Hi!

My husband and I are both independant travelers and wish to visit israel 3 weeks in October. I've read the let's go travel guide and i'm beginning to put together an itinerary.

Before I put together the details, I'm thinking about this plan:

- 11 days for Galile, Golan, Dead Sea and Neguev (pick up a car rental at the airport in Tel Aviv and dropping in Eilat)

- crossing border for 5 days in Sinai - Dahab ( hiking Mt sinai and scuba diving)

- Come back by =bus for Jerusalem for 4 days (from there a trip to Jericho and Bethleem)

- I wanted to see Petra but don't think I have room for it......

Is is possible to see the major sites in this time frame?

I''m not sure if I'll be able to go back one day, so I want to do as much as possible... since we are also divers, can't miss the read sea for diving!

thanks
jen

You don't give too much details, but it seems to be a good plan.
What sites do you want to visit in first 11 days in Israel?

October is a good time for visit.

It sounds good to me too. You have enough time to make adjustments once you are on the road. Once you are there, you can see if you want to take a day trip from Eilat to Petra. Easy to arrange for the day before you want to go. One day in Eilat, and one in Petra would be enough. We were there, driving and visiting, for just over 16 days, and that full third week would have allowed for more. But we didn't feel rushed and enjoyed all of it. You will too. Some people try to do what you are doing in 9 or 10 days.

thanks!
I'm just at the beginning of writing down what I want to see and do.I will post later in much more details...

You should definitely have enough time to see all of the sites you want to see in three weeks.

I have gone twice before for 18 days and will be doing the same in August. This time we'll be doing 4 days in Jerusalem, 2 days in the Negev, 5 days in the north, and a week in Tel Aviv.

Three weeks will allow you to really dig your heels in and see Israel. It is a small country but a huge experience.

One place I never seem to allow time for is T.A., because I love the older areas, but T.A. has some wonderful places and I'd allow at least one full day. Israeli's love us to see their more modern city on the seaside! Others with more experience than I will chime in too I am sure.

I'm working on my itinerary and I'm a little confused about the west bank...

I'm thinking about visiting Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus (mt gerizim). What would be the best way to do that? From Jerusalem or Bethlehem would be easier? i've read that it's not safe to go to nablus, is it true?

I've no idea, but I don't think you could take a rental car into some parts of the West Bank, so better check that out. I'd send emails to some car rental companies first and ask them about this. Then you could try emailing some guest houses or hotels in the West Bank and ask them your questions about getting around. I'm sure if they want business, they have answers already. It may be better to hire an Arab driver to take you.

You can take an Israeli rental car only into Israeli controlled areas, otherwise you are not insured. This means that you can only drive through the Jordan Valley from Bet Shean to Jerusalem/Dead Sea(highway 90), from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea (via Qumran)and from Jerusalem to Modi'in (highway 443). For locations in the West Bank under the control of the Palestinian Authority you can take a taxi or a bus from East Jerusalem.

Thanks for your replies.
However, the canadian embassy does't recommend traveling in west bank, excluding Ramallah, Jericho and Bethlehem.
It is recommended to travel only during daytime and not to stay overnight in these cities.
So maybe if I want to visit Hebron or other cities in west bank I would be better with a guide or a tour group..
What do you think?

forget the last post, I opened a new discussion. thanks