Grabov Family Bar Mitzva Trip | February 2024

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 Jerusalem

• Day at leisure to relax and acclimate

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Explore Beit Guvrin National Park located in "the Land of Thousands of Caves" and Archeological Dig - The caves of Beit Guvrin hold a rich trove of artifacts that visitors like you have uncovered over the years. Don’t forget to check out the amazing Bell Caves too. Experience the thrill of unearthing the hidden past on Dig-for-a-Day, a ground-breaking archaeological experience designed for active travelers of all ages.

• Return to Jerusalem

• Machane Yehuda Market Tasting Tour - In the heart of Jerusalem sits this bustling, multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor. A tasting tour through Machane Yehuda Market is an adventure for your taste buds! Enjoy the hustle and bustle with all the rich fragrances, colors, and sounds this iconic Jerusalem market offers.

• Old City, Jerusalem - Since the 19th century Jerusalem's Old City has traditionally been divided into four quarters; Jewish, Christian, Moslem and Armenian. Walk through narrow alleys, meet people and place to get a better understanding on the complexity of a city that is holy to these three major religions

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Bar Mitzva ceremony at the Kotel (by Robinson Arch)

• 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.

• City of David - Take a trip back in time through the layers of Jerusalem’s past. It was on this hill where Jerusalem was built 4 millennia ago. Continuously excavated over the last 120 years, discoveries are regularly made. Tour the palace of King David, ritual purification pools, and Hezekiah’s Tunnel built to protect the water supply. Walk through newly uncovered sites and marvel at Central Valley's excavation. See the tour's highlight - monumental foundational stones of the Western Wall which lie at the foot of the Temple Mount. Exit the site onto the magnificent road where the Jewish pilgrims walked, over 2,000 years ago.

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Masada National Park - Ascend the mountain from the east by 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.

• Dead Sea Resort for swim and lunch - Israel’s Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth, a stunning, other-worldly landscape of shimmering blue water ringed by bare, orange and yellow hills. The waters of the Dead Sea hold a potent solution of minerals and salts that have strong healing properties. Together with its ethereal beauty, these health-giving minerals make the Dead Sea’s beaches and spas popular vacation spots for Israelis and tourists alike. At one of the local hotels, have lunch and 'float' in the Dead Sea.

• Camel Ride and Pita Baking Workshop at Genesis Land - Genesis Land is situated in the heart of the Judean desert, on the way to the Dead Sea, in the land where the Patriarchs lived. A magical place, it enables visitors to experience life as it was in biblical times. Ride by camel to desert hospitality in the style of Abraham and Sarah and enjoy a delicious desert meal.

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at hotel - And check-out from hotel

• Park Hamaayanot - Spring Valley Park - Park HaMaayanot is home to three of the Beit Shean Valley’s most abundant and attractive springs that flow at the foot of the high cliff wall of Mount Gilboa. Enjoy Driving around in a golf cart, by self driving, and navigate between beautiful water springs, orchards, fish pools and ancient relics.

• Kibbutz Sde Eliahu Bio Bee and lunch - Io 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. Visit the fields, meet the farmers and join lunch with them at the Kibbutz's main dining room

• Continue to hotel - And check-in

• Druze cooking workshop and dinner - 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.

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Creative Workshop at Rosh Habrosh - Go wild with your imagination and create your own little creature, animal, or bird from a large variety of materials from nature!

• Short Hike at 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.

• Jeep Tour in the Golan - Take a geo-political tour of the Golan! 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.

• North

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 - Walk through 4,000 years of history in this ancient city and UNESCO World Heritage site. The ancient city of Akko, situated on the Mediterranean coast, is one of the oldest ports in the world, and a city shared by Jews and Muslims. Walk narrow streets past towering ramparts, deep moats, green domes, venerable synagogues, slender Muslim minarets, and secret passageways. Discover the subterranean city built beneath Akko in the Middle Ages by the Crusaders. Learn about the city’s ancient history, as well as its important role in Israel’s modern history.

• Lunch on own in Akko

• Optional and time permitting: Stop for a view from The Bahai Gardens - From the Louis Promenade at the top of Mount Carmel, we will admire the stunning scenery. Nicknamed the Balcony of the Country, a 400-meter long promenade at the top of the Baha'i Gardens offers a view of the entire Haifa Bay, all the way to the border with Lebanon. This impressive spot offers a truly spectacular view, so have a camera ready!

• Caesarea National Park - On the Mediterranean coast, Caesarea National Park is one of Israel’s most impressive archeological sites. Here, amazing ancient harbor ruins, beautiful beaches, and impressive modern residences sit side-by-side. The city was initially built by King Herod in the 1st century BC, who dreamt of a major seaport to connect the Province of Judea with Rome. For this purpose, the king's men designed an entirely artificial harbor that was in use for about a millennium. Caesarea became a central city in Roman and Byzantine times as can be seen from the massive archeological remains on site. View the spectacular Roman amphitheater, still used today as a performance venue, as well as the hippodrome that held 20,000 spectators for chariot races.

• Travel to Tel Aviv - And check-in to hotel

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Bike Tour of Tel Aviv - Bikes are definitely the most thrilling and fascinating way to explore and experience the cities sights and views, history and contemporary culture.
  Ride around Tel Aviv's bike paths with a Certified Tour Guide!

• 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, but the two were united into one municipality in 1949, yet each part kept 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 at leisure with the family

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

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

• ANU Museum of the Jewish People - In June 2021, after ten years of planning and construction, the largest Jewish museum in the world opened its doors. You’re invited to join a fascinating journey that portrays the story of the Jewish people through the generations and up to the present time. The Museum represents all parts of the Jewish people and highlights the creative works and cultural riches of a variety of communities in different periods of history. This story is about all of us and each and every one of us is part of it.

• 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.

• Graffiti Workshop - 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.
  Take part in an interactive fun graffiti workshop, where you'll make something on your own and take it with back home.

• Farewell dinner at a local restaurant

• Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport

• Farewell - Safe Travels! We hope to host you again in our beautiful country!