I’ve decided to take my family to Israel next week. That doesn’t give me much time to plan.
For years, I’ve wanted to take my family to the Holy Land. With so much uncertainly in the air for 2020, I decided now is the time…it might be a very long time before we are able to make the trip again.
In no particular order, here are my thoughts on the trip:
- We’ll spend a week in Israel
- I’ll be driving myself
- Although I’d love to take my wife and son to Jordan as well, we will spend the entire time in Israel
- I’m thinking three four days in Jerusalem and three days in the Galilee
- I’d love to try the Waldorf-Astoria in Jerusalem if, for nothing else, then blog review purposes
- But the pricing seems exorbitant, whether paying cash or points
- Instead, I am looking into apartments, with the goal being to change only once and having a separate room for my three-year-old son Augustine
- As much as I’d love to spend the week drinking coffee in Tel Aviv, the week will be structured around visiting biblical sites (I’ve already seen them – my wife has never been)
- Those will include:
- Jerusalem Old City
- Western Wall
- Church fo the Holy Sepulchre
- Temple Mount
- Garden Tomb
- Garden of Gethsemane + Mount of Olives
- Sea of Galilee
- Mount of Beatitudes
- Nazareth
- Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
- Mount Moriah + Mount Carmel?
- Jerusalem Old City
- Visiting Yad Vashem is also a priority
- I did enjoy driving around the Golan Heights last time, but is it worth returning?
- We will go into Bethlehem…hopefully we can avoid the parking scams
- How easy is it to visit the Gaza Strip? (I know, I know…)
- I’ll need to limit daily activities to give myself time to work and blog each day
I enjoy planning trips like this and also (unlike my scrupulous wife) don’t mind totally winging things, including lodging. For her sake, I won’t do that.
And for my fellow coffee drinkers, where can I get a good cappuccino in Jerusalem and the Galilee? How about over Shabbat?
CONCLUSION
I look forward to visiting Israel, though I hope to avoid another horrific security experience when departing TLV. Maybe holding my little child will help? In any case, I would welcome your input on planning our week. Israel is a beautiful land and I am sure, even with consistent rain in the forecast, it will be a nice week.
Sounds like a great last minute trip. Enjoy! just keep your eyes on the news given Iran and the new developments last night. The positive is that it could be mean less people going there right now!
Hi,
I went in 2018. These people do tours around the West bank. I did the 1 day one which was good.
https://abrahamtours.com/tours/. They could probably arrange something re Gaza too. Key is that you need someone from that side of the wall as the Israelis aren’t allowed by Israeli law to enter Palestine.
Paul
Thanks Paul, I will check it out.
Have you looked into Shabbat of a Lifetime? One of my favorite memories of my time in Israel.
No, but I will do so!
Did you post this before or after the drone strike in Baghdad? I’d be a bit anxious about taking my family to the Middle East right now.
Hi Paul, written before. It is indeed an interesting time. We will see how things play out over the next couple of days.
Putting aside the politics, and recognizing that everyone has their own risk tolerance, you ought to think really hard about this one. There seems to be a consensus that Iran is unlikely to want to take on the US Navy directly, so a response is likely to come against US allies in the region. Israel has to be high on that list (same with Saudi oil facilities).
For instance, Israel has shut down Mt. Hermon ski resort explicitly because they’re concerned about “proxy” attacks on Israel in response to the drone strike.
I’ve done some dumb trips (like HKG during the riots), but I would skip the ME right now. If I were single with no kids, different story, but I certainly wouldn’t be bringing my family to Israel right now, or even going solo as long as people were depending upon me at home.
A few thoughts:
Stay at the Herbert Samuel in Jerusalem. Not the biggest rooms, but you can’t best the location. And you’ll remember the breakfast for the rest of your life.
Take a private guide for Jerusalem. It’s worth it. Itamar is dynamite: https://itamarbendavid.com/
I think 3 days in the Galilee is too much if you only have 4 in Jerusalem. Instead, perhaps plan some day trips from Jerusalem, to the Dead Sea, for instance, and to Ein Gedi.
Speaking of which, consider a night or two at the Beresheet Hotel in the desert. It’s a bit pricy, but there’s hardly anything else like it in the world.
For Shabbat in Jerusalem, you want the Notre Dame Center. It’s basically a slice of Europe plopped into the Middle East.
Have a great trip!
A very good indication that the president has committed impeachable offenses with overwhelming evidence is when he tries to start a war to distract everyone.
