Grand Israel Tour — Wednesday Departure — 15 Days

Day 1 – Wednesday
John F. Kennedy Airport / New York

Leave from JFK Airport for an exciting visit to Israel with its historic sites holy to three religions.  (Please see the note at the end of the itinerary for JFK departure instructions.)

Day 2 – Thursday
Ben Gurion Airport / Tel Aviv

When you arrive into Ben Gurion Airport, you will be met by a TAL Tours representative and transferred to your hotel in Tel Aviv.  Relax, have a good meal, and prepare for a day full of lots of sightseeing tomorrow.

You will spend your first night in Tel Aviv.

Day 3 – Friday
No Organized Tour

Although there is no organized tour, may we suggest one or more of the following:

Visit the ancient ruins and walk along the restored artists’ quarter in Jaffa.

Visit Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv’s first neighborhood, built in 1909.

From there you can walk to Nahalat Binyamin Market. Every Tuesday and Friday vendors set up tables of jewelry, hand-painted ceramics, and other beautiful and  unique objects of Judaica while street performers, clowns, musicians and fortunetellers give shows.

Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Day 4 – Saturday
No Organized Tour

Although there is no organized tour, may we suggest one or more of the following:

Stop at Rabin’s Square, place of the assassination of Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin.
You can visit the port city of Jaffa, once occupied by Christians during the First Crusade and centuries later taken over by Napoleon.  See how the city survived several occupations and a plague that wiped out nearly all its inhabitants and has thrived to be the important historical site that it is today.

Tel Aviv is a bustling city with lots of wonderful cafés, restaurants and shops to explore. Although the financial district is closed, you can walk around its downtown.

You will overnight in Tel Aviv.

Day 5 – Sunday
Diaspora Museum / Caesarea / Druze Villages

At the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora both permanent and temporary exhibitions celebrate the life and culture of the Jewish people. The museum’s goal is to connect Jews with their roots and rich culture and history while offering a place of collective bonding.

At Caesarea, the capital of Judea under the Romans, see the excavations of the Crusader city along with the Roman port, aqueduct and the amphitheater that has been restored to its former glory as a concert venue.

Today Caesarea is modern city with a population of approximately 4,500 and is the only Israeli locality managed by a private organization.

You will have an opportunity to visit a Druze village, which is religious community whose roots are more closely related to Islam.

You will overnight in Haifa.

Day 6 – Monday
Haifa / Safed / Golan Heights

Your day will start with a tour of Haifa, Israel’s 3rd largest city. Haifa is a city with an interesting history as well.

While once a city with a mixed population of Jews and Christians, today it’s a city of Jews and Arabs. At various times Haifa was ruled by the Byzantine Empire, the Arabs, the Crusaders, the Mamluk, the Ayyabid, and the Egyptians.

You will also visit the summit of Mount Carmel, where you will take in a breathtaking panoramic view of the Haifa Bay and Western Galilee.

Continue to the Golan Heights to see the former Syrian bunkers, the city of Kuneitra and the new Israeli town of Katzrin.

You will overnight in a kibbutz.

Day 7 – Tuesday
Sea of Galilee / Nazareth

Start the day with a visit of Tiberius, considered one of Israel’s four holy cities. From the 2nd to the 10th century Tiberius was Galilee’s largest Jewish city.

Drive to Capernaum to see the ruins of the synagogue and octagonal church of St. Peter and then proceed to Nazareth, the capital and largest city in the North District of Israel.  Indeed, according to the New Testament, this is said to be the home of Jesus.

Here you will visit the church of the Annunciation, where Mary was allegedly told that she would be giving birth to Jesus.

Drive via Beit Shean to Beit Alpha to see what still remains of the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue depicting the zodiac.

You will overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 8 – Wednesday
Jerusalem: The Old City

Your tour starts on Mount Zion, where you will visit the tomb of King David, which is located in the lower level of what still remains of the former Hagia Zion, a Byzantine church.

From there you will go to the upper level and see the room where the Last Supper, also known as Cenacle, was held. This is not only the site of the Cenacle, but also the location where the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem.

From there you will proceed to the Walled City of Jerusalem.  All .35 square miles make up the city limits of what at one time constituted all of Jerusalem. Within that Old City, you will tour sights such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and you will walk along the Western Wall.

Your tour will continue on to Mount Scopus and then to the Mount of Olives for an opportunity to walk through the newly restored Jewish Quarter.

