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IsraelExperts Sample Itinerary

The following is a sample itinerary of a typical IsraelExperts program. While our specialized programs will have components and activities that are specific to them, and certain outdoor activities will vary according to the season (winter programs vs. spring/summer), the itinerary below should give you an idea of the type of original and balanced program we strive for.

Day 1 - Welcome to Israel

• Arrival at Ben-Gurion International Airport where you will be met and assisted through customs by IsraelExperts staff and your Israeli tour guide
• Depart for Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, with a short stop en route at a vantage point overlooking the city for the traditional Shehechiyanu Jewish prayer of thanks with wine and bread
• Check-in at hotel and freshen up before joining your fellow participants for breakfast and a short orientation seminar
• Walking tour through the ancient agricultural settlement of Sataf at the entrance to Jerusalem
• Visit the Haas Promenade to take in a beautiful panoramic view of Jerusalem
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Evening ice-breaker activities and a chance to get to know your fellow participants even better!
• Accommodation - Jerusalem

Day 2 - Jerusalem, Israel's capital city - Bedouin experience

• Morning walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem. Entering through the Zion Gate, visit the Kotel (Western Wall), Judaism's holiest site
• Explore the rebuilt Jewish Quarter with its ancient Roman commercial street (the Cardo) and winding alleyways.
• Late afternoon drive south to the Kfar Hanokdim Bedouin Village and experience a camel ride through a magnificent desert landscape as the sun sets
• Traditional Bedouin welcome ceremony, coffee and tea, followed by a lavish Hafla dinner accompanied by tales of Bedouin folklore
• Accommodation - Kfar Hanokdim Bedouin Village (in a goat's hair tent or under the stars - the choice is yours)

Day 3 - Masada - Kibbutz Gvulot, first outpost of the Negev

• Early breakfast before departing for nearby Masada, the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots against the Romans 2000 years ago, and a walk up the earthen Roman Ramp built to storm the desert fortress
• Visit Masada's remarkable excavations including Herod's Palace and stables, the ancient synagogue and the ancient water system and hear about the defenders' anguished choice between slavery and death before descending via the winding Snake Path
• The Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, and plenty of time to enjoy a float in the extremely salty waters and to experience the therapeutic benefits (and fun) of Dead Sea mud!
• Hike through Nahal David canyon, observe desert wildlife and flora and cool off under a natural waterfall
• Arrive at Kibbutz Gvulot in the Western Negev desert in time for a quick swim before participating in the unique "First Outpost of the Negev" activity and settlement program
• Outdoor BBQ dinner in the original kibbutz outpost's courtyard
• Late evening free time to relax and enjoy meeting Israelis in the informal setting of the kibbutz pub
• Accommodation - Kibbutz Gvulot

Day 4 - Kibbutz Sde Boker - Jaffa & Tel Aviv

• Visit Kibbutz Sde Boker, founded by soldiers on May 15, 1952, the fourth anniversary of Israeli independence, with the aim of making the desert bloom
• Visit the grave and home of David Ben Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister and a member of the kibbutz, overlooking the biblical Wilderness of Zin
• Travel north to the ancient port city of Jaffa with its quaint artists' quarter and harbor and the modern and vibrant city of Tel Aviv. Walk through the newly restored neighborhood of Neve Tzedek (the first area in Tel Aviv to be settled), experience the bohemian atmosphere of picturesque Nachalat Binyamin and visit Rabin Square, the site of the 1995 assassination of then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
• "Give back to Israel" - help Israelis by taking part in a community service project
• Arrive at your Jerusalem hotel in time to prepare for Kabbalat Shabbat and to attend services in a local synagogue
• Traditional Shabbat dinner at the hotel
• Special evening program of interaction and discussion on a Shabbat theme with your fellow participants
• Accommodation - Jerusalem

