This Biblical Israel & Occupied Palestinian Territories group tour makes an ideal Holy Land trip visiting some of the many biblical sites of the region. You'll get to see most of the highlights of this amazing country and relate the important religious sites to the relevant important passages in scripture. It is perfect for travellers with an interest in the bible or just for travellers interested in an incredible adventure to explore this fascinating land.
We start this tour with time to explore the buzz of the city and beaches of Tel Aviv, before making our way north along the Mediterranean coat visiting the Roman remains at Caesarea, Bronze Age Megiddo. We then continue across to Tiberias and Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee, then on up to the Golan height for a tour of the area, including Banias Spring. Next, we head back to Jerusalem via Nazareth and Beit Shean. In Jerusalem, we visit some of its many important religious and historical sites and monuments, including nearby Bethlehem, birthplace of Christ. We also visit the famous hilltop fortress at Masada and the Dead Sea where you can bob on top of the remarkably salty waters, the lowest place on Earth.
A good mid-range hotel in the vibrant city of Tel Aviv, located just a 3 minute walk to the beach. The hotel has an on-site restaurant, bar and coffee shop.
The 70 air-conditioned rooms have mini-bar and safe and the in-room TV's have cable channels as standard. Bathrooms include a bath or shower and hair dryer and complimentary wifi is available throughout the hotel.
Located in the centre of Tiberias, the Prima Hotel offers comfortable accommodation with great views over Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee.
Guests can enjoy clean, spacious rooms and larger family suites are also available.
The hotel is great base for exploring the city and the historial monuments around the Sea of Galilee. The hotel features an outdoor terrace, gardens, bar and restaurant. Rooms at the hotel feature free toileteries, bathrobe and en-suite facilities, flat screen TV, radio, air conditioning and mini bar.
The Jerusalem Gold is an elegant hotel in the heart of the new city, next to the Central Bus Station and a 20-minute walk from the historic centre.
Rooms at the Jerusalem Gold come with extra-long beds, Mahogany furniture, black-out curtains, and double glazed windows for extra quiet. You can choose your pillow from a menu. Modern facilities include air conditioning, fridge, video games, and a laptop-sized safe.
The hotel is a stone throw away from the Jerusalem Congress Centre, while the colourful Mahne Yehuda Market is within walking distance. The city's major attractions, such as the Biblical Zoo, Time Elevator and Science Museum, are easily accessible by public transport.
There are numerous restaurants, shops and entertainment venues within short walking distance from the Gold Hotel.
Our tours are designed to include all that you need to enjoy a really special time in the destination you're visiting. However, we do also offer some extra options to complement the tour and add some additional sightseeing or activities, or some extra time at either end of the tour.
All accommodation based options (e.g. Single supplements, extra nights, cruise upgrades) should be booked and paid for in advance so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. Other options may either be booked and paid for in advance or while you are on the tour, though we recommend booking in advance to ensure there are no issues with availability.
Many options are priced the same throughout the year, but some may incur single or high season supplements - full details are given on the tour reservation form or on request.
This option books a single room in all the accommodation throughout the tour. If you are a single traveller and would be happy to share a room, let us know and we will see if we can pair you up with another single traveller of the same sex. If a room share is not available when you book then we will add the single room supplement to your booking and it will be payable with your balance payment unless we have arranged a room share for you by then. If a room share is arranged after you have paid the supplement then we will refund it to you. Room shares are arranged in order of booking.
Note: The price shown is a low season price. Slightly higher prices may apply during high and peak seasons - the exact price for your dates will be shown on the online booking form and is always available on request.
This option adds an extra day to the start of your tour in Israel, staying in the same hotel as the main tour itself (subject to availability at the time of booking). Your airport arrival transfer is NOT included. Prices shown are per person and based on two people sharing.
Note: Single room and peak season supplements apply.
This option adds an day to the end of your tour in Israel, staying in the same hotel as the main tour itself (subject to availability at the time of booking). Your airport departure transfer is NOT included. Prices shown are per person and based on two people sharing.
Note: Single room and peak season supplements apply.
This 3-hour guided tour takes in the panoramic views from the top of the Mt. of Olives, Mt Scoops & Hebrew University, as well as featuring a tour around the walled city of Jerusalem and the Wailing Wall.
The walls of the Citadel serve as a stage for this nighttime show which is a celebration of light and sound. Amidst the archaeological remains in the Citadel's courtyard and to the sound of original music, the story of Jerusalem unfolds through giant breathtaking, virtual reality images. Prices include your transfers to and from the hotel.