You will overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 9 – Thursday
Jerusalem: The New City

Your day starts with a drive to the city of Ein Kerem, where you will visit the Abbell Synagogue inside the Hadassah Medical Center. The synagogue houses the permanent collection of Marc Chagall’s stained glass windows, a gift he bestowed to the

synagogue in 1962 as a way to give back to the land and people he loved so dearly.

After taking in the beauty of the stained glass collection, you will then proceed to Bayit Vegan to visit the miniature model of Jerusalem just as it existed during the Second Temple period.

Next your tour takes you to Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the martyrs and survivors of the Holocaust.  Although this will be a somber point of your tour, it is a truly important one for the history of Jews.

Then you will be able to see the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, as your next stop will take place at the Israel Museum.

The last two stops will be the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and the Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew University.

You will overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 10 – Friday
Qumeran / Massada / Dead Sea

Your day starts in the Judean Desert, which is bordered by the mountains of Judea and the Dead Sea. Breathtakingly beautiful and relatively small in comparison to most deserts, it is home to several nature reserves and historic sites as well as monasteries. At 1300 feet (400 meters) below sea level, this desert has the distinction of being the lowest point on earth.

Stop at Qumran to visit the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered several decades ago.

From there your tour will take you on a drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to Massada, home to several battles between 37 BCE and 72 AD.

Masada is where Herod the Great is said to have fortified the area between 37 and 31 BCE in the event of a revolt against him.  At the onset of the first Jewish-Roman war, it’s also the site where a group of Jewish extremists overcame the Roman garrison of Masada.

Later in 72 AD the Roman governor backed by the Roman Legion was successful at claiming the fortress. The zealots did their best to fight off the Romans and then committed suicide en mass rather than be enslaved.

Descend by cable car and then, time and weather permitting, take a float on the Dead Sea — “the lowest health spa in the world.” See why the same place that is inhabitable to all life forms offers health benefits not found anywhere else in the world.

You will overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 11 – Saturday
No Organized Tour

Although there is no organized tour scheduled, may we suggest one or more of the following:

Perhaps if weather didn’t permit us to take a float in the Dead Sea, you could return there today. Or perhaps you would like to return to Mount Zion or the Walled City or visit any of the fine restaurants and cafés.

You will overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 12 – Sunday
The Negev Desert/ Timna / Eilat

Travel south to the Negev desert and see the site of Israel’s first Air Force base. Visit the Air Force Museum and the aircraft once used by Israel’s elite military.

Continue south for a visit of Kibbutz Sde Boker, where you can pay respects to Israel’s first Prime Minister Ben Gurion at his gravesite.

It is only fitting that he be laid to rest overlooking the magnificent Zin Valley. Measuring 50 meters deep, 40 kilometers long, and at its narrowest point 2 kilometers and at its widest point 10 kilometers is Ramon Crater. All that can be said is that you have to see it to believe it.

From there we drive to Timna, the 23-square mile park, to see the naturally forming sandstone pillars that are so perfect they had to have been man-made. They are dubbed “King Solomon’s pillars” and you will see why these pillars are named after the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

You will overnight in Eilat.

Day 13 – Monday
No Organized Tour

Although there is no organized tour scheduled today, there are many restaurants and cafés to eat in. Take a walk through Eilat and talk with the locals.

You will overnight in Eilat.

Day 14 – Tuesday
Eilat / Mamshit / Tel Aviv

Our first stop today will be the Underwater Observatory Marine Park, where you can see the stingray, turtle and shark tanks, including many other exhibits. This is one of the largest aquariums in the world and was built into a coral reef.

If you’ve always wanted to ride a camel, today is your lucky day! We will proceed to Mamshit for a camel riding experience and visit to an authentic Bedoin tent.

Learn about the Bedouin hospitality and enjoy a light lunch. Drive back to Tel Aviv.

You will overnight in Tel Aviv.

Day 15 – Wednesday
Tel Aviv / Ben Gurion Airport

After breakfast you will be transferred to Ben Gurion Airport for departure.

The above program can be extended and tailor-made for groups.

Note on JFK airport departure instructions:

It is very important that you arrive at JFK airport a minimum of three hours prior to departure. This allows you ample time to check your bags, get through security and find your departure gate. In order to more easily go through check-in and security, ensure that your passport and airline tickets are readily accessible.

Although waiting longer at the gate may not seem desirable, the alternative — should you not allow yourself sufficient time — is that you must rush through check-in and security.

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