Vardit Family Bar Mitzvah Trip

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.

• Coffee and breakfast at Drive Cafe - The Drive Cafe is part of a hot trend of coffee and food trucks that have popped up all over Israel in the past few years. Have a picnic brunch and begin to talk about your trip, Each person will be given a journal and your first entry will be to express your hopes for the trip. You'll share this with your partner and gradually with the rest of the group.

• Continue to Neot Kedumim - Neot Kedumim is the Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel which is a unique endeavor to re-create the physical setting of the Bible in all its depth and detail. Neot Kedumim embodies the panorama and power of the landscapes that helped shape the values of the Bible and provided a rich vocabulary for expressing them.

• Lunch at Iza Pziza Goat Farm - In Moshav Tal Shahar at the foot of the Jerusalem Mountains and the heart of the agricultural fields is a family goat farm called "Iza Pziza" which includes a small herd, a dairy and a visitors' center with a cheese shop. Eat a meal or just taste cheese, do a cheese-making workshop and meet the goats.

• Beit Guvrin - 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.

• Drive to Dead Sea area and check into the hotel

• Dead Sea Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Masada National Park - Ascend the mountain from the east 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 Boat Ride - Take a boat ride on the Dead Sea in a small group motorboat or in kayaks 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.

• Enjoy the hotel

• Shabbat Dinner at the hotel

• Dead Sea Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Hike in stunning Nahal Arugot - 4 Kilometer hike with stops for jumping into the water!

• Lunch at the hotel

• Ein Gedi Ancient Synagogue - Ein Gedi was one of the ancient cities in Judah. Famed for its fruitful vineyards that covered the mountainsides, ancient Ein Gedi was also well known for it's "secret". The secret is still unknown today but the remains of a mosaic floor from the 5th century synagogue at Ein Gedi clearly allude to some important mystery.

• Outdoor Desert Dinner

• Dead Sea Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Drive South towards Eilat

• Ecology Center at Kibbutz Lotan - Take a tour at Kibbutz Lotan’s Center for Creative Ecology where you can see first-hand pioneering ecological projects, latest ecological solutions for climate change, sustainable living in extreme desert conditions.

• Lunch at Neot Smadar - Kibbutz Neot Smadar was established in 1989 by a group of friends interested in creating a learning community that focuses on cooperation and creativity in daily life. As individuals in a dynamic community, they explore what it means to live together as co-learners and relationships. Their interest in relationships extends to the environment through organic farming, desert architecture, water recycling, The Art Center, winery, and more.

• Park Timna - Discover beautiful geological formations and the ruins of ancient copper mines in Timna Valley.

• Drive to and check into your hotel in Eilat

• Dinner at a restaurant - On own

• Eilat

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Cross the border into Jordan

• Petra Day Tour - Your guide will take you on a tour into the breathtaking "rose-red" city (by horseback and foot) which begins at the "Siq," a winding canyon road. At the end of the passage you'll see Petra's most beautiful monument -- the Treasury -- carved out of the solid rock

• Cross back through Allenby Bridge - And drive to Jerusalem.
  Check in to the hotel.

• Dinner at the hotel

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel - Check out

• Half day to rest

• Machane Yehuda Market Tasting lunch - 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.

• 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.

• Dinner at a restaurant

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• City of David - Visit the excavation of the City of David. King David captured a Jebusite citadel to build his capital. The city was well fortified with its own water source and Jerusalem was a perfect site for the new kind of national state that David envisaged.

• Lunch at Cafe Shalva - Shalva is a Jerusalem based organization that provides services to children with special needs and their families. Graduates of Shalva work at the café, and the café’s profits go back to the center to support its programs.

• Yad Vashem - Visit the museum at Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Memorial to the Holocaust. Tour this memorial to the darkest moment in 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.

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Herbert Samuel Jerusalem - Overnight: Jerusalem

• Jerusalem's Old City - 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. Throughout the tour explore the complexity of a city that is holy to these three major religions.

• Bar Mitzvah

• Bar Mitzvah lunch celebration

• Depart Jerusalem and travel north

• Check into your hotel and get settled - Dinner at the hotel

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Um El Kanatir - Visit the site of Um el Kanatir also known as Ein Keshatot, home to a Jewish village from the Period of the Mishna and Talmud, with a magnificent synagogue in its center. The ancient village is located above the Samekh Riverbed, looking towards the Sea of Galilee and the hills of the Galilee. Enter a synagogue that features the original Ark Complex – the most preserved and magnificent ever to be discovered in Israel. The synagogue was excavated and reconstructed with advanced technological methods, and today it stands at a height of one story. The Ein Keshatot site also offers a visit to the village spring, which flows into ancient pools, surrounded by shaded areas.

• Lunch and wine tasting at a Chateau Golan Winery

• Explore the Golan Heights by Jeep - Learn about the recent history of the region and explore the issues that have confronted Israel during the civil war in Syria. Stop at Har Bental, an extinct volcano and an army stronghold.

• Shabbat Dinner at the hotel

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Rafting Adventure - Rafting adventure along the Jordan River. Row through one of the most beautiful spots in Israel, amongst the plants, trees, and waterfalls in the middle of this beautiful Galilee nature reserve.

• Optional-Galileat - 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.

• Enjoy the hotel, swim, relax

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel - Check out

• Drive to Tel Aviv - Check into your hotel

• Jaffa Flea Market with time for lunch - Wind your way through the Flea Market which features everything from antiques to hip new clothing and design stores, cafes, restaurants, and bars.

• 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.

• Birthright Innovation Center - Jump forward in time to the Israel Innovation Center which showcases the many amazing technologies that have been developed in Israel and are now changing the world.

• Rothschild Boulevard - Rothschild Boulevard was one of the first streets to be built in the city of Tel Aviv a little over 100 years ago. In the heart of the “White City”, it is lined with Tel Aviv’s iconic architecture, the Bauhaus style, which led to its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many of these buildings have been beautifully restored and now house the offices of financial institutions, creative firms, cafes, and luxury residences.

• Dinner on your own in Tel Aviv

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Graffiti Tour - Enjoy a creative Graffiti workshop in the trendy neighborhood of Florentin, and experience fun and artistic freedom. Discover new and daring Israeli Graffiti Artists that are gaining recognition around the world.

• 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.

• 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.

• Free time

• Final dinner

• Transfer to the airport