Sights, Sounds and Tastes of Israel

Thursday Arrival – 11 Days/10 Nights
Small Group Tour Limited to 14 participants

Explore Israel on this itinerary specially designed as a small group tour where you’ll enjoy unique cultural and culinary experiences as well as visits to the high points of interest throughout Israel.

Day 1 Thursday
Tel Aviv
Welcome to Israel! Arrive Ben Gurion Airport; meet and transfer to the spectacular Isrotel Royal Beach Hotel on Tel Aviv’s lovely Mediterranean Sea. Evening: Enjoy a night tour of trendy Tel Aviv– the “city that never sleeps” followed by a welcome dinner at a top chef restaurant. (D)

Day 2 Friday
Tel Aviv
Begin your day with a visit to Independence Hall, where the establishment of the state of Israel was declared. Then, drive through the main streets of this city known as the “White City”. Tel Aviv has been proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its splendid Bauhaus Architecture and has the largest number of buildings in this unique style.Continue past the Charles Bronfman Auditorium, (Israeli Philharmonic), Habimah Theatre, the impressive Opera House and Yitzhak Rabin Square. Continue to the 4,000-year-old port city of Jaffa. Explore the reconstructed Artists’ Quarter with its galleries and boutiques. Enjoy local flavors at lunch in one of our favorite Jaffa restaurants. Afterwards, on to Tel Aviv’s bustling Carmel Market and lively Nachlat Benjamin Street with its delightful cafes and craft stalls. Return to your hotel. Evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant on your own or at your hotel. Overnight in Tel Aviv. (B.L)

Day 3 Saturday
Tel Aviv
A delicious breakfast at your hotel followed by a visit to Machon Ayalon the reconstructed underground munitions factory located under the kibbutz bakery. This special clandestine factory was prepared secretly in less than a month. Its openings were covered by a 10 ton oven and a large washing machine that camouflaged the noise of manufacturing bullets. The Ayalon institute was the largest IMI factory to operate underground and produced over 2,500,000 9mm bullets mostly for Sten guns during its three years of operation. Drive to a Winery in the Elah Valley to enjoy a tour, wine tasting and a delightful lunch. Return to your hotel for some relaxing time at the lovely facilities.Evening, visit Sarona, an old German Templar restored colony, preserving the original architecture and converted to a pedestrian area with a booming culinary arena. After a walking tour, enjoy free time exploring the new urban complexes including various shops, cafés and art galleries. Dinner at one of the fine restaurants in the city. (B.L.D)

Day 4 Sunday
Tel Aviv/Rosh Pina (Galilee)
Drive to ancient Caesarea to explore the Roman and Crusader ruins. We’ll then drive to the port city of Haifa for a view of the golden-domed Baha’i Shrine and their breathtaking “hanging gardens,” – a UNESCO World Heritage site. Continue to the Crusader city of Acre. Enjoy lunch at the famous Uri Buri Restaurant. Afterwards, walk through the subterranean city and bazaars that recall the colorful middle Ages. Drive along the coast to Rosh Hanikra; descend by cable car to see the magnificent underwater grottoes.Continue to Mizpe Hayamim in Rosh Pina, a natural health spa and resort unique in its concept and design with flourishing herbal and flower gardens and an organic farm with the tastiest cuisine. Enjoy dinner in the quaint dining room. (B.L.D)

Day 5 Monday
Rosh Pina
Begin the day with a tour of Safed, one of Judaism’s holiest cities, where the Kabbalah was developed in the 16th.-century; visit the ancient synagogues and the charming Artists’ Quarter. Continue to the Adir Winery for wine tasting, and participate in a hands-on cheese making workshop. We’ll then ascend the Golan Heights and continue through the valleys and ranges on a thrilling Jeep ride with breathtaking views. Drive to wondrous Mt. Ben Tal for a magnificent view beyond the Israeli borders. Visit an army bunker and hear the fascinating story of the war fought in the Golan. Return to your hotel for dinner in the Muscat Gourmet Chef restaurant of the Mizpe Hayamim. (B.D)

