Three Seas: Nature Israel Water Tour | Spring 2024

Activities:

• Arrival at Ben Gurion airport - Airport VIP fast-track assistance and private transfers are available for an additional cost. Contact us for more information.

• 8:00 PM Opening Evening Cocktail Reception - Get-together for orientation, get to know your group members and introduction to the trip.

• Opening talk - Let There Be Water - How does a semi-arid land keep the taps and the rivers flowing? Get an overview of the trip's theme, and the confluence of cutting-edge Israeli technology, nature, and human ingenuity. Learn how Israel is leading the world in technological developments addressing significant environmental issues both locally and around the world.

• Jerusalem - The Inbal Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel - Every morning you'll enjoy a delicious Israeli buffet breakfast at your hotel.

• Bird watching in the Jerusalem Bird Observatory - In 1993, two young birdwatchers discovered a banded migrant bird from Sweden - and so started the Nili and David Jerusalem Bird Observatory, a center of education, science and community located next to the Knesset. Over 50,000 visitors, from around the world and all sectors of society, flock to visit the JBO. You’ll be joining them to experience an unforgettable up close bird banding activity and learn about Israel’s vitally important spot on global bird migration fly routes.

• Visit the Gazelle Valley Park - Located in the heart of Jerusalem, in the shadow of the infamous Holyland apartment block, the Gazelle Valley was saved by SPNI and turned into a world-class urban wildlife site. It’s a very special type of park, and a haven for the endangered Israeli mountain gazelle. Amir Balaban, our Director of Urban Nature, will tell you the story of how the park came to be and how it’s being used as a model for urban sustainability in Israel and around the world.

• Levi Eshkol House & lunch - Levi Eshkol is arguably Israel’s most underappreciated Prime Minister. We will give you a guided tour of Israel’s Historic Prime Ministers’ Residence – where Ben Gurion and Golda also resided!
  -- where you will learn about Levi Eshkol’s impact on Israeli-American relations and building the National Water Carrier. Also the home of SPNI’s Jerusalem community, we’ll have lunch with some community professionals hear about SPNI’s work on the municipal level.

• Tour of Jerusalem Hills to see Wildfire Recovery - Over 6000 acres of the Jerusalem forest was torched by wildfires in August. With an SPNI professional, you will hike in places affected by the fire first hand to witness the recovery and see how resilient nature is. You’ll learn about Israel’s misguided afforestation policy and what SPNI is doing about it.

• Return to hotel - Freshen up before heading to dinner as a group.

• Group dinner at a local restaurant

• Jerusalem - The Inbal Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel & check-out

• Travel north

• Tour of Sapir Station - As you approach the station, the impressive sheer scale of the pumps and pipelines, that channel water to homes and fields, come into view. The tour is an eye-opening experience of the inner workings of an essential utility system supported by cutting-edge Israeli technology.

• Boat ride in the Kinneret - The best way to appreciate the beauty of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is by taking a boat ride across the blue water, with the views of the Golan and Galilee hills that surround the lake.

• Lunch break - (meal included)

• Visit the Start Up Nature Project - Start Up Nature is one of SPNI’s most ambitious initiatives – to create an artificial wetland that will support mass bird migration and global biodiversity. At Kibbutz Kfar Ruppin, you’ll see migrating birds in their glory, and hear about the complexities of creating and managing a nature reserve from former fishponds, and SPNI’s bold goals for replicating this model nationwide.

• Drive to the Dead Sea region and check-in to your hotel

• Dinner at the hotel

• Ein Gedi Kibbutz Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Embark on an exclusive boat ride on the Dead Sea - Sail to see a captivating 'salt-chimneys forest'. 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.

• Swim and float in the Dead Sea

• Return back to the hotel for lunch, downtime, enjoy the spa, pool and hotel facilities - Lunch on your own at the hotel lobby restaurant. (meal not included)

• Optional: Tour of the kibbutz Botanical Garden - Imagine an oasis with over 800 unique and rare species of trees, shrubs and flowers from all over the world. An exotic and well-tended botanical garden containing biblical plants. You'll be guided by a local guide from the Kibbutz.
  
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• Nahal David nature hike - Walk through the cool, fresh waters of Nahal David in the beautiful Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, see the waterfalls, along and past caves and canyons. If you’re quiet and lucky, you might even glimpse the sure-footed ibex and other local animals.

• Dinner and visit to the SPNI Ein Gedi Field School

• Ein Gedi Kibbutz Hotel

Activities:

• Early breakfast at your hotel & check-out

• Travel south to the Arava Desert

• Bird watching and visit to the Hatzeva Field School - Traveling south to SPNI’s Field School in the middle of the Arava desert, where you’ll be introduced to a most curious flock of birds, the Arabian babbler. These birds maintain a rigid social structure and were the topic of SPNI co-founder Amotz Zehavi’s Ph.D. research into evolutionary behavior. These birds are used to human presence, so look forward to getting extremely close to these friendly avians.

• Lunch at Hatzava

• Travel to Eilat and check in to your hotel

• Relaxed and free time

• Dinner at the hotel

• Evening - Timna at Night - Come and discover the desert at night, on a spectacular guided tour of the Park's sites. The tours explain of the ancient world that once existed in the park and allows visitors to enjoy a unique desert experience and the beautiful, star filled skies!

• Eilat - The Reef Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Eilat International Birding and Research Center - You’ll enjoy a VIP tour of this birding hotspot, one of Eilat’s top tourist attractions. Visiting at the beginning of the spring migration season, you will have the chance to see many different bird species, including flamingoes, and hopefully including some seasonal rarities.

• Lunch break on your own - (meal not included)

• Coral Reefs - Glass-bottom Boat Ride - Enjoy a ride to see Eilat’s unique coral reefs. You’ll receive expert insight about why Israel’s corals are so resilient and the experimental techniques scientists are using to protect and regenerate them.

• Afternoon - free time at the hotel

• Farewell group dinner and closing session

• Eilat - The Reef Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel & check-out

• Travel to Mitzpe Ramon

• Nature hike in Ramon Crater - Walk through the stunning Negev Desert and get to know the endless variations of the landscape. Explore the remarkable Makhtesh Ramon and immerse yourself in the details of the land around you.

• Light lunch at Mitzpe Ramon

• Arrive in Tel-Aviv in late afternoon - The bus will stop at Ben Gurion Airport and in Tel Aviv.

• We look forward to hosting you again in our beautiful country!