Elisa and Scott Judson Israel and Jordan Trip – October-November 2023

Activities:

• Arrival at Ben Gurion airport - Your VIP agent will be waiting to greet you at the sleeve of the plane. After assisting with arrival procedures and collecting your baggage, you will be taken to meet your driver.

• Transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv

• Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check-out from hotel

• Travel from Ramon Airport to Arava Border Crossing - You will be greeted by your Jordanian tour guide and driver on the Jordanian side and begin your journey in Jordan.

• Travel (about 1 hour) to Wadi Rum - In Wadi Rum you shall pass the famous “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” on your way to the Visitors Centre, where you will have a short stop. Here you will board a local open 4 X 4 Vehicle escorted by a Bedouin guide to take you out into the desert an exciting ride. You will visit the Lawrence Spring, the Famous Ghazaly Gorge with its ancient Rock inscriptions. Lunch break at a Bedouin Camp. At the end of the tour, check in at the Hotel

• Hayat Rum Camp, Wadi Rum

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check-out from hotel

• Travel to Petra (about 1 hour and 51 minutes) - We will make a stop on our way to stretch our legs

• Visit Petra, Jordan's jewel, the capital city of the Nabateans - Petra is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face of the rose red stones of the Wadi Mousa Mountains by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean hands until around 100AD, when the Romans took over. Upon arrival, you will take a horseback ride (optional), and walk through the Siq - the only access to this city. Enjoy lunch (included).

• Welcome back to Israel! - And transfer to your hotel

• Dinner at hotel

• Isrotel Kedma Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Begin your day at the Mitzpe Ramon Visitors Center National Park - Visit the Mitzpe Ramon Visitors Center and learn the geological story behind this unique and amazing work of nature through interactive exhibits. At the center, pay tribute to Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first and only astronaut, who tragically died on a space mission in 2003.
  
  View the crater from a stunning vantage point, at the heart of the promenade which stretches along the Ramon Crater mouth. There is a hanging terrace providing a marvelous observation point over the depths of the crater.

• Take the driver's seat and explore the Ramon area! - For thrill-seekers, self-driving ATV tours are a real adventure and a particularly fun way to get to discover the area. Engage in an unforgettable outdoor experience through scenic desert beauty.

• Lunch on your own en route

• Conclude your day with a tour and wine tasting at Ramon Vineyard - Wine tasting at the Kerem Ramon Winery whose wines are produced from top-quality grapes that come from organic vineyards and cared for entirely by human hands- no mechanical machines are used.

• Dinner at hotel

• Isrotel Kedma Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check out from hotel

• Travel to the Dead Sea Region

• Masada National Park - Ascend the mountain from the east (via cable car) to explore Masada, scene of the epic stand by Jewish rebels at the end of the Great Revolt against Rome nearly 2,000 years ago. The new museum at the Visitor Center reveals the secrets of the daily life of the rebels, the story of the excavations, and how the site became one of Israel’s most important symbols.

• Lunch on your own en route

• Continue on a short hike at Ein Gedi National Park - This beautiful nature reserve features Nahal David, a spectacular water hike for all ages. Trails in a range of levels of difficulty take you alongside and through the cool, fresh waters of Nahal David, down waterfalls, along jaw-dropping canyons, and past caves. If you’re both quiet and lucky, you might even glimpse the sure-footed ibex and other local animals.

• Continue to Jerusalem - And check in to hotel

• Leisure afternoon and evening at Jerusalem

• Dinner on your own - We will be happy to make recommendations and reservations for you

• Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Encompass the Old City of Jerusalem by following the Ramparts Walk - Walk on the top of the walls built by the Ottoman ruler, Sultan Suliman the Magnificent, in 1536, and observe the picturesque views of both the Old City with its alleys and shrines and the New City spreading on the surrounding mountains outside the Walls.

• Continue to the Jewish Quarter - Tour the Jewish Quarter of the Old City including the Southern Walls excavations. Visit the Kotel, the ancient Cardo, the Hurva Synagogue, and walk through the Old City’s narrow streets.

• Hurva Synagogue - Founded in the 18th century, the iconic Hurva synagogue in the old Jewish quarter was destroyed in 1948, leaving only an arch against the sky. Today, the Hurva has been restored to its early splendor as the heart of a vibrant Jewish community, offering marvelous views across the Old City from the balcony around its domed roof.

• Lunch on your own in the Old City

• Visit the Western Wall Tunnels - Explore what’s under the Muslim Quarter through the Kotel Tunnels Tour. The Western Wall is impressive, but its greatness is truly discovered when you descend underground to the Western Wall Tunnels. The tunnels run along approximately 488 meters (1601ft) of the Western Wall, giving visitors a taste of the challenge that stood before Herod the Great during the biggest of all his immense building projects - the expansion of the Temple Mount.

