My husband and I,both 60ish and Jewish, will be heading off to Israel this summer. We've always been independent travelers and after much research, have decided against an organized tour. Now some friends, also independent travelers, are saying that Israel is the one place they felt happy to have been on a two week bus tour.

Since we've already booked our flights, it's probably too late to line up a tour like that even if we wanted to. So, are we looking at private guides for several days (I understand that they are very expensive). Any suggestions on specific guides as well as itineraries? We will be in the country for 9 days. Also, if without a guide, how does one get from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem and back?

Thanks!
Marsha

TLV/JER - bus, sherut (shared taxi), private taxi

Most every hotel has a tour desk or affiliated with a tour operator that can set up your sightseeing, whether Old City, New City, Yad Vashem, Museums; Masada and En Gedi; Galalee.

Likewise from TLV trips up north to Caesarea, Haifa, Safed, Golan, etc.

Some can be day-trips other 2-3/day trips, the latter including your o/n hotels and even some meals.

You can even rent a car for days outside of TLV or JER where vehicle isn't needed... and do it on your own.

Most guidebooks have names of reputable guides who can arrange things for you before arriving.

Not knowing with whom your friends booked, but many of these companies that do scheduled bus tours for large groups, also do "mini-pacs" for independent travelers - as 3/days-4/nts in/around TLV or JER. Inquire.

Dear Marsha

Israel is easy to tour, have no worries
TA to Jerusalem is ~70 km, easy with public transportation (as sandi noted different options)

Egged (bus company) http://www.egged.co.il/Eng/

Timetable
http://mslworld.egged.co.il/eggedtim...uage=en&state=

Egged: Panoramic tour of the City of Jerusalem (with map & time table)
http://www.egged.co.il/Eng/main.asp?lngCategoryID=2773

Egged-tours: e.g Dead Sea 1 day bus tour (+ other links)
http://www.eggedtours.com/masada/

There are also <u>free</u> guided tours in English
http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_sys..._id=35269.html

Need a private guide?i can recommend Adi Eshed
http://www.aditour.co.il/en/
both a nice & knoledgeable guy

aby

Tel Aviv Guide - Free Guided Walking Tours Of Tel Aviv
http://www.israel-on-blog.com/tel-av...s-of-tel-aviv/
(doublecheck time/date on the web)

I've been to Israel twice and done it independently with a mix of tours, bus tours (to Masada & Ein Gedi) and rental car. Israel is so easy driving and I think a much better place indepentently.So, where do you want to go...?

I am assuming Tel Aviv & Jerusalem are on your itinerary.
I recommend doing these two at either the start or finish of your trip because you don't need a car in either city. You can take a sherut or cab from the airport to either city.
Tel Aviv is good first if you want to wind down from your flight and get some beach time (but then it is also a good at the end).
If you want to do tours from Tel Aviv there are but tours to Acco, Haifa & Rosh Haniqra - on the other had you can drive there, too. From Jerusalem you can do a bus tour to Masada and Ein Gedi. There are a few tour companies in Jerusalem that offer walking tours of the Old City and other areas - Zion tours is good. There is a lot to do and see in Jerusalem,

Here is an example of a 9 day itinerary
Tel Aviv- 2 nights
Rent Car
Haifa - 2 nights
1 day tour Haifa sites
2 day drive to Acco & Rosh Haniqra (or do Carmel Mts & Zichron Yaacov)
Drop of car in Jerusalem
Jerusalem - 5 nights
w/ 1 day tour to Masada and Ein Gedi
book tour of Old City tour of another area of Jerusalem
visit Israel Museum, Yad Vashem,

If you are up for driving I recommend Eldan rental car - you can pick up in Tel Aviv & drop off in Jerusalem. Again, driving is easy all road signs are in Hebrew, English & Arabic. Roads are marked well.

My advice: don't listen to your friends. Have you already put together an itinerary ? Please post it so that we can make comments and suggestions.

you can definitely tour on your own, dont worry about what your friends said. most of the country is pretty easy to get around with public transport, and you can hire private guides or join day tours as necessary.

like mbgg said, post an idea of your itinerary and we can help you with it!

