private touring Jerusalem 9:30am – 5:30pm)

9:30am: We board the coach and set out for a drive over to the Western Wall (the Kotel). Here your guide will discuss the importance of this place of prayer. A girl places a note into a crack of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Placing notes in the Western Wall refers to the practice of placing slips of paper containing written prayers to God into the cracks of the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Tunnels Reservations: At the same square as the Western Wall prayers, is an entrance to the Tunnels. The Western Wall Tunnel is an underground tunnel exposing the full length of the Western Wall. The tunnel is adjacent to the Western Wall and is located under buildings of the Old City of Jerusalem. While the open-air portion of the Western Wall is approximately 60 meters (200 ft) long, the majority of its original length is hidden underground. The tunnel allows access to an additional 485 meters (1,591 ft) of the wall.

Next we visit the City of David – The City of David is an Israeli settlement and the archaeological site which is speculated to compose the original urban core of ancient Jerusalem.

Hezekiah’s Tunnel – The Gihon Spring – Pack and pull out your water shoes from your back pack as we take an interesting walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. The only spring in Jerusalem, the Gihon is a siphonic, karstic spring, and its name means “gushing”; it surges and the sound can be easily heard.

The history of the ramparts – Old Walls: When Nehemiah, a nobleman of high rank in the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes, heard that Jerusalem’s walls were broken down and that its gates had been burned, he begged the king to be allowed to return to Jerusalem with a royal order to rebuild its walls.

:30pm – 5:30pm: After some great exercise along the ramparts, we will continue to the Arab Market. The Arab souk (market) that sprawls across the Christian and Moslem Quarters in Jerusalem’s Old City is a cluttered warren of bizarre juxtapositions, stalls hawking shoddy Middle Eastern tourist chintz next to venerable shops selling the necessities of life to Old City including the Jewish Quarter residents.

5:30pm – 6:00pm: Our guide will bring us back to the hotel with the evening free at leisure to decide where to dine. Breakfast included at our hotel today.

Overnight: David Citadel Hotel Jerusalem (Double superior or triple superior rooms).

Day Five: Masada and the Dead Sea. (Full day private tour: 8:00am –

5:00pm)

Jerusalem. (Evening Sound and Light show – walking at 7:00pm)

This morning have an early breakfast at 6:30am. You will be met in your hotel lobby by our guide and transferred by your private coach to the ruins of Masada. About an hour’s drive at this time of the morning. Note: Please pack swim trunks and sunscreen for the afternoon at the Dead Sea.

10:00am: On arrival at Masada, proceed with your guide and enjoy a cable car ride (15 minutes) up to the mountain top site.

Our guide will explain the history of the Masada ruins and the area surrounding us. Here was the last stronghold of the Jewish zealots in their struggle against the Romans. The zealots held out for three years against the legions of Flavius Silva and chose to die as free men at their own hands rather than submit to Roman slavery. From the top of Masada, the outlines of the Roman encampments below are still visible from long ago.

11:30am: Arrive at the Dead Sea beach resort. Our group will be welcomed by the Dead Sea Hotel. We have a buffet set lunch inside one of the restaurants of the hotel. Changing rooms by the beach where we also are supplied towels and reserved beach umbrellas for our whole group are also provided. This free time is set aside for everyone to dine, relax and enjoy the famous Dead Sea, its beach and amazing waters at the front of the Crown Plaza Resort.

12:30pm – 3:00pm: Free time at the Dead Sea to swim or enjoy the hotel’s resort pool. Free time to dip in the Dead Sea, relax by poolside or have an optional spa treatment.

3:00pm – 5:00pm: Drive back to Jerusalem. The sun cools down around 3:30pm – 4:00pm, and at this time (guide to advise exact time) we set out with our private coach and guide and drive back to Jerusalem. We should be back on the coach at 3:30pm in order to have some free time at our hotel before going out this evening.

5:00pm – 7:00pm: Arrive back at David Citadel with two hours free time to clean up, have an early dinner together before we slip out of the hotel walking to the Tower of David for a breathtaking Sound & Light show.

7:15pm – 7:30pm: Walk together to the Tower of David. It takes approximately 15 minutes at a leisurely stroll from the David Citadel Hotel to the Tower of David also known as David Citadel for which our hotel is named after.

