Programs » Travel » Israel

Israel

TBA

Nine Days, Seven Nights Including Hotel, Meals, Day Trips and Airfare from Toronto

Come to a country that has been changing the world for 3,000 years! Take the time to enjoy Israel and travel the country from north to south.

Explore antiquities, eat new foods and experience Israeli culture in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv. Explore the complexity of life in Israel — the political, religious & social — and return home energized.

Walk the streets of today's cities and the ancient pathways of the past. See fascinating places and meet government and business leaders who can help build ties to your community.

INCLUDED FEATURES:

• Round-trip air transportation from Toronto on the services of El Al Airlines.

• ABC Destinations handles your baggage outside of the airport for your arrival and departure. (Based on one bag per person).

• A professional tour host will assist you throughout the program upon arrival in Israel.

• First class hotel accommodations for seven nights at the centrally located Metropolitan Hotel Tel-Aviv (five nights) and The Prima Royale Hotel Jerusalem (two nights) or similar including hotel tax and service charges.

• Daily breakfasts and dinners.

• Deluxe air-conditioned motor coach transportation for all transfers, tours and guided excursions.

• Full-day tour of Tel-Aviv & Jaffa.

• Full-day tours of Jerusalem Old & New.

• Full-day tour of the Dead Sea region.

THE PRICE:

Tour price is $2,789 per person (members) and $2,989 per person (future members), double occupancy (includes $400 per person fuel surcharges). For single occupancy, add $499. Air taxes are included at $100 per person. Fuel surcharges and air taxes are valid at the time of printing and are subject to change. Optional tours are available at an additional cost.

THE HOTELS:

The Metropolitan Hotel Tel-Aviv is located in the very center of Tel-Aviv, only one block away from the Mediterranean Sea and Tel-Aviv's expansive sandy beaches. All accommodations include central air-conditioning/heat, and we offer rooms reserved for non-smokers. Views are either to the Mediterranean Sea or the White City. Room facilities includes hair dryer, safe, direct dial telephone, cable TV, voice mail, complimentary wireless internet, mini-bar, tea & coffee making facilities and safety door locks.

The Prima Royale Hotel Jerusalem is situated on a quiet street in Jerusalem's Talbieh residential neighborhood and it was created to reflect the unique spirit of Jerusalem with its magnificent atmosphere, art, literature and religious heritage. The Prima Royale Hotel provides a "private hideaway" for business, leisure and arts travelers who want to relax in a club-like atmosphere. Our standard rooms are superbly designed to meet exceptional levels of comfort. Newly designed and refurnished in light pastel colors, all rooms include amenities such as a shower/bathtub, personal safe, mini-bar, hair dryer, cable TV, internet, and telephone with international direct access dialing, coffee/tea making facilities and air conditioning.

THE ITINERARY:

Day 1 - Depart Canada: Depart Toronto for Israel.

Day 2 - Tel-Aviv: Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, you will be met by a representative, who will assist you with your luggage and escort you through customs and transfer you to your hotel, where the remainder of the day is yours to enjoy at leisure. A stroll is suggested along the beautiful beachfront promenade while enjoying the refreshing air and surf. This evening there will be a welcome dinner and a program overview at the hotel.

Overnight in Tel-Aviv. (Dinner)

Day 3 - Tel-Aviv/Jaffa/Tel-Aviv: After breakfast, we will visit the Old Port City of Jaffa (Yafo), just south of Tel-Aviv for a beautiful panoramic view of Tel-Aviv and a sense of the first Jewish city of the modern era, established in 1909. Next we will visit Independence Hall where we will listen to an audio presentation including David Ben Gurion’s moving Declaration of Independence establishing the state of Israel. Walk along Rothschild Boulevard where you can see “The White City of Tel-Aviv”, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Return to the hotel, where the remainder of the day is at leisure.

Overnight in Tel-Aviv. (Breakfast, Dinner)

Day 4 - Tel-Aviv/Caesarea, Haifa & Daylat al-Carmel (Optional Tour)/Tel-Aviv: After breakfast, enjoy a day of leisure or take an optional tour to visit the ancient city of Caesarea, built by Herod the Great and once the seat of Roman rule. View the excavated Roman Theater, with its acoustic and theatrical sound, which was used for many performances throughout the centuries. A new audio-visual presentation brings to life the times of the Romans who controlled these shores 2,000 years ago. Today, it draws major venue attractions, for concerts and festivals. We will walk through the excavated fortress and view the aqueduct, once used for conveying water to the city. Then we’ll arrive in Haifa and ascend Mt. Carmel for a Panoramic view of Haifa Bay and the beautiful Bahai Gardens with its impressive temples. We will stop at the Druze village of Daylat al-Carmel for Druze hospitality and learn about this great community that lives in Israel and serves in its Army. Return to Tel-Aviv for overnight. (Breakfast, Dinner)

