Guiding lines when planning a trip to Israel
The most important guiding lines for planning a trip to Israel.
- Start with your budget
You think you have saved enough money for your trip to Israel, or you are planing a trip and you want to know how much money you need to have. here are some points you should consider: unfortunately Israel is not a cheap country to tour, I would say that in many ways it is more expensive then the USA, yet cheaper then areas or cities like Manhattan/ London. Your expenses on this tour will include: accommodation, meals and excursions. Hotel rates in Israel starts from 150 USD (3 stars hotels) to 500 USD (5 stars hotels) per double room with breakfast. You can of course find cheaper guest houses and dormitories from as low as 25 USD per bed, and Luxury hotels with suites priced as high as 3000 USD per night.
Meals in Israel are relevantly expensive, if we compere a McDonald’s basic meal, in Israel you will pay around 14 USD. Israel fast food is falafel and shawarma that can be fund everywhere for around 10 USD. Yet a dissent meal in a restaurant will cost no less then 20-30 USD.
Your tours can be done by joining a group that will cost you from 90 USD per tour- 150 USD per tour per person, or we highly recommend the private tour option that is offered in Israel with a driver guide per day starting from around 600 USD per day (up to 5 people).
Bottom line : Depending on the number of days you want to spend in Israel, the number of people you share the cost with, and the level of the tour you want to have you will pay from 150 USD per day pp to 400 USD per day pp for everything, but flight tickets!!
- Buy your flights!!
After knowing your budget you now need to decide what is the best time for you to travel to Israel and number of days. Now you are ready to book your flight! You can buy your tickets a year in advance, a month in advance or a day in advance- but remember- this is the second stage and everything else comes after ! So, if you buy the tickets short time before the arrival it will effect the whole itinerary!
Bottom line : Buy air tickets is second stage, go to stage 3!
- Decide what is the tour type you want to have- do not book online accommodation yet!
There are 3 ways to tour Israel: Individually, buy a group tour package, buy a private tour package Individually- if you are by yourself (just 1 person) and your budget is not big no doubt that using this way you can save money . You can travel using an Israel guide book, on line information and other travelers references. Yet there is a cost for everything. No doubt that you will miss a lot of the possibilities, sites and the overall the complete experience that this country has to offer. You will find it very hard to get to touristic sites because of lack of public transportation and lack of information in English. You can, for example, tour the old city of Jerusalem using a guide book but you will miss many wonderful sites that are usually not included in the guide books. There is also the risk of ending up in unsafe neighborhoods (something that is true for any place in the world)
Buy a group package- You can find group packages in Israel that will offer you to join a group at almost any time of the year. The group tour packages are very convenient. Inexpensive, including accommodation, 1-2 meals a day, excursions in English, Spanish or other language and will cover the highlighted of the country. Those group tour packages are from 7 days to 12 days and can also be thematic ( Jewish heritage, christian heritage, ex’).
Buy a private tour package – The Rolls Royce of the options– the best way to explore Israel is having a personal driver that is also a licensed tour guide. This way you will see more sites, you will have more time in every site (less rush), you will be able to plan the itinerary that is suitable for you and your family and above all you will have a personal native Israeli guide at your service during the entire tour. You can ask as many questions as you want, you can decide what is the best hour for you to start the tour, you can choose where to eat and what to eat and you can also at the end of the tour will have an Israeli friend.
Bottom line : Don’t book your accommodation before the tour itinerary is planned.
- After having the above information consult with your tour agent about the best deal for you!
The tour agent in Israel or in your country will be able to give you the latest information and tour packages rates. A tour agent will save you a lot of time, trying to search on line through the endless websites and recommendations. Israeli guide ltd have over 15 years of experience in the tourism field. It is very important to always be up to date with the new hotels options, new attractions, new sites and new archaeological excavations in Israel. In Israel it is extremely important to be on guard and know what are the areas you should avoid.
Bottom line : Let the professionals handle it ! Let them do what they do best, you just lie back and relax!
- Accommodation
If you choose a group package deal or a private package deal- your hotels will be included and in the perfect order. yet if you decide to do things on your own and to plan your itinerary on your own we suggest the following order of overnights in Israel: Start with Tel Aviv- it’s closer to the airport and after a long flight you usually want to get to the hotel and refresh. Tel Aviv needs 1 day minimum. Next overnight location is Galilee- this is a very big area and there are many things to consider (we strongly recommend to consult your tour adviser), nevertheless, we recommend minimum of 2 nights (you can also have things to see and do for 5 days). next location is Dead sea – minimum 1 night. last location ending the tour – Jerusalem- minimum 2-3 nights.
All above its just an overlook on how you should spread your overnights in Israel. After all, things really depends on the time, your interests and mobility. Some people like to hike more, some people travel with children and some people have walking limitations. This is way section # 4 is very important-Let the professionals handle it.
