Frequently Asked Questions
What is Included? In short, everything except lunch, dinner & souvenirs & your flight to Israel and back.
Can I just got to Israel? Yes, This is the main tour. Greece is the second leg if you would like to go & Egypt is the third leg if you would like to go. To go to Greece, you must go to Israel first and to go to Egypt, you must go to Israel & Greece first.
Getting around
All transportation is covered on your trip.
Isn’t Israel a long way away?
Not nearly as far as you may think. Just 10 hours from New York (it’s quicker to fly from New York to Israel than from New York to Hawaii!), or 14 hours from Los Angeles.
What documents do I need to travel to Israel?
For U.S. citizens, all you need is a passport that’s valid at least six months longer than your date of arrival in Israel. (For stays up to three months, you don’t need a visa.) If you’re not a U.S. or Canadian citizen, the same conditions apply to citizens of most western countries. You don’t need a visa for Greece, you DO need one for Egypt, but the approval process is easy & the fee will be paid for you by us.
Is it safe to travel to Israel?
We only travel to places we know well & we do not visit the West Bank or Gaza strip, which is where the fighting has occurred. The Gaza Strip & West Bank is nowhere near the holy sites. Locals say negative news stories are mainly propaganda & that all is normal in Jerusalem. Due to the current conflict in Israel, we will be temporarily putting our tours on hold until we feel it safe to resume our tours. Our tour group’s safety is of utmost importance and we will collaborate with our local team to ensure it is safe before our tours resume.
What about health, medicines, and vaccinations?
Israel is an ultra-modern country with the world’s highest number of doctors per capita, and a health & hospital system that is the envy of the world. No vaccinations are required to visit Israel right now (unless you have recently been in an area where there have been epidemics of yellow fever, cholera or ebola), but of course, make sure to stay alert in case something changes. If you have been vaccinated, bring your vaccination card with you on this trip. You can buy most standard over-the-counter equivalent of North American drugs in Israel. You can also bring supplies of your standard prescription drugs with you. If you need to bring syringes & vials of medicine, bring along a letter from your doctor attesting to your needs, just in case. If you need to see a doctor in Israel, check with your hotel concierge. Travel insurance (including medical coverage) is always recommended for all foreign travel & will be provided for you on your trip. No covid vaccine is currently required, but again, it is prudent to bring your vaccination card with you in case something changes.
What to wear?
Bring good walking shoes or sneakers. Israelis (especially women) like to be “elegant casual” on evenings in Jerusalem. Some religious shrines require modest dress (arms & legs covered, and, occasionally, no pants for women). Dress Modestly in Jerusalem or you will not be allowed to enter certain holy sites.
What about money?
On arrival in Israel, it’s a good idea to use your bank-card to withdraw some Shekels from the ATM in the arrival-halls at Ben Gurion – or change small amounts of dollars/or travelers’ checks at a bank or your hotel. There are ATM machines all over Israel and credit cards are widely accepted.
Electricity
Almost all hotel rooms are equipped with hairdryers, and all have shaver sockets. For other appliances, Israel’s electricity is 220V A/C, single phase 50-cycles; 110V-220V transformers can be used. Israeli outlets have three prongs, but European two-prong adapters usually work.
Keeping in touch
We only stay at hotels with good Wifi. American cell-phones that work overseas will work in Israel too. Israel is 6 or 7 hours ahead of the East Coast of the USA depending on the season.
Temperatures