11 Day - Israel - From Generation to Generation - A Muti-Generational Family Tour of Israel (tb) | Tours to Israel
Sunday. Depart USA to Israel arriving in Tel Aviv the next day. Your international flight will include meals, drinks and in-flight entertainment for your journey. FLIGHT
Monday. Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport. Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities. Transfer to Tel Aviv. Drive through Tel Aviv, known as the "city that never sleeps" and pass by centers of culture and recreation such as the Habima Theater, sprawling beaches, Dizengoff Street and Rabin Square. Orientation on the beach. Check into the hotel. Festive welcome dinner. Free evening in Tel Aviv with an opportunity to: Meander through the Old City of Jaffa, stroll down Rothschild Boulevard with its many cafes and bars, experience the Tel Aviv Port with its restaurants and clubs, explore the newly gentrified Neve Zedek Neighborhood, and saunter down the Tel Aviv Beach Promenade. (D) TEL AVIV
Tuesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Visit to Independence Hall, site of David Ben Gurion's monumental proclamation of the State of Israel in May 1948. Enjoy a special seminar, exploring two thousand years of rich Jewish culture and community at Beth Hatefutsoth, the Museum of the Jewish People, located on the campus of Tel Aviv University with a special family multi-generational program. Jewish Family Album Project I. Visit the Nachalat Binyamin pedestrian mall, with its restored buildings and sidewalk artists. Continue onto the colorful Carmel Market and then to Shenkin, one of Israel's most avant-garde streets. Lunch on your own. LaDa'at - Scavenger Hunt in Tel Aviv: Explore the city of Tel Aviv while participating in a special family scavenger hunt, walk the walk, talk the talk and imagine the unimaginable. Walking tour through the colorful and newly gentrified Neve Zedek one of Tel Aviv's cultural centers with many small boutiques and galleries as well as the Suzanne Delal Dance and Theater Center. Evening at leisure and dinner on own. Free time in Tel Aviv with an opportunity to continue exploring the Old City of Jaffa, Rothschild Boulevard, the Tel Aviv Port, Neve Zedek, and the Tel Aviv Beach Promenade. (B) TEL AVIV
Wednesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out of the hotel and depart Tel Aviv. Drive along the Trans-Israel Highway for a close up view of the 'Security Barrier' along the seam zone between Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Visit a Druse village in the Carmel Mountains for a window into the unique world of the Israeli Druse community. Walk through the 2,000 year old underground water tunnels at Park Alona, which once brought water to Caesarea. Lunch on your own, en route. LaDa'at - Jewish Family Life in Zippori: Delve into the origins of modern Jewish life, while participating in an experiential family program using Jewish sources, mosaics of Zippori and family team spirit and ingenuity. Check into the kibbutz guesthouse. Dinner at the kibbutz guesthouse. Evening at leisure. (B, D) GALILEE
Thursday. Breakfast at the kibbutz guesthouse. Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River and the Biblical settlement of Dan. Jeep tour climbing to the Golan Heights in the footsteps of IDF soldiers and their battles in the Six Day War. Enjoy the beautiful natural scenery and gain an insight into the strategic complexity of the Golan. Explore Israel's security situation in the Golan Heights while overlooking the Hula Valley from former Syrian fortifications. Cross the Golan Plateau to the border with Syria and observe the abandoned city of Kuneitra and the United Nations outpost located nearby. Visit the Kesem Hagolan - Golan Magic - interactive map and multi-sensory experience in Katzrin, the 'Capital of the Golan'. Lunch on your own in Katzrin. LaDa'at - Families in Safed: Using stories and synagogues, mystics and alleyways, take part in a family exploration of Safed, where yesterday becomes tomorrow and the treasure is never too far away. A visit to the Safed Candle Factory with a special candle-making workshop. Jewish Family Album Project II. Return to the kibbutz for rest and relaxation. Dinner at the kibbutz guesthouse. (B, D) GALILEE
Friday. Breakfast at the kibbutz guesthouse. Check out of the hotel and depart the kibbutz. Visit the Hula Nature Reserve and the Ophoria Interactive Experience, connecting birds, water and the Zionist endeavor. LaDa'at - Kinneret Cemetery: Enter the world of the early Zionist pioneers, their hopes and dreams, their trials and tribulations and the vision of their ultimate success through visits to the graves of great Zionist personalities such as Rachel the Poet, Ber Borochov and Noami Shemer. Visit the Beit Shean National Park, one of the largest archaeological sites in Israel with its Biblical Tel and ongoing excavations exposing the vast Roman-Byzantine City. Drive through the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem. Welcome to Jerusalem. Enter the vibrant and colorful 3,000 year old city of Jerusalem and experience the convergence of the old and the new. Stop at Mount Scopus to recite the traditional "shehechiyanu" blessing upon entering Jerusalem. Check into the hotel. Optional Kabbalat Shabbat services at a Reform synagogue in Jerusalem. Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel. (B, D) JERUSALEM