This tour visits one of Israel's unique community villages. You'll tour some beautiful rural parts of Israel and explore this extraordinary style of living. During the tour you'll visit farms, small factories and learn about the kibbutz way of life.
This option fits into the tour while you are visiting the Dead Sea and includes use of the hotel's private beach, public spa facilities, a shower kit and towel and a buffet lunch. Any specific treatments are charged separately.
This tour is designed to run on Day 1 or Day 8 of our Fantastic Israel tour and to extend your trip by one night. An extra night in your hotel in Jerusalem and airport transfer is included.
In the morning take a short ride on the light train or a short taxi cab ride to the Jaffa gate, before taking a self guided visit to the interesting tower of David Museum telling the history of Jerusalem from King David's days to the modern era. Near the museum one can find 2 fabulous shopping areas; the old city market place, the Bazaar and the more fancy Mamila pedestrian mall. This is a great place to spend your morning.
At lunch time you can either walk or take another very short ride to the famous Machne Yehuda market, full of fruits, vegetables, cheese and much much more. Here you can have a wonderful self guided tour of the market, plus we will provide you with a special "SHUK BITES" card that will enable you to taste many different local foods at various different stands. This will also be your lunch today.
After the visit to the market, return to your hotel for a short rest. This evening you will dine in the gourmet restaurant of the deluxe American Colony hotel, located 5 minutes walk from your hotel. Dinner will also include excellent Israeli wine.
Return to your hotel and overnight. The next morning we transfer you to the airport for your departure.
A single room supplement will apply to the price if you require your own room.
The detailed Tour Notes below have been written to give you some more detailed information about how the tour runs, what to expect, and how to prepare for your holiday. We recommend downloading an up to date copy of these shortly before you travel in case of any changes.
We use good quality hotels rated at the Israeli 4-star standard level on this tour, together with a night in a Kibbutz hotel. Options are available to upgrade the accommodation to a better 4-star, or standard 5-star level. Please contact us for prices to match your dates. The normal hotels we use for these upgrades are shown below, though these may changes to alternate hotels of a similar standard on some dates:
Comfort (good 4-star): Tel Aviv - Grand Beach | Jerusalem - Grand Court | Kibbutz Lavi - Superior room
Superior (4/5-star): Tel Aviv - Dan Panorama | Jerusalem - Dan Panorama | Kibbutz Lavi - Superior room
As different hotel levels are available, this does mean that if some people take up the upgrades there will be more than one hotel pick-up and drop-off each day, though we do aim to plan these to minimise any extra travelling time.
Accommodation is based on twin or double en-suite rooms with air conditioning. All couples will be given a private double room. Single travellers will need to pay a single room supplement to guarantee themselves a single room throughout the tour. We aim to keep this cost as low as possible. As we may share this tour with other operators, we do not offer a room-share option for solo travellers.
We want to give you as much flexibility as possible when it comes to booking your holiday with us. So, to take account of people with varying travel plans, we don’t include your international flights in the main tour price. We are however very provide suggestions for flights to go with your tour. Please contact us with your preferred dates and departure airport and we’ll give you a selection of airlines, times and fares to choose from.
Your airport arrival & departure transfers are included on the first and last days of the tour. All our group tours in Israel start and finish at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv (TLV).
On average the group departures on this tour tend to have a minimum of around 10 passengers and an average of 14-18, though we only need 2 passengers to book for a departure to be guaranteed. The maximum capacity of this tour is 45 which is a lot more than our normal 'small-group tours'. We allow this higher number to ensure affordability in what is a very expensive country to arrange tours like this. We also share this tour with a small number of other operators and offer upgrades to higher hotel levels so you may join with travellers booking with different companies and staying in different hotels.
At Egypt Uncovered we aim to only ever use local Israeli guides and reps. We feel this gives you the best experience of the country and the sites you are seeing. A different guide may be used for the Occupied Palestinian Territory sites to the rest of the tour.
You should ensure you are fully insured for medical emergencies including emergency evacuation and repatriation.
Recommended vaccinations and other health protection measures vary according to the country you are visiting and where you are travelling from. We recommend you contact your GP/medical practitioner or a travel clinic for current information on vaccinations needed for your destination. You should ensure that you are up to date with vaccines and boosters recommended for your normal life at home, including for example, vaccines required for occupational risk of exposure, lifestyle risks and underlying medical conditions.
In addition, additional courses or boosters normally recommended for the countries in this region are:
Egypt: Tetanus, Typhoid, Hepatitis A
Jordan: Tetanus, Hepatitis A
Israel: Hepatitis A, Poliomyelitis
Lebanon: Dipheria, Hepatitis A
Malaria is not generally present unless it has been contracted abroad; you do not need to take malaria prophylactics.
