Israel is so much more than the Western Wall, felafel, technology, archaeology and the military. Affinity Excursions can introduce you to the nightlife, the cultural divide, the burgeoning food and wine industries, the cutting edge art scene, and the remarkable reintroduction of Biblical era wildlife to its nature reserves. Our experts and experienced guides take you off the beaten path for hiking, biking, kayaking or travel on horseback, camel, ATV or jeep. Explore caves, climb mountains or dig into archaeological sites. Of course, Affinity Excursions will show you the must-see sites, such as the Old City, the Western Wall, Masada, the Dead Sea, the Golan Heights and Galilee. But we go beyond the traditional to help you design your own program that could include:
- Viniculture: More than just sweet, Kiddush wine, Israel produces an array of cabernets, merlots and more. Visit boutique wineries and participate in wine tastings
- Gastronomy: Get in touch with your inner foodie by cooking with celebrity chefs from gourmet restaurants. Amble with them through the fresh food markets, sample the tasty offerings, buy fresh vegetables and spices and create a delicious meal from local produce.
- Spirituality: Nourish your spiritual and mystical sides in the Galilee city of Tsfat by taking an art workshop with a Kabalistic artist or learn with one of the local experts on Kabbalah
- Active Track: Gear up for action, whether its kayaking on the Jordan River, biking in the Hula Valley Reserve, hiking on developed trails, rappelling off cliffs, riding camels in the desert, or driving ATVs on the Golan;
- Nature: Hear from park rangers how they are reintroducing Biblical animals such as Persian fallow deer, wild goats, roe deer, the white ibex and the hyrax– into the nature reserves of Israel.
- Israel is a bird lover’s paradise… see the migration of birds in the Hula Reserve, visit the bird sanctuary in Eilat
- Technology and the environmental: Learn about Israel’s cutting edge hi-tech and environmental innovations such as the design of one of the most promising electric vehicle systems in the world. Visit the factory and meet the brainpower behind this invention
- Handicapped tours – we design excursions for the physically challenged
- Bar/Bat mitzvah tours – See the Bible come alive and experience the history you’ve learned so much about; participate in archaeological digs, stand in the same places our forefathers stood in….explore the caves and mountains that sheltered Bar Kochbah and the Jewish warriors during the Jewish revolt. Come of age while in the land of your forefathers.
- Senior Tours – designed at a slower pace but still shows you all.
Additional information
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Day 1: Depart the United States
Overnight: En route
Day 2: Arrival to Israel
- After arrival to Ben Gurion International Airport and transfer to buzzing Tel Aviv.
- Continue to your hotel, check in, relax and freshen up.
- Enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
Day 3: Tel Aviv Vibes
- After breakfast, depart the hotel for the dynamic Florentine neighborhood, Tel Aviv’s most Bohemian and upbeat neighborhood. Learn about contemporary Israeli culture through the writing on the walls, cars and painted garbage bins.
- Enjoy a guided walk through Neve Zedek, one of the first neighborhoods built outside of Jaffa, with its narrow streets, incomparable stories and beautiful gentrification.
- Visit the bi-weekly Nachalat Binyamin market comprised of over 100 stands representing specialty crafts and folk art in virtually every medium imaginable.
- Sarona was a flourishing Christian Templar agricultural settlement in the midst of the isolated plains north of Jaffa; today it is an exclusive business park in the heart of Tel Aviv while at the same time preserving the character of the Sarona neighborhood, its buildings and deep-rooted plants.
- Touring and “tastings” dinner in the 80+ year old Carmel Market (Shuk HaCarmel), revealing the fascinating culinary traditions that mix in this place.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
Day 4: Conflicts
- After breakfast, check out of hotel and depart southwards for an overview of the situation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
- Continue to nearby kibbutz for a dialogue with residents about living in such close proximity to one of Israel’s most volatile borders.
- Participate in an authentic ethnic cooking workshop that affords a hands-on, true-to-life cultural immersion through taste, smell, and experience.
- Continue to Jerusalem.
- Upon arrival, stop at a viewpoint for an introduction to and overview of the city.
- Check in to the hotel and evening at leisure.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day 5 – Jerusalem through the Ages –The Jewish Quarter
- After breakfast, depart the hotel for the Old City.
- Beginning at Jaffa Gate, walk along the rooftops of the Old City for a glimpse at the multiethnic weave of the city; visit the Jewish Quarter, including sites such as the Cardo, Hurva Square and the Herodian Mansions.
- Stop at the Western Wall (Kotel) for private reflection and meditation. Afterwards, head underneath the Old City’s chaotic maze of buildings to the Western Wall Tunnel, the extension of the retaining wall built 2,000 years ago by Herod the Great to support the massive compound where the Temple stood.
- Lunch and the rest of the afternoon on own.
- Kabbalat Shabbat with a community of Israeli Jews of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, and practices.
- Festive Shabbat dinner with lone soldiers
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day 6: A Jerusalem Shabbat: Unity in Diversity
- Breakfast followed by Shabbat services or morning at leisure.
- Shabbat Lunch together with the Director of the Masorti [Conservative] Movement’s Rabbinical Assembly in Israel.
- Optional full-day tour to Masada and the Dead Sea.
- Havdalah at the hotel, followed by evening at leisure.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day 7: One Land- Many Narratives
- After breakfast hear from a historian who will frame the day on Israelis and Palestinians: Two Narratives, One Land.
- Stop on the southern side of Gilo for an introduction to the maps of Jerusalem, followed by an overview of Bethlehem and surrounding towns, the Seam Zone Barrier (Separation Fence) and the complex road network into Jerusalem.
- Continue the geopolitical drive to Bethlehem in the Palestinian Authority for a visit to the Church of the Nativity and guided tour of Bethlehem with a Palestinian guide who will explain the sentiments of Palestinian residents living under Israeli rule.
- Lunch at a winery in the Gush Block.
- Visit the Gush Etzion Heritage Center, which tells the story of the establishment of Gush Etzion. Meet with a Gush Etzion resident for an understanding of the opinion to settle all parts of the Land of Israel.
- Return to Jerusalem.
- Dinner together at a restaurant.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day 8: Memorialization
- After breakfast, depart for Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center
- After lunch on own, travel through the Great Rift Valley, stopping at the Beit Shean Archaeological Park, Israel’s largest archaeological site.
- Dinner together at a restaurant.
- Afterwards, check in to the hotel.
Overnight: Galilee
Day 9: Northern Exposures
- Depart hotel for the Golan Heights for a briefing on the relationship between Israel and Syria.
- Proceed to the top of Mt. Bental for overview into Syria.
- Visit Tsfat for a look at ancient synagogues and time to explore the artists’ quarter.
- Depart for Tel Aviv. Stop for a farewell dinner and wine tasting at a winery.
- Proceed to Ben Gurion International Airport for departure to the United States.
