risab

I didn't realize that you were adding your fifth day to Jerusalem - I thought you already had 5 days and were deciding to add another...

I love Jerusalem and there is a lot to see but you could see a lot with 4 full days.

I was going to suggest another night in Tel Aviv, too. The flight can be exhausting and Tel Aviv is a cool place to relax after the flight and you really will have only one full day in Tel Aviv. On the other hand...Tel Aviv reminds me of South Beach and NYC...

so if you really want a more unique Israel experience I'd do an extra day up north (3 night in the north)

Just wondered why you are doing two nights at Dead Sea...that could really be one night including Masada. Then you could add another day to Jerusalem. You'd get more bang for your buck.

risab

...sorry to keep adding on...but if you like hiking, nature and archeology then you really should consider more time in the north - you'll be in hiking and archeology heaven.

woodstockguy

Again, thanks everyone. You are all the greatest for sticking with this post for so long. I wish we had 3 weeks instead of 2 weeks but I'm grateful for the time no matter.

I would enjoy another day in Tel Aviv but I understand it is similar to Miami and other modern places, so 2 nights will have to suffice - Saturday and Sunday night.

As for the Dead Sea, I figured we would arrive late in the day, see Masada the next morning, float in the Dead Sea in the afternoon (quick float - and we don't do spas). Then the next a.m., leave for Elat and have enough time in the afternoon on arrival to snorkel. I don't know how to manage all of that with just one night at the Dead Sea.

Which brings me back to this choice:

2 nights Galilee, 1 night Haifa and 5 nights Jerusalem
OR
3 nights Galilee, 1 night Haifa and 4 nights in Jerusalem

AlexA

I may be waffling on this one, but I'll vote for the
3 nights Galilee, 1 night Haifa and 4 nights in Jerusalem option.

Have you made an preliminary list for Jerusalem and checked approximate hours of your must-see sights there?
Here's my thinking: Yes, Jerusalem is one of those places where you can walk around discovering little alleyways for days on end. But, it is still a city, and not a very large one. You can get from place to place relatively quickly, see what you want to see and still go back to favorite spots more than once. And you do have to eat dinner, right, so some of the wandering around neighborhoods can be done in the evening without taking time during the day from the sights that you really want to see. 4 days won't have you see everything, but neither will 5 days.

With that extra day in the north: The distances in the Galilee and Golan are greater, individual sites can take hours, and for the most part, your evenings are "just" for eating and relaxing, so you need the daytime hours to see what you want to see.

You can't really go wrong either way, but based on your stated interests (archaeology, nature, hiking, food), spending an extra day up north in April/May sounds ideal!

tinydancer

Just thought that I would chime in and mention that if you plan to visit Masada in the morning, than have a quick float in the Dead Sea (more than enough) it is really quite manageable to continue to drive straight through to Eilat and and so have another night somewhere else like Jerusalem or TA. We did just that, and even with stopping at a kibbutz to visit friends for a few hours, including dinner, on the way we still got into Eilat around 9:00-9:30PM.

I also cannot imagine cutting short Jerusalem. There is so much to see and the old city alone is worth 2 days. The sound and light show at the Tower of David is amazing, so if you can include it I highly recommmend it too. I think it includes entry to the tower in the daytime when you buy the ticket. Don´t cut the best stuff short! Apart from the old city, there is Mea Sherim, Yad Vashem (which takes a few hours plus travel time). The Bible Lands Museum is fantastic if are interested in the countries in the bible stories, plus the Israeli Museum is a don´t miss (and it is open one evening when you could have it to yourselves, I think Wednesdays, but check anyway) and has several complete European synagogues inside plus so much more. Being in Jerusalem is like soaking it up in your pores! And there are also many good restaurants for dinner.

I agree with risab generally, but I´d drive from Kinneret down to Ein Gedi as it is pretty easy to do and from the Kinneret you nearly drive past Beit Shean (I think so anyway) and can do a quick tour of that en route to Ein Gedi.

woodstockguy

I considered driving from Kinneret to Ein Gedi past Beit Shean, but that would take us through the West Bank. Although I read this drive was safe and direct, I do not feel comfortable with that route. Also, I don't think insurance will cover the car if we take the route through the West Bank. So we are structuring our route to go around the West Bank instead.

SandyMerm

I will jump in as well. I would add the extra day for the north. As someone who does a lot of archaeology in Israel, there are a few things to note. First of all, Zippori is beautiful, very unique and I don't think, given your interests, that you will spend as much time in Acco as you think. A car is mandatory! But I did the day tour in Petra from Eilat & while it is not ideal, you will definitely see the highlight.
Having worked at both Beit She'an and Caesarea, they are really amazing places. Beit She'an does involve a lot of hiking especially if you are going to hike to the top of the tel. But it should not be missed. Driving from Casearea to the Dead Sea is more like 4 - 5 hours depending on traffic. You will be passing Kumran which is nice as well. You'll have a great trip!

mbgg

My understanding (from many comments posted on this and other forums) is that you are insured driving through the Jordan Valley as long as you stay on Highway 90 which is under Israeli control. I suggest that you check with the car rental company.

tinydancer

I'm pretty sure that route 90 passing Beit Shean and through the W Bank is fine and insured. We drove using the map given to us from the rental company and that's one of the roads on it. We never even went through a check point and had no problems. That was last May, so pretty recently. I'm pretty sure that there will be check points on roads you shouldn't enter on to. I think that once you are there, you will realise that it is safer than you imagine it to be from outside the country. When you drive down road 90, there is virtually nothing but very little agriculture, maybe one Arab village, a large petrol station with a rest stop. But it's really up to you. Maybe call the car rental company and discuss it with them first. There's plenty of traffic on that road. I don't ever recall hearing about a rental car being attacked or whatever. I mean, it is definitely, definitely your choice. But people from the N mostly use that road to go S. I think you will find the same going back up to Jerusalem, the busiest roads go through the W Bank too. We took 90 down, and 60 (which branches off the junction of 12 & 40 on the map below) back up. Here is a link to a road map you can click on to zoom in and see the routes prettly well, although not all the tourist sites seem to be mentioned: http://www.multimap.com/world/IL
It doesn't show Qumran, but you drive right past it at the very N of the Dead Sea, as SandyMerm mentioned, and it takes about an hour in total tour visit the site, you drive up a road and park right at the entrance, very easy. I might also mention that route 90 is beautiful. S of the Dead Sea we had a lot of truck traffic to pass.

I just think circumventing the W Bank will add an enormous amount of time driving through traffic.

Hope this helped and you have a great, and safe trip! You'll see how relaxed it all will be.

jerrym9

I second the recommendation to go to Amirim.
We stayed at the Ohn-bar guessthouse (http://www.amirim.com/) at the "Eley-Nof" suite and had the most memorable and enjoyable time.

Chako

There is no problem driving on road 90 with a rented car. The insurance does not necessarily insure cars that are driven in areas under full Palestinian control. Road 90 is a quick way to go from the Sea of Galilee/Beit Shean, etc to Jerusalem, however the road is not so great and it is not recommened that you drive on it at night as there are no lights, has only 2 lanes and is a bit curvy with some not so wonderful driving done on it (during the day you can see the other cars better).

On another note, when you are traveling around the country you can purchase a pass for free entrance to all of the National Parks and Nature reserves for a nominal fee of 130 shekels per person. Entrance fees run from 11 to 28 shekels in the parks. There are also coupon books in the hotels and tourist information centers around the country.

Enjoy your trip!

ccunning

Thank you!!!