Only 5 Nights in Israel
 

We arrive in Tel Aviv on 25 January and fly out on 31 January.
Can anyone advise a decent itinerary on such a short visit. We are actually on a much longer trip and have been able to split this time off in order to visit Israel, but are concerned about the short time available.
I would guess that we will be limited to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
All advice regarding transportation and hotels will be greatly appreciated.

What kind of a tourist are you?
What are your interests?
What is your mobility?
What is your budget?
Are you traveling with our without kids?

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In general:

1/25 - Tel Aviv, Jafa
1/26 - Masada & Dead Sea
1/28 - Jerusalem
1/29 - Jerusalem
1/30 - Jerusalem
1/31 - depart

Thanks for the reply.
In answer to your questions. We are pretty experienced independent travelers. We were in about 15 different countries last year and will probably do the same this year. We flew over 100K airline miles last year.
No kids, mobility fine.
Our budget is fairly open..except that since we have about 70-90 hotel nights a year, we are always looking for a decent price at a decent hotel.

Thanks for your suggestion:
1/25 - Tel Aviv, Jafa
1/26 - Masada & Dead Sea
1/28 - Jerusalem
1/29 - Jerusalem
1/30 - Jerusalem
1/31 - depart

What are the transportaion options between these points? I am not against a rental car, but the hassle of navigating and parking often take more time than other transportation.

The suggested itinerary is OK for the limited time that you have. There is good public transportation in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv and between them and you can find 1-day tours to the Dead Sea. I suggest that you spend Friday evening and Saturday in Tel-Aviv because Jerusalem is shut down on the Sabbath while T-A is at its best. What are your interests?

The intercity bus service is fine. If you overnight in Masada, climb it in the morning in time to see the sunrise, you will still have time for a dip in the Dead Sea and catch a bus to Jerusalem.

Schedules: http://www.egged.co.il/Eng/

If you were travelling on the coast more or to the north I would suggest the trains, not for the south and centre though, buses are better.

In Jerusalem of course there is a wide choice to be made between religious sites, archeological sites and modern sites. Are you more interested in the sites of any one of the religions?

Not sure what you mean "a decent hotel at a decent price" You can check this site: http://www.inisrael.com/tour/jer/index.html for 3* and 4* hotels.

the Eldan hotel in Jer is good - great location; you can walk to old city and German quarter restaurants. the rooms are spotless and modern. We alsos tayed at teh Dan Panorama - more expensive, better breakfasts

Thank you for the replies and suggestions.