• We take time to reflect at the Western Wall – Ha Kotel Ha’Ma’aravi or simply HaKotel - Over generations, Jews came to pray here, as it was the closest they could come to the Holy of Holies on the Temple Mount. When you see the Wall, you aren't just seeing it with your eyes - there is so much more. There are thousands of years and the weight of millions of Jews there. Your eyes may just see giant bricks and people praying, but your heart sees infinitely more. What does being here mean to each of us individually and as part of the Jewish people?

• Dinner on your own - We will be happy to make recommendations and reservations for you

• Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Visit 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.

• Machane Yehuda Market Tasting Tour - After a meaningful morning focusing on our past, we will head to the present and modern day. If you really want to get the feel for Jerusalem, Machane Yehuda Market is the place to go. Here you can meet people of all nationalities, religions and ages. Here you can see foods and fruits of all colors, sizes and shapes.
  Friday at Machane Yehuda is an extra special treat. You can sense of Shabbat is in the air. There is an added urgency to the shopping frenzy as shoppers look for the nicest and freshest in honor of the Sabbat. Things that you can be sure to see in people’s baskets are Challah, wine, fruit, fish, and even aromatic leaves to be used in the Havdalah ceremony at the end of Shabbat.

• Afternoon at leisure - Rest and prepare before Shabbat

• Shabbat Dinner with a hosting family - Experience an authentic Shabbat at the home of a host family in the heart of Jerusalem.

• Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Enjoy a day of leisure to explore and enjoy Jerusalem on your own

• Dinner on your own - We will be happy to make recommendations and reservations for you

• Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check out from hotel

• Explore the Jerusalem Hills at the beautiful Sataf forest for a hike through the area - The Sataf is on the site of ancient agricultural terraces which date to the time of the ancient Israelites. If it’s warm enough, there’s even an option to take a dip in some of the natural springs. Along the way - forage for edible plants.

• Continue north to Amphora Winery for wine tasting and light lunch - Visit Amphorae Winery which deserves the coveted title of Israel’s most beautiful vineyard and can compete with rural vineyards around the world. At the heart of Makura Farm on Moshav Kerem Maharal in the north, decorated with a stone mosaic and shaded by a red tile roof, is the lovely winery building, with the forested slopes of the Carmel mountain ridge in the background.

• Travel to your hotel - Check-in, rest and prepare for your next adventure!

• Druze cooking workshop and dinner - Together with your hosts in their private home, prepare traditional Druze Galilean dishes and then enjoy a dinner of the foods you create. Learn about Druze culture and history from your hosts and from the food you eat.

• Isrotel Gomeh Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Start your day with a beautiful view of the Hula Valley - Misgav-Am is the northernmost kibbutz in Israel, just meters from the Lebanon border. The kibbutz’s lookout point provides great panoramas of the Hula valley, the Hermon, even the Mediterranean Sea, and especially of the Lebanese side of the border.

• Continue to Agamon HaHula - The Hula Valley is part of the northern Syrian African Rift Valley which stretches as far south as Mozambique in Africa. Each migration season, over 500 million birds travel through the Hula Lake. This wetland paradise is the perfect stopover for small waterbirds, cormorants, herons, pelicans, raptors, storks, and cranes.

• Light lunch on your own in Safed

• Tour Safed - Safed, pronounced Tzfat in Hebrew, sits at a higher altitude than any other city in Israel and has been known since the 16th century as a major center of Kabbala, Jewish mysticism. Tzfat's mystical aura adds to its special status as one of Israel’s four holy cities, along with Jerusalem, Tiberias and Hebron. The old synagogues, narrow alleyways and artists’ studios add to the hilltop city’s unmistakable charm.

• Return to hotel - And dinner at hotel

• Isrotel Gomeh Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Banias National Park - Take a refreshing walk around the Banias, one of Israel’s most beautiful nature reserves. The Banias Spring feeds into the Jordan River, the reserve’s large waterfall tumbles down a 33-foot precipice year-round, and a nearby cave houses remains of a temple to the Greek god Pan. In the wars of 1948 and 1967, when the Golan was held by Syria, the site housed a Syrian officers’ club.

• Take a geo-political jeep tour of the Golan with an expert - While traversing the rich landscape, learn about the history, flora, and fauna of the area. Stop for a lookout over the border with Syria from Mt. Bental to get a better understanding of the geography and strategic role this region has for the State of Israel. Your local guide touches on the nuances of living so close to the Syrian border and what that has meant for Israel as it relates to security and humanitarian issues.