8:00pm: The dazzling Sound and Light Show. The “King David” nighttime sound-and-light show is powered by 18 high-definition laser projectors, 20 speakers and 10 kilometers of cable. System designer Eli Geffen from Showlogix of Tel Aviv says it is the largest installation of 18,000-lumen single-chip M-Vision Laser projectors in the world, illuminating the citadel with 250,000 lumens and 35 million pixels.

Overnight: David Citadel Hotel Jerusalem (Double superior or triple superior rooms)

Day Six: Jerusalem. (Full day tour Jerusalem and camel rides in desert).

9:30am – 11:30am: Temple Mount sifting – The Archaeological Project.

This new archaeological program focuses on sifting the remaining earth from Solomon’s Stables that was illegally bulldozed from the Temple Mount in the late 90s. We’ve always encouraged our volunteers to take an active role in the salvage of artifacts buried in this soil, and over the years we’ve involved an unprecedented number of volunteers in our work.

11:30am – 12:00noon: Menorah / Knesset – The Knesset Menorah is a bronze Menorah 4.30 meters high, 3.5 meters wide, and weighs 4 tons. It is located at the edge of Gan Havradim (Rose Garden) opposite the Knesset. It was designed by Benno Elkan (1877-1960), a Jewish sculptor who escaped from his native Germany to Britain. It was presented to the Knesset as a gift from the Parliament of the United Kingdom on April 15, 1956 in honor of the eighth anniversary of Israeli independence. Stop for photos and then we continue to Yad Vashem and the cafeteria where everyone can buy an inexpensive lunch.

1:00pm – 3:30pm – The World Holocaust Remembrance CenterYad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies (ISHS), established in 1993, focuses upon – and excels in – providing quality Holocaust education to diverse audiences from Israel and across the world. In order to achieve this, the ISHS trains educators to teach the Holocaust, develops pedagogic and didactic tools to be utilized by teachers, and conducts educational workshops for youth and soldiers from Israel and abroad.

3:30pm – 4:30pm: Genesis Land – Alon

At Yad Vashem, we depart and drive outside of Jerusalem to the town of Alon, just an hour’s drive to the northeast part of Israel. Enjoy an ancient experience at Eretz Bereshit where you are greeted by Eliezer and brought into the tent of Abraham. Be a part of the Biblical story when you ride a camel to the tent and partake in some light refreshments from the couple known for their hospitality.

4:30pm – 5:00pm: Camel Safari – Israeli desert.

On arrival at Genesis Land, we will be put in groups of two and board our camels for an experience right out of 1001 Nights.

Overnight: David Citadel Hotel Jerusalem (Double superior or triple superior rooms).

Day Seven: Jerusalem / Golani Junction. (Private Coach drive)

8:00am – 10:00am: Drive to Golani Junction. Drive to Golani Junction which is the beginning of the foothills of the Golan Heights. Here is where we leave the highway and participate in keeping Israel green by a brief tree planting ceremony before we get back on and head to Gan Garoo.

10:30am – 11:00am: Gan Garoo Wildlife Park, Northern Israel. Continue from the tree planting ceremony by our coach to the Gan Garoo Park.

11:00am – 1:00pm: Gan-Garoo`s wildlife and vegetation were imported directly from far-off Australia. The zoo is home to free-roaming kangaroos of various types which you can pet and even hand-feed. You can hear explanations of how the kangaroos are raised, their methods of reproduction, feeding, and their daily lives. View adorable sleepy koalas, make friends with the cassowary and flying foxes, hear the songs of beautiful Australian birds.

2:00pm – 2:30pm: Kibbutz Nir David. Close by, next we will make a stop at a nearby kibbutz and see how life goes on in this remarkable place. Nir David is a kibbutz in the Beit She’an Valley in northern Israel. Founded on 10 December 1936 as Tel Amal, the first of the tower and stockade settlements, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council.

2:30pm – 5:00pm: And nearly at the close of the afternoon, we enjoy a swim at the Sachne National Park, which consists of a beautiful oasis fed by natural underground springs. Here adults and youth alike will love the chance to swim in the pristine and fresh waters, always clear blue.

