Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv
4
Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv
By Tourist Israel
About
Israel’s main sights are widely dispersed, making it nearly impossible to see them in a day independently. Aimed at travelers limited for time, this tour from Tel Aviv covers several religious and natural treasures in one convenient day. Travel by air-conditioned vehicle, enjoy guided Old Jerusalem and Bethlehem tours to get background on the sights, and enjoy the Dead Sea, with private beach admission included.
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from per adult
$109.00
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 0-99, max of 50 per group
Duration: 12h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
English
Highlights
- Cover five of Israel’s top sights from Tel Aviv in just a day
- Tour Old Jerusalem and Bethlehem
- Swim in the Dead Sea from a private beach, with entry fee included
- Ideal for history and religious buffs with limited time
- All transportation in air conditioned vehicles
- Guided tour in Jerusalem
- Guided tour of Bethlehem
What's not included- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Entrance fees to Dead Sea Beach 35 NIS
- Entry/Admission - Dead Sea
- Wake early and begin in central Tel Aviv when you board a climate-controlled coach destined for Jericho. Gaze at Israel’s rugged landscapes en route to this ancient city and get a brief overview as your guide explains its biblical heritage. Then, enjoy time on a private Dead Sea beach where you’ll have the opportunity to float in the salt-rich waters. Next, travel through the Judean Desert for a guided tour of 4,000-year-old walled Old Jerusalem. View some of the city's holy sites as your guide explains their religious significance and history, and charts Jerusalem’s wider, ancient past. Finally, journey to Bethlehem to visit its UNESCO-protected Church of the Nativity, believed to stand on the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Your tour then concludes with drop-off at the original Tel Aviv departure point.
- Departure details
- Kaufmann St 2, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel Pick up is from Israeli Textile Center, Kaufman Street 2 (Corner of Shenkar & Kaufman St)
Return details- Returns to original departure point
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 26254P11- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Note that in some circumstances, the order of sites visited might change
- Each traveler is allowed a maximum of 1 suitcase and 1 carry-on bag. Oversized or excessive luggage (e.g. surfboards, golf clubs or bikes) may have certain restrictions, please inquire with the operator prior to travel to confirm if your excess luggage is acceptable
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- What you can expect during your visit
- Regular temperature checks for staff
- Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
- Temperature checks for tour participants upon arrival
- Guides required to regularly wash hands
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
- Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
- Contactless payment for gratuities and add-ons
- Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
- Gear/equipment sanitized between use
- Face masks required for travelers in public areas
- Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Community- Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
- Which attractions will I visit with Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv?
- During this experience, places you will visit include:
- Western Wall
- Church of the Nativity
- The Way of the Cross - Via Dolorosa
- Old City of Jerusalem
- Église du Saint-Sépulcre
- How much is Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv?
- Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv price starts from $109.00. Discover and book Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv on Tripadvisor
- What is the Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv cancellation policy?
- Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv cancellation policy: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience. Discover and book Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv on Tripadvisor
- Which company provides Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv?
- Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv is hosted by Tourist Israel. Read reviews, discover additonal experiences or contact Tourist Israel on Tripadvisor. Discover and book Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv on Tripadvisor
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 26254P11
Reserve your spot
Similar experiences
Itinerary
- You'll start atKaufmann St 2Kaufmann St 2, Tel Aviv-Yafo, IsraelPick up is from Israeli Textile Center, Kaufman Street 2 (Corner of Shenkar & Kaufman St)See address & details
- 1Western WallStop: 20 minutesSee details
- 2Church of the NativityStop: 60 minutesSee detailsPass byThe Way of the Cross - Via Dolorosa
- 3Old City of JerusalemStop: 4 hoursSee details
- 4Eglise du Saint-SepulcreStop: 15 minutesSee details
- 5Dead SeaStop: 60 minutes - Admission excludedSee detailsPass byThe Cardo
- You'll return to the starting point
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About the operator
- Monica R00Terrible tour do not book itTerrible attitude of the tour guide, only cares to get to her 1.5 hour lunch and she skipped the Haifa garden, even lied that it is very hard to get a permit to enter and literally after 2 minutes we entered free of charge. Moreover we were supposed to finish at 18.00 and we came back at 16.00 2 hours earlier, we even completely skipped the last part with the monastery. So basically you only see the amphitheater and the Akko and that's it! Terrible you don't even have 5 minutes to take pictures but you have 20 minutes at the parking for the toilet unbelievable!
