Mike and Nancy Miller – Israel Trip with Wheel The World | November 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.

• Private accessible transfer to Jerusalem & check-in to your hotel - (transfer included)

• Rest of your long flight and get acquainted to the local time

• Dinner at a local restaurant - We will be happy to give restaurant recommendations and help with reservations. Meal not included.

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Free day to explore on your own - Activities, guide and transfers are not included.

• Recommended: Visit the 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. Private guide can be for an extra cost.

• Dinner at a local restaurant (not included) - Optional (not included): experience traditional Jewish Shabbat dinner with a local family.

• Cassia Hotel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Your guide will meet you at the hotel lobby to begin touring

• Full day walking tour - Two transfers in a taxi are included, at the beginning and at the end of the tour.

• Tour of the Jewish Quarter and Mount Zion - See archaeological finds from the First and Second Temple periods, Roman ruins, vibrant synagogues, and learning institutions, all jostling for space in these busy stone streets.

• Church of the Holy Sepulchre - The church is situated on the hill called Golgotha or Calvary and contains the last five Stations of the Cross, including the sites of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. Several Christian denominations claim ownership to various parts of this site so holy to Christendom. Please note: some sections are not wheelchair accessible.

• Lunch break at the Arab Market - Browse in the famous Arab shuk (market) in the Muslim Quarter. Check out the local hummus and sweets, the many stalls selling spices, pastries, pottery, sheepskin, embroidered clothes, and so much more. Meet store owners whose stores have been in their family for generations. (meal is not included)

• Time to reflect at the Western Wall - 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.

• Transfer back to the hotel

• Dinner at a local restaurant - (meal is not included)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Your guide will meet you at the hotel

• Begin with a tour of the 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 will also visit the Shrine of the Book, home to the exceptional archaeological finds of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other rare ancient manuscripts.

• Culinary tasting tour in Machne Yehuda Market - Continue to the bustling multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor. Enjoy a tasting tour through Machane Yehuda Market. Hear the hustle and bustle with all the rich fragrances, colors, and sounds this iconic Jerusalem market offers. The tastings will replace lunch.

• Tour Bethlehem - Travel to Bethlehem and tour with a Palestinian Christian guide. Visit the traditional birthplace of Jesus, the site where the The Church of the Nativity now stands. This is also one of the oldest Christian churches in existence. During the Crusades, it was a primary place of pilgrimage.
  We’ll see artwork by the infamous Banksy on the security barrier (separation wall) and spend some time discussing his increased presence in the West Bank since 2003. This will be an opportunity to discuss the barrier from a Palestinian perspective.

• Authentic dinner at your guide's home

• Cassia Hotel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel & check-out

• Drive to the Judean Desert and tour 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 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, 'swim' in the Dead Sea and enjoy the hotel's facilities.

• Drive to the Negev Desert and stop at Ben Gurion's grave - Stop at the gravesite of Paula and David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, whose vision for settling the desert is continuing to bloom. Overlook towards the breathtaking Tsin Canyon and the Avdat highlands in the heart of the Negev.

• Check-in to your hotel - Dinner is available in the hotel's lobby bar or buffet meal at the dining hall (not included).

• Kedma Hotel, Sde Boker

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Easy morning to enjoy the spa and pool - Spa treatments are available.

• Tour Ben Gurion's Desert Home - Paula and David moved to their Desert home in 1953, following their acceptance as Sde Boker Kibbutz members, which manifested Ben-Gurion’s pioneering vision of settling the Negev. Their home has remained as it was left in 1973, according to Ben-Gurion’s instructions in his will, that his home will be open for the public to come visit. Since 1974, visitors can enjoy a tour of his home – as they would if they were his own personal guests.

• Lunch in a local restaurant - (meal is not included)

• Visit to Mitzpe Ramon Visitors Center National Park - 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 a walk and see the beautiful sunset with the stunning view of the crater

• Travel back to your hotel & dinner - At the hotel's lobby bar or dining room (meal is not included)

• Kedma Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Enjoy an easy morning at the hotel pool and spa - Spa treatments are available.

• Stop at Naot Farm for a taste local cheese and light meal - Naot Desert Farm is one of the many havot bodedim (lone farms) built by Lea and Gadi Nahimov, modern-day pioneers who are making David Ben-Gurion’s vision of the desert blooming come to life. Visit the goats and taste some delicious cheese.

• Tour Kibbutz Hatzerim - One of the last communal Kibbutzim in Israel, tour the Kibbutz and learn about the advanced Israeli Agri-tech. Walk to the Jojoba orchards and be amazed at how the desert is painted green by the leading technologies invented here in Netafim. Hear about life in the kibbutz from the past to the present, and get a better understanding of the socialist ideology from where it all began.

• Check-in and dinner on your own - (meal and transfers to restaurant are not included)

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Your guide will meet you at the hotel's lobby and begin your trip

• Tour of the picturesque 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.

• Explore Nahalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Market - An open-air market, open on Tuesdays and Fridays, that has become synonymous with quality Israeli crafts and folk art. The market is comprised of over 100 stands representing specialty crafts and folk art in virtually every medium imaginable: wood, stone, sand, glass, ceramics, and various metals with most if not all containing materials or themes found only in Israel.

• The foundation of Tel Aviv and architecture tour - The new Independence Trail leads to several of Tel Aviv’s heritage sites teaching visitors the history of this great city along the way. The trail begins at the intersection of tree-lined Rothschild Boulevard and Herzl Street, home to Tel Aviv’s first kiosk. The trail ends across the street at Independence Hall, where on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion read aloud the Declaration of Independence as Israel was declared an independent Jewish state.
  Along Rothchild Blvd., you will also discover the development of the city through the architecture styles.
  As you might know, Tel Aviv has more Bauhaus buildings that any other city in the world, so many that it is designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

• Dinner on your own

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Free day to explore Tel Aviv on own - Transportation, guide and activities are not included on this day.
  suggestion: a visit to the Israeli Art collection at the Tel Aviv Art Museum, optional private tour with an art expert is available for an additional cost.

• Check-out by noon and private transfer from your hotel to Ben Gurion Airport - Upon arrival at the airport, your VIP agent will meet you at the departures terminal to assist with check-in and security procedures for your flight.

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