On arrival at Ben Gurion airport, a Kenes representative will meet you and provide you with a private transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv

Masada, Ein Gedi and a Camel Ride
After breakfast in the hotel, check-out and visit the mountain top fortress of Masada – ascend by cable car and explore the ruins of the fortress built by King Herod, and the advanced water cistern.. This site is where the Zealots chose mass suicide rather than surrender to Roman capture. Descend by cable car and continue to Ein Gedi - a lush oasis set between the harsh Judean Desert and the sterile Dead Sea, and where King David hid in the cave while King Saul’s 3,000 soldiers searched for him. The area is filled with gushing waterfalls and dense growth. The hike is approximately 30 minutes each way (through water). En route to Jerusalem stop at Genesis Land (Eretz Beresheet) for hospitality in Abraham’s Tent and enjoy a short camel ride.  Continue to Jerusalem and enjoy a panoramic view of the city from Mt Scopus and partake in the Shecheyanu ceremony, the blessing on our arrival to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Check-in to your hotel in Jerusalem for overnight.

Breakfast in the hotel. Enter the Old City and walk along the outer walls of the old city known as the Ramparts and look in to the different quarters: Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish. Walk along the Cardo, once the Roman market place and view the Western Wall, last remnant of the 2nd Temple. Visit the Herodian Mansion and see the remains of homes of aristocratic families of the period, most probably Temple priests and their families. The homes were designed in the Hellenistic/Roman style popular at the time. Continue to the Davidson Center and explore the Herodian Temple as displayed in this modern Visitors Center, visit the wide steps and other relics found in excavations here from the time when the Second Temple stood in its full glory, 2000 years ago! Early afternoon visit to the colorful Shuk Machane Yehuda, to experience the smells and tastes of the country and see the locals doing their last minute shopping prior to the start of the Sabbath.
Overnight: Jerusalem hotel.

Saturday
Day at Leisure
Breakfast in the hotel. Free day at leisure. Overnight: Jerusalem hotel.

Breakfast in the hotel. Today will be spent visiting the new city of Jerusalem to include the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and the Menorah, emblem of the state of Israel. Continue to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial .Visit the new Museum and Children’s Memorial. Proceed to the Kennedy Memorial for a tree planting ceremony in the forest nearby. End the day with a visit to Ammunition Hill, where one of the most fierce and famous battles of the Six Day War (1967) took place and now a public park and museum. Ammunition Hill is dedicated to the memory of the Three Brigades, the Air Force and the Central Command who liberated Jerusalem and its183 soldiers who fell in the 6 days of fighting. Return to your hotel.
Overnight: Jerusalem hotel

Breakfast in the hotel and check out. Depart Jerusalem and drive via the Jordan Valley to Old Gesher which provides a glimpse into the pre-state era of the Israeli State and the transformation of the Jewish settlements in this part of the country. A 15 minute audio visual program does an excellent job of relating the story of the settlements of the area.  Visit the natural springs of Sachne (bathing suits required) and visit the nearby park of Gan Garoo to feed the kangaroos.  Ascend the Upper Galilee and visit the Hula Valley, an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water and a paradise for bird watchers.  Enjoy a family activity at this beautiful bird sanctuary.  Check-in to your hotel in Tiberias. Free evening and an opportunity to walk along the lakeside promenade and watch the amazing Sound and Light show on the waters of the Sea of Galilee

Breakfast in the hotel. Begin the day with kayaking down the Jordan River (seasonal)
Drive to the Tel Hai courtyard, located at Israel's very northern tip, between Kiryat Shmona and Metulla, (Israel's northern most towns). The small town which was one of the original four Jewish settlements in the Galilee overlooks the Hula Valley. If the brave pioneers at the beginning of the last century had not had the fortitude to withstand the hardships of the day, the Galilee would never have become part of the state of Israel as we know it today. At Metulla we will stop at the Dado lookout point – see the neighboring Lebanon village and hear about the geo-political situation of the area.  Visit Kibbutz Malkiya, located near the Lebanese border and established in 1949 by 6 former Palmach soldiers. Continue to Safed, one of the 4 holy cities in Israel, the other 3 cities being Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias .Safed is where the study of the Kabala began 400 years ago. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight

Breakfast in the hotel and check out. Drive towards the Western Galilee and arrive at Acre designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The waves from the Mediterranean Sea crash against the walls of Acre’s old city, washing the steep, thick sandstone walls that have survived the centuries. The walls, fortresses and strongholds of the city bear the marks of many nations that left impressive buildings behind them, beautifying Acre to this day. Continue to Haifa and enjoy the panoramic view of the Baha’i Gardens. Drive to Atlit, the detention camp constructed during the British Mandate towards the end of the 1930’s as a military camp on the Mediterranean coast. From 1939 to 1948 it was a detention camp for “illegal immigrants” who found themselves yet again incarcerated behind barbed wire. A recently purchased ship, similar in size and appearance to those used to transport immigrants to Israel is on display now.  Continue to Tel Aviv and check in to your hotel

Thursday:  LE HIT TRA’OT
Departure transfer to airport

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