Wag The Dog…just like in 1998.
Obviously you are totally delusional or brainwashed by the USA Propaganda alphabet network and it’s yellow journalist leftist rag comrades. It was a totally fake impeachment with no crimes except being a prolife conservative.
The thing to do is get an iced coffee from Aroma. They have many locations.
I’ve never been to Israel, but would like to +1 Scott’s suggestion for Aroma iced coffee. They have them in NYC too (although they are slowly disappearing), and they are fantastic. My girlfriend has had both in NYC and Israel and says they are about the same. Its a chain, but probably one of the best chain coffee’s out there. The iced coffee is my favorite, but I also like to melt the little chocolate they give you with your order in my hot coffee from time to time. And I’m someone who only otherwise takes my coffee black with no sweetener.
I will certainly check it out!
How will you fly there?
I’ll write about that once I am there.
I took a 1 week holiday to Israel alone on June last year. I visited most of the places you mentioned except Nazareth and Galilee, I had plans to go but I was enjoying myself so much in Tel Aviv I gave up on that part.
Security was a breeze both entering and exiting Ben Gurion airport. Security was tight on the outgoing airport (in my case Lisbon), where passengers were called to a remote gate to be searched and questioned. First I was questioned by a security guard then two police who also did bodysearch and bag search. They seemed more surprised at me travelling alone to Israel than interested in assessing my threat level to be honest.
Ben Gurion airport no longer stamps passports, they issue your visa on a separate piece of paper. Handy for people who wish to visit countries like Iran later (like I did, 4 months later).
I did most of the sites you mentioned on foot and public transport, so cannot advise re driving.
On the Church of Nativity, arrive very early, as soon as the church opens. I arrived at 9AM and all the group tours were already there, I couldn’t see the nativity site. If you have time, take a detour to see Banksy’s hotel and the separation wall with its grafitti, from the Church of Nativity should be a 10 min car drive. Banksy’s hotel is a nice place to stop for a coffee, the inside of the hotel is very quirky and fun.
May I suggest visiting Hebron? It’s the site of the Tomb of the Patriarchs’, where the Bible’s patriarchs and matriarchs are said to be buried (Jacob, Abraham, Rebecca…). A very special place, with a Jewish side and a muslim side but you can see the tombs from both sides. I took a day tour with Abraham Hostels Dual Narrative tour which gives you a lot of context on the ongoing conflict, but you can visit the Patriarchs Tomb on your own.
Visit the Temple Mount as soon as you can. I tried visiting on my last day in Jerusalem, but there had been conflicts and it was closed. I had to move to Tel Aviv the next day so I lost my chance to see it.
Prepare for shabath – everything is closed. In Jerusalem you’ll find some food stalls close to Damascus gate, nothing much elsewhere. Shops and restaurants open at sunset when shabath ends and stay open till late and the atmosphere is really lively and pleasant, a nice time to walk around King George Street. Shabath is a good time to visit the Old City in Jerusalem but I met some fellow portuguese travellers were really struggling to find a coffee inside Old City on shabath! I actually visited the Old City, ate on the food stalls close to Damascus gate and then visited the Garden Tomb and Mount of Olives and Gethsemane all on shabath.
Wish you a wonderful trip, and please write some blog posts about it!
Lissa
Thanks for your advice Lissa! Much appreciated.
Wonderful trip write up.
I always experienced Shabbat in Jerusalem from the Jewish standpoint.
Friday night at the Western wall is incredible.
When I lived in Jerusalem, depending on the weather, I would explore the city top to bottom.
Try to join a Shabbat meal, Friday night dinner is really wonderful.
If you do go to Hebron, my cousin is a licensed tour guide, email me and I’ll connect.
Go to israel and ask for forgiveness on behalf of Americans for the anti semitic white supremacists that are protected by the republicans.
Tell Israelis not all Americans are like the republicans.
after whats been going on here in the NY area, Id say you got it 1000% wrong and everyone should be asking forgiveness for the Black population of America who has been threatening to kill All the Jews and say they want to finish what hitler started
Plus the ultra liberals with their new no jail or bail needed and release everyone right back onto the streets so they can go and threaten other Jews
I agree tell the Israelis that not all Americans are bleeding heart liberal demorcats
But then again the above has been in every Israeli newspaper and news show so they are well aware of the real truth
Yup. Its only mental illness when whites go on a shooting spree. And when a black with a known documented history of mental illness does something, it’s anti semitism. He probably would have as easily picked another group of people.
