karamel_sutra

My job sent me to Tel Aviv, Israel, for two weeks in March. I decided to hire a private tour guide for the weekend at a cost of $450, which I was told was the going rate for a private tour of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, including the Yad Vashem. The tour guide was recommended by the Dan Tel Aviv hotel staff. While on the tour, the guide repeatedly attempted to take me to all his friends' shops in Jerusalem to get me to spend money, which I didn't until he brought me to a particular shopkeeper who charged me $450 for a medium-sized brass menorah, a beaded scarf, and a ring. I was accompanied by other people and kept asking for assurance that I wasn't getting ripped off. No one knew whether I was or wasn't, and the tour guide didn't offer any help, of course. So, I paid $450 and left. After I arrived back at the hotel, I discovered I had indeed been grossly overcharged and, embarrassed at my momentary stupidity, went back to Jerusalem the following week to try to return everything. That was a big mistake because the shopowner all but kicked me out of his shop and wouldn't listen to a word I said. He said everything was 'hand made'...!! Please. Hand made my a$$. The menorah has the tag from the website he ordered it from for $40! I tried to dispute it with my credit card company, but was unsuccessful.

I'm sharing all this in the hope that I can help someone else and maybe prevent others from becoming victims. This was a new experience for me (I only expected a tour of Jerusalem) and I hadn't been forewarned. So, please be vigilant and don't get sucked in by 'reputable' tour guides and fast-talking shopkeepers.

The name of the shop is:

DAVID'S SOUVINERS AND JEWELLRY (all mispelled)
DAVID ST. #12 JERUSALEM -OLD CITY
TELEPHONE 086929056

cary999

Well, can happen most anywhere in the world. If you haven't been forewarned about it, it becomes a learning opportunity.

regards - tom

schmerl

I find it interesting that this is the only post from this person.

valtor

Dan hotel (as any hotel in Tel Aviv) offers a lot of organized day tour trips or half day (not private) to Jerusalem and to other parts of Israel, for maximum 100 $/day.

My company works with people all over the world and many of them come to Israel in business trips. We always offer to our clients day trips to Jerusalem, or to Dead sea or to Tiberias Lake and we book for them these tours via hotels where they stay.

So, if you go another time in Israel, look for organized day tours (Egged Tours) and not for private. For a single person one day tour is a very good option.

What happened to you in Jerusalem - old city - can happened in many places in the world. For instance in Bangkok, in India, in Turkey, in Morocco, in China. I agree that is not pleasant at all, even if you do not buy something . I hate things like this because if I take a tour I want to visit, not to spend my time shopping.

I hope, as Cary999 said, that you learned something now and in the future will be able to avoid bad experiences like this.

sandi

Generally, from various places around the world... full-day tours can cost anywhere from $75-$150/person/day. So, in your case, assuming the highest, shouldn't have been more than $300.

Sorry to hear about "being ripped-off" at a shop, but it's not at all unusual, anywhere in the world, the Middle-East especially, that all tour guides "have a relative" in some business. One learns to stay away and find your own "special shop" And always, beforehand, have some idea what things should cost.

Live and learn!

karamel_sutra

For the 'schmerl' person: Everyone has to start posting sometime, if they're going to post at all, don't they? Odd that you find it 'interesting' that this is the 'only post from this person.'

For everyone else: I'm always suspicious and have always been the one telling everyone else, 'I told you so,' but now I find myself on the other end of the shoe. From the responses, I see that I shouldn't have paid that much for the tour guide, either. UGH! My only goal in even posting this was to help someone else, like myself, who had no idea things like this happen. It was like an organized scam, several layers deep, rather than a pickpocket or something all of us see on the news. I wasn't going to Israel for pleasure so I did ZERO research on touring and the marketplace there. For the record, the tour guide pamphlet provided by the Dan Hotel DID advertise private tours starting at $450, so I thought that was the going rate. I loved Israel and will hopefully return some day, smarter and wiser. Thanks for the constructive/helpful responses, especially to valtor.

cary999

Welcome K_S and now that you have posted twice you're almost a veteran here !! .

