With this round trip tour you will explore Israel from a historical, religious, human, geopolitical and culinary perspective, while enjoying the amazing biodiversity and changing landscapes that this tiny country has to offer.
You will stay in hotels in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee and you will tour sites with different guides.
The itinerary below can be customized to your wishes, we have a list of options for day tours to look at.
If you are interested we will be happy to schedule a video meeting with you to hear about your preferences and for you to learn about the local peculiarities and to avoid them having a negative influence on your trip.
A word from travelers that did a tour with us.
DAY 1 – Transfer airport to Hotel in Jerusalem and first visit of the Old City
Your guide will be waiting for you at Ben-Gurion Airport, the largest international airport in Israel and the main gateway to the country.
Western Wall
Western Wall – remnant of the retaining wall that enclosed the Second Temple which was destroyed in the year 70. To see the rest of the wall’s 583 meters awaits you will go deep beneath the Old City in the Western Wall Tunnels, an incomparable foray into Jerusalem’s archeological past.
Holy Sepulcher – the Church that commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ’s burial
Cardo – part of Jerusalem’s colonnaded main street 1500 years ago
Broad Wall – section of the 1st temple wall, built by King Hezekiah over 2700 years ago
One of the Old City’s eight gates, the Zion Gate, connects Mount Zion to the Old City. Zion is one of the Bibles earliest names for Jerusalem, mentioned in the Bible when David first established the city as his capital. The Tomb of David on Mount Zion has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. In another part of this ancient complex is the Upper Room, the place of the Last Supper.
Across from it is the Dormition Abbey, built in 1898, where Catholic tradition marks the Assumption of Mary.
You will be sleeping two nights in a garden room in Mamilla Hotel, Jerusalem’s Finest, and most Fashionable Lifestyle Hotel, uniquely located at the junction between Jerusalem of old and new, the perfect location for a luxury stay in Jerusalem.
DAY 2 – Temple Mount, Mount of Olives and Dead Sea
Temple Mount
You will start the day at the Temple Mount – the location of the two Jewish Temples, the head quarters of the European Christian Crusaders and now of the Al Aqsa Mosque and Golden Dome of The Rock Shrine.
Mount of Olives
You will leave the Old City to the top of the Mount of Olives with a panoramic view, which offers breathtaking views of the Old City and the surrounding area. Since antiquity, Jews have sought to be buried on the Mount of Olives, where according to the Bible the resurrection will begin. Eventually, the cemetery grew to cover much of the mountain and is still in use.
Dead Sea
You leave Jerusalem into the Judean Desert and continue to one of the private beaches at the northern side of the Dead Sea where you will be able to float and treat your skin with Dead Sea mud. The water in the Dead Sea is extremely salty, making it difficult other aquatic life to survive and easy for you to float. Visitors to the Dead Sea often go for the therapeutic properties of the water and the minerals found in the mud along the shore. The beach at the Dead Sea is covered in thick, black mud that is said to have healing properties for the skin.
DAY 3 – St. George Monastery, Bet Shean, Capernaum
Saint George Monastery
You leave Jerusalem again overlooking the Wadi Qelt and the Judean Desert. St. George Orthodox Monastery, or Monastery of St. George of Choziba, a monastery located in Wadi Qelt, in the eastern West Bank. The sixth-century cliff-hanging complex, with its ancient chapel and gardens, is active and inhabited by Eastern Orthodox monks.
Bet Shean
Next is a visit to Bet She’an National Park with its spectacular ruins of the glory that was the Roman and Byzantine city of Bet She’an. Rising above them is the high mound on which Biblical Bet She’an stood. Here King Saul’s body was presented on the walls of the Philistine town. This city was ruined in a huge earthquake 749 A.D but restoration work makes it alive again.
Capernaum
From the desert and the Jordan Valley you continue into the Galilee and visit Capernaum, Jesus Home Town and center of His ministry. Visit the remains of Peter’s house, the Synagogue where Jesus taught the multitude about the Bread of Life.
You will be sleeping two nights in a De Luxe room with view of Sea of Galilee The Scotts luxury spa hotel in Tiberias, where you will also have dinner.
DAY 4 – Birkat Ram, Mount Bental, Golan Heights Winery
Birkat Ram is a large, lake that is located in the crater of a dormant volcano. It is located in a Druze area of the Golan Heights.
Mount Bental, another dormant volcano, is a popular mountain peak, with great panoramic views over Syria. On top you find a now disused Israeli army out-post and it was one of the locations of heavy fighting during the 1973 Yom Kippur war and an excellent location to learn more about geopolitics if you are curious about the Arab-Israeli conflict and military battles.
