DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
Bar / Bat Mitzvah Sample Israel Tour Itinerary
12 NIGHT ISRAEL TOUR
DAY 1
Arrive Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. We will be greeted by our tour guide and will transfer to our hotel.
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY 2
The day begins after our daily Israeli buffet breakfast with a drive along the pre-1967 border of Jerusalem, continuing on the historic Mt. Scopus. We will enter the Old City of Jerusalem via the Zion Gate and walk through the Armenian Quarter. Explore the Southern Wall Excavations and take a virtual, computerized "walk" through the Jerusalem Temple at the Davidson Center. Experience time for prayer and reflection at the Kotel. We will walk through the Jewish Quarter and can visit the stores along the Cardo, a typical Roman street built in the 6th century.
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY 3
Our breakfast at the hotel will be followed with a visit to the Israel Museum, the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and one of the leading art and archaeology museums in the world. Next we will visit the Yad Vashem museum Israel’s Holocaust remembrance and education center which is an emotional and heartrending experience, but seeing the exhibits and remembering the Holocaust gives the more than one million individuals, world leaders and dignitaries who pass through its doors annually a meaningful way to commemorate the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Next in Latrun we will visit Yad La’Shiryon, the IDF Armored Corps center. Here we can climb on the tanks and learn about the battles that secured the road to Jerusalem. Next a visit to the colorful, bustling Machaneh Yehuda, the open-air market, as Jerusalem prepares for Shabbat. Our preparation for Shabbat takes us to the Western Wall for a short Kabbalat Shabbat experience that will live on in your memory for years to come. Return to the hotel for Shabbat dinner.
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY 4
Day at Leisure. Consider taking a walking tour, ask for details at the hotel. Shabbat lunch at the hotel.
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY 5
After an early breakfast, we will depart for the Dead Sea area. We will stop at Masada a lofty plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada is a palace-fortress Herod the Great built to last forever, a refuge for Jewish rebels. Here the rebels took their own lives rather than become slaves to the Romans. This act has made Masada a symbol of the human spirit’s yearning for freedom. We will continue our travels north and arrive at the shores of the Dead Sea and descend to the lowest point on earth at 1305 feet (398m) below sea level. At the Dead Sea, we can take some time to leisure, put mud on ourselves, and float in the unsinkable mineral rich waters of the Dead Sea! We’ll then take a drive through the hills of Judea, to Eretz Breishit, “Genesis Land". Here we’ll enjoy a Camel ride in this ancient of settings. We will then return to Jerusalem where you can enjoy the evening on your own.
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY 6
Enjoy a delicious Israeli buffet style breakfast and get ready for an exciting day. Celebrate your Bar/Bat Mitzvah! Mazal Tov!!
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY 7
Enjoy a delicious Israeli buffet style breakfast. After breakfast, we will leave Jerusalem and travel north to visit the ancient city of Caesarea, built by Herod the Great who once held the seat of Roman rule. We’ll view the excavated Roman Theater, with its acoustic and theatrical sound, which was used for many performances throughout the centuries. We will walk through the excavated fortress and view the aqueduct once used for conveying water to the city. Then we’ll travel through Atlit, here we can learn of the Ma’apilim, the illegal immigrants that reached the country between 1939 and 1945, and their suffering at the British detention camp. Our next stop will be the Zichron Aaronson House. During the First World War, Zichron Yaakov was used as a center for underground activity by NILI, the first Hebrew secret organization. Siblings Aaron and Sarah Aaronson were its leaders, and their family home, the location of the organization’s headquarters, is now a museum where you can learn about the underground members’ activities, how they were caught and their ultimate fates. Not to be missed, a visit to Acre is part of the Israeli experience. The city is a meeting place for East and West, new and old, beauty and ruins, all adding to its uniqueness. The walls, fortresses and strongholds of the city bear the marks of many nations that left impressive buildings behind them, beautifying Acre to this day.
Overnight: Kibbutz in the Galilee
DAY 8
After Israeli buffet breakfast, we will start our day of sightseeing. Gain a deeper understanding of the Golan Heights, as you cross the Jordan River and climb the Golan. Hear the story of the most expansive land battle in the world, which took place here during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. We will start exploring by foot with a hike and walk and then we will explore the Golan by Jeep, and then glide down the Jordan River tributaries in a kayak.
Overnight: Kibbutz in the Galilee
DAY 9
Today after breakfast we will visit Katsrin. We will stop at the Talmudic Village and immerse ourselves in the times of the Mishna and the Talmud. A highlight is the visit to the remains of Katzrin’s stately Talmudic-era synagogue. The younger set will enjoy making the audio-visual acquaintance of ancient sages in a presentation shown in a replica of the synagogue on six screens. Next we will visit the city of Safed (Tsfat) - with its magnificent mountaintop setting and fresh, clean mountain air, is a heavenly experience. The ancient Galilean city is the highest city in Israel, and commands a breathtaking view of the Galilee. Safed is one of the four holy cities in Israel. It has been a spiritual center since the 1600s when it was the center of Kabbala (Jewish mysticism). We will end our day with a visit to the Kfar Kedem: A recreated ancient Galilean village that enables you to "touch the past." At Kfar Kedem, you can be a shepherd, plow your fields and bring in the harvest to the village threshing floor. Then grind the flour and bake your own bread. Join a donkey caravan heading to the hills above Nazareth and end the day with a feast in the shepherd's tent.
Overnight: Kibbutz in the Galilee
DAY 10
We will depart the hotel after breakfast and travel south to Beit She’an, the “house of tranquility”, where we will stop at Gan HaShlosha National Park and visit the Museum of Regional and Mediterranean Archaeology, enjoy water slides, waterfalls and natural pools where the waters are always 82 degrees Fahrenheit. We continue to the Old Gesher, in the Spring Valley, and hear the story of the hydroelectric plant that was powered by the water of the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers, giving light to the towns and villages of the area in the beginning of the 20th century, and then we’ll hike the trail of the pioneers living in the Kibbutz nearby. Head to our hotel in Tel Aviv for Shabbat dinner.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
DAY 11
Day at leisure. Perhaps take a short walk to the house of Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister. Shabbat lunch at the hotel.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
DAY 12
Enjoy an Israel buffet style breakfast and start our day by visiting the Independence Hall, relive Ben Gurion's moving declaration of the State. Visit the Museum of the Diaspora for a special encounter with Jewish communities around the world and throughout the ages. Next we will visit the Palmach Museum which is an experiential museum, covering the Palmach legacy through the stories of individuals and groups. Visitors to the museum join the group of young Palmach recruits from its establishment, and are advanced through the story of the Palmach until the end of the War of Independence. The manner of presentation is extremely innovative. There are no displays or documents, but rather an account of a fascinating personal story accompanied by three-dimensional decor, films and various effects incorporating documentary materials.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
DAY 13
Transfer from your hotel to Ben Gurion Airport for your return flight home.
PLEASE NOTE! We reserve the right to omit any site and/or change the itinerary
Should it be necessary due to local conditions.
