happytotravel

I am in the middle of a dilema with my dh. I would very much like to do a tour of Isreal with our church next June. The problem is DH would like to come also, and then what about the kids? Kids aren't allowed on the tour, plus the tour is very expensive. I know that I could plan and do it much less expensive, but how difficult is it getting around on your own, and possibly hiring a guide?

ann_nyc

I'm not sure how much time/money flexibility you have, but one option might be to do both, overlapping. You go on the tour, your husband and the kids fly to arrive there a few days before the end of the tour, to be able to acclimate and explore, and then you take some independent days with them after the official tour ends.

Many tours will let you take your return flight on a different day, and may even let guests join you for a meal or two, however it is harder to get permission for additional people to be allowed on the bus, even if there are seats, because of insurance constraints.

Years ago, when I went to Israel, I went on a tour and then stayed on for 6 days by myself in Jerusalem. I felt that I saw so much more on the tour than I would have by myself, but loved having the unstructured time at the end.

laurie_ann

Israel is a very easy place to be a tourist even for families. It actually surprised me how easy it is (went in spring 2006). Lots of good informal restaurants, good highways if you want to rent a car, good family friendly accomodations. And any kid who ever went to Sunday school even a little knows enough to be interested in the stories there. When we were there we saw many U.S. families as tourists, mostly Jewish, yes, but it doesn't make a difference IMHO. We did Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee and Tel Aviv all on our own in 10 days (don't miss Caesaria in one direction or another from Tel Aviv, one of the highlights especially for families). You might also consider getting around on your own but having a guide say in Jerusalem just one day as an orientation. But you wouldn't need to. The museum at the Tower of David just at the walls of Jerusalem provides an excellent introduction to all the history of the city which of course goes well beyond Bible times. In Jerusalem we rented an apartment for the first part of our trip, also a family friendly option for meals, snacks, naps, etc. We don't have kids but ever since we came back I always comment to my friends who do have kids and like to travel how great Israel would be for a family trip.

sandy_b

We are two senior ladies who just returned July 23 from 13 days in Israel and 3 in Petra. We did this on our own and it was very easy.

We rented a car for 4 days to visit the Sea of Galilee area and the Golan Heights, we turned the car in at Jerusalem and took the bus from there on. Other than trying to drive in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, we could have kept the car the entire time (except for Petra).

We met several families who were making the trip independently and they, too, said it was extremely easy.

I typed up my travelog and would be happy to send it if interested . . . just email me [email protected].

A caveat . . . we're budget travelers so the places we stayed and ate were not 5* . . . more like 2*. We had a fantastic time.

Sandy (in Denton)

happytotravel

Thanks everyone, I was going to ask about the ease of car rental and using a bus, etc. I don't know if it matters, but my kids are 10 and 12.
Sandy B, I am going to email you.

laurie_ann

Car rental and driving really quite easy. We picked up our car in Jerusalem near the King David hotel (which was also near our apartment) and drove North to Nazareth, Sea of Galilee and then back along coast to Tel Aviv. Especially with kids I would think the flexibility and comfort of a car would be a real plus. We didn't use public transportation at all otherwise in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, just walked or took a taxi so I can't comment on the difference.

For information about doing it on your own you might try these websites: www.goisrael.com (official tourist information website) and www.gemsinisrael.com which I used on line to book car and hotel and which has other links to lots of information.

risab

Israel is so easy to do on your own. June is a great time to go before it gets too hot and prices go up in July and August.

Get a good guidebook like Frommer's Israel and map out your itinerary. It is a small country and very easy to drive in because road signs are in English Hebrew and Arabic. We rent from Eldan and they have great rates. The tripadvisor.com website has a more active israel board so you can get a lot of good information from folks on that website. I also posted trip reports for Israel from my visit last summer and the summer before.

As for kids, Israeli's love kids and tend to have large families. Kids are welcome basically everywhere and Israeli's go places with their kids. Children are considered to be their most precious resource!

I know some people use personal guides for their whole trip but I would just do guides in Jerusalem to take you on a tour of the Old City and maybe the Tower of David (they have guides there). Your kids are at the perfect age to enjoy Israel.

Jerusalem they would love touring the churches, Tower of David, City of David and water tunnerls, Burnt House, Ben Yehuda street, Yemen Moshe and the Windmill, and possibly Yad Vashem and the Israel Museum.

You can do a bus day tour to Masada and the Dead Sea. Kids would love that.

Tel Aviv is a great spot for beach but I also think Haifa is excellent because it has a great beach promenade and good hotel on the beach Meridien Hotel. Haifa is full of families of all backgrounds and they all go to the beach and promenage at night with their kids and eat, picnic, and swim. The Bahai Gardens are wonderful and you can also go to Akko, Rosh Hanikra, and Caessarea from Haifa.

Then add in the Golan - Banias, Jordan River rafting and a trip to the Galilee to see Christian sites. IF you children have good knowledge of bible they will just love "walking the Bible."

We're planning our third trip to Israel for next summer.

pittpurple

My family actually spent the summer in Israel when I was 13 and my brother 9 - we had an amazing time. It's a great age to be in Israel - it's so safe there that my parents let us wander about Jerusalem on our own, which was quite a change from how it was back home!

My husband and I spent two weeks in Israel last year and did 2 nights Ein Gedi, a night in Old Jaffa, four nights in Haifa and a full week in Jerusalem. It was a perfect trip for us and our favourite holiday so far. It was extremely easy to get around by car - we typically don't rent a car but for a few sites it seemed easier (Caesaria and Akko) so we had it for our first week. The street signs are all in English (my husband doesn't know any Hebrew so that was helpful!) and the roads were really easy to navigate.

There was no need for a car when we were in Jerusalem. We actually rented an apartment there which was lovely - we got to go food shopping in the shuk and got the most amazing fruit and veggies.

cbdemille

If you are a Palestinian trying to return to your homeland, pretty hard!!!

ellenbw

We just went in May/June, using Isram on a tour. We took our 15yr old. Although I am usually not a tour person, I was glad to be on a tour because of so many sites that we went to that I would not have done without the tour and the amazing guide that we had.

That said, if I went again, I would not do a tour, but would hire a guide to take me certain places or fill me in on details at certain sites.
Our favorites: Jerusulam - what an amazing place, could have stayed longer than 6 days, would love to go back. Yad Vashem is amazing and the old city is too.
Masada and Dead Sea. This was the most fun day for my son. He rode a camel that day, too, so it added to the thrill.
Check out the Frommers website and go to the Israel forum. It is very active and there are many who do independent trips there and are very helpful. They also have the names of guides that they have used for day trips or for a couple of days. They roads and highways are very good in Israel, but the driving is aggressive, like Italy. You do not want to drive in the big cities, and don't need cars there.