Can You Keep Everybody Happy on a Luxury Three Generation Family Trip to Israel?

It’s not only possible to keep everyone happy when you embark on a luxury three generation family trip to Israel, it’s actually easy! The key to creating successful Jewish heritage tours that include grandparents and grandkids is a customized itinerary. An experienced Jewish travel company will help you to balance slower paced cultural and educational activities with outdoor adventure and fun, followed by the chance to wind down and enjoy a peaceful family Shabbat.

Why Multigeneration Jewish Heritage Travel is on the Rise

Multigenerational Jewish heritage travel – family vacations that bring grandparents, parents and kids together to explore Jewish history and culture in countries as diverse as Israel, Poland, Morocco and India – are a wonderful bonding exercise, and an opportunity to create lifelong memories. It can be a special experience for grandparents to pass on family heritage firsthand, and to expand their grandkids’ knowledge of Diaspora history – or of Judaism as a whole. 

Parents have the satisfaction of watching grandparents and grandchildren spend quality time together on a trip to Israel (or many other countries with a strong Jewish connection) and childcare responsibilities can be shared to give all the adults on the trip some personal time. 

When families sign up for luxury Israel tours, everybody will gain positives from the experience, but it’s teens and younger children whose perspectives on Judaism and their own personal identity will really be shaped by the visit. A Bar or Bat Mitzvah trip to Israel is an enjoyable and  formative experience that will give a young teen, and their siblings, a powerful connection to their own heritage. This transcends any denominational divide and is just as valid for kids from secular Jewish families. It’s perhaps especially important in these complex times where both assimilation and anti-Semitism are presenting twin challenges to American Jews. 

When you take your family to Israel on an organized Bar and Bat Mitzvah tour  it’s an incredible experience to stand at the Kotel (Western Wall) and experience a living connection to our Jewish ancestors who lived in the ancient Biblical Kingdom of Israel.

Not everybody wants to celebrate their Bar or Bat Mitzvah in Jerusalem. Gil travel can also arrange hosting in a local synagogue somewhere else in Israel. The mystical northern town of Safed and the Sea of Galilee and Tiberias are beautiful locations with a deep Jewish history, or you can even choose a natural setting or a kibbutz for the ceremony. When you’re planning a family trip with grandparents and kids it pays to think outside the box and draw upon Gil Travel’s local knowledge and connections. 

The Core Challenge: Different Paces, Different Priorities

Planning a genuinely enjoyable family trip with grandparents and kids can be challenging enough when you’re vacationing in the US. If you’re flying to a foreign country on the other side of the world, you’ll need careful planning and a certain amount of tact and a lot of forethought. The goal is to create a balanced and flexible itinerary that gives everybody plenty of highpoints, and a chance to explore their personal interests, rather than a blended itinerary that’s built on compromises and doesn’t really please anyone. 

Grandparents often prefer a guided senior travel tour that offers cultural depth, a leisurely pace, and luxurious accommodation. Perhaps the only thing they have in common with young kids is that they don’t want too much walking – particularly if the weather is hot. One of the traps that parents can fall into – and which Gil Travel helps them to avoid – is taking on the role of managing logistics and trying to keep everyone happy.  A properly organized luxury tour takes the logistics element out of your daily routine. Chauffeured private transport and guides make Jewish heritage exploration easy. It’s a real delight to be picked up at your hotel in the morning and driven between heritage sites and locations in an airconditioned vehicle, while your guide takes care of rest stops and offers a choice of kosher restaurants. 

Naturally kids need to burn off energy, play with other kids, and enjoy some excitement and adventure. Even quieter and more studious children can rapidly experience ‘museum fatigue’ or complain at the prospect of yet another synagogue visit or the next heap of old ruins. Teens also need their own space, and a chance to explore their own interests. Everybody in the group may appreciate a chance to split up and go their own way for a few hours. 

