Accessible Jewish Heritage Trip – May 2024

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel & check-out

• Meet your guide and start your special journey. - Meet your group at 9:00 AM at the hotel's lobby, gather together for an introduction and get to know your group members.

• Travel north along the shore to Caesarea National Park - Drive to the coastal Caesarea which reveals the wonders of the past that were built by one of the greatest builders of the ancient world, Herod. Caesarea’s antiquities park houses unique building from various periods, bearing silent witness to the upheavals that have visited Caesarea and the region over the past 2,300 years.

• Druze home hospitality and authentic lunch - Together with your hosts in their private home, prepare traditional Druze Galilean dishes and then enjoy the feast you create. Learn about Druze culture and history from your hosts and from the food you eat.

• Travel to your hotel and check-in to hotel - Recommended: walk to the shore of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

• Dinner at the hotel - (meal included)

• Galilee

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Tel Dan - Tel Dan National Park combines a lush nature reserve with a biblical archaeological experience and includes a short wheelchair- accessible trail. At the heart of the park is “Tel Dan”- the capital of the ancient northern Israeli biblical kingdom. When overlooking the Israeli-Syrian border get a geo-political brief and a better understanding of the current affairs.

• Tour and Wine Tasting - Tour of the winery and enjoy guided wine tasting at the Golan Wines Winery, a wonderful example of a well-established and worldwide well-known winery, that influenced the elevation of the wine culture of Israel. Learn about the enormous potential of the Golan Heights as an outstanding wine-growing region and taste a variety of local wines.

• Lunch break on route - (meal not included)

• Hula Valley - Take a ride on a golf cart through the Hula Valley, an important resting place for migrating birds and many species of rare fish and plants creating a wonderland of flora and fauna. Allows you an extra-close observation of birds and other animals in their natural habitat at Agamon Hula.

• Dinner at the hotel - (included)

• Galilee

Activities:

• Breakfast and check-out from the hotel

• Hamat Tiberias National Park - The Tiberias Hot Springs National Park located on the shores of the Kinneret, which displays one of the most spectacle mosaics of ancient synagogues in Israel. Visit the ruins dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. You will also see a beautifully preserved 18th century Turkish Hamam. At the synagogue adore the mosaic floor with geometric patterns, Zodiac surrounding an image of Helios, the sun god, and the Ark of the Torah with Jewish symbols.

• Bio Bee Agri-Tech tour in Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu - Bio Bee Sde Eliyahu is the pioneer of organic farming in Israel. While visiting the fields we not only learn about the benefits of organic farming but also about biological pest control. The Kibbutz established the first biological pest control company in Israel and is a world leader in the field of biological pest control and bumblebees for pollination.

• Lunch in the Kibbutz dining room - (meal included)

• Drive through the Jordan Valley on the way to Jerusalem

• Check-in and dinner at the hotel - (meal included)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Begin your day at the Jaffa Gate - Enter the Old City of Jerusalem through the Jaffa Gate. Walk through the Christian quarter and see some of the important sites in Christianity.

• Explore the Jewish Quarter of the Old City - Visit the Byzantine Cardo, and the artifacts uncovered during archaeological excavations exposing two thousand years of Jewish history in the Old City till present day.

• Proceed to the Kotel - The Western Wall, sacred because it is one of the last remnants of the Second Temple that was destroyed by the Romans. Feel the stones that have witnessed so much in the history of the Jews. Place your special and personal prayer in the cracks of the stones.

• Lunch break at the Jewish Quarter - (meal not included)

• Tour of the Davidson Center and the Archeological Garden - Visit the fascinating Southern Wall Archaeological Park that surrounds the lower part of the Temple Mount from West and South.

• Return to the hotel to rest

• Dinner at the hotel - (meal included)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Drive to the Dead Sea region, the lowest place on earth

• Masada National Park - Masada is a rugged natural fortress, of majestic beauty, in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is built as a palace complex, by Herod the Great, King of Judaea, (reigned 37 – 4 B.C.). Became a symbol of the ancient kingdom of Israel, and the last stand of Jewish patriots in the face of the Roman army, in 73 A.D. Ascend Masada by cable car and tour the site.

• Dead Sea - lunch and swim - Continue to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. Have time to enjoy and relax on the beach and pool area at one of the hotels on the shore of the sea. Attempt flotation in a sea that is 33% salt and keeps you buoyant. Lunch at the hotel included.

• Return to Jerusalem

• Dinner on own and free time for shopping - (meal not included)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast and check-out from the hotel

• Tour of the museum at Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Memorial to the Holocaust - Tour this memorial to the darkest moment in the world and Jewish history, its children’s memorial, and exquisite gardens. Yad Vashem is an unforgettable place of tribute and remembrance. You'll be guided by a member of the Yad Vashem staff.

• Free time and lunch at Machane Yehuda Market - After a meaningful morning focusing on our past, we will head to the present and modern day. In the heart of Jerusalem, at a bustling multi-ethnic market bursting with life. Enjoy the hustle and bustle with all the rich fragrances, colors, and sounds this iconic Jerusalem market offers. (meal not included)

• Visit Israel Museum - Visit the unique collections and expansive grounds of the Israel Museum, the country’s national museum. Linger over the renowned international and Israeli art, the world’s most complete Judaica collections and the charming Billy Rose Sculpture Garden. You can also visit the Shrine of the Book, home to the exceptional archaeological finds of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other rare ancient manuscripts.

• Farewell group dinner at Cafe Shalva - Shalva is a Jerusalem based organization that provides services to children with special needs and their families. Graduates of Shalva work at the café, and the café’s profits go back to the center to support its programs.

• Group Transfer - Proceed to Ben Gurion airport and depart home or continue for extension.

• Farewell - we look forward to hosting you again in our beautiful country!