More information is available here: Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon
Note: We are aware of some places in Egypt using ‘black henna’ instead of pure brown henna. Black henna contains a chemical dye PPD (paraphenylenediamine) which can result in severe allergic reactions and resultant scarring. To be safe we recommend avoiding any henna tattoos while in Egypt unless you are certain they are using pure brown henna.
Passports should be valid for at least six months after your departure from the country. Please do not bring an almost full or almost expired passport. Visa arrangements are the responsibility of the traveller, and requirements are subject to change by the local authorities.
Many nationalities (including UK, European, USA, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, South African) do not need to obtain a visa to enter Israel as a period as long as your stay is for less than 3 months. Other nationalities should check with their local consulate.
Most of our tours visiting Israel also enter the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). No special visas are required but check points and border posts are operated by the Israeli authorities and access is sometimes limited or restricted.
The time in Egypt, Jordan and Israel is GMT plus 2 hours. Daylight saving adjustments have historically been applied in some years but not others. At present it appears that there will be no daylight saving changes in Egypt 2016 and beyond, though this may change at short notice (with a resulting impact on flight times and schedules). In Jordan and Israel, daylight saving of one hour is generally applied between the end of March and the end of October, making it GMT plus 3 hours. Exact dates vary from year to year and sometimes the changes may be scrapped altogether.
Sockets are two round pronged and 220 volts (Type C). Universal adaptors are available in most airport shops if you don’t have one already. Standard European adapters will work fine, though sometimes they may feel a little loose in the sockets. All hotel rooms have electrical sockets where you can re-charge cameras, phones etc. Hair dryers are normally available on request from the hotel reception if not in your room already.
If you have US appliances (110 volts) you will need a voltage converter as well as a plug adapter.
The local currency in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is the Israeli Shekel (ILS). You do not need to arrange to bring any Shekels with you as exchange facilities are available in the international airports and in most hotels, banks and bureau de changes in major towns. You should try to obtain and keep hold of small denomination notes or coins on you during the tour as these are useful for toilets, tips and small purchases. ATMs are readily available in major towns and many local shops will accept VISA/Mastercard or Amex, but may charge fees of up to 10% - check before you pay. Travellers cheques are not recommended as they can not be changed in many places now, and can incur high fees.
While in Israel and the OPT you will need sufficient funds to cover meals not included in the itinerary, drinks, snacks, souvenirs and personal expenses such as laundry. These should generally all be paid for in local currency, though tips for guides and drivers may be paid in hard currency (GBP, USD, EUR).
It is difficult to recommend a level of personal spending money which will suit everyone as this can differ greatly, but as a guideline, we would suggest allowing USD 25-35 per person per day as a minimum. Allow more if you plan on doing lots of shopping, or buying many alcoholic drinks.
We run regular small-group departures on this tour starting on Sundays throughout the year. All departures are guaranteed to run with a minimum of 2 people. Departure dates and prices are listed on our website and on a separate dates & prices sheet available on request.
If you would like to book a place on this tour, please complete the online reservation form on our website (via the Dates & Prices tab on the tour page). You can pay your deposit or full balance online, or just hold a reservation if you prefer. We will then contact you with more details about how to complete your booking. Payments may be made by debit or credit card (subject to a card processing fee), or by making a bank transfer or posting us a cheque/bank draft. Full details will be provided in your booking confirmation email. Please contact us if you would like any more information or have any questions before making a booking.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our tours and needs to cover personal accident & liability, medical expenses and repatriation, travel delay & abandonment. We also strongly recommend that you take out cover against cancellation and lost/stolen baggage. Personal medical insurance does not normally provide sufficient cover and is generally not suitable for travel on our tours. You will not be able to join your tour if you have not provided us with details of your insurance or if you arrive without cover in place (no refunds will be due in this event). More information...
You may arrange your own insurance, or you can take advantage of a comprehensive policy that we can arrange for you through Endsleigh Insurance which has been designed to be suitable for our tours. The policy is available to travellers of all nationalities and you do not need to live in the UK to take out the policy. For full details of cover provided, prices and to apply for one of our policies, please complete travel insurance application form.
Note: Any country that borders the Mediterranean is considered as 'Europe' for the purposes of travel insurance (including Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Morocco). If you are doing a tour that visits one country in 'Europe' and one that is 'Worldwide' (for example, an Egypt and Jordan tour), then you need a 'Worldwide' policy. When completing the form you should enter your travel dates including any extra days involved in overnight flights or connecting travel between your home and the tour. Our policies are not able to cover any extra time or activities other than your tour and options booked with us and your travel to & from home.
