mbgg

I honestly don't understand how the Red Chinese has been in business so long. I also think it is terrible and I have never heard a good word about it from anyone.

Leslie_S

Great report! Thanks so much for sharing. You have a flair for writing about travel - I'm sure you're already planning the next adventure - can't wait to read about it

I try to plan trips around my birthday (this year = Morocco) & so far I've been lucky enough not to be on a plane on that particular day. But not a bad birthday for you, all things considered!

prins23

Dear JGG:

We just got back last week from Israel and Jordan! My husband and I had Menachem Holzman and we would have said JUST precisely what you said about him!!! He made our trip memorable in every way- we were with him for 11 days then we went to Petra, but talked about him so much! It was so weird to come across your comments! We had Travex- dealt with Ann there who was terrific and came to our hotel to meet us, checking up on us helped a lot since it was our first trip to Israel & Jordan, and I was a bit nervous! Thank you!

jgg

prins - So glad to hear that you enjoyed Menachem just as much as we did. Small world since I have never seen him mentioned on here. Travex was also awesome - everything was so well planned. Glad you had a wonderful and safe trip!

risab

Great report...my husband and I are going for trip #3 to Israel in a few weeks. You have me all excited again. We are going to go back in December because our daughter is going to go to college there so we are planning our first trip to Eilat & Petra then (it's always been too hot to go to Eilat other times). Happy travels!

kks4

Wish I had found your write-up a few weeks ago. It would have been quite helpful in our travels so far. We (also a family of 4 with 2 boys 11 and 13) are nearing the end of week 3 of a 5 week visit. My husband is here on business so we travel on weekends. We've been or are going to many of the places you mentioned but unfortunately they've just been day trips. Wish we had more time in Jerusalem.

We are heading to Eilat for the weekend and plan to go into Petra for a day. We hope to spend 4 - 5 days in Egypt for our last weekend before heading back home but haven't booked anything yet so not sure if it's do-able. BTW, we're also from Oregon. Are you in Portland? If so, which church do you go to?

We're staying in Herzliya so the boys and I may have to venture into Tel Aviv on our own next week based on your notes. Just a little nervous about the whole driving/parking thing.

One thing we're still unclear about is tipping for tour guides, restaurants, etc. Some co-workers told my husband that you don't need to tip in restaurants but we're still not sure. Any suggestions or guidelines? Thx!

Oreet

Most restaurants in Israel do not add a charge for "service" as is customary in Europe - so if you received good service, tipping in restaurants would be the right thing to do. Similarly, for a tour guide - if you are pleased with the service, had a wonderful experience, etc. then a tip would be much appreciated - especially on a bus group, where the guide is paid only a basic daily rate.

AlexA

kks4 , As recently as 5 years ago I still used to see restaurants add a 10% service charge, but that is much less likely these days. Some touristy places might, though so if in doubt, check and ask. 10% would be considered skimpy in most places by the way, so more like 12-15% is what I've seen people doing.
Remember there is no sales tax added to bills, so if you see a charge other than what you ordered, ask what it is. It's less common than a couple of years ago, but some places add a small per person security charge, If you choose, You may ask to have this removed. I believe that technically they are not allowed to out in on a bill, bt some still do. I have spoken to many friends who feel that since this surcharge is not going directly to the guard you may see at a restaurant's entrance, they choose not to give it. Just an FYI

crosscheck

jgg, I just discovered this trip report. We leave in the morning for Kenya (so I guess we can't rendezvous in Lake Como). I will have plenty of time to read this...Looking forward to it.

MFNYC

Based on this post I contacted Carol, and also Travex directly, as well as some private guides that have been recommended to me. Carol charges a fee, and does much of her planning through Travex. The private guides and Travex, do not charge a fee so I decided against using Carol. I am sure she is wonderful, but I generally do my own travel planning anyway, and the other contacts I've made have been very responsive and helpful. I am now comparing itineraries and prices (most being similar). I will do much of the hotel research myself in any case. We only have 9 nights so, sadly, can't cover everything in this trip report.

The 2 private guides I have been in touch with are Dina Horn and Itay Yaari. Anyone here familiar with them?

jjbj7001

Hi,
My husband and I are going to Israel on October 27, 2010. I emailed Menachem Holzman a few days ago, but have not hear back from him. Is he usually pretty good about that? We are also considering a group tour. Any suggestions?

MFNYC

From my recent experience emailing private guides, if they are currently on a tour, they don't have much time to respond to emails, but as soon as they return, they seem to be pretty responsive.

Check out www.travex.co.il, which is the travel agency that made many of JGG's arrangements. You can contact them.

Dayenu

Excellent report! I'm thinking of going to Eilat too next time. I reserve the right to come back with questions

jgg

Just got back from another trip and glad to see this has helped others.

kks4 - how exciting to have some extended time in Israel! We used to live in Portland (hubby grew up there) but have been living in Medford for the past 16 years. We always tipped in the restaurants, and travex gave us a guideline of $10-$15 per day per person to tip the tour guide. We waited until the end of our trip to give him his tip.

crosscheck - Have a fabulous time in Kenya, sorry we couldn't meet up in Lake Como, but looks like we will be in LA for a week with atleast 2-3 totally free days. Will contact you again in early/mid aug.

MFNYC - Totally understand about not using Carol, I too have never booked an entire trip like that with a travel agent. Travex was excellent to work with while we were there. Miri came to see us one morning at our Jerusalem hotel, and checked in periodically by phone every few days to make sure all was ok - can highly recommend going through them. I had picked all my own hotels from my own research and just had them book them, since I wasn't able to do it on my own so far in advance. Good luck on your trip planning!!

jjbj - since I didn't deal directly with Menachem in the planning stages I really can't speak to his email responses, but he was extremely professional so I would expect that he would run his entire business that way. I agree with MFNYC, he was often with us from 9am - 6pm and then still had to head home, which wasn't always that close. My BIL and SIL are using him next week for two days and they contacted him directly so I trust he will be contacting you shortly.

Dayenu - No expert, but happy to answer any questions from our experience!

gaianh

Great stuff!! Thanks!

We're going in Oct and will look into Mr. Holzman. We're hearing that you can get a guide for a day or half-day without a car much cheaper than those awfully expensive tours. We'd planned to rent a car and do a lot on our own anyway, but a day here and there where we'd feel more comfortable, just a guide is a great option. Found that availability on a cold search - anybody know if private tours in israel (.com) is a reliable outfit? Or other companies that have either planning consultants or the just guide option within a reasonable price?

Thanks

Sassafrass

Thanks for this great report. I was so happy to find it. We will be in Israel for only a few days, and I've been trying to figure out if we could see Petra. From your report (and others), it looks like it isn't feasable this time, but your report is super useful.

jgg

Fun to see this pop up again. Glad it was useful for you!

Macaroni09

Hello JGG!

I am mesmerized by your blog post to Israel & Petra--
a most incredibly well documented--and photographed--adventure!

I would like to contact Carol and Travex, thanks to your great endorsements. Hopefully Menachem is still guiding.
You have a beautiful family! What joy to be able to share the experiences with your parents, too!

Thank you so much for this gift!

Sincerely,
Linda in Texas

MFNYC

Linda,
This is an old thread, but we ended up planning our Israel vacation with a private guide. Dina Horn http://www.enjoy-israel.com/

She was great. She came up with itinerary. We did some tweaking. She made hotels recs as well and I did my own research.

We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her, and missed her after we left. Our trip was over 6 years ago, so I don;t really have any up to date input, but Dina was the best and I am sure still is.

Macaroni09

Thank you SO much, MFNYC!