Your tailored itinerary will let you chop and change and get the most out of your visit. Perhaps the grandparents will watch over the little ones when they visit the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem and then go for ice cream, while the parents and older kids make a more somber and serious visit to Yad Vashem. Equally, the grandparents may want to attend a concert or Hebrew theatre in the evening, and the parents and kids will spend a fun evening at a basketball game or meeting Israeli families as part of an organized event in a community center. 

Building a Balanced Itinerary: The “Alternating Day” Approach

One of the best ways to build an itinerary that gives everybody an enjoyable vacation is through the alternate day approach. This shifts the focus between generations on alternate days. If you’re planning a schedule that pleases parents, grandparents and grandchildren on a trip to Israel, an example itinerary might look a bit like this: 

• Day 1 (Cultural/heritage day):  A visit to Jerusalem’s Hurva Synagogue and a leisurely walking tour of the city’s old Jewish quarter. The Old City is a fascinating place in its own right and the small stores and shops provide plenty of distractions for kids. When you need a break from strolling the winding streets, your guide will recommend a choice of restaurants and cafes, and you can relax over an appetising meal. You can then spend the afternoon exploring three millennia of Jewish history in the Israel Museum. Don’t worry if you have young kids, the museum is child friendly and expert guides can engage with kids and create an interesting interactive learning experience. The older generation will have plenty of peace and quiet to enjoy the exhibitions. 

• Day 2 (Adventure/activity day): Israel is a small country, but it’s got a huge variety of natural environments, and most of them are pretty easy to access. Try snorkeling amongst the coral reefs in Eilat, taking a jeep tour through the moon-like Negev Desert, Jordan River kayaking or white water rafting, snowboarding on Mount Hermon, or a sunrise hike to the ruins of Masada. The great thing about all of these activities is that they provide a (safe) adventure but the less active family members can happily tag along and enjoy the day without exerting themselves. Nothing beats relaxing with a good book by the banks of the Jordan river, or filming the spectacular desert view from the Masada cable car while the younger ones race each other to the top. You can also surprise the younger ones with a picnic lunch when they eventually take a break.

• Day 3 (Free/flexible day): 

Whatever your age, you’ll find Israel a fascinating place. When you have free time, you’ll inevitably be spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing what to do next. A well-crafted itinerary will leave plenty of time for spontaneity and flexibility and your guide will offer practical suggestions for off the beaten track places and events that most tourists will simply never hear about. Every generation of the family will  have a unique opportunity to experience the ‘real Israel’ and meet local people away from the tourist traps. If you have any particular spiritual interests, or want to browse the bookstores or art galleries, do some souvenir shopping, or have lunch in a Yemenite or Bukharin restaurant, a free day is a great opportunity to make a deeper exploration of Israeli culture. There are also plenty of things for kids to do, including trips to the beach, climbing walls, or a visit to a kosher MacDonald’s. 

Coordinating a Stress-Free Family Vacation

Bringing together three generations of a single family, and perhaps a few other relatives, for an enjoyable and stress-free family reunion trip or international Jewish heritage tour is a challenge. Gil Travel has the experience and the resources to plan around the pitfalls and to cover the basics that many travelers overlook. Simple things like ensuring that your group has adjoining rooms or suites, a minimum of hotel changes during your trip, and chauffeured private transport with adequately sized vehicles, can substantially reduce stress levels. 

If you’re taking your family to Israel, keeping kosher is very simple, but if you’re visiting a Jewish heritage site in another country, you’ll probably need some help, particularly if people in your group have different levels of religious observance, or the grandkids are picky eaters. A tailored travel plan will cover the full spectrum of (high quality) kosher dining, accommodation and easy access to synagogues and allow you to focus on enjoying your trip!

Gil Travel has decades of experience arranging luxurious Jewish family tours for all ages and backgrounds. Talk to the team today and start planning your own Jewish heritage tour to Israel, or other Jewish sites around the world.