Israel: Spring Active Seniors Tour

Please be at the airport at least 3 hours prior departure (check in starts about 4 hours prior) for security and check in.
El Al 028 departs at 2:15 pm.

Overnight:En route

Shalom! Welcome to Israel! Upon arrival via El Al 028 at 6:25 am, pass through immigration, collect your baggage, and proceed through customs. Assistance at the airport and board your bus for a transfer to Tel Aviv.

Upon arrival at the hotel, we will drop off the luggage. Hotel check-in at 2pm. Freshen up in the powder room and put on your sneakers! Get back on the bus around 9am and we will take a bus tour of the city and do a little walking in Jaffa. We'll stop for a bite and change some money.

Back to the hotel for check in (we'll try and get in early).

Arrival dinner – Maganda – 6:30 pm.

Overnight:Dan Panorama Tel Aviv (L, D).

We will start the day with a visit to the Independence Hall, where David Ben Gurion proclaimed the foundation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948.

Proceed to Rehovot and visit the Ayalon Institute, an underground ammunitions factory from the time when the British occupied the land.

At the end of the tour, the bus can drop you at Nachalat Binyamin which is a craft fair every Friday and Tuesday. Next door is the Carmel Market with the hustle and bustle of locals getting ready for Shabbat. The hotel is not that far away so you can either walk back or take a taxi.

Shabbat dinner at the hotel.

Overnight:Dan Panorama Tel Aviv (B, D).

A lovely day to stroll along the Tayelet which so many people do on Shabbat. Or sit at a local café to people watch... If you are museum goer – the Tel Aviv Art Museum is open or a free walking tour to the Bauhaus are at 11am every Saturday. Another spectacular Museum – Ilana Goor in Jaffa.

Dinner on our own this evening. We will pick a restaurant and see who wants to join so that no one is left out.

Overnight:Dan Panorama Tel Aviv (B).

Today you will drive along the coastal route stopping first in Caesarea, capital of Judea under the Romans. See the excavations of the Crusader city and the Roman port, aqueduct and the amphitheater that has been restored to its former glory as a concert venue.

Continue to Mt Carmel (Muchraka) near the Druze town of Daliat El Carmel for some hospitality including lunch.

Drive to the summit of Mount Carmel in Haifa where you will take in a breathtaking panoramic view of the Haifa Bay and Western Galilee. View the golden domed Bahai Shrine and exotic Persian Gardens. A drive around the 4th largest city in Israel and then we will proceed towards the Sea of Galilee.

Overnight:Sea of Galillee, Tiberias (B, L, D).

Discover first-hand the strategic importance of the area as you climb the Heights and “capture” a former Syrian bunker, affording you a bird’s-eye view of Israel’s expansive Hula Valley below. We will take a very serene ride around the Preserve to see the birds that are there this time of year.

Continue to Misgav Am, the most northern kibbutz in Israel. Here, we will tour the Kibbutz, enjoy the panoramic view and get a deeper understanding of the events which have shaped the lives in the Upper Gailee.

In the afternoon, proceed to Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism (kabala), where you will visit the most important synagogues in the city and stroll down the famous Artists quarter.

Overnight:Sea of Galillee, Tiberias (B, D).

We will depart this morning for the Dead Sea area, lowest point on earth.

Visit the unbelievable ruins of Beit Shean, also called "Scythopolis", the largest archeological park in Israel with beautiful excavations from Roman and Byzantine periods.

Drive to Beit Alpha to see the beautiful mosaic floor of a synagogue from the Byzantine period.

Continue to the north side of the Dead Sea where you will notice a complete change of topography and continue to the Dead Sea.

Check into our hotel for overnight.

Overnight:Herods Dead Sea (B, D).

Today we will visit Masada, ascend by cable car and tour the ancient fortress; visit the remains of the walls, palaces, synagogue, and the bathhouses. Descend by cable car. Return to our hotel to enjoy the facilities – the Dead Sea, Mud, the many pools and sulfur and spa treatments (at a cost). Shopping across the street for some really good deals on Dead Sea products.

Overnight:Herods Dead Sea (B, D).

Depart the Dead Sea area and visit Qumran. In a cave in the Judean Desert cliffs south of Qumran, a young Bedouins boy in 1947 found the first Dead Sea scrolls.

We will then proceed along the Sea until we reach Eretz Beresheet. Here we will be welcomed by Abraham and taken for a Bedouin lunch and hear stories from the time of Abraham. For the brave, enjoy a fun 10-minute camel ride!

Proceed to Jerusalem and we will stop for a panoramic view of the Old City at Haas Promenade. Here our guide will point out different important sites. We will have a “Shecheyanu to welcome us to the Golden City of Jerusalem!” including wine.

Overnight:Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (B, L, D).

Visit the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial and museum where you can walk through the Children’s Pavilion, visit the museum, and walk down the Avenue of the Righteous.

Proceed to the Israel Museum, where you will explore the extensive collection of this world-class museum, which includes works by European masters such as Rembrandt up through modern and contemporary artists. Visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. Here you will also view the Miniature model of Jerusalem, depicting the city as it was 2000 years ago.

This evening a very special Shabbat Dinner at a local family’s home with an evening tour at the Wall (Details will be made known in Israel).

Overnight:Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (B, D).

Things to do on a Saturday in Jerusalem – Go to the Old City, Tower of David Museum, Israel Museum, Arab Market in the Old City. A lovely lunch at the King David hotel on that patio!

We will attend the Sound and Light Show at the Tower of David Museum. Bring a jacket as it could be quite cool in Jerusalem in the evening and this venue is outdoors.

The bus will take us and bring us back.

Overnight:Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (B, D).

We will start our day visiting Mount Zion, the highest point of ancient Jerusalem where King David was buried (but his tomb is empty).

Visit the Hurva Synagogue, destroyed three times and rebuilt in 2010.

Proceed to the Burnt house (dating back to 70CE) belonging to the Katros Family.

Visit the Kotel (Western Wall). Bring a small note to put in the cracks of this sacred wall.

Take a fascinating tour of the Western Wall Tunnels under the foundations of the city.

6pm - Briefing with a local political analyst (Eliot Jaeger) in a private room at our hotel.

After the briefing, you are free for dinner as you choose – if making reservations somewhere, make them no earlier than 7:45 pm.

Overnight:Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (B).

Visit to Yad Lakashish (Lifeline for the Old) a nonprofit organization which empowers needy seniors in Jerusalem. For 50 years, it has been enabling the elderly to integrate into society. Israeli and immigrants from all over the world Artisans make lovely crafts. This is a great place to buy gifts and support a fabulous cause!
Drive to Hadassah Hospital and see the Chagall Windows.
Drive by the Supreme Court building and the Knesset.
Walk through the Mahane Yehuda Food Market.
Return to your hotel to pack up. Check out by 6pm. Walk down the street to Olive and Fish for a farewell dinner. The bus will pick us up and take us to the airport.
Departure is right after midnight via El Al 027.

Overnight:En route (B, D).

Hope you had a great time!!
You’ll be tired but truly inspired!