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Wednesday - Ben Gurion Airport / Tel Aviv
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, where you will be met by a ITC Tours representative and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Thurday - Independence Hall / Mini Israel / Latrun / Yad Mordechai
Start the day with a visit to the Independence Hall where the establishment of the State of Israel was declared. Next, drive to Latrun to visit the new "Mini Israel" park including miniature models of the most important sites and buildings in the country. Continue to visit Ayalon Institute, once an ammunition factory for the Hagana, the underground movement before May 1948. Proceed to Yad Mordechai, named after Mordechai Anilevitz, leader of the Warsaw Ghetto; visit the restored battle fields of the war of liberation and learn about their heroic story.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Friday - Tel Aviv
Visit the Diaspora Museum; drive around the main streets of Tel Aviv, center of business and entertainment of Israel. Stop at Rabin's Square, place of assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Continue to Old Jaffa , an 8000 year old port city; visit the ancient ruins and walk along the restored artists' quarter. Visit Neve Tzedek, the first neighborhood of Tel Aviv, built in 1909 and Nahalat Benyamin, the pedestrian street of the city with its musicians, hand made jewelry and artifacts. Next, stop at Sheinkin, the lively and colorful street especially known for the unique shops, café life and youthful ambiance.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Saturday - At leisure.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.
Sunday - Caesarea / Haifa / Acre / Rosh Hanikra
Drive north to tour Caesarea, once the Roman capital of the region. See the excavations of the crusaders' city, the aqueduct and amphitheater which has been restored as a concert venue. Proceed to Haifa for a panoramic view from Mount Carmel and visit "AF AL PI CHEN", the naval museum of the illegal immigration to Israel at the time of the British mandate. Drive to Acre; walk along the old harbor and local market; continue to the northernmost point of Israel at Rosh Hanikra. Descend by cable car into the limestone grottoes.
Overnight at a Kibbutz guesthouse.
Monday - Safed / Tel Facher / Banias / Tel Hai
Drive to Safed, center of Kaballa movement; visit the Joseph Caro and the Ha' Ari synagogues, the most important synagogues in the city; stroll around the Artists' quarter. Enjoy a Jeep tour to the foots of the Golan. Continue to the Golan Heights; stop at an observation point over the city of Kuneitra and the Syrian territory. Stop at Tel Facher, a former Syrian army camp; visit the Banias Springs. Next, visit Tel Hai to see the "Roaring Lion" monument and learn about the heroic battle of Josef Trumpeldor and his comrades in 1920. Meet with a Kibbutz member and learn about their unique lifestyle.
Overnight at a Kibbutz guesthouse.
Tuesday - Beit Shean / Beit Alpha / Gan Hashlosha / Jerusalem
Drive to Tiberias to visit the Rambam's grave; proceed to Beit Shean, also called "Scythopolis", the biggest archeological park in Israel with beautiful excavations from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Stop at Beit Alpha to see the beautiful mosaic floor of a synagogue from the Byzantine period. Onto Gan Hashlosha, (Sachne) where you will have an opportunity to enjoy in the water springs located at the foots of the Gilboa mountain, the famous mountain on which King Saul was killed in the battle against the Philistines. Continue via the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem; stop at Mount Scopus for a blessing as you enter the city.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
Wednesday - Jerusalem: Old City
Tour the Old City of Jerusalem. Start with a visit of King David's Tomb on Mount Zion. Walk along the Cardo, the ancient Roman road; visit the four Sephardic synagogues restored after the 1967 war in the Jewish Quarter. Tour the Kotel Tunnels; visit Davidson Center and walk through the Roman Cardo to the local Arab bazaar. Walk through Jaffa Gate to Tower of David Museum and see the ancient remains of the city beginning with the First Temple period.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
Thursday - Jerusalem: New City
Enjoy seeing the Bar-Mitzvah Celebrations at the Kotel. Continue to Mea Shearim and learn about the unique lifestyle of the ultra orthodox communities. Drive by the Knesset, Israel's parliament and see the Menorah with the biblical emblems. Next visit the Israel Museum, Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed and the new Holyland model - a miniature replica of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple period. Drive to Mount Herzl, the military cemetery and Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust. Visit Ammunition Hill, a former Jordanian army stronghold, conquered by the Israeli army in the Six Day War and converted into a national memorial site and museum.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
Friday - Qumran / Massada / Dead Sea
Drive through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea. Stop at Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Continue to Massada, ascend by cable car and tour the ancient fortress. Visit the remains of the walls, palaces, synagogue, the bathhouses etc. Descend by cable car. Next stop is for lunch and Spa facilities in one of the leading hotels in the area.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
Saturday - At leisure
Overnight in Jerusalem. Sunday - Jerusalem / Ben Gurion Airport
After breakfast, transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure.
Itinerary Subject to Change |