5:00pm – 6:30pm: Say goodbye to the wonderful springs and swimming hole as we board our coach and drive up to the Golan Heights area.

6:30pm: Check in to Kfar Blum. Kfar Blum is a kibbutz in the Hula Valley part of Upper Galilee in Israel. Located about 6 km southeast of the town of Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Upper Galilee Regional Council. In 2016 it had a population of 701.

7:30pm – 9:00pm: Dinner together at sunset as we gather together and enjoy a group dinner with everyone in our group. Kfar Blum Kibbutz – was originally a cooperative community governed by the general assembly of its members.

Overnight: Kfar Blum Kibbutz – Premium rooms – doubles, triples. (BD)

Day Eight: Golan Heights. Full day Golan Heights (9:30am – 5:30pm)

Have breakfast and be ready to board our coach which will bring us a short distance to the area where we switch transportation to jeep or SUV type 4 x 4 vehicles. We will be in groups of 4 to 6 guests per vehicle.

9:00am – 11:00am: Enjoy the Golan Heights in a 4 x 4 road safari.

11:00am – 11:30am: Next visit Tel Dan. Dan is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, described as the northernmost city of the Kingdom of Israel, and belonging to the tribe of Dan.

11:30am – 12:30pm: Lunch Break Banias Nature Reserve at typical Mediterranean restaurant. Guide may organize this stop early depending on time coming out of the 4 x 4 road safari.

12:30pm – 1:30pm: Banias Nature Reserve hike. In the heat of the summer, it is a wonderful cool hike through the forest trails to get to the waterfalls. There are other entrances for senior citizens to have a shorter walk if necessary.

1:30pm – 2:30pm: Continue from the nature reserve to a Chocolate Factory.

We depart by our private coach on a drive to the nearby Kibbutz of Ein Zivan keeping with our next appointment.

2:30pm – 5:00pm: Chocolate Factory tour and workshop. Get ready for an amazing experience as the students, youth and adults get to participate in a tour of the factory as well as a workshop where you will try your hand at making chocolates.

5:00pm – 6:00pm: We board our coach and drive back to Kfar Blum and our accommodations. Rest and relaxation before we gather together over dinner.

Breakfast and dinner included today.

Overnight: Kfar Blum Kibbutz – Premium rooms – doubles, triples. (BD)

Day Nine: Kfar Blum. (Morning transfers, rafting – float on Hasbani River)

8:30am – 9:00am: Coach transfer to Hasbani River.

Board our coach. It is just 15 minutes to the Hasbani River area from our accommodations. The Hasbani River or Snir Stream, is the major tributary of the Jordan River. The Hasbani River derives most of its discharge from two springs in Lebanon, the Wazzani and the Haqzbieh, the latter being a group of springs on the uppermost Hasbani.

9:00am – 11:00am: Rafting and River Floating on the Hasbani River.

Here at the river, we will be separated into rafts and floats with multiple raft guides. After everyone gets outfitted we set off with our guide and travel downstream.

11:00am – 12:00pm: Drive to Safed – Refreshed, we board our coach and drive to the Orthodox town of Safed. We will have a 15 minute walk and brief introduction and then the guide will give everyone free time to get lunch at any of the local cafés and shops.

1:30pm – 2:00pm: Dalton Winery Boarding our coach at Safed, we are continuing our afternoon with a drive of 30 minutes approximately to the Dalton Winery as we drive to the coast this afternoon.

2:00pm – 3:30pm: Tour of Dalton Winery – The Dalton Winery is located in the heart of the Galilee, near the beautiful Moshav Kerem Ben Zimra. It is a gem in the north of the country, which draws the approach of excellence from the people and the nature guides that surround it.

3:30pm – 4:30pm: Continue drive from the winery to the coast – Rosh Hanikra Grottoes Board our coach and continue our drive to Rosh Hanikra Grottoes. So what’s new at the site? Israel has dusted the cliffs, colored the sea a stunning turquoise, and added new attractions that will make your visit even better.

4:30pm – 6:00pm – To see amazing sights, sometimes we have to take a ride to get there. These cable cars bring us down to the Mediterranean seaside and to the wonderful Grottoes of Rosh Hanikra.