There really is no problem exploring the country on your own. The best thing is to prepare an itinerary with directions so that you will get the most out of your trip. Licensed guides cost from $200 per day for a 9 hour day. If you need a car the rate jumps to the base of $350 per 9 hour day (many take more than this), plus expenses of entrance fees, accomodations for you and the guide/driver, meals, tips, etc.

if the prices for private guides are too high for you to use everyday, you could also join some organized tours and cut down the price a bit!

Thanks for all of the responses. We are thinking that we can do Tel Aviv and parts of Jerusalem on our own and will use a private guide for a few days to tour the north. Probably won't rent a car on our own. Here's another question- we'll be landing pretty late at night. Do the sheruts run 24 hours or is it only taxis after a certain time?

Your trip sounds like our upcoming trip to Israel. (same age group too). One our our friends wants to visit the Rabbi's tomb in Safed. I cant find it on the internet.. Any thought about this- where etc. We will be staying at at a kibbutz one nite near the Sea of Galilee- cant recall the name. Thanks!! Mo

The Nesher sherut to Jerusalem runs 24/7. There are no sheruts to T-A, only taxis or the train. Pick up your luggage , do into the ariival hall and walk straight through to the exit (ignore any taxi divers there). Walk to the road and you will see the signs : Taxis to the left, Nesher sherut to the right. If you take the taxi to T-A ask the dispatcher sitting at a booth what the fare is, including extras for luggage, etc. Take the fixed rate.

If you are not renting a car then by all means take some guided tours. There are many places which have limited access via public transportation and you wouldn't want to spend precious time waiting hours for a bus. Touring the large cities can definatley be done on your own with a good paper guide. There are tours from Jaffa Gate offered by several companies, some free and some for payment and are worth taking. They allow you to get a taste of what there is so you can go back and explore deeper. Remember to bring good walking shoes and prepared to carry at least 2 liters of water with you each day so that you can drink and not become dehydrated (common occurance for those unfamiliar with our dry climate).

To Mocat, what Rabbi are you searching for? Depending on the location, it might be best to take a guided tour of Tzfat and holy graves, as the guides know exactly where to find which grave, which can be difficult to someone who is not familiar with the area.

Our itinerary is up in the air. All we know is that we need to be in Jerusalem on the Saturday after we arrive. Can you easily get from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem on Shabbat? Since we're getting in late on Wednesday night and leaving the following Friday, we were thinking of staying in TA until early Saturday morning. Or, does it make more sense to go directly to Jerusalem after landing and return to TA at the end of the trip?

You can easily get from T-A to Jerusalem on a Saturday using a taxi or a sherut (from the Central Bus Station); there is no bus service. However, it might be a problem checking into your hotel in J'm early in the day because many weekend guests do not leave until the end of Shabbat.
I recommend going directly to Jerusalem from the airport.

Thanks for the suggestion re the Rabbi's tomb- found out it is in Tzfat. Next question- what is the correct pronunciation of "Cesarea"? Hope I spelled it correctly.
Thanks

Mo

Marsha-
It depends what you want to do in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The two cities have very different vibes, especially on weekends. Are you planning on taking day trips, or just exploring the cities?

Those being asked, I'm with mbgg. I think I'd go straight to Jerusalem, and leave there Sunday morning.

To Mocat-
Safed and Tzfat are the same city. One is the English spelling (Safed) and the other is the transliteration from the Hebrew (Tzfat).

Same goes with Caesarea. In Hebrew, it's pronounced "Kay-sar-yah". I'm actually not sure about the English pronunciation.

Bookmarking.

Thanks again for all of your very helpful responses. We have decided to start off in Jerusalem for 5 nights, rent a car and head north, and wind up in Tel-Aviv.
I have another question about a Jerusalem hotel I posted it on TA Forum and got some good answers but still want the Fodorite point of view! (or are we all the same people?) If you wanted a very quiet room but one still in the middle of things, where would you stay? We are looking at the Harmony, the Eldan, the Dan Panorama, and the Prima Royale. According to TA, the first two have the best locations but are very noisy.