You must be crazy if you think nazi white supremacists Republicans are not anti semitic. That is the whole reason for their existence. Your false information might work on simple minded republican idiots who don’t even know when they are voting against their own interests, but it won’t work on us.
what about Jersey City, where its known the actual target was a school full of Jewish children. As for Monsey they now believe the same person was responsible for a previous attack a couple of months ago as well and have tied his mothers car to the scene
Its anti-semitism on both sides, just you want to believe its only on the ult rights side. the attacks going on in NYC AFAIK not 1 was done by a white person be they on the right or left, the close to 20 reports were all black folks, both adults and teens
So go bury your head in the sand all you want and try and sell the World that the ult right are the only cases .. History has proven its been done by both Right and Left. And the idea of a Moderate Dem is fast becoming a relic of the past.
the Left believes 100% in The Freedom of Speech as long as the person wanting to talk is one of them. Should they not be and not hold by their beliefs then that person no longer has the Right to Speak and its legit o do everything and anything to make sure they cant speak, just look at any college nowadays
A few thoughts:
Stay at the Herbert Samuel in Jerusalem. Not the biggest rooms, but you can’t best the location. And you’ll remember the breakfast for the rest of your life.
Take a private guide for Jerusalem. It’s worth it. Itamar is dynamite: https://itamarbendavid.com/
I think 3 days in the Galilee is too much if you only have 4 in Jerusalem. Instead, perhaps plan some day trips from Jerusalem, to the Dead Sea, for instance, and to Ein Gedi.
Speaking of which, consider a night or two at the Beresheet Hotel in the desert. It’s a bit pricy, but there’s hardly anything else like it in the world.
For Shabbat in Jerusalem, you want the Notre Dame Center. It’s basically a slice of Europe plopped into the Middle East.
Have a great trip!
Matthew:
After the US’ killing of Iranian Gen. Soleimani, American tourists would be well-advised to avoid the Palestinian territories and the Golan for the next several months. Anyway, you won’t have any trouble filling up your week in Israel with the visits you have planned; a common mistake tourists make is to try to cram in too many sites in too few days. If you do have some open time, Tel Aviv is well worth at least one day and night. And I’d suggest reconsidering driving in Israel, at least while in Jerusalem. Traffic and parking can be a bear, and taxis are plentiful and affordable.
I was there last week, stayed only in Tel Aviv, but went to both Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
The line to enter the ‘birth’ part of the Church of the Nativity is painfully slow ( as in 90 minutes plus). Maybe this was just the Christmas peak. The Banksy wall is interesting .
Holy Sepulchre was very crowded with pilgrims, plus it was the end of Hanukkah, so the whole area was very crowded. Next week is probably better.
I got a 30 minute grilling on my prior travel destinations ( which I didn’t mind and knew was coming)
I had a great time.
It’s virtually impossible to go to Gaza …
As Paolo said you cannot visit Gaza, but you can take the GAZA BORDER REALITY TOUR, which takes you to the border of Gaza and allows you to do a skype call with Gaza residents. I didn’t take this tour but the guide, Eliyaju, was my guide for the Hebron tour and he’s amazing. He work with Interfaith, a group of Jewish and Muslims trying to connect these two religious groups with peace projects and joint businesses. A very inspiring project. https://abrahamtours.com/tours/gaza-border-reality-tour/
Thanks for the tip! Why can’t I visit Gaza?
Gaza strip isn’t open for tourism, only for journalists, ONG workers, etc – that’s the last I read. Btw you may want to spend a night on an Airbnb inside the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem if you’re looking for that kind of experience, once again I didn’t do it (with one week I decided I didn’t have time to waste changing accommodation), but I read good things about this one on a travel blog and reviews on Airbnb are very solid: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17350628?source_impression_id=p3_1578070956_dwOKKPqe2S0J8Vcv
I’m curious about the new high speed rail link between Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport and Jerusalem. I took a cumbersome bus between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and saw the rail line under construction and thought that would be nicer. The underground station in Jerusalem is adjacent to the main bus station which also has the light rail connection to the center right near the Jaffa and Damascus Gates.
If you take it, write a review!
It might be a stretch, but if you can make the Kind David Hotel in Jerusalem work, you won’t regret it.
For the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, get there early. The place becomes an unregulated madhouse soon. Just taking the stairs up to the Calvary section is dangerous as there can be too many people accessing the same stairs. And there will always be a long line to visit the tomb in the Aedecule.