It is good that you share your problem with the sales tout. Has happened to us, we got out of the cab at the first stop and sent him on his way, no fee not tip just some shouting . That time it was in India.

As for pickpockets, they see me coming before I get off of the plane!!! Bet I'm the only person that was picked three times within two hours on Barcelona Ramblas Ave. And each time they got $100!!!

In defense of "schmerl"'s apparent challenge, we do get many first time posters who have an "agenda". Who disguise it as a normal posting. If that makes any sense?

regards - tom
ps - kidding, pickers got nothing but trash. I knew it was coming, so I just let them do it and appreciated their technique.

Elkaz

I am sorry that you ended up with a poor guide. To the post who said that tour guides are only $75-$150 per person per day. That is incorrect. A tour guide in Israel who is LICENSED will easily charge $300-$350 a day if it is a walking tour and more if they are driving you. This is regardless of how many are in your party.

To Karmel Suta--was the guide you used licensed?. You indicated you were recommended this guide by the Dan in Tel Aviv for a tour in Jerusalem. DId you meet the guide in Jerusalem or did he pick you up in Tel Aviv and drive you to Jerusalem. If he drove you and your party than the $450 is NOT out of line! Actually, not bad since I am sure the hotel took a commission. I AM concerned about where you shopped. Usually the Arab market is NOT the best place to buy Jewish items. Also, you indicated that the phone number of the store began with 08. 08 is NOT the Jerusalem area code!!! Your post is confusing me!--02 is Jerusalem and if a business in Jerusalem doesn't have a local area code than things are really strange! 08 is South ( like Ashdod)

karamel_sutra

To Cary/tom: Oh, I have no 'agenda,' unless the agenda is to try not to experience this again and to hopefully help someone else steer clear of his shop and others like it, or at least be vigilant. What was the pickpocket 'technique' you experienced? Just for my own edification.

To Elkaz: Some of my coworkers used a non-licensed guide recommended by the Dan Hotel, which cost $350. I asked for a private, licensed guide, which is what I got (apparently). The hotel staff told me he was the best and most reputable. He picked us up in his van, which had his name and company emblazoned on it, and gave me his card. He drove us everywhere and walked with us for 12 hours, and talked a LOT. He knew everything, seemingly. So, the tour was absolutely GREAT.....except when he was trying to 'pimp' me out. Just to let you know, the tour guide's phone number began with 05. The shop's phone number was on the receipt and I just typed the numbers as shown. It was located near the Citadel...there's an opening that starts all the shops. It was in the Jewish quarter. I didn't buy a thing from the Arab quarter. Since it was a working trip, we also went to the Dead Sea and the Masada on a separate day. It was amazing. Hopefully this makes more sense....????? If not, I'm starting to get worried.

cary999

K_S - Pickpockets typically use a distraction. They direct your attention to something and while that is happening they pick you.

First one was three youngish women. One said she wanted to see the map I was holding, and grabbed it, I pulled it back. I was being picked by another girl.

Second was a fellow walked toward me with a paper drink cup. Just in front of me he dropped it and it splattered. He said oh I'm sorry and reached up as if to brush off my shoulder. His other hand was in my pocket.

Third time a fellow brushed up from the back of me, I could not see him coming. But he sort of scuffed my calf and apologized and pretended to brush off my slacks. His other hand was in my pocket.

Not that day but another time in Spain we were getting off of a public bus. As I went down the steps two fellows started coming up. We squeezed/bounced past each other. Guess what?

And I'm sure there are 100 other diversions they use. Just remember, first don't put anything in your pocket, or purse, you don't want to lose. Second, if something unusual happens to you, you are being set-up/distracted for a pick.

In the USA, if caught they would go to jail. In Europe (and other countries) it is considered a sport. The police will laugh at you.

regards - tom

Oreet

to karamel-sutra - what you are saying makes sense, even though it seems you were given some misinformation along the way.

I'm sorry to hear that the Dan thinks it's okay to recommend unlicensed guides - not only are they putting their guests at risk if they send them off with an unlicensed guide who is also driving, but they are recommending someone who may or may not even tell them the truth and provide accurate information along the way.