- nogh202000Convenient and nice tour to follow Jesus’ pathVery interesting to follow Jesus’ path before he died. Many stories were told by our guide, which are intuitive for non-Christian like me. Visiting places were selective. We might have possibility to visit more places in the same area, but it was too hot and time was limited. The restaurant was a good choice.
- sophietravels2100Tourist Israel made our Honeymoon the Best!Thank you Tourist Israel for making our honeymoon the most amazing trip ever! We took a lot of tours with you this week and below is a review of all of them! Masada, Ein Gedi, & the Dead Sea: Our tour guide was the best of the best. I wish I remembered his name, but we went on 8/4/23. He was so engaging and brought Masada to life! His passion for sharing his knowledge with us was so meaningful and made it an experience to remember. Our favorite was experiencing Ein Gedi, what a hidden gem that is! Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Dead Sea: Shachar was a great guide and very friendly! He even made us a map of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and checked in to make sure we were all good the entire time. We enjoyed learning about Jerusalem and appreciated how much time he gave us to go experience each quarter. For the entire day, we felt it was an adequate amount of time at each place. Bethlehem was great as well, and we definitely had our most favorite meal there of trip, so delicious! The Dead Sea of course was so fun to experience two days in a row, we just wish it didn’t cost so much for the “all inclusive” price. Christian Jerusalem Tour: Our guide, Omer, was awesome! He was very laid back, kind, and made sure we were able to see everything. We are so glad we did the Christian Jerusalem tour in addition to the general Jerusalem tour. We were able to see everything from a different perspective on each day, giving us the full Jerusalem experience, as well as seeing a lot of great sites on the Christian tour. Lunch was great that day as well, but the restaurant told us a different price when we ordered and charged us more at the end for no reason; it was confusing and annoying. Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, & River Jordan: Avi was a fun guide and even read us scripture from the Bible and Torah throughout the day. Lunch at the Sea of Galilee was delicious and it was a cool experience to eat “Saint Peter’s fish.” It was a small group and the day was just a friendly and positive experience! Petra 1 Day Tour: Although the day was very long, it was worth it to see Petra! We went through the border at Jordan with ease with the help of the tourist Israel representatives. We spent the day with the most amazing guide, Kareem! He treated us like family and made sure we were safe and had a smile on our face the entire trip. Our lunch in Jordan was delicious, we just wish they gave us more than one glass of water without being charged. We had great experiences on the bus rides with our other tours, but we wish a long ride to Petra at least had WiFi. Overall, we are so grateful to Tourist Israel for their hard work in ensuring we were always safe and having a good time. The cost is very fair for all of their tours. We were able to see and experience everything we wanted to on our honeymoon because of their services. Thank you again, and a special shoutout and love to all of our tour guides because they truly made the trips exceptional!
- lorenaa46700Great experience! Little time in Ein Gedi thoughExcellent tour! Good bus, fun hiking up, beautiful sunrise. A bit of misunderstanding on the time and place it would start after sunrise on the top of the mountain, so I lost the begining of it. The guide Beni was very fun and clearly loves what he does. That makes all the difference! I whished we had more time in Ein Gedi, half an hour would have enhanced the experience. Also the guide said I wouldn't need my simming suit, so in the end I went in the waterfall with my colthes on, because I definately wanted to refresha dn there were many waterfalls for that! We also had little time in the dead sea, but there it was enough. It's fun to go in the water, put some mud on your body and go in the water again. Too hot to stay much longer anyway. Recommend!
- jeremypL8180WP00Excellent trip and worth the money, but the ride back was a bit roughGenerally a good experience. I recommend the 2-day trip over the 1-day trip, because you really won't have enough time to see everything with the 1-day. The first day was guided and the second day was self-guided. I appreciated both days — Kareem was an excellent tour guide, and I also liked having the second day to walk around and explore on my own. They put us up in a nice hotel with decent food and service, so no complaints there. There was a bit of a problem with the bus on the way back. The AC broke on the bus from Petra to the border crossing, which made for a hot, uncomfortable ride. Also, after departing from the border crossing and setting out for Jerusalem, they drove about an hour before stopping for a bathroom break, which wasn't wonderful. But I guess this is the sort of thing that happens when you travel. No trip is 100% perfect or trouble-free.