Day 5 - Tel-Aviv/Nazareth, Galilee, Capernaum & Tabgha (Optional Tour)/Tel-Aviv: After breakfast, enjoy a day of leisure or take an optional tour to Nazareth, Galilee, Capernaum and Tabgha. We’ll drive to Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and visit the Church of the Annunciation where Mary was first informed about her immaculate conception. We will then tour, the Sea of Galilee with a boat ride in a wooden boat and visit Capernaum; where a 2nd century synagogue was discovered which threw light on the life of the community of that era. According to the Christian tradition, Jesus served here as a local rabbi and performed miracles. Then it’s on to Mount Beatitudes, North of the Sea of Galilee. Atop the Beatitudes Mount, lies a beautiful church where you can enjoy a magnificent view of the northern part of Sea of Galilee and including Tabgha and Capernaum. Next we’ll go to Tabgha to the Church of the Multiplication, the traditional site of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the third resurrection appearance of Jesus. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (Breakfast, Dinner)

Day 6 - Tel-Aviv/Yad Vahsem & City of David (Optional Tour)/Tel-Aviv: After breakfast, enjoy a day of leisure or take an optional tour to Yad Vahsem and the City of David. We’ll travel to Yad Vahsem, considered the first and most famous memorial to mankind’s darkest period. We will visit the very moving exhibit at the Children’s Pavilion, the Valley of the Communities - a man-made valley in the form of the European Map featuring the names of over 5000 lost communities engraved on the stone walls in remembrance. We will then visit the City of David and see the newest and exciting excavations of Jerusalem during the time of the First Temple period and then we will enter the Old City and head for the Southern Wall Excavations.

Here we will visit the Davidson Center, one of the most significant archaeological sites in the country. We’ll take a walk through the past with its Virtual Tour attraction. We’ll then walk through the Jewish Quarter, which was reconstructed after the city was unified following the Six-Day War in 1967.

A special point of interest in the restored Jewish Quarter is the "Cardo", meaning the "heart" of this ancient Byzantine city. View the unearthed main Roman thoroughfare and ancient marketplace lined with columns. Return to the hotel for a farewell dinner and overnight. (Breakfast, Dinner)

Day 7 - Tel-Aviv/Jerusalem: After breakfast, we will drive to Jerusalem for a tour of Old and New Jerusalem. You’ll ascend the Mount of Olives for a breathtaking panoramic view. Overlooking the Old City, the mount is covered partly in olive trees, cemeteries and churches, commemorating Christian events. Descend via Palm Sunday Way to visit the Garden of Gethsemane, with its ancient olive trees believed to date back to the times of

Christ. Walk through the Arab Bazaar and see Middle Eastern life with it rich colors, flavours, and smells. Here we will have a short break for individual lunch on your own. We’ll then enter the gates of the old city and walk the Via Dolorosa and end with a visit to the Church of Holy Sepulcher. Next, proceed to holiest place in Judaism today, the Western Wall - "Kotel". In the afternoon, we will visit the Israel Museum, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are exhibited, and view the Model of Jerusalem, as it used to look in the 2nd Temple period. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (Breakfast, Dinner)

Day 8 - Jerusalem/Dead Sea/Qumran/Jerusalem: After an early breakfast, we will leave for the Dead Sea area. Traveling south east we will arrive at the shores of the Dead Sea and descend to the lowest point on earth at 1305 feet (398m) below sea level. Continue to visit Qumran where hidden scrolls found in the caves in 1947 exposed the secret life of the Essenes, a small ultra religious sect, who hid there from the Roman enemy and the burial place of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. Float at the Dead Sea and cover yourselves with mud and enjoy the unsinkable therapeutic waters of this mineral-rich sea. We will drive to the legendary mountaintop plateau of Massada and ascend by cable car to the ancient synagogue of Massada and explore the ancient fortress. Here, was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their struggle against the Romans. The Zealots held out for three years against the legions of Flavius Silva and chose to die as free men at their own hands rather than submit to Roman slavery. From the top of Massada, the outlines of the Roman encampments are still visible below. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (Breakfast, Dinner)

Day 9 - Tel-Aviv/Canada: After breakfast, depart for Ben Gurion International Airport for your return flight home. (Breakfast)

Please note: Though rare, it may be necessary to substitute hotels and adjust itineraries due to local conditions.

E-mail: estagg@winnipeg-chamber.com

Telephone: (204) 944-3311