Since you paid $450 for a guide + transportation - you got a good deal. The standard, minimum cost for a day like that with a licensed guide, driver, car is at least $600.

I'm happy to hear that the tour was great and you were pleased.

I'm sure the guide's number began with 05 as all cell phones in Israel begin with 05. The note Elkaz made regarding the shop's phone number was in no way an attack on you, just an observation that it is strange that a Jerusalem store has a phone number with a non-Jerusalem area code.

You were, however, misled about another facet of the shopping you did. You described the shop's location as being on David St., exactly as the address you noted. Those shops are NOT in the Jewish Quarter - they are in the Arab market which is technically on the seam of the Christian Quarter. None of the shops in that area are Jewish owned.

Don't feel too bad - sadly there are people who are out to fool you everywhere in the world. I'm sure it was not a pleasant lesson, but it could have been a much more costly lesson.

Elkaz

Thank you Oreet for explaining about phone numbers and the fact that David Street is not in the Jewish Quarter! --saved me the trouble!


Karamel-Sutra, I am glad to hear that at least you learned a lot and spent 12 hours with the guide. I guess that is the part of the experience that you need to hold onto.

Elkaz

I forgot to add, the one day tours that Valtor mentions are large group tours with upwards of 40 people on a bus. If you are a family, or can afford the private guide the experience is vastly different and with a good guide--vastly better.

karamel_sutra

Hi Oreet, thanks for the information. Obviously I was misinformed, but it was still one of the best experiences of my life. Just for the record, I didn't feel at all 'attacked' by Elkaz. I was just trying to provide all the info I had, all the 'clues,' so to speak, since I was 'clueless' and hoped some of it made sense to someone. Now I know for sure that my purchases weren't even authentic Jewish items and I'm SO disappointed about that!! Thanks for all the help and for patiently explaining it all to me!! For a reasonably smart person, I'm feeling pretty dumb right about now. Thank goodness none of you know me.

Oreet

No need to feel dumb - you were taken by a pro. Unfortunately, like anywhere else in the world, we too have some business people who do not follow the straight path.

sf7307

So in the end it sounds like the tour wasn't overpriced, and was terrific anyway, but the purchases were not a very sound "investment". Been there, done that, as they say. Chalk it up to learning from experience (we still have a vase we bought at a tourist shop in Athens when we were kids and wondered if it was a "real antique" -- really? It and the thousands of other identical pieces in every shop in Athens? And the rugs we bought in Morocco -- we probably overpaid for them, but they're really nice looking (not so well-made, but they look good!)). We're much much more experienced now, and limit any expensive purchases to things we know a lot about in advance.

karamel_sutra

Yes, thank goodness I feel better about the tour now. It was amazing seeing everything, and all the holy places really choked me up. We also got dragged to every 'silk' carpet shop in Jerusaleam where each one cost $2500!! They serve all kinds of tea/coffee and pastries while they try to sell you these things and then you feel guilty after eating and drinking...but I didn't succumb, thank goodness. Otherwise, I'd be on here whining about a carpet, too.

mamamia2

Tourists easy prey, anywhere in the world. A Dutch friend of mine landing at O'Hare was paying $88 for a cab to downtown Chicago... And the driver left him 4 blocks away from the address he needed to get to...

karamel_sutra

That's awful! Hopefully he made it the rest of the way safely. I feel like apologizing to him myself for that. Speaking of Dutch, I used to live in Holland and Germany and was never taken advantage of at any time like I was in Jerusalem. That's why I, naively, never expected it anywhere else. I felt stifled the rest of my time there since I didn't know if anything was worth the asking price, or if it was all just junk used as props to rip off foreigners. The one and only taxi driver we used in Tel Aviv seemed nice until he wouldn't give us our change because the rest, he said, was his tip!! Since when do taxi drivers pay themselves their own tip from your change?

mamamia2

Prague, up to just couple years ago was a haven for taxi drivers ripping off tourists... Today tourists are warned to use only couple of cab companies, or else.... In Italy, boarding a ferry on Lake Como. the cashier used the opportunity we were last and rushing to board the leaving ferry, took our money, gave us the tickets but "forgetting" to give us the change, which was substantial.... We only realized it when the ferry already left.