Monday: Arrival
On arrival at Ben Gurion airport, an ITP TOURS representative will meet you and provide you with a private transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv.
Tuesday: Tel Aviv and surrounding area
Breakfast in the hotel
Begin the day with a visit to the Ayalon Institute; there is no doubt that the efforts of the Haganah members who worked in the secret factory under harsh conditions played a crucial role in the success of the War of Independence. Drive to Glilot Junction and visit the “Better Place” where Israeli electric cars are being developed. Tour the new Visitors Center and enjoy a multimedia show. Drive past Rabin Square – memorial to the late Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin who was assassinated during a peace rally in November 1995 and Rothschild Boulevard, where the plentiful examples of Bauhaus architecture have earned Tel Aviv the title of the “White City”. Drive and walk through one of the first neighborhoods established outside of the old city of Jaffa – Neve Tzedek and see the impressive restored houses, in this trendy quarter of Tel Aviv .End the day with a visit to the open arts and crafts fair at Nachalat Binyamin (open every Tuesday and Friday), enjoy their colorful displays and walk through the fruit and vegetable Carmel Market. Return to your hotel.
Wednesday: the Negev Desert
Breakfast in the hotel
Check-out of the hotel this morning and drive to Sderot, a western Negev city which has born the brunt of rocket attacks. Visit the unique playground with the “missile proof” roof in order to allow the children of the city to play safely in this park. Continue to Beer Sheva – visit the largest park in Israel along the Beer Sheva Valley and enjoy a special home cooked picnic lunch arranged and cooked by Jewish Moroccan ladies who live in Ofakim and will tell us about their life style in the Negev. Proceed to Hazerim and visit the Air Force Museum. In the late afternoon drive east towards the Dead Sea, visiting en route the new Israeli settlements at Givot Bar, an example of Jewish pioneering in the Negev. Arrive at your Dead Sea Resort and Spa Hotel. Float in the therapeutic waters of the Dead Sea or enjoy spa treatments. All treatments should be reserved in advance (a list of available treatments will be supplied on request).
Thursday : Masada , Ein Gedi and a Camel Ride
After breakfast in the hotel, check-out and visit the mountain top fortress of Masada – ascend by cable car and explore the ruins of the fortress built by King Herod, and the advanced water cistern.. This site is where the Zealots chose mass suicide rather than surrender to Roman capture. Descend by cable car and continue to Ein Gedi - a lush oasis set between the harsh Judean Desert and the sterile Dead Sea, and where King David hid in the cave while King Saul’s 3,000 soldiers searched for him. The area is filled with gushing waterfalls and dense growth. The hike is approximately 30 minutes each way (through water). En route to Jerusalem stop at Genesis Land (Eretz Beresheet) for hospitality in Abraham’s Tent and enjoy a short camel ride. Continue to Jerusalem and enjoy a panoramic view of the city from Mt Scopus and partake in the Scheheyanu ceremony, the blessing on our arrival to the Holy City of Jerusalem .Check-in to your hotel in Jerusalem for overnight
Friday: the Old City of Jerusalem
Breakfast in the hotel. Enter the Old City and walk along the outer walls of the old city known as the Ramparts and look in to the different quarters: Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish. Walk along the Cardo, once the Roman market place and view the Western Wall, last remnant of the 2nd Temple. Visit the Herodian Mansion and see the remains of homes of aristocratic families of the period, most probably Temple priests and their families. The homes were designed in the Hellenistic/Roman style popular at the time. Continue to the Davidson Center and explore the Herodian Temple as displayed in this modern Visitors Center, visit the wide steps and other relics found in excavations here from the time when the Second Temple stood in its full glory, 2000 years ago!
Early afternoon visit to the colorful Shuk Machane Yehuda, to experience the smells and tastes of the country and see the locals doing their last minute shopping prior to the start of the Sabbath.
Overnight: Jerusalem hotel
Saturday: Day at Leisure
Breakfast in the hotel
Free day at leisure.
Overnight: Jerusalem hotel
Sunday: the New City of Jerusalem
Breakfast in the hotel. Today will be spent visiting the new city of Jerusalem to include the (Israeli Parliament) and the Menorah, emblem of the state of Israel. Continue to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial .Visit the new Museum and Children’s Memorial. Proceed to the Kennedy Memorial for a tree planting ceremony in the forest nearby. End the day with a visit to Ammunition Hill, where one of the most fierce and famous battles of the Six Day War (1967) took place and now a public park and museum. Ammunition Hill is dedicated to the memory of the Three Brigades, the Air Force and the Central Command who liberated Jerusalem and its183 soldiers who fell in the 6 days of fighting. Return to your hotel
Overnight: Jerusalem hotel
Monday: the road to the Galilee
Breakfast in the hotel and check out. Depart Jerusalem and drive via the Jordan Valley to Old Gesher which provides a glimpse into the pre-state era of the Israeli State and the transformation of the Jewish settlements in this part of the country. A 15 minute audio visual program does an excellent job of relating the story of the settlements of the area. Visit the natural springs of Sachne (bathing suits required) and visit the nearby park of Gan Garoo to feed the kangaroos. Ascend the Upper Galilee and visit the Hula Valley, an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water and a paradise for bird watchers. Enjoy a family activity at this beautiful bird sanctuary. Check-in to your hotel in Tiberias. Free evening and an opportunity to walk along the lakeside promenade and watch the amazing Sound and Light show on the waters of the Sea of Galilee
Tuesday: tour the Upper Galilee
Breakfast in the hotel. Begin the day with kayaking down the Jordan River (seasonal)
Drive to the Tel Hai courtyard, located at Israel's very northern tip, between Kiryat Shmona and Metulla, (Israel's northern most towns). The small town which was one of the original four Jewish settlements in the Galilee overlooks the Hula Valley. If the brave pioneers at the beginning of the last century had not had the fortitude to withstand the hardships of the day, the Galilee would never have become part of the state of Israel as we know it today. At Metulla we will stop at the Dado lookout point – see the neighboring Lebanon village and hear about the geo-political situation of the area. Visit Kibbutz Malkiya, located near the Lebanese border and established in 1949 by 6 former Palmach soldiers. Continue to Safed, one of the 4 holy cities in Israel, the other 3 cities being Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias .Safed is where the study of the Kabala began 400 years ago. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight
Wednesday: the Mediterranean Coastal Plane
Breakfast in the hotel and check out. Drive towards the Western Galilee and arrive at Acre designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The waves from the Mediterranean Sea crash against the walls of Acre’s old city, washing the steep, thick sandstone walls that have survived the centuries. 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. Continue to Haifa and enjoy the panoramic view of the Baha’i Gardens. Drive to Atilt, the detention camp constructed during the British Mandate towards the end of the 1930’s as a military camp on the Mediterranean coast. From 1939 to 1948 it was a detention camp for “illegal immigrants” who found themselves yet again incarcerated behind barbed wire. A recently purchased ship, similar in size and appearance to those used to transport immigrants to Israel is on display now. Continue to Tel Aviv and check in to your hotel
Thursday LE HIT TRA’OT
Departure transfer to airport
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