COHEN FAMILY ISRAEL WINTER 2020 DAVID AND LILY’S B’NAI MITZVAH December 21-January 4
Guide- Alan Harkavy
Itinerary
DAY 1- MON DECEMBER 21- ARRIVAL (NO GUIDE/TRANSFER ONLY) ● Welcome to Israel!!! ● Land at Ben Gurion Airport at 10:15 a.m. on Air Canada Flight AC 80 where you will be met by a VIP service representative once you exit the plane & be accompanied to your flight to Eilat (Ramon airport) ● Depart from Terminal 1 on Arkia or Israir flight ### to Ramon Airport in Eilat ● Transfer from Ramon Airport to Yitzhak Rabin Arava Border Crossing into Jordan ● Overnight: Hilton Doubletree, Movenpick Aqaba Resort, Intercontinental or similar 5 star hotel in Aqaba, Jordan
DAY 2- TUE DECEMBER 22- PETRA AND WADI RUM (JORDANIAN GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Jordanian breakfast at the hotel ● Meet your Jordanian guide and early departure from hotel to Petra ● Tour the stunning rose-red, Nabatean city of Petra declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site ● Attractions include the "Siq", "Treasury", "Monastery" & more ● Lunch at a local restaurant ● Go off road for a desert adventure into Wadi Rum ● Attractions include the Seven Pillars, Lawrence's Spring and Khazali Canyon ● Dinner at Bedouin Camp ● Overnight: Glamping in a Wadi Rum luxury Bedouinn Camp
DAY 3- WED DECEMBER 23- FROM EILAT THROUGH THE ARAVA AND NEGEV DESERTS TO MITZPE RAMON (GUIDE/ DRIVER) ● Breakfast at the Bedouin Camp and check out ● Transfer to the Arava Border Crossing and return to Israel ● Meet your Israeli guide and driver ● Drive through the Yotvata Hai Bar Nature Reserve ● Lunch on own en route ● Travel to Mitzpe Ramon (approx. 2 hours drive) ● Explore the ancient ruins of Ein Saharonim or the Carpentry inside Machtesh Ramon ● Learn about Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut and how the makhtesh was formed at the Mitzpe Ramon Visitor Center ● Check in to hotel; settle in and relax ● dinner at hotel ● Star gazing in the Ramon Crater, weather permitting ● Overnight: Isrotel Beresheet Spa Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon
DAY 4- THURS DECEMBER 24- THE RAMON CRATER (GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Full Israeli breakfast at hotel ● Jeep/ATV tour and Rappelling in the Ramon Crater! ● Lunch on own ● In the afternoon experience the thrill of sand-boarding on the Negev dunes ● Dinner at hotel ● Evening hike with Alan under the moonlight to the Camel lookout on the edge of the crater (optional) ● Overnight: Isrotel Beresheet Spa Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon
DAY 5- FRI DECEMBER 25- NEGEV TO JERUSALEM(GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Full Israeli breakfast at hotel ● Check out and early departure ● Lookout over the striking Zin Valley from the tomb of David Ben Gurion and his wife, Paula ● Enjoy a beautiful nature stroll in the Ein Avdat desert oasis ● Lunch on own en route ● Travel to Jerusalem telling THE story ● Enjoy a spectacular lookout over Jerusalem from the Haas Promenade saying a “shehechiyanu” ● Check into hotel ● Kabbalat Shabbat at the Western Wall ● Friday night Shabbat dinner at the hotel ● Overnight: Isrotel’s Orient Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY 6- SAT DECEMBER 26- JERUSALEM OLD CITY (GUIDE/NO DRIVER) ● Shabbat shalom! ● Full Israeli breakfast at the hotel ● Introduction to the Old City from outside its walls ● Visit First and Second Temple Period burial tombs ● Stroll through Mishkenot Sha'ananim and Yemine Moshe on the way to Old City ● Explore Mount Zion and the Four Quarters of the Old City (Jewish, Christian and Muslim sites) ● Lunch and shopping in the Arab Market (Shuk) ● Leisurely afternoon, evening and dinner on your own in Jerusalem ● Evening activity watching the sound and light spectacular at the David Citadel ● Overnight: Isrotel’s Orient Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY 7- SUN DECEMBER 27- JERUSALEM’S ANCIENT CITY AND NEW NEIGHBORHOODS (GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Full Israeli breakfast at the hotel ● Explore the ancient City of David, “Where it All Began” ● Wade through Hezekiah’s 2700 water tunnel and prepare to get wet (dry option available) ● Head to Yad Vashem to learn about the Holocaust and its modern day ramifications- Twinning Bar/Bat Mitzvah for the 13 and 12 year olds ● Age appropriate option for the 8 year old and his grandmother during Yad Vashem visit ● Enjoy a culinary tour and lunch in the colorful and trendy Machane Yehuda Market ● Leisure and free time ● Evening activity exploring the fascinating Western Wall tunnels that unlock the secrets of Jerusalem’s glorious past ● Overnight: Isrotel’s Orient Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY 8- MON DECEMBER 28- B’NAI MITZVAH DAY (GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Early Israeli breakfast at hotel ● Departure for Old City ● Meet drummers and musicians at the Dung Gate & dance to the Western Wall Plaza ● MAZEL TOV!!! B’nai Mitzvah ceremony by the Western Wall Robinson Arch Platform followed by family photo shoot ● Celebratory lunch at award wining Gush Etzion Winery ● Discover the Path of the Patriarchs in an off-road ATV adventure ● Enjoy Israel’s longest Zip-Line at Deer-Land, running 400m with its breathtaking scenery OR ● Engage in anti-terrorism training