- 584fridak00We will do it again with Tourist IsraelWonderful tour. We took it from Jerusalem. The time for every stop was perfect. The guide Gabriel was excellent and very personable. Highly recommended.
- Resort3398587494700Amazing 2 day tripThis was an amazing 2 day trip as part of the Ultimate Israel 8 day trip. The Bedouin Camp in Wadi Rum was a taste of heaven. The bedroom was so comfortable and the food delicious. We opted to go snorkelling in the Red Sea on a yacht and what a fabulous experience. In my late 50s I had never snorkelled before but I felt so safe with the Tourist Israel guided I braved it and loved it. The transfer over the border was meticulously organised and the female guide who joined our bus on the Israel side was exceptional, giving us very clear instructions so that we knew exactly what to do. I would recommend this company without reservation.
- HappyTravelerForMe00Above and Beyond Driver and ExperienceI reserved a ride from Ben Gurion Airport to my hotel in Tel Aviv. The instructions I received to help me find my driver were easy to follow and spot on. My flight arrived late in the evening after being delayed an hour and a half, and my driver waited for me, helped me quickly find his car, and was very kind and helpful on the drive to the hotel. After a long flight and being in a new destination I didn't know, it was reassuring to have this driver take me from point A to B. He went above and beyond by waiting for my flight because he still had a long drive to return to his own home after dropping me off.
- 979cassyt00Quick but worthwhile tourGreat tour. Our guide did not show up for whatever reason but our bus driver said he would take us anyway. He was fantastic, with great info about the sites we were visiting and also things along the way. He made sure we made it to all the spots before other tours so we were always the first ones there. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough time at Ein Gedi, but it was nice to see it briefly on this quick tour. I was especially pleased that I could start this tour in Jerusalem and finish the tour in Tel Aviv, saving me the hassle and time associated with sorting transport out myself. The view from Masada is breathtaking and it was a difficult and hot climb even though we were climbing as the sun was rising. I did not envy the people that were coming up as I was heading back down!
- V8149CVjaimes00Magic Moment !I am from Mexico and I felt very warm welcome since the beginning of the trip till we get into Jordan. Our entrance to the border very well organized. Accommodation great and the dream came true when we enter to the Petra area . Totally redone mend it to stay over night in Petra. I had the most memorable experience with this tour .
- K6178NVclairef00INCREDIBLE experienceThe whole experience was INCREDIBLE! I can’t recommend this enough. Everything was so well planned.. it’s a lot to do in two days but so worth it. The guide was amazing!
- morsea201500Tour of coastal citiesIt was a very informative and pleasant trip to visit theses costal cities . Our guide was knowledgeable and the pace was perfect
- Elisabetbjarna00Sit, relax and let a tour guide lead 🫶The timetable was 100% it was exactly as discribed in the discription👌 I would really have liked to stay maybe a half an hour longer in Ein Gedi cause than I would have been able to walk all the way to the Ein Gedi spring, most if not all but me stayed in the first two or three small waterfalls. But! the road to the top is difficult and maybe a little dangerous at least in such heat (36c) There were a few and I would have loved to know a little bit more about the landscape or the area, a map of the waterfalls would have been great. The guide was very nice and knew alot about everything. I can only recommend this tour. It is great to just be able to sit, relax and let a tour guide lead one around the lowest point under sea level.
- ornitr201800Better off with a personal tourLarge group tours are hit or miss. This one was at best ok. The guide was nice enough, but had a very strong accent in English and was hard to understand. He also didn't share that much information even though there was lots of time to teach the group. We spent way too much time at "stops" that were really just tourist shopping traps. When we got to Petra, rather than have the tour guide explain everything we were looking at as we walked around as a group, he left each of us to explore on our own for over two hours. Without a map and no explanations at the location, we just walked around aimlessly without knowing any historical information about what we were seeing. We finally had "lunch" at nearly 4pm at a very mediocre restaurant. Petra was, of course, still breathtaking and impressive, but the tour was neither.
- 801staceya00Worthwhile VisitThis was my second visit to Petra so I will keep my comments to the tour itself. I traveled with my brother who had never been and he was justifiably impressed with Petra and the area. We were both extremally impressed by Tourist Israel's organization and keeping with the schedule. The bus arrived 15 min early to the pick up point and we left exactly on time. It does take time crossing the border but that is not on Tourist Israel and patience is needed. Once we crossed the border our guide and driver were waiting for us. They offered us each a cold bottle of water and sweet cookies. The guide's English was good and he was friendly. We had one rest stop (around 15 min) in each direction where you could purchase something to drink or souvenirs. Lunch was quite good at a local restaurant which was included in the price of the tour. We stayed on track and returned to the border to cross back into Israel with time to spare. The only negative I can mention is that when we crossed back we waited for a passenger that hadn't crossed back into Israel from a different Tourist Israel trip. Instead of sending us on our way and dealing with that separately we all waited for about an hour before they sent us on our way without the missing passenger. All in all, I would absolutely recommend Tourist Israel and the trip to Petra and would use them again in the future.
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233 reviews
Excellent
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22
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Katharina M
Hong Kong, China51 contributions
The tour started great but went just down hill fast. We spend about 3.5 hr in Jerusalem and our tour guide Allen was great. Kept the group of 30 moving and informed. I only wished they would have planes in some time to let us shop here.
The second part, Bethlehem, was just scratchy. Not because we had to cross the border to Palestine but also because the tour guide Emily was tired and super hard to understand. She pushed us quickly through the church that was put on top of Jesus’ birthplace and then rushed us to the prearranged buffet lunch that was just plain awful. We couldn’t go out and find our own food (because of the Palestine permission to stay) and we were stuck being also pushed into a tourist trap of a shop that only took US dollars. It was just junk.
The third stop was a beach at the north side of the Dead Sea. The narrow access point into the water was so packed with tourist you could hardly enter. The beach was super filthy. We were there in the off season in Feb. and I can’t imagine how this looks like in the high season.
Fortunate for us, we were able to see the south side of the Dead Sea, as we’ve done a private tour the day prior. So much prettier and nicer. Otherwise our experience would have been so tainted. The south beaches are so clean and nice, you could even collect some salt crystals on the beach.
So, if I could have done it over, I would have probably preferred to do the all day tour to Jerusalem and skipped the rest.
Rent a car and go to the Dead Sea yourself. It’s so much nicer at the other (South) end of the sea.
Overall, I think the organizers are just trying to do to much as cheap as possible. As in some previous reviewers experiences, we also wasted some time on switching buses and combining other tours.
This tour has potential, just cheap execution which is unfortunate considering the price.
The second part, Bethlehem, was just scratchy. Not because we had to cross the border to Palestine but also because the tour guide Emily was tired and super hard to understand. She pushed us quickly through the church that was put on top of Jesus’ birthplace and then rushed us to the prearranged buffet lunch that was just plain awful. We couldn’t go out and find our own food (because of the Palestine permission to stay) and we were stuck being also pushed into a tourist trap of a shop that only took US dollars. It was just junk.
The third stop was a beach at the north side of the Dead Sea. The narrow access point into the water was so packed with tourist you could hardly enter. The beach was super filthy. We were there in the off season in Feb. and I can’t imagine how this looks like in the high season.
Fortunate for us, we were able to see the south side of the Dead Sea, as we’ve done a private tour the day prior. So much prettier and nicer. Otherwise our experience would have been so tainted. The south beaches are so clean and nice, you could even collect some salt crystals on the beach.
So, if I could have done it over, I would have probably preferred to do the all day tour to Jerusalem and skipped the rest.
Rent a car and go to the Dead Sea yourself. It’s so much nicer at the other (South) end of the sea.
Overall, I think the organizers are just trying to do to much as cheap as possible. As in some previous reviewers experiences, we also wasted some time on switching buses and combining other tours.
This tour has potential, just cheap execution which is unfortunate considering the