Web sites/tours to begin planning a bar mitzvah in Israel?
Jan 31st, 2006, 12:46 PM
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Web sites/tours to begin planning a bar mitzvah in Israel?
Hi all. I'm hoping some of you can steer me in the right direction as I begin thinking of possibly holding my son's bar mitzvah in Israel. It's still 2 1/2 years away, so I've got plenty of time. We're Reform, so I know that I don't want to hold the ceremony at the Western Wall. I've seen some tours that hold Reform ceremonies at Masada. Are there other possibilities? I would have prefered a site in Jeruselum.
What would be the best web sites, or tour operators to begin checking into? With extended family I'm probably looking at a plan for about 20 people. I'm hoping to keep the budget around $30,000, assuming family members make their own flight arrangements. Is that reasonable?
Thanks for any help. I'm sure I'll be back with more specific questions as I get into this.
What would be the best web sites, or tour operators to begin checking into? With extended family I'm probably looking at a plan for about 20 people. I'm hoping to keep the budget around $30,000, assuming family members make their own flight arrangements. Is that reasonable?
Thanks for any help. I'm sure I'll be back with more specific questions as I get into this.
Feb 10th, 2006, 03:53 AM
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Hi, MOM....
Mazel Tov.
When you say you have a budget of $30,000, do you mean you are paying all hotels, food, tours, etc. for 20 people ...everything except airfare?
Were you thinking about taking all of your guests on a family bus tour of Israel?
How many days were you thinking about?
What types of hotels were you thinking about?
We did the 14-day Bar Mitzvah tour with Margaret Morse Tours. They were wonderful. We were treated like family. Their guides were excellent.
The Bar Mitzvah was at Masada...very early in the morning...before it got too hot.
They provided the Rabbi. One of the guides tutored all the kids during the trip so that things were all very well planned on the morning of the Bar Mitzvah. That evening they had arranged for a lovely party at the hotel with dancing and a candle-lighting ceremony.
The hotels were very nice. The locations were excellent. Breakfasts and dinners were included in the price.
The food was hotel food, but served very nicely. We had some family-style barbecues around the hotel pool.
Margaret Morse Tours has an excellent reputation in Israel and we were very well treated wherever we went.
margaretmorsetours.com
Mazel Tov.
When you say you have a budget of $30,000, do you mean you are paying all hotels, food, tours, etc. for 20 people ...everything except airfare?
Were you thinking about taking all of your guests on a family bus tour of Israel?
How many days were you thinking about?
What types of hotels were you thinking about?
We did the 14-day Bar Mitzvah tour with Margaret Morse Tours. They were wonderful. We were treated like family. Their guides were excellent.
The Bar Mitzvah was at Masada...very early in the morning...before it got too hot.
They provided the Rabbi. One of the guides tutored all the kids during the trip so that things were all very well planned on the morning of the Bar Mitzvah. That evening they had arranged for a lovely party at the hotel with dancing and a candle-lighting ceremony.
The hotels were very nice. The locations were excellent. Breakfasts and dinners were included in the price.
The food was hotel food, but served very nicely. We had some family-style barbecues around the hotel pool.
Margaret Morse Tours has an excellent reputation in Israel and we were very well treated wherever we went.
margaretmorsetours.com
Apr 4th, 2006, 11:56 AM
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We're planning to celebrate our daughter's bat mtizvah in Israel also, next June. I've looked into several different tour companies and have narrowed it down to a couple. Suntravler, I'm very interested to hear about your experience with Margaret Morse -- they sent a DVD that was less than impressive, but I will definitely contact them for more info. How large was your group? Was there a good mix of ages? Our bat mitzvah girl is our youngest, and her sisters will be 18 and 20 when we travel, so we'd like to be with older families.
Apr 8th, 2006, 11:17 AM
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Hi, Adlmllr:
Sorry it has taken me awhile to get back to you.
I'm sorry to hear that you were "less than impressed" with the Margaret Morse DVD. In what way...can you explain?
Our trip was in 1997. If I remember correctly, we had 4 buses with about 30 people on a bus. Each bus had its own guide. We never felt crowded or cramped.
They divided the buses somewhat according to age. If I remember correctly, there were some adults who did not want to travel with any children...so they were grouped by themselves.
Some people were travelling with very young children....too young in my opinion for that type of trip....and they were grouped on another bus.
The other 2 buses were families with older children.
There were several couples travelling without any children but because they wanted to enjoy the bar/bat mitzvah experience AND because they felt they didn't want to be in a group with only older adults or retirees, they decided to join a Bar/bat mitzvah tour.
The company is family owned and operated for many many years. We felt that we were treated like family members too. We noticed that wherever our group went in Israel, the name "Margaret Morse" was very highly regarded.
If I can answer any other questions, please let me know.
Sorry it has taken me awhile to get back to you.
I'm sorry to hear that you were "less than impressed" with the Margaret Morse DVD. In what way...can you explain?
Our trip was in 1997. If I remember correctly, we had 4 buses with about 30 people on a bus. Each bus had its own guide. We never felt crowded or cramped.
They divided the buses somewhat according to age. If I remember correctly, there were some adults who did not want to travel with any children...so they were grouped by themselves.
Some people were travelling with very young children....too young in my opinion for that type of trip....and they were grouped on another bus.
The other 2 buses were families with older children.
There were several couples travelling without any children but because they wanted to enjoy the bar/bat mitzvah experience AND because they felt they didn't want to be in a group with only older adults or retirees, they decided to join a Bar/bat mitzvah tour.
The company is family owned and operated for many many years. We felt that we were treated like family members too. We noticed that wherever our group went in Israel, the name "Margaret Morse" was very highly regarded.
If I can answer any other questions, please let me know.
Apr 8th, 2006, 11:25 AM
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Adlmllr:
One other thing I would like to point out in comparing tour companies....
from what I have seen about tour companies, they all offer "optional excursions" for an extra fee in addition to the basic tour.
When comparing companies, you have to see what things are included in the basic tour and what things they might be charging extra for as "optional".
If I remember correctly, the only optional charges we had were for tours on Shabbat. Sabbath observers could just stay at the hotel or go to services.
Other tour participants could choose "optional tours" on Shabbat for an extra fee. This way, Sabbath observers were not paying for a tour in which they wouldn't be participating.
But you have to take this into consideration when comparing different tour companies.
Hope you have a great trip.
One other thing I would like to point out in comparing tour companies....
from what I have seen about tour companies, they all offer "optional excursions" for an extra fee in addition to the basic tour.
When comparing companies, you have to see what things are included in the basic tour and what things they might be charging extra for as "optional".
If I remember correctly, the only optional charges we had were for tours on Shabbat. Sabbath observers could just stay at the hotel or go to services.
Other tour participants could choose "optional tours" on Shabbat for an extra fee. This way, Sabbath observers were not paying for a tour in which they wouldn't be participating.
But you have to take this into consideration when comparing different tour companies.
Hope you have a great trip.
May 12th, 2006, 10:05 AM
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Have you tried calling Israel Discovery Tours, Inc.? They did a great job planning our tour to Israel.
Their phone number is 800-362-8882.
www.israeldiscoverytours.com
Ciao,
Frank
Their phone number is 800-362-8882.
www.israeldiscoverytours.com
Ciao,
Frank
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