6:00pm – 6:45pm: We leave the Grottoes and board our coach for the short drive along the coastline of Israel. Watch the Mediterranean Sea side as we continue our drive to Haifa.

Check in to our hotel, freshen up and we all have dinner together around 7:30pm this evening.

Overnight: The Dan Carmel Hotel – Haifa – City view rooms – doubles triples. Breakfast included today. (Breakfast)

Day Ten: Haifa. (Morning visit the Baha’i Temple and Gardens 9:00am)

Haifa – Tel Aviv. (Morning drive to Tel Aviv 11:00am – 12:30pm)

The Bahá’í Gardens in Haifa comprise a staircase of nineteen terraces extending all the way up the northern slope of Mount Carmel. At its heart stands the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb, which is the resting place of the Prophet-Herald of the Bahá’í faith. These terraced gardens have been designed as waves of light, or circles, with all lines and curves directing attention toward the Shrine on the central terrace.

11:00am – 12:30pm: Drive to Tel Aviv – A relaxing 90 minute drive once more following the coast of Israel along the Mediterranean Sea brings us back down to Tel Aviv.

12:30pm – 2:00pm: We will arrive in Tel Aviv and find an inexpensive area to buy lunch on your own account. The guide will discuss with everyone some choices and youth friendly items.

2:00pm – 3:00pm: The Ayalon Institute. We will drive a short distance into a suburb of Tel Aviv called Rechovot to enjoy an afternoon visit to the amazing Ayalon Institute. Machon Ayalon is an underground bullet factory, located on Kibbutz Hill in Rehovot, Israel. The factory was established in 1946 and was in use as a factory until 1948; however, today the factory is a national historical site.

3:00pm – 3:30pm: Drive to the Palmach Museum. Another suburb of Tel Aviv has the popular Palmach Museum, another favorite of youth visiting Israel.

3:30pm – 5:00pm: The Palmach Museum is a museum located in Ramat Aviv, Israel dedicated to the Palmach, the strike-force of the pre-state underground Haganah defense organization, which was later integrated into the Israel Defense Forces.

5:00pm – 5:30pm: Hotel check-in Tel Aviv – Just a short drive brings us to our hotel for an early check in after another fascinating day.

Overnight: The Carlton Hotel Tel Aviv – Double or Triple City View rooms.

Breakfast included today.

Day Eleven: Tel Aviv. (Full day exploring Tel Aviv and Jaffa)

9:00am – 11:15am: Drive to Jaffa where we will get out of our coach and enjoy a multi-media presentation called Jaffa Tales. Very popular exhibit and place to be as it is the hip area of Tel Aviv.

Jaffa (also known as Yafo) is the ancient port city out of which Tel Aviv has now grown. Jaffa has, in recent years, like much of South Tel Aviv, been regenerated with the old narrow streets and courtyards becoming another highly desirable part of Tel Aviv’s urban tapestry. Jaffa flea market is a well-known attraction of the area, with vendors selling a diverse range of interesting and unique products. Meanwhile, the narrow passageways and ancient buildings in the Old City of Jaffa are worlds away from modern Tel Aviv.

2:00pm – 4:00pm: Nahalat Binyamin Pedestrian Market. We will continue walking from Carmel Market over to another area which is the pretty famous pedestrian mall of Nahalat Binyamin which is only on Tuesdays and Fridays.

4:00pm – 5:30pm: Visit the Neve Tzedek Historic quarter of Tel Aviv.

This afternoon we will continue our visit of Tel Aviv in the Neve Tzedek historic quarter which is considered to be one of Tel Aviv’s prettiest districts. Neve Tzedek lies south east of the Yemenite quarter and the famous Carmel Market and attracts legions of walking visitors thanks to its amazing architecture, cultural legacy and village-like atmosphere.

5:30pm – 6:00pm: Drive to the restaurant where we have group dinner reservations. This afternoon we leave the Tel Aviv suburbs and drive to our restaurant for dinner together.

8:30pm: It is required that everyone be at Tel Aviv airport three hours before departure with no exceptions. Israel has strict security requirements. Although you might go through quickly, others do not and we are required to bring you to the airport three hours prior.

Tonight: You will board your flight home to USA.

Overnight: En Route flight to USA.