Day 6 Tuesday
Rosh Pina/Jerusalem
Drive to Capernaum, fantastic ruins of the ancient synagogue. Continue to a local Galilee Village, for a taste of Galilean village life. Visit a local market before arriving at your hosts’ house where you will prepare a meal together, and enjoy a selection of side dishes that your host cooked especially for you. Continue to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu for a tour throughout the Kibbutz with your feet in the soil and nothing but green in your thoughts. The tours show how everyday living is merged with nature as a way of life. The combination of a Jewish Orthodox lifestyle with organic farming, in a vibrant, versatile and cooperative community, is something worth seeing and experiencing. Then drive south, through the mountains to “golden” Jerusalem celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the reunification of the city, stopping for a blessing and a toast to our arrival in the eternal city. Check in to the newest hotel in Jerusalem, the spectacular Orient Hotel built on the grounds of historic buildings preserved from the Templar Era of the 1880’s. Overnight in Israel’s capital. Evening: Night Tour of illuminated Jerusalem followed by Dinner at the Eucalyptus Restaurant where every dish has its origins in biblical scenes and all spices and herbs are grown in the surrounding hills of Jerusalem and Judea. The restaurant is set in an ancient stone building with a huge scenic balcony where you can enjoy the crimson sunsets as they hit the walls of the old city.(B.L.D)

Day 7 Wednesday
Jerusalem
Enter the Old City from the Dung Gate; walk to the Western Wall, last remnant of the Second Temple. View the Dome of the Rock. Drive to Mt. Zion to visit the traditional Tomb of King David and the Room of the Last Supper. Proceed to the restored Jewish Quarter; walk along the Cardo, the colonnaded main street of Byzantine Jerusalem. Visit the Herodian Mansions, a completely excavated residential quarter from 2000 years ago, or, walk through the extraordinary Hasmonean Tunnel (tunnel schedule permitting.) Follow the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; walk through the exotic bazaars with their wondrous aromas. We’ll then drive to Machane Yehuda Market a microcosm of everything Jerusalem has to offer. The market is Israel’s most sprawling and buzzing network of alleys and vending stalls. Enjoy the “Shuk Bites” experience where you’ll sample and taste a variety of market products while you hear the intriguing back stories of the vendors you’ll meet. End the day with a thrilling Segway Ride through the charming and picturesque neighborhoods of Mishkenot Shaananim and Yemin Moshe. Tonight, “Night Spectacular” Sound & Light Show at the Citadel Museum (weather and schedule permitting). (B.L)

Day 8 Thursday
Jerusalem
Begin the day with a visit to Knesset (Parliament). Continue to Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust, with its Children’s Pavilion and Avenue of the Righteous. On to Mea Shearim for a Culinary Tour. Here, in this ultra-Orthodox neighborhood, it’s like time stood still. Everything is so different from the modern Jerusalem that we see elsewhere. The “Ashkenazi” food is the same as it was hundreds of years ago. Here you’ll savor the taste of “Cholent”, “kugel”, “Blintzes” and delight in the most perfect Herring you’ll ever have not to mention the Challahs which are baked in 150-years-old-ovens. Tonight, we’ll experience a different side of Israel as we drive to the Israeli-Arab town of Abu Gosh, known as the “Hummus Capital of Israel” for a delicious local meal. (B.L.D)

Day 9 Friday
Jerusalem
Descend through the Judean desert to the Dead Sea, lowest point on Planet Earth. Ascend Masada by cable car and see this last stronghold of the Zealots in their struggle against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod the Great’s palace, synagogue and bathhouse. Continue to a Dead Sea Spa Hotel for lunch and to enjoy an “unsinkable” swim in the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea on the hotel’s private beach. Drive via the Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, on your return to Jerusalem. Evening: You will be deeply moved as you join Jerusalemites welcoming the Sabbath at the Western Wall. Tonight, the memories will last us a lifetime as we join an Israeli family at their home for the traditional Friday dinner together. (B.L.D)

Day 10 Saturday
Jerusalem
Enjoy a day at leisure at your beautiful hotel featuring a magnificent rooftop outdoor swimming pool, as well as an indoor pool in the spa complex where saunas, Turkish baths, and an array of pampering spa treatments are available. Or continue on your exploration of Jerusalem on this final day in Israel. (B)

Day 11 Sunday
Depart
Transfer to the Airport for your international departure flight. Enjoy our Express Check-in Service and complimentary entrance to the exclusive Dan VIP Lounge. (B)

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Tour Highlights