under the expert guidance of former IDF commandos at the Caliber 3 Shooting Range (bring closed shoes and passports) ● Return to Jerusalem ● Dinner on own ● Overnight: Isrotel’s Orient Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY 9- TUES DECEMBER 29- MASADA & DEAD SEA (GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Early Israeli breakfast at hotel ● Descend to the area of the Dead Sea and lowest place on the planet ● Ascend the formidable desert fortress of Masada where Jewish Rebels contested the might of the Roman Empire by cable car ● Kayak along the shores of the Dead Sea from Mitzpe Shalem with a picnic lunch ● Explore the beautiful desert Oasis of Ein Gedi where David fled from King Saul and cool off under a waterfall ● Camel rides and dinner at Abraham’s Tent in Genesis Land ● Return to Jerusalem ● Evening of leisure in Jerusalem ● Overnight: Isrotel’s Orient Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY 10- WEDS DECEMBER 30- JORDAN VALLEY TO THE GALILEE(GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Israeli breakfast at hotel ● Check out and depart for the Jordan Valley ● Stop briefly at Qasr el Yehud on the Jordan River where the Israelites entered the Promised Land ● Explore ancient Beit Shean, a Roman decapolis city known as Scythopolis ● Lunch and swim in the beautiful spring fed water of Gan Hashlosha whose temperature remains 83 degrees all year round ● Take a sunset safari wagon tour around the Hula Lake watching the crane migration ● Hotel check in ● Dinner at Decks in Tiberias ● Overnight: Isrotel Mitzpe Hayamim, Galilee ●
DAY 11- THURS DECEMBER 31- UPPER GALILEE AND GOLAN HEIGHTS (GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Israeli breakfast at hotel ● Nature walks in the beautiful Tel Dan National Park and streams of Banias where nature, history and hydro-politics intersect ● Lunch on the Dan River at Dag al Hadan or in the Golan (to be decided) ● Ascend the Golan Heights stopping at the Old Syrian outpost of Tel Faher ● Golan Jeep Tour (optional) ● Visit the boutique De Karina chocolate factory in Ein Zivan ● Get a security briefing of Israel’s borders, wars and the current situation in Syria atop Mt.Bental ● Wine tasting in the Golan Heights ● Dinner at hotel, or local restaurant to be determined ● Evening stroll in Old Rosh Pina and the Nimrod Lookout (optionalExperience the art galleries and synagogues of the mystical city of Tzfat ● Overnight: Overnight: Isrotel Mitzpe Hayamim, Galilee
DAY 12- FRI JANUARY 1- WESTERN GALILEE COAST (GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Israeli breakfast at hotel and check out ● Drive along the vineyards of the Upper Galilee ● View the Crusader fortress of Montfort from the Goren Park lookout ● Keshet Cave and lookout at Adamit (time permitting) ● Descend by cable car into the white grottoes of Rosh Hanikra ● Explore the Crusader city below and Ottoman city above of Old Akko ● Check in to hotel ● Happy hour and sunset over the Medittaranean Sea on rooftop ● Hammam (Turkish Bath) and massage by prior reservation for adults (optional) ● 9:30 p.m. dinner at Uri Buri ● Overnight: The Efendi Hotel, AkkoI
DAY 13- SAT JANUARY 2- COASTAL PLAIN (GUIDE/ DRIVER) ● Israeli breakfast around the “Knight’s Table” and check out ● Haifa Bay and Bahai Garden lookout ● Drive through the Carmel Mountains passing Druze Villages ● Lunch in one of the earliest Zionist srttlements of Zichron Yaakov or a Druse experience ● Discover the magnificent Herodian port city of Caesarea and relax on the beach under the magnificent ancient Roman aqueducts ● Continue to Tel Aviv and check-in to hotel ● Leisurely afternoon strolling the markets and beach ● Dinner in Tel Aviv at hotel or restaurant to be decided (reservation required) ● Overnight: Hilton Hotel, Tel Aviv
DAY 14- SUN JANUARY 3- TEL AVIV/JAFFA (GUIDE/DRIVER) ● Israeli breakfast in your hotel ● Visit the Ayalon Institute,an underground bullet factory where the Haganah secretly manufactured ammunition under the noses of the British prior to the War of Indepence ● Participate in an active archaeological excavation as you “Dig for a Day” ● Engage in a spelunking adventure as you crawl through the caves and underground passageways of Maresha ● Relive the most famous biblical battle where David slew Goliath in the Valley of Elah ● Lunch on own in Beit Shemesh ● Discover the Armored Corps Memorial at Latrun and climb on the tanks ● Return to Tel Aviv and visit the markets ● Evening of leisure and dinner on own in Tel Aviv ● Overnight: Hilton Hotel, Tel Aviv
DAY 15-MON JANUARY 4- DEPARTURE (GUIDE/DRIVER OPTIONAL) ● Israeli breakfast in your hotel ● Museum option-”Dialogue in the Dark” at the Holon (South of Tel Aviv) ● Walk/bike/electric bike or scooter Tel Aviv exploring from north (The Tel Aviv Port) to south (Old Jaffa) ● Explore Old Jaffa, the “Gateway to Tel Aviv” with its enchanting alleyways, artists’ galleries and views of Tel Aviv ● Enjoy a Street Art Graffiti tour of the bohemian Florentine neighborhood and feel the pulse of Tel Aviv ● Enjoy the beach promenade and sunset over the Meditteranean Sea ● Dinner on your own ● Transfer to Ben Gurion airport for late departure (arrival at the airport at least 3 hours before departure for pre-screening and check-in is recommended)
LEHITRAOT (FAREWELL) AND SAFE TRAVELS!!!!!!!!!