MarshaL

First, thanks for the recent help regarding guides in Israel. My husband and I (Jewish) are still unsure of our itinerary. We are trying to minimize the number of hotels we will stay in and wonder if is at all reasonable to think that, in a nine day trip, we could see "enough"of the country by only staying in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv. So, we'd be talking about day trips. Neither of us have ever been to Israel. We plan to hire a guide for maybe two full or four half days and do the rest on our own.

We'll be visiting friends in both Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv but will be on our own for exploring.

Is this a crazy idea? Would we be missing too much or spending too much time in a car? I just hate packing and moving.

ilana25841

Marsha- I think you could manage with day trips from two hotels, but you might want bases that are more spread apart. It makes sense to use Jerusalem for one- if you don't want to go too far down south, because you have so much to see in Jerusalem and that wouldn't be a great day trip. Plus, the evenings in Jerusalem are so nice. The second city depends on where you want to go. Consider a city/town on the rail line. Getting in and out of Tel Aviv is heavy traffic and I think you'd waste a lot of time sitting in your car.
As you plan, also consider routes and talk to people who know the area. I was driving with my kids and had a nice route planned, but my Israeli cousins were better able to know that my route that looked good on the map, took me through some sketchy areas.

Have fun planning.

risab

Do you know what other areas you might want to see beside Tel Aviv and Jerusalem...would you like to see the north.

For example 3 nights in Tel Aviv, your driver could take youup the coast and see Zichron Yaacov, Haifa, Carmel Mts -then drive up to the Golan and spend 2 nights. The next day you could tour some of the areas in the Golan- so many archeological sites, Tzfat, the Kinneret, Banias, lots to see & it is gorgeous...great wines to drink, then you could head down to Jerusalem for the remainder of your trip.

Also, you certainly could do one or two day trips from Tel Avis - seeing sites like Haifa, Akko, and Rosh Haniqura - all popular tourist areas. There is also a lot to see in Tel Aviv and it's a great city. I do love Tel Aviv but it reminds me a lot of Miami - it's a beach, party, city and while it is certainly Israel there are other places that may be more unique to experience also. Jerusalem is wonderful for three or four days there is so much to see. It's also nice not to rush and savor the experience, too.

I totally can relate to your not wanting to move around alot but I would really encourage you to see spend at least 2 days up north. It's so beautiful and Israel seeing and experiencing "the land" is really a major part of the experience.

Chako

If you want to stay in only two hotels I would stay in Jerusalem and Haifa or Tiberias. This way you will have access to all of the important sites in both the center of the country, the Dead Sea and the north without having to spend to much time traveling. I would suggest spending 5 days in Jerusalem (Old City, Shrine of the Book, Yad Vshem, Tunnel Tours, City of David, etc), from here going to the Dead Sea and Masada, Tel Aviv, the Ayalon Museum, Beit Guvrin, etc. and 4 days in the north seeing Haifa, Rosh Hanikra, Banias, Sea of Galilee, Beit Shean, Golan Heights with it's many sites. You will still travel a bit back and forth to the hotel but it is double. If you reserve in the same hotel chain for both cities, you may be entitled to a discount for all of the nights.

ruthsil

Well, it depends. Israel is very small and from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem to each side of it, be sure it won't take you more than 2-4 hours at the most, but than again it depends on how long do you want to spend in each zone?? For example, I would warmly recommend you to spend few days in the north of Israel(Haifa,Tiberias,Jordan Valley,Upper Galilee, Golan and more) as well as few more days in the southern part of Israel(Eilat, Arava and Negev). Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Dead Sea are quite close though.

TouringIsrael

I think you should add one more hotel - even if its only for one night - for the north. There is a lot to see up there and it would really be a shame to limit it to a day trip.
There are literally hundreds of guest houses up there, or you can stay in a hotel on the Sea of Galilee or in Safed.