Dear Yariv,
Now that we are back in the US, I just wanted to thank you for making our trip to Israel the experience of a lifetime. You told me “Don’t worry about anything, just come to Israel and enjoy yourself, we’ll take care of everything,” and I have to say, that you definitely delivered on your promise.
As you know, I talked with dozens of guides before choosing Israeliguide.com. I was concerned about many things including guide age and experience, Hebrew capability, English capability, ability to customize itineraries, Jewish history and Bible knowledge, and familiarity with hikes and natural sites.
In addition, in the early stages of our planning process, I forwarded to you a list with over a 100 different potential Israel sites to visit which I had put together after reviewing dozens of Israel trip itineraries from the Web. You said that Israeliguide.com only used the best young native Israeli guides who would make sure that we saw the 20% of the places that delivered more than 80% of the value. You delivered on this promise too. Our guides were all more than excellent, and exceeded our expectation in every way. We spent many enjoyable hours with them, walking, talking, and hiking though every area of the country.
As you know, there are many types of trips, and all of them are suitable for different types of people. Our goal was to build a totally custom three week trip in which we could experience every major portion of the country. We started our discussions with your initial proposal, and then went on to modify it based on our needs along with your experience and suggestions. Your flexibility in the planning process allowed us to get off the beaten track and visit many places in Israel, both in cities and in the countryside, that most tourists never see. At the same time, we were able to spend Shabbos with friends and family, and to have a very special Shabbos in Jerusalem, all of which was important to us.
For all the different areas of our trip, such as Lowlands, Desert, Galilee/Golan, and Jerusalem, you provided us with guides who had in-depth knowledge of their different local areas. I should mention that you were one of those guides, and we appreciated very much the time you spent with us in Jerusalem, and the stories and insights that you shared with us.
Finally, you provided us with an Israeli cell phone, English-speaking GPS, and PC during our entire trip. With your personal touch, we always felt that we had a “goto” person in Israel during our entire stay. You were constantly in touch with us by phone and email, making sure we were in the right place at the right time, answering our questions, making suggestions, coordinating our initial guide meetings, and even talking directly with the guides. Even at the very end of the trip, your comment that the VIP airport service would be worth “every penny” proved to be true.
Yariv, we would like to thank you again for making our trip one that we will always remember. Please feel free to post this letter on your Web site along with the contact information below. We would be more than happy to talk with anybody who is looking for the right partner to help plan a privately guided trip to Israel about the great experience we had.
Dear Meni,
We just wanted to thank you for the time you spent with us on our trip to Israel. Your experience, knowledge, insights, and stories, coupled with a great sense of humor (and that world-class laugh) made for a fantastic Israel experience.
Every day that you were our guide, we woke up with great anticipation because we knew the day would be one to remember. In addition to the usual tourist information, we really liked the way that you were able to link many of the places we visited to ancient history, and espeically to Bible history.
It's one thing to read about what happened at a place, but its another to actually walk down into a cave, or cistern, and then have it come to life while you are telling us the story behind it.
Your positive attitude and supportive manner were both huge factors in the success of our trip. Together, we journeyed through ruins, caves, trails, hills, mountains, streets, markets, lowlands, deserts, tents, springs, tombs, battlegrounds, and fortresses. I don't think we will ever forget leaving for the top of Masada while it was still dark, or our trip to Hebron, which we never would have made without your help.
During our days with you, we always felt that we were seeing and hearing things that most tourists never get exposed to. You always had a few places on the daily itinerary that were somewhat hidden, off the beaten path, or not well known, and this made our overall experience something really special.
As we discussed, trying to find the right private guide for a trip to Israel can be extremely difficult. We feel very forturnate to have met you and privileged that you were able to guide us. We have provided contact information below. Please feel free to post this entire letter on your Web site, and to have anyone get in touch with us by phone or email for a great reference!
Frumie and David Burns
Holliston, MA, USA
Frumie and David Burns
Holliston, MA, USA
davidmartinburns@gmail.com