Golan Heights Jeep Tour
From kibbutz Merom Golan, the first Israeli community established in the Golan Heights you will experience a two hour Geopolitical Jeep Tour crossing Quneitra valley and see the backyard of the kibbutz and the way we live here.
Private Wine Tasting
A private tour telling the story of the Golan Heights Winery in Qatzrin, its vineyards and region, philosophy and different processes of winemaking, a visit in the oak barrel cellar.
A professional tasting session, featuring a wide variety of our high-quality wines, accompanied by a variety of boutique Golan Heights cheeses.
DAY 5 – Nazareth, Akko, Caesarea
On the way we will stop in Nazareth, a unique city with Christian legacy, a Muslim majority and located in the Jewish state. World renowned as the childhood home of Jesus, Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel, and an important site for pilgrims and tourists, coming to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation. A bustling mini-metropolis, Nazareth offers shop-lined thoroughfares, stone-paved alleys lined with Ottoman-era mansions, and in recent years, has been reinventing itself as a sophisticated cultural and culinary destination. Everything in Nazareth is open for business on Shabbat (Saturday) and its friendly vibe and stunning location, right in the middle of the Lower Galilee.
Akko
Old Akko (Acre) is another amazing port city with a mix of archeology, authentic Middle Eastern markets, the blue Mediterranean sea, and some delicious ethnic food. You will visit a unique underground Crusader city, walk through a recently discovered 12th century tunnel made and used by the Templars.
Currently home to thousands of residents, Akko is a study of contrasts – the convergence of East and West, modernity and antiquity, beauty and ruins. Known for centuries as the gateway to the Holy Land due to its location as a port of entry for international dignitaries and trade, Akko provides a unique glimpse into the Crusader and Ottoman periods in the region. The subterranean crusader city was revealed and restored under the Ottoman city above. This extraordinary phenomenon was awarded World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Caesarea
About an hour drive from Tel Aviv, on the Mediterranean coast, you will visit the ancient amazing port city of Caesarea. Judea’s port city was built over 2000 years ago by King Herod. We walk through the ancient theater, the Crusader city and the fantastic aqueduct. We won’t skip the famous “Pilate stone”.
In Tel Aviv you will check in to the The Drisco. A luxury 5-star hotel, situated in a beautifully renovated historic building in the center of the picturesque and pastoral American – German colony which was established in 1866
DAY 6 – Tel Aviv Bike and Tasting Tour
Your guide is waiting for you at the hotel for a bicycle tour.
Tel Aviv is a perfect city for biking, visiting the different neighborhoods, enjoying Bauhaus architecture in the White City, the central part of Tel Aviv, which is a UNESCO Heritage site.
On this tour you visit:
Jaffa
Sarona (19th century German Templers Settlement)
American Colony
Neve Zedek
Rothschild Boulevard
Dizengoff Square
The Tachana (First Railway Station)
Florentine (Tel Aviv’s Bohemian/Hipster neighborhood)
Beach Promenade
Carmel Market
Your lunch will be at the famous and busy Carmel Market, which is connected to the Yemenite Quarter, one of the oldest neighborhoods of Tel Aviv. Now it is home to people of all ethnicities, but it has retained a unique, village-within-a-city feel with narrow, cobble stone streets lined by small houses . It has often been praised as Tel Aviv’s coolest hangout place.
A tour of smelling and tasting Middle Eastern delicacies like kibe, sabich, Druze pita with labneh and tabbouleh, falafel and malabi desert.
DAY 7 – Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport
A driver will pick you up from your hotel and bring you to Ben Gurion National Airport.
Airport authorities advice to come to the airport 4 hours before departure.
You will be picked up 4.30h before your flight departure.
Included in this tour
Meet and greet on arrival with escort through customs to tour guide
5 days with private driving guide
1 day bike tour with private guide , inc. bike rental and inc. food tour (lunch)
2 nights accommodation Sea of Galilee on HB basis
2 nights accommodation Jerusalem on BB basis
2 nights accommodation Tel Aviv on BB basis
Entrance fees to above mentioned sites
1 x Private wine tasting
2 hour private jeep tour
Entrance to Dead Sea Resort with use of facilities at Ein Bokek including lunch
Transfer Tel Aviv hotel to Ben Gurion International Airport
Not included
Any tour not mentioned in the program.
Lunches & Dinners where not mentioned.
All kinds of tips for guides and driver.
Personal insurance.