If you plan to arrange a hot air balloon flight locally, or do some scuba diving during your tour, you should check the small print in your policy to make sure these are covered (these are covered in our policy). Please also check the maximum altitude that you will be reaching and that full cover including emergency evacuation is provided up to this altitude.
IMPORTANT: We must have your travel insurance details (policy number and type of insurance) before you depart or you may not be allowed to join the tour. If you haven't told us already, please let us know the details when you can. You should take a paper copy of your insurance policy with you as you may be asked to show this at the start of the tour.
We are a UK registered company and an ABTA Member (Y4447) and you can be confident when booking with us that your money is safe and protected. Financial failure insurance is provided through Affirma to protect all customers for the land portion of their tour.
Please see our website or booking conditions for more information.
It is impossible not to have an impact on the local environment, cultures and eco-systems when you travel. However, it is very possible to try and ensure that these impacts are as limited, or positive as possible. We are committed to ensuring that we try to leave our host countries in a better state than we found them and encourage and assist our travellers to help us with this.
The following are a few simple tips that require very little effort on your part but which will help ensure that any effect you have on the locations you visit is positive rather than negative.
All porters are employed and equipped following guidelines set by the International Porter Protection Group (IPPG).
You can stay in touch with us online by following us on Facebook and Twitter. We post updates on relevant travel news in our destination countries, special offers and discounts and other interesting travel related news and information.
www.facebook.com/EgyptUncovered
www.twitter.com/encounterstravl (yes, without the 'e')
It is important when considering and preparing to travel anywhere in the world that you have a good understanding of the country you are visiting, its laws and customs, and the possible risks and situations that may occur. This includes specific risks related to your itinerary (eg. does it involve water & can you swim, are you fit enough for the activities included), as well as more general risks such as terrorism and natural disasters.
General details and links to more information about health risks, visa requirements, money, and travel insurance are given in these tour notes. We recommend that you re-read all these before your departure as well as the small print of your travel insurance policy so you know exactly what is covered and what is not.
You should take copies of your important travel documents with you and ideally also store them online securely as a backup. Make sure that you have given us your emergency contact details and told that person where and when you are travelling. Ensure you take enough money with you and that you have access to emergency funds.
Finally, you should read through and stay updated with the current official government travel advice for your destination. We are registered partners with the UK Foreign Office's 'Travel Aware' campaign which provides further useful and invaluable information.
Start Date | End Date | Price (P/P) | Offer Price | Note | |
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09 May, 2024 | 16 May, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
23 May, 2024 | 30 May, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
06 Jun, 2024 | 13 Jun, 2024 | US$2115 | - | - | Book now |
11 Jul, 2024 | 18 Jul, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
22 Aug, 2024 | 29 Aug, 2024 | US$2115 | - | - | Book now |
29 Aug, 2024 | 05 Sep, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
05 Sep, 2024 | 12 Sep, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
12 Sep, 2024 | 19 Sep, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
19 Sep, 2024 | 26 Sep, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
26 Sep, 2024 | 03 Oct, 2024 | US$2115 | - | - | Book now |
03 Oct, 2024 | 10 Oct, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
17 Oct, 2024 | 24 Oct, 2024 | US$2210 | - | - | Book now |
24 Oct, 2024 | 31 Oct, 2024 | US$2115 | - | - | Book now |
31 Oct, 2024 | 07 Nov, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
07 Nov, 2024 | 14 Nov, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
14 Nov, 2024 | 21 Nov, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
21 Nov, 2024 | 28 Nov, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
28 Nov, 2024 | 05 Dec, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
05 Dec, 2024 | 12 Dec, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
12 Dec, 2024 | 19 Dec, 2024 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
19 Dec, 2024 | 26 Dec, 2024 | US$2115 | - | - | Book now |
26 Dec, 2024 | 02 Jan, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
02 Jan, 2025 | 09 Jan, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
09 Jan, 2025 | 16 Jan, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
16 Jan, 2025 | 23 Jan, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
23 Jan, 2025 | 30 Jan, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
30 Jan, 2025 | 06 Feb, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
06 Feb, 2025 | 13 Feb, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
13 Feb, 2025 | 20 Feb, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
20 Feb, 2025 | 27 Feb, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |
27 Feb, 2025 | 06 Mar, 2025 | US$1990 | - | - | Book now |