Saturday. Breakfast at the hotel. Optional Shabbat Services. Free Shabbat in Jerusalem with optional visits to: The Museum of the History of Jerusalem at David's Citadel - walk through the history of Jerusalem from the time of Abraham 4,000 years ago to the end of the British Mandate over Palestine. The Israel Museum - one of the most creative and innovative museums in the world with a wide and eclectic collection, ranging from Judaica and archaeology to Renaissance and contemporary Israeli art, concluding with a visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Shrine of the Book and the newly restored Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem. The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens - a beautifully landscaped habitat with a special focus on preserving Biblical fauna, geared for all ages (2-80). The Old City Ramparts - walk along the ancient walls of the city. Ben Kodesh Lechol Havdallah overlooking the Old City. Free evening in Jerusalem on Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall or on Emek Refaim Street in the German Colony. (B) JERUSALEM
Sunday. Breakfast at the hotel. Guided walk through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, for guided visits to some of the sites excavated over the past 30 years, including: The Cardo - a Byzantine street that is now the oldest shopping arcade in the world. Hurva Square - the central square of the Jewish Quarter. Guided visit through the 2,000-year old Herodian Mansions in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. Guided visit to the Davidson Archaeological Park with a special visit to the Davidson Center to view the new three-dimensional computer generated presentation of "Life During the Time of the Temple," followed by a guided visit to the Southern Wall Excavations. The Kotel (Western Wall). Visit the Western Wall Tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western Wall along the Temple Mount. Lunch on own. LaDa'at - Jewish Quarter: Explore the meaningful religious and historical sites of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem while participating in an experiential tour - game. Each team begins just inside the Old City walls and continues through the Jewish Quarter. Jewish Family Album Project III. Free time. Enjoy dinner on your own in Jerusalem, at a choice of a wide array of restaurants. (B) JERUSALEM
Monday. Breakfast at the hotel. Adults: The Memory of the Holocaust in Contemporary Israeli Society: Dialogue with Holocaust scholar, Dr. Rachel Korazim. Youth: LaDa'at - Jerusalem Photo Competition: Take part in a special photo project, wandering through the streets of Jerusalem and photographing with disposable cameras. Then use the pictures in a concluding collage. All: Guided visit through the newly renovated Yad Vashem complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, which includes: The Avenue of the Righteous, the new Historical Museum, the Children's Memorial, and a concluding Memorial Service.
LaDa'at - Yad Vashem for Kids: Special children/youth program at the Yad Vashem complex the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, including guided visits to the Holocaust Toy Exhibit, the Children's Memorial and the Sculpture Garden, using interactive programming, arts & crafts and children's stories and diaries from the time of the Holocaust. Lunch on your own en route. Visit Mt. Herzl, including the new center dedicated to the life and achievements of the founder of Political Zionism, Theodore Herzl, followed by a visit to his grave and the graves of other national leaders such as Yitzhak Rabin. Take part in an active dig at the Beit Guvrin Caves and prepare to get your hands dirty as you uncover pottery from the Hellenistic period, 2,300 years ago, followed by a crawl through the Maresha Cave Labyrinth. Mifgash - Me Dor Le Dor - From Generation to Generation: Interactive program at Pinat Shorashim (The Jewish Roots Garden) at Kibbutz Gezer, which incorporates messages from Jewish tradition into an environmentally friendly and unique "Jewish Garden," for an interactive Jewish experience.
Free evening and dinner at leisure. (B) JERUSALEM
Tuesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Descend to the Dead Sea Basin. Ascend via cable car or walk up the snake path to Masada, Herod's mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots' last stand against the Roman Legionnaires. Discuss Masada's role as a symbol of Jewish defense and its current significance in modern Israel. Experience the weightlessness of the Dead Sea as you float in its waters with lunch on your own. Take a short hike to Nahal David the freshwater spring at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, a lush oasis in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. Return to Jerusalem. Festive farewell dinner with the Jewish Family Album Project conclusion. (B, D) JERUSALEM
Wednesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out of the hotel.
Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport. Departure flight to the USA, arriving the same day. Your international flight will include meals, drinks and in-flight entertainment for your journey. (B) FLIGHT
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