Don’t miss the Cathedral of St. James in the Armenian Quarter. It’s an ethereal site, especially if your lucky enough to be there when the monks from the monetary across the lane come in to chant.
I regretted not going onto the Temple Mount. I didn’t out of respect to my Jewish hosts (even if they wouldn’t find out). But one of them said later they would have zero problem if I had visited.
Have a great time!
*King David Hotel, not Kind. (No edit function!)
I’ve never been and so have no advice to add, but I’m very much looking forward to your trip report as Israel is on my radar in the next few years. Gotta check out the new nonstop DFW-TLV service, you know. 🙂
With regards to accommodations, we just spent a week in Hawai’i doing Airbnbs, and I really do think the experience was several multiples better than hotels traveling with our son. The extra space to run around and a kitchen to whip up something I knew he’d eat really helped. If you can book an apartment at this late hour, do it.
Also, as a couple of others have noted, given the developing situation with Iran, I’d stay away from Gaza this time, especially with your family.
Btw I forgot the best bit about shabath…closer to sunset you’ll see many Jewish families and Jewish schoolchildren walking next to Jaffa gate, singing. Follow them to the synagoge where the Jewish men sit in front of the Rabi while women watch from the balaustrade, all chanting. It was beautiful to watch.
On something unrelated, the Tower of David also has a cool (paid) nightly videomapping show.
Regarding Gaza, you’ll have to apply to either the Egyptian or Israeli governments to get entry permission. Egypt is a bit easier but both are difficult, and curious tourism isn’t likely to be a sufficient reason. Even if you could demonstrate reason to travel to Gaza it’s unlikely either country’s embassy would be able to sort your permission in time for your trip.
Politically speaking, Gaza looks like West Bank/Golan on the map, but in reality it’s an entirely different animal.
Yeah, I spent some time this evening looking into it and it simply won’t happen this trip.
Even if you could get an entry permit, you’ll need an exit permit to be able to leave Gaza, which, if delayed, could leave you stranded in Gaza for who knows how long. Even without that concern, Gaza is a travel destination for hard core war journalists, not for a family vacation. It couldn’t be more different than the west bank in that regard.
There’s a small coffee roaster in the Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem that makes phenomenal espresso (although I’ve never gotten a cappuccino there.) It’s called Shuk Coffee in Hebrew although it’s listed as “Coffee Market” on google maps- https://goo.gl/maps/C4BpAGjZKSCTo6Yk8
Looks good! I’ll check it out.
In you’re in Jerusalem during Sabbath, the Ein Karem neighborhood has some nice restaurants and cafes which are open all week long. It’s also a beautiful area with nature trails and some monasteries.
As an alternative, you can do a 15 minutes drive to Abu Gosh village , just outside of Jerusalem, and eat at one of the middle eastern restaurants. Note that it gets very crowded there at noon.
I would not put my family at risk. This is not a good time to go to Israel.
You can’t go wrong wherever you go. Just be safe.
I do not know the ins and outs of driving to Bethlehem, particularly what kind of license plate your rental car will have. Do some research on this and write it on Live and Let’s Fly. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. I do know that the license plate gives away if the driver is from the West Bank or not.
Also consider the Israeli Air Force museum, located in the desert. Never been there but it sounds interesting. They have a Lavi fighter, which was supposed to be a cheap, better than F-16 plane, but the costs got too high that it was cancelled before production.
Regarding license plates, Israeli license plates can only enter the West Bank section C (and not sections A or B). Bethlehem is in the West Bank (and is not in section C), and thus an Israeli license plate is not allowed in Bethlehem. Similarly, Palestinian license plates are not allowed in any part of Israel.
Go! Israel is such an incredible country. You will very much enjoy all aspects – the culture, the history, the people, the food, the landscapes, the sites, etc. It is also very safe – even when there are headlines like what we have just recently seen/heard.
I would suggest doing a day trip of Masada and the Dead Sea together. And, the bus service between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem leaves every 10 minutes throughout the day.
Bob, are you sure about not being allowed into the West Bank with an Israeli vehicle? I drove into Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Jericho in 2009.
Can anyone else confirm?
As a tourist it should not be a problem
Hi Matthew — I’ve been to Israel three times this year (oops, 2019), twice with church groups, once on my own with friends. Your Ben Gurion security review was my “nightmare scenario” — but I had no issues while leaving, even, one time, when I was going to Dubai from Israel [not directly, obviously.]