Day 5 - Shabbat in Jerusalem - Burma Road night hike and campfire

• Late wake-up or optional Saturday morning services in various local synagogues
• Walking tour of Jerusalem neighborhoods, including Nahlaot with its winding alleyways and synagogues, and Rehavia, where the President of Israel's official residence is located
• Traditional Shabbat lunch at the hotel
• Unique "Changing Map of the Middle East" activity and discussion focusing on the political and historical background that led to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the current situation in Israel and the Middle East
• Free time to relax
• Havdalah - A brief ceremony marking the end of Shabbat
• Dinner at the hotel
• "Jerusalem at Any Cost" program - Night hike along the Burma Road, built to break the siege of Jerusalem in 1948 with the help of foreign volunteers such as West Point graduate Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus
• Israeli songs (guitar in hand) and Turkish coffee late into the night around a campfire at the end of the hike
• Accommodation - Jerusalem

Day 6 - Yad Vashem - Mount Herzl - Supreme Court - Archeological dig - Wine and cheese dinner

• Visit Yad Vashem, Israel's national memorial to the Holocaust, including the Children's Memorial and the Valley of the Lost Communities
• Mount Herzl, named after the founder of Zionism, and the burial ground for Israel's past leaders and fallen defenders, including the grave of Yitzhak Rabin, the assassinated former Prime Minister of Israel
• Guided tour of the architecturally magnificent Supreme Court of Israel and a simulated trial in one of the courtrooms
• Archeological dig at Tel Marasha, literally sifting your way through layers of history, and crawl through caves dug out thousands of years ago
• Wine tasting and a delicious dinner of homemade cheeses and wines at Kibbutz Nachshon
• Accommodation - Jerusalem

Day 7 - Northern Israel - Zichron Yaakov & Atlit - Druze culture - "Poets and Pioneers" - Sea of Galilee

• Drive north along the coastal road to Zichron Yaakov, the picturesque "First Aliyah" town in the Carmel Mountains, founded in 1882, home to the Baron de Rothschild vineyards and site of intrigue and espionage during Ottoman rule
• Atlit, dating back to 1187 and the Crusader period, and site of a detention camp set up by the British Mandate authorities for illegal Jewish immigrants
• Druze town of Daliyat el Carmel with its unique culture, smells and tastes, colorful market and souvenir shops
• "Poets and Pioneers" at the Kinneret Courtyard on the shores of Lake Kinneret and the nearby Kinneret Cemetery. Hear about the loves and lives of a handful of young idealists who left Eastern Europe one hundred years ago in order to lay the foundation of the Jewish state
• Late afternoon dip in the Sea of Galilee
• Check-in and dinner at the hotel on the shores of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee)
• Relax and unwind with an informal discussion with your fellow participants on the shores of the lake.
• Accommodation - Kibbutz hotel on shores of the Sea of Galilee

Day 8 - Golan Heights - Jordan River - Safed

• Tour the Golan Heights, a majestic plateau overlooking Israel's northern Galilee region and site of fierce armored battles during the 1967 Six Day War and 1973 Yom Kippur War, for a better understanding of its strategic significance to Israel
• Nature hike in the lush Banias National Park, one of three water sources that feed into the Jordan River
• Kayaking/tubing down the winding Jordan River
• Ancient city of Safed (Tzefat in Hebrew), home of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, and tour of the ancient synagogues and artists' quarter
• Dinner at the hotel
• Accommodation - Kibbutz hotel on shores of the Sea of Galilee

Day 9 - Beit Shean - Mount Gilboa - Zippori - Tel Aviv

• Visit the ancient town of Beit Shean and its remarkable Roman ruins including the amphitheatre and bath house
• Hike on Mount Gilboa, a mountain ridge that rises to 508 meters above sea level
• Tour the ruins of the ancient city of Zippori dating back to the Second Temple period
• Check in to Tel Aviv hotel and dinner
• Wrap-up session - Reflecting on the Taglit-Birthright Israel experience
• Accommodation - Tel Aviv hotel

Day 10 - Flight back to U.S./Canada

• Travel to Ben Gurion International Airport for check-in and flight back to the U.S. or Canada
• Shalom Ulehitra'ot - Good-bye and see you again soon