Why you should go…
Spend 11 days in Israel on our guided tour, taking you to the main attractions of the country, including the experience of a reform Shabbat in Jerusalem
Sample itinerary for preorganized groups ONLY – For tours for individuals to join please click here to see our Guaranteed Departure tours
Join this biblical Tour of the Holy Land
Travel ltinerary Highlights
Acre | Caesarea | Dead Sea Region | Haifa | Jerusalem | Tel Aviv-Yafo
Suggested Length
11 Days / 10 Nights
Here’s several reasons why
you should book with us:
Best Value for Money Comfortable Accommodation Personal attention is given to every
detail of your tour Exceptional standard of service We care!
Arrive in Israel at Ben Gurion International Airport, where a Vered HaSharon representative will meet you and escort you to your motorcoach. Welcome to Israel. You will have only a short drive to Tel Aviv, where you will check in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
Breakfast at hotel. Begin your first day in Israel in the ancient port city of Jaffa, now a maze of antiquities, restaurants, shops, and artists’ galleries. Then, continue on to Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish neighborhood built in 1909 and the site of the declaration of the newly created State of Israel in 1948. Next, along Rothschild Boulevard, view the houses built in the “Bauhaus” International-style architecture, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Next, visit the Carmel Market, a colorful, hectic, aromatic outdoor market. Finally, visit the site where former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. Continue to Beth Hatfutsoth, the Museum of the Diaspora, where you learn from graphic and multi-media presentations how the Jewish people dispersed among the nations and then returned to their ancient, ancestral homeland in the Land of Israel. Finally, in Jaffa, visit the newest addition to the Reform Jewish presence in Tel Aviv, Mishkenot Ruth Daniels. Dinner and overnight.
Breakfast at hotel. Depart Tel Aviv, heading north along the Mediterranean coast. Visit Caesarea, the port city and center of the Roman province of Judea, built by Herod the Great. Continue to Binyamina, one of Israel’s growing wine industry centers, to visit a winery. Stroll down the main street of nearby Zichron Ya’akov, one of Israel’s first “new” communities founded at the end of the 19th century. Drive on to Haifa, the gateway to the Galilee, for dinner and overnight.
Breakfast at hotel. Begin the day with a visit to the recently restored German Colony, founded by German Protestants who settled in Israel out of religious conviction. Then, view the magnificent Baha’i Gardens, completed in 2000 at the center of the Baha’i faith, here in Haifa. Next, visit one of the Druze towns near Haifa and learn about this unique Middle Eastern community. Continue for a visit with one of the Reform congregations in the Galilee and learn of the activities and challenges facing a non-Orthodox Jewish congregation. Return to Haifa for dinner and overnight.
After breakfast, depart Haifa and head north to Acre (Akko), the restored Crusader port city. Visit Ness Amim, a small community founded by European Christians as penitence for the holocaust. Continue across Galilee to visit Hazor, a biblical “tel” city and the first to be excavated in Israel. Visit Banias, an ancient Roman religious center and one of the sources of the Jordan River. Then, ascend to the Golan Heights for spectacular Israel, Lebanon, and Syria views. Finally, enjoy the restored ancient Roman hot springs and spa at Hamat Gader below the southern tip of the Golan Heights. Drive to Galilee hotel (optional Kibbutz hotel) for dinner and overnight.
Breakfast at hotel. Begin today with a visit to the cemetery by the shores of Lake Kinneret where such Israeli legends like the poet Rachel, song writer Naomi Shemer and many of Israel’s well-known early pioneers are buried. Then, continue to Beit Shean, the Roman Scytopolis, to visit this excavated ancient city. Next, depart Galilee, following the Jordan River south past the biblical oasis of Jericho, and begin your ascent to Israel’s capital city, Jerusalem. Finally, check in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
(Optional – On Friday evening, join a Jerusalem-area Reform congregation for Kabbalat Shabbat services before dinner).
Breakfast at hotel. (Optional – on Saturday morning, join a Jerusalem -area Reform congregation for Shabbat morning services or relax at your hotel.) Tour the Old City of Jerusalem today, including the Jewish and Christian Quarters and Mt. Zion. On Saturday early evening – hold Havdalah service.) Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
(Optional – After dinner, listen to a speaker on a topic of relevance to Reform Jews in Israel).
Breakfast at hotel. Begin today with a panoramic view of Jerusalem from the top of the Mt. of Olives and then enter the Old City through the Dung Gate to visit the Temple Mount and learn about the functions of Solomon’s Temple, the center of early Judaism, at the nearby Davidson Center. Tour the Rabbinic Tunnels, which follow the base of the western wall of the Temple Mount. Spend the late afternoon studying Jewish texts with Reform educators. Then, return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
After breakfast, visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum. Next, visit Mt. Herzl, where many of Israel’s leaders are buried. Continue to Israel Museum to see a model of Jerusalem, accurately depicting the city at the time of the second temple and the Shrine of Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display. Finally, tour the security barrier built to hamper terrorist activity and learn of the success and the problems of this much-publicized and criticized physical division of Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
Breakfast at hotel. Depart Jerusalem this morning, heading east into the Judean Desert. First, visit Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. Then, continue to Masada, the site of one of the most dramatic chapters of Jewish history. Next, visit the oasis at Ein Gedi, where David hid from the wrath of King Saul. Enjoy swimming\floating in the Dead Sea. Finally, return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
Breakfast at hotel. Begin your final day in Israel with a tour of some of Jerusalem’s fascinating neighborhoods. Then, enjoy the afternoon at leisure to rest, shop or revisit some of Jerusalem’s sites at your own pace. Finally, gather in the evening for a farewell dinner and then transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for your return flight home.