I really don’t think you can take an Israeli rental into the West Bank. At least Hertz at Ben Gurion told me that a couple of weeks ago. We stayed at a nice East Jerusalem hotel, and they let us park our car there for free an extra day, so we could go to Bethlehem for Christmas Eve and Christmas. We just took the bus from Damascus Gate (231). 7 shekels. 40 min or so.
With the big pilgrimage sites, plan lots of time. All the guides this year told us there has been a big uptick in (largely Christian) pilgrims, so the lines at the Church of the Nativity and the Holy Sepulcher [The Church of the Resurrection, to use it’s formal title] are huge — to visit the Grotto of the Nativity, and the Tomb. One can walk around the rest of the areas in those sites quite easily.
One tour I’d been wanting to try and go to do on the last visit was the unique “Dual Narrative” tour of the Old City organized by Mejdi Tours. You walk around the Old City with an Israeli Jewish and an Arab Palestinian guide. Very informative, and quite well done. They also visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall and Al Aqsa. (In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on this tour one doesn’t have time to line up to visit the Tomb itself.] If going to Al Aqsa/Temple Mount on your own, research the opening times. There’s only like twice a day that they open. Modest clothing, of course (some women in our group were asked to wear shawls to cover up). Also, no religious material — I had to leave my Bible (packed inside my backpack) at the security checkpoint!
In the Golan — an off the beaten path stop is the archeological site at Susita (Hippos). It’s easy to get to, on the esatern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Great views too, and an interesting location — it was Syrian territory until the 67 war. The Roman era and Byzantine ruins are amazing. Hippos was one of the Gentile towns of the Decapolis, mentioned in the New Testament, and given its proximity to Galilee, a place where quite likely Jesus would have come through.
In Tiberias, another less common stop is the tomb of Maimonides, the famous medieval Jewish Rabbi and philosopher (known as the Rambam). Several other rabbis are buried there — it’s free to visit.
As others have pointed out, Gaza is practically impossible. And, yeah, some caution about going to the West Bank as an American in light of recent events, perhaps. [I can easily pass for a local, I don’t stand out as much!]
Enjoy the trip!
Very helpful advice. Thank you Gaurav!
I loved Jerusalem, Bethlehem etc but was happy to return to jordan where I spent most of my holiday. Just found it far less tense. I love adventure travel but not 100% sure I’d take my family to Israel right now. I generally think these threats are overated but not impossible that Iran could seek action in Israel. My wife did a family trip to India when young and their tour group got “hijacked” by university students. Not terribly bad but she’ll never go back to India.
Matthew, You must visit the Dead Sea and Masada. Floating in the Dead Sea is quite an experience and the fortress at Masada is an amazing site. It takes you back to the time of Herod and the views are spectacular. Enjoy!
Thanks Gary, will check it out!
I’d recommend lunch or dinner at the Jerusalem hotel in east Jerusalem. Also some good places at the First Station and in the Mahane Yehuda market, though I’d go there earlier in the week. Closer to Shabbat it is painfully crowded.
With a young child, security is likely to be easy this time.
Will check it out. Thanks!
And the comments about not visiting Israel now due to the Iran issue are silly. I wouldn’t want to be on an oil rig in the Persian gulf at this moment, but Israel will be fine.
Hello Matt… and a Happy 2020 to you and all fellow readers!
As someone who visits Israel primarily for work around half a dozen time per year, please let me jump in and share a few thoughts:
1) In alluding to your very unfortunate experience (in a prior post) about the “Exit Security Interview”, frequent travelers are able to put aside the occasionally seemingly overdone process, because we really want them to “trip up and catch the bad guy”… even if (now as a result) it virtually never happens. I recently had also transited via Jordan (Royal Jordanian is a superb OneWorld airline!); and when they saw the little white Jordanian Exit sticker on my Passport cover, a similar multi-step interview and search process ensued. When done, I politely asked why I (with a perfect immigration record in Israel) had been subjected to this. And the answer, which I accepted as rather logical, was that IF SOMEONE (even from outside Jordan) WANTED TO SMUGGLE ANY FORM OF DEVICE into Israeli ground or airspace, the place from which they would very “craftfully” do it (TOTALLY WITHOUT THE PASSENGER REALIZING IT) would logically be from the only Arab-world airport (Amman) that connects with Tel Aviv… which unfortunately does make some sense! I will often plan a work-trip to Dubai at a similar time to when I’m in Israel, and using Royal Jordanian is the only way to do this without needing to first go all the way back to Europe! But now, to generally avoid this issue, I will make the visit to Israel first, and then go Jordan and onwards directly afterwards. In fact I’ll be doing exactly that in a couple of weeks. PS: Always go to TLV Airport early (especially in the rush-hour mornings!!)… and enjoy the Dan Lounges if you have time to spare.
2) It is unfortunate, and a great shame, that the Gaza and West Bank issues exist. Interestingly enough, in the Old City within Jerusalem, everyone gets along quite well, in fact almost covering for each other on the differing Sabbath days (Muslim on Friday, Jewish on Saturday, and Christian on Sunday). Yet crossing the checkpoints into the West Bank is not only non-permitted by any Car Rental company, but so unfortunately can also be so very filled with risk, due to the global situation – even before the current craziness. In addition, all rental cars have highly visible brand stickers from the rental companies, inherently making anyone a clear potential target. And attempting to go into Gaza, as other than part of a protected NGO group, is so sadly a recipe for a possible disaster. So we all hope that all of this will change one day… but please, especially with your young family, do consider to leave these sojourns out until conditions have improved dramatically.
3) In the area of Old Jerusalem there is so much to see and do. There were some interesting comments above about not being able to eat during Shabbat; but in fact there are usually a number of Arabic based cafes available. And as a standby, it’s a passable idea (this time of year) to have a stock of some non-perishable munchies in your car, as a backup. Eating aside… Having a registered guide for the Old City is actually a fine idea until you’ve done it all a few times. But that notwithstanding, a visit to the Church of The Holy Sepulcher is an amazing experience for anyone of any faith at all. While visiting the Tomb itself might involve a long line, general entrance to this tremendous bastion of faith is rather easy; and you will be helped well by reading a detailed description of the interior features beforehand. As the Church is run by a rotation of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox orders, one realizes that Western Christianity is almost a “fringe religion” by comparison! And similarly, when viewing the level of Judaic Orthodoxy at the Western Wall, one recognizes the rich historicness – compared to almost any of our US-based religious cultures! So the combination of these two sites in the Old City should make for a very interesting experience, which no visitor ever forgets.
Finally, as for the concerns mentioned by other readers above, of course there’s going to be even more overall security than usual right now… which can oddly be positive. But there are potential problems daily almost anywhere we travel; and as Israeli security is visible virtually everywhere, there should be no real issue to detract from your current travel plans. In fact, you should even be able to add in a barely one-hour drive to the Port of Tel Aviv, where there is a great beachfront coffee shop almost every 25 feet!
Have a great trip, which will only create the desire to return, to see even more of the amazing history of the entire region!
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20120229-travelwise-travel-logistics-in-israel-and-the-west-bank
This article is fro 2012.
Excerpts
While you cannot take a rental car in to or out of Israel, you can rent a car in Israel and drive it to Israeli military-controlled parts of the West Bank. Your rental car is not likely to be insured for the West Bank or Gaza, however.
The British Consulate also says that Israeli border officials can also ask some visitors to sign forms saying they cannot enter Palestinian-controlled territories unless they receive authorisation in advance. (Maybe like the controversial US Congresswoman from Michigan)
—
Good luck, Matthew
most travel agent have better packages then you see online you can pm me (i happen to be one) for some more details
I currently live in Jerusalem will you update us so I can show you around?
So I read most of the comments.
I see you want to focus on biblical site’s.
Most of that was mentioned. Some awesome places I love are;
Machane Yehuda shuk by night, incredible food and entertainment.
Also Friday afternoon 4 hours before Shabbat it’s really incredible.
I love the dancing fountains in the park by the artists colony near Jaffa gate. The fountains dance to music from the Israeli orchestra.
Artists colony is incredible, https://artistscolony.co.il/home/
Eat at the eucalyptus. I also love yemin Moshe and mishkanot shaonim.
The valley’s there are stunning.
Mameila is mostly a tourist trap, but the mameila rooftop restaurant is great food and great view
I could go on endlessly I lived right by Jaffa gate for 5 years and those were the best years of my life.
The Western wall tunnels are incredible.
The shrine of the scroll.
The Mt of olives is a great walk
Hello Matthew,
I live in Tel Aviv and I was about to write some recommendations until I realised I’m too late since your post is from January
So I hope you had a great trip! whenever you guys visit again, feel free to reach out and I will happily share with you tips and information
You could find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avitaluch/
Cheers,
Avital
Thanks Avital.