can anybody recommend a private guide or tour company in Israel
 

Will be going to Israel next month and would like to hire a private guide or tour company. Will be travelling around by car so I would hire tour guides when I get to different cities in Israel (Jerusalem, Haifa, Galilee). Also would love recommendations on where to go that might be off the beaten path.
Thanks for your help
carol

Great tour experience in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I took the Segway tour, and it was both exciting and educational at the same time. Used to buses and long walks, the segway made my experience in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem marvelous. I would have the view of walking, however I would move like a bus. The flexibility of the segway allows you to see several places in a shorter period of time. I had an amazing experience and would surely recommend it to others.

www.zu-zu.co.il

What are you interested in ? Nature, museums, history, archaeology , ......?

Hi folks, Glad to have found this forum. My husband and I are going to Egypt, Israel and Jordan (just Petra) in October. In Egypt we're going to the usual sites so we did well with getting private tours through Viator. Israel is a whole 'nother ball game. I'm somewhat of a biblical/history scholar and we want to see sites in all religions, cultures and historic timeframes. So we have some popular spots and some not so common - Megiddo, Zippora, Gehenna, Qumran, Masada - so pre-set tours don't work very well for us. But private tours can be VERY expensive. And I'd heard on the forums that you could get a consultant to help you plan or just guides and such, so murphy, I think we're on the same page. The problem is finding the right folk. Took me awhile but I came across dailytoursisrael.com and I guess it's their companion site privatetoursinisrael.com. Regular private tours are still expensive $450 and up but you can get a guide without a car for $280 for 9 hours (1/2 day rates available too). We'd planned to rent a car and do a lot of stuff on our own - but if this group is reliable or there are others like it we're in much better shape. We won't tour every day - we're over 60 so we've scheduled in rest days but we can rent a car for the 6 days we're there at a multi-day rate and mix and match do-it -yourself and hiring a guide to come along. So if anybody out there knows if this company is ok or of others, PLEASE let us all know!

felippe, I LOVE the idea of doing a Segway tour in Jerusalem. Here's our thinking - we get a guide and do the religious sites on our first Jerusalem day - maybe the Segways wouldn't be so welcome parked at those places (what did you find?) and then do Segway our second day. So where did you find the Segway tour?

Thanks, gaia

You can visit many places in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv without a Guide; in fact, many places, such as Yad Vashem, kotel tunnels, City of David, Ayalon Institute, Palmach Museum, Menachem Begin Institute, all include or offer at very low cost guided tours.
You will really need a Guide when touring the Northern part of Israel (the Galillee, Golan Heights, Tiberias, etc.). For that I highly recommend Arnon Eshel located just outside of Tiberias. He is a charming, knowlegeable and wonderful Guide. His rates are extremely reasonable. You can contact him at [email protected].
Have a wonderful trip.

JerryS, Thanks so much, will do! Gaia

JerryS, BTW is Arnon associated with any specific tour company?
Thanks

gaianh, No, he is an independant guide.