• Wine tasting and light lunch at Tel Winery - Tel Winery is a woman-owned micro boutique winery, offering intimate tours led by the passionate and knowledgeable Lital. All wines are single varietal, made exclusively from Northern Golan grapes and feature high acidity and fruits flavors which provide for a refreshing sip.

• Ein Keshatot (Umm al-Kanatir) - Ein Keshatot is is one of about 30 Jewish villages that existed in the Golan during the Talmudic Period, which was period of great growth in the area. The synagogue building was constructed in the 6th century CE (approximately 500 years after the destruction of the Second Temple), and was the center of local communal life. It served as a place for prayer, reading of the Torah, and various public activities.

• Return to hotel - And dinner at hotel

• Isrotel Gomeh Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check out from hotel

• Travel to Rosh Hanikra ("Head of the Grottos") - With the stunning chalk-white cliffs at Israel’s northernmost coastal border. Enjoy the view of the Mediterranean coastline stretched out before you, then take the cable car down beneath the cliffs to the grottos below and tour the system of underground marine caves eroded by pounding waves over thousands of years.

• Akko historical tour - Tour Akko, the ancient port city built and influenced by the Crusaders, Arabs, Ottoman Turks and the British. Akko's shuk (market place) is right in the center of the Old City and is a fun and vibrant bazaar full of fresh produce, cheap eats, spices, and souvenirs. Akko also has several of the best hummus spots in all of Israel which are a “must-taste.”

• Light lunch on your own in Akko

• Travel to Tel Aviv - Check in to your hotel

• Dinner on your own - We will be happy to make recommendations and reservations for you

• Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Tour Old Jaffa - Jaffa is one of the most ancient port cities in Israel and the Mediterranean basin. Today, Jaffa is a mixed city, where Jews and Arabs live alongside each other. Tel Aviv, Jaffa's younger sister, was established centuries later, in the year 1909. Though the two were united into one municipality in 1949, each part has retained its unique feel and atmosphere. Jaffa has been regenerated in recent years with the old narrow streets and courtyards becoming a highly popular part of Tel Aviv’s urban tapestry.

• Time on your own to visit Shamai Sam Gibsh in Jaffa

• Lunch on your own at the Jaffa Flea Market - Wind your way through the Flea Market which features everything from antiques to hip new clothing and design stores, cafes, restaurants, and bars.

• Continue to Neve Tzedek - Neve Tzedek is the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside of Jaffa and is now one of the most beautiful and desirable locations in Tel Aviv. It was built in 1887 by dignitaries of the old Jewish community of Jaffa. Looking to head out of the ever-growing and over-crowded Jaffa, they built, what was considered back then, modern and comfortable housing.. In recent years, the neighborhood was restored and has become a trendy fun beautiful part of the city and a good place to try some Israeli Gelato!

• White City Tour - Explore Lev Ha'ir, the Heart of the City, where the first roots of Tel Aviv were planted in 1909. Lev Hair contains some of Tel Aviv’s most beautiful buildings, being at the center of the UNESCO designated “White City” known for its Bauhaus, Eclectic, and International Style architecture. The area is densely populated, rooted in history, and with a glance towards the future with impressive skyscrapers, and a high concentration of start-up companies. Bordered by Habima Theater in the north and Florentin and Neve Tzedek in the south, Lev Ha’ir is a gateway to almost every district in the city. Lev Ha'ir is a cultural hub, filled with galleries, restaurants and parks.

• Conclude with The Milk and Honey Distillery - Stop at the Milk and Honey Distillery, the first whiskey distillery in Israel, for a tour and tasting.

• Dinner on your own - We will be happy to make recommendations and reservations for you

• Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Begin your day with a Graffiti Tour - Tour the dynamic neighborhood of Florentine, Tel Aviv’s most bohemian and upbeat neighborhood and learn about contemporary Israeli culture through the writing on the wall, graffiti, bumper stickers and even painted garbage bins. In recent years Tel Aviv has become Israel's capital of urban art.

• Revital Schneider

• Levinsky Market Tasting Tour - The Levinsky Market specializes in spices and Mediterranean delicacies. It is, in many ways, the best market in Tel Aviv, known for its variety, freshness, and special atmosphere. Whether you are looking for a rare Indian spice or some good quality saffron - this is the place. Shops offer a cornucopia of excellent cheeses, smoked fish, wines, and other delicacies. Tour the market and have "tastings" throughout.

• Afternoon at leisure

• Dinner on your own - We will be happy to make recommendations and reservations for you

• Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check out from hotel. You can store your luggage in the luggage room for your convenience.

• Enjoy a day of leisure to explore and enjoy Tel Aviv on your own

• Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport

• Farewell! Departure on 11:00 PM flight - We hope to host you again in our beautiful country!