Family Experience Tour & Itinerary
Going to Israel for my granddaughter's Bat Mitzvah has been one of the highlights of my life. At 77 years of age, I found the trip well planned to accommodate all ages. It was an excellent combination of historical learning and fun along with a religious event. Our guide, Yossi, was knowledgeable and answered all our questions with ease. Thank you Israeli Celebration tours for a wonderful experience. - Cal
The Family Tour Experience is one of our most popular programs. It allows us to put together an educational, experiential and adventurous program that will suit the entire family, no matter what ages or interests.
You can meet Israelis in their homes, in cities or on kibbutz; join them for a Shabbat dinner, do what Israeli families do on the weekends, whether you are secular or observant; plan special trips to museums, art galleries, sports events, – or the Lunar Park! Do you want to meet a specific family you know? – consider it done!
Israel is a family-oriented society and we can put together a family program that will be more than just a tour – it will be a special bonding experience for your family...and with Israel.
We make certain that all your family members get to see and do what interests them. An Israel tour program should be the experience of a lifetime. Let us help you plan it.
Remember, you can have a private tour designed specially for you – private tour guide, private driver and an itinerary to suit your needs. Contact us now.
Family Experience - Learning to Embrace and Celebrate
Note: Actual locations, sites, times and details may change according to requirements.
10-day tour
Day 1, Thursday: Arrival and “Shehecheyanu”
To Jerusalem; first stop Mt. Scopus, the traditional “overview” of Jewish pilgrims who arrived in Jerusalem over the centuries. Check in at our Jerusalem Hotel; then take a brief discovery walk We join for a “falafel” dinner and return to our hotel.
Day 2, Friday: Digging into our Heritage
Depart for Bet Guvrin to participate in an Archeological Dig for a Day. We then have the option of “spelunking” in the network of caves in this area. Next we move to Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel that re-creates the physical setting of the Bible. Here we share a Biblical lunch and help prepare wine to use for Kiddush later. We return to our hotel to prepare for Shabbat, and we set out on foot to the Kotel or Western Wall, returning later for Kiddush and dinner. An Oneg Shabbat of singing, stories and games together follows.
Day 3, Shabbat: “Eternity Uttered a Day...”
We join our guide for a Jerusalem neighborhoods tour. Lunch in our hotel is followed by a Shabbat “snooze” and then join in a creative map session to learn about the geography of Israel and some basic Hebrew words and then enjoy an evening at leisure in down-town Jerusalem—on the Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall. Shavuah Tov!
Day 4: Sunday: Jerusalem of Old – Jerusalem of Gold
Climb the ramparts of the Walls of the Old City; view the four quarters of Jerusalem – Armenian, Jewish, Moslem, and Christian. Then we are off to the most ancient part of Jerusalem — the “City of David,” to hear the 3,000-year-old story of one of our favorite heroes and kings.
The new Davidson Center at the Southern Wall Excavations presents an interactive story of King Herod: we visit the excavations and climb the ancient steps of the Second Temple, once again underground through the Kotel Tunnels. Then a moment of prayer at the Kotel itself. Lunch on the street in the Jewish Quarter, then to the Herodian Mansion. We follow this with a visit to the Israel Museum The Shrine of the Book — home of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Holyland Hotel model of Jerusalem in Second Temple times.
Day 5, Monday: Massada: The Struggle to be Free
Drive to Massada and ascend by cable car to visit the palaces of Herod the Great, the Roman baths and pools, the excavations and the synagogue. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Here we can conduct an adult Bar-Bat Mitzvah Ceremony, to be followed by lunch in a Bedouin tent. Then, enjoy a ride on a camel and a tour of the Judean desert. We then drive north to the Sea of Galilee and spend overnight at our Kibbutz guest house.
Day 6, Tuesday: Tiberias, Safed: “We never lost our hope despite it all...”
After breakfast, proceed to Tiberius and drive along the 32-mile shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. Sail cross the Galilee Sea and visit of Capernaum to visit the ruins of the ancient Synagogue. We now drive up the mountains of the Galil to the mystical city of Safed (Tzfat) refuge of many of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. Safed also boasts a great artist colony which we will visit allowing some shopping time as well.
Day 7, Wednesday: Kfar Giladi, Golan Heights: Where the Plow stops at the Border
After breakfast, drive north to visit the museum at Kfar Giladi, located on the Lebanese border then visit an IDF Army base and lunch on the base. We then visit he Golan Heights and hear the stories and see the power of the region from the bunkers and contemporary borders and have an overview of Syrian town of Kuneitra. Special Fish dinner on the Dan River, followed by discussion on Peace and Security in Israel.
Day 8, Thursday: Akko, Atlit, Tel Aviv: “Re- Jew- vi-Nation...”
After breakfast, travel west to the Mediterranean coast, to visit the Akko prison where mainly Jewish underground movement activists were jailed during the British Mandate. Enjoy a visit to the Crusader stronghold and medieval fortifications, and walk through the colorful bazaar to the port. Drive south to the Atlit Illegal Immigration camp, and meet a former crew member of one of the ships that brought Jews to Israel during the British mandate. Thereafter, we drive south along the Mediterranean Coast to Tel Aviv.
Day 9, Friday: Tel Aviv: A New nation after 2000 years
After breakfast, visit Independence Hall where Ben Gurion declared the State of Israel on the 14th of May in 1948. Then visit the “Beit HaPalmach” museum which commemorates the contribution of the Palmach to the creation of the State of Israel. We then, drive to Rabin Square followed by a visit to the Nachalat Binyamin Friday crafts fair. Kabala Shabbat Services with young Israelis and Kiddush and dinner at the hotel. Oneg Shabbat walk on the Tel Aviv Promenade.
Day 10, Shabbat: Jerusalem: If I Forget Thee, O Jerusalem
After breakfast we drive to Jerusalem for our last day. We stop at Latrun to see the fortress which guarded the road to Jerusalem. It is also the memorial for the Tank Corps. On to Jerusalem, we visit Yad Vashem, the Memorial to the 6,000,000 Jews who perished in the Shoa. Thereafter we visit Herzl’s Tomb Tomb and many of the other important contributors to the recreation of the state of Israel. We return to Tel Aviv and after sunset over the Mediterranean and departure of Shabbat, we transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for our flight home.
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