Levitt Israel family trip | Summer 2024

Activities:

• Welcome to Israel! - 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.

• Private group transfer from Ben Gurion to your hotel in Tel Aviv - Please note check-in time is at 4:00 PM.

• Settled and enjoy relaxed time

• Dinner on own in a local restaurant - We will be happy to give restaurants recommendations closer to the date. (meal not included)

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Enjoy a easy morning on the beach and pool time

• For lunch time - try excellent Israeli food in the Carmel Market

• Afternoon - Graffiti Tour and fun workshop - Enjoy a creative Graffiti workshop in the trendy neighborhood of Florentine, and experience fun and artistic freedom. Learn about contemporary Israeli culture through the writing on the wall.

• Sunset tour of the picturesque Old Jaffa - Discover the ancient and modern situated side-by-side. Stroll through the alleyways of the Old City filled with artist studios as well as archeological discoveries. Head to the Jaffa Port which exists from Biblical times and is a fantastic place to find a mix of Israelis from all walks of life.

• Dinner at a local restaurant - We will be happy to recommend a place in the Flea Market with a fun evening atmosphere.

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - Your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel lobby.

• Dig 4 a day! - Explore Beit Guvrin National Park where you will be able to take part in an 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.

• Lunch break - (meal not included)

• Visit to the Ayalon Institute - This clandestine ammunitions factory was built in 1945 by the Haganah. In just three weeks, preparations for the factory were completed and it was code-named the Ayalon Institute. Above ground, it appeared to be no more than a kibbutz. However, located eight meters below ground, this was the country's largest bullet factory. It has been said that the bullets manufactured at the Ayalon Institute played a crucial role in the success of the War of Independence.

• Dinner back in Tel Aviv - (meal not included)

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel & check-out - Your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel's lobby.

• Akko Old City 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.

• Authentic lunch in Akko

• Kfar Masaryk Kibbutz experience - The Secrets of the Kibbutz Miracle-fascinating tours through kibbutz living. At the beautifully renovated original kibbutz buildings, visitors can get a glimpse of early 1940s kibbutz living – the pioneers (Halutzim), clothes, rooms, and pastime culture.

• 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.

• Drive to your hotel and check-in, dinner in the dining room is included

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Begin your day with Snir Water Hike - Walk between the beautiful water streams, water plants and shaded track, in one of the Jordan’s water sources.

• Special and authentic meal in Ghajar - Meet chef Ali Katib for a tasting tour in the only Alawite town in Israel, originally a Syrian village. Entry used to be restricted to residents only or those with special permits, but that changed recently when Israel lifted the restrictions. Hear about the town's complex, yet interesting story, have lunch at the home of Ali's mother, and taste the special Alawite cuisine. (Meal is included.)

• Fun jeep tour along the border - Take a geo-political 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.

• - OR - Rafting along the Jordan River

• Woodsong special music studio - In Rosh Pina, enjoy a musical experience with harp maker Peter Isacowitz who founded Woodsong Harps and fulfilled his lifelong dream. In this musical workshop, Pete will play on and explain about the various instruments he built.

• Dinner at the restaurant in the hotel lobby - (meal not included)

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Enjoy time for a morning swim in the Kinneret or pool

• Check-out from hotel

• Havat Rom - tour of the farm and Knaffe workshop - A visit to a magical organic farm, located on a mountain with a beautiful view of Meron Mountain. This is an agricultural organic farm, where they use ancient knowledge along with modern tools. Trying to find the balance between humans and nature. Enjoy a tour of the farm, visit the goast and conclude with a fun and tasty Knafeh workshop.

• Tulip Winery - wine tastings and light meal - Visit the very special Tulip Winery in Kfar Tikva, Village of Hope. The winery employs the developmentally disabled adults who live in Kfar Tikva and produces excellent wines.

• Travel to Jerusalem & check-in to your hotel

• Dinner at a local restaurant - We'll be happy to give you Jerusalem restaurant recommendations closer to the trip. (meal not included)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Begin with a magnificent lookout over the Old and New City - From the Haas Promenade take in a wide view of Jerusalem's Old and New Cities and the surrounding Judean Desert as far as the eye can see. See Jerusalem's complex geography, strategic setting, and beauty. Begin the conversation about Jerusalem's centrality to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

• Multicultural tour of Old Jerusalem - Tour Jerusalem’s Old City and meet the people and places that make this place so unique. In the Jewish Quarter, uncover the layers of Jewish history from the time of the First Temple until the present day. In the Christian Quarter, visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and from a great lookout see the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock holy Muslim site. Throughout the tour explore the complexity of a city that is holy to the three major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

• Authentic meal at the Old City - (meal included)

• Enjoy the rest of the day to explore on your own

• Optional suggested activities for this day - - Visit the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book. We can offer an Israeli Art tour with an expert guide.
  - Beyond Black and White tour in Mea Sha'arim - bakeries tour and learn about the Ultra Orthodox communities.
  (these are not included in the package)

• Optional: join a nearby local Reform / Conservative community for Friday night services and Kabbalat Shabbat

• Friday night dinner - Options: a restaurant, the hotel dining room or a Shabbat meal at a local family. (meal not included)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Early departure from Jerusalem - Because of the heat we recommend an early departure (6:30 or 7:00 AM).

• A visit to Masada National Park - Ascend the mountain by a cable car to explore Masada, a 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 lunch and swim - 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.

• Beautiful hike in Ein Gedi oasis - Located in the famous Ein Gedi nature reserve in the Negev desert, Nahal David is a spectacular water hike for all ages. Trails in a range of levels of difficulty take you alongside and through the cool, sweet 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.

• Optional additional activity: Dead Sea Boat Ride - Take a boat ride on the Dead Sea in a small group motorboat and see amazing salt formations and scenery. During this unique experience you will enjoy the wondrous muds, salt pearls, salt diamonds, water springs streaming to the sea and sink holes filled with sweet water. Learn about the ecosystem and the environmental issues connected to the Dead Sea. (this is not included in the package, and depending on availability - contact us for more info)

• Travel back to Jerusalem and get ready before dinner

• Dinner at a local restaurant - (not included)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• City of David & walk through an ancient water system - 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 the tour's highlight - a walk through water in Hezekiah’s Tunnel built to protect the water supply. Exit the site onto the magnificent road where the Jewish pilgrims walked, over 2,000 years ago. Get your flashlights ready!

• Culinary tasting tour in Machane Yehuda Market - In the heart of Jerusalem sits this bustling, multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor. Immerse yourself in the world of Middle Eastern cuisine as you indulge in a tasting tour through Machane Yehuda Market. Learn about the market's rich history, and meet the vendors who bring this place to life, as you experience the vibrant energy unique to this iconic culinary destination. (tastings will replace lunch)

• A visit to the unique Food Rescuers organization - Metzilot Mazon, the Jerusalem Food Rescuers, aims to create a more Just and sustainable urban food system with less waste. Working with the wholesale market, they divert surplus produce that would have otherwise gone to waste and support communities that don’t have equitable access to food, engage in food literacy focused activities such as lectures and workshops with kids and adults, and run a sustainable catering business.

• In a beautiful lookout conclude your journey in Israel with your guide

• Farewell dinner at a local restaurant - (on own, meal not included)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Enjoy the day to explore on your own

• Private group transfer to Ben Gurion Airport - VIP fast-track assistance can be arranged but is not included.

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