ISRAEL- highlights on a budget in 8 days
 

My college age daughter is going on a 12 day birthright trip to Israel through her college in late May. I plan to come to Israel for 8 nights in June to meet up with her. I am on a budget but haven't been to Israel since I was in high school so I want to make sure and hit all the important areas. It would be helpful to me if somebody could help me plan which cities I should stay in and how many nights in each city. Also, any reasonable hotel accommodations in these cities would be appreciated. Thanks.

I am interested in this topic too.

In 8 days you will only be able to see the highlights of the country. A standard itinerary would be: 3 days Jerusalem, 1 day Dead Sea, 1-2 days Tel Aviv, 2-3 days Galilee.

What are your interests: religion, history, nature, water sports, shopping, etc , etc ? Are you willing to rent a car ? Do you want to concentrate on place that your daughter will not see on her tour ??

Your daughter is going to hit all the highlights on her Birthright tour. ( and see more than you ever could in the same period of time, since the Birthright groups seem to go non-stop about 30 hours a day ( and NO that is NOT a typing error)

So the question now is how to reconcile your trip with your daughters--and you have to decide that before anyone can help you plan your joint trip.

As shallow as this sounds--my interests are SHOPPING & EATING. I'm a little afraid to rent a car with parking issues & no knowledge of Hebrew in understanding traffic signs unless my GPS works in Israel.

Almost all road signs in Israel are bilingual:
http://tinyurl.com/okr7ble

You should rent a car only if you are traveling outside the big cities. A car in Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem is a liability because of the parking and traffic problems. Public transport and taxis are cheap and efficient.

Considering that your daughter will probably be exhausted after her intensive tour of the country, I suggest that you split your time between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. There is plenty to see in both cities, in addition to shopping and eating.

Jerusalem: the Old City (Jewish, Christian and Muslim sites), Israel Museum, Yad Vashem, Mahane Yehuda Market, etc, etc, etc. You can find detailed info on the internet or invest in a good guidebook.

Tel-Aviv: Old Jaffa, Diaspora Museum, Rabin Museum, Palmach Museum, markets (Jaffa flea market, Nahlat Binyamin Arts & Crafts, Carmel market), old neighbourhoods - Neve Zedek, Rothschild Blvd, etc, etc, etc.

The city of Tel-Aviv offers free walking tours every week:
http://www.visit-tel-aviv.com/free-w...s#.UuicZhD8JMw

Time Out magazine has good recommendations for restaurants and shopping in Tel-Aviv:
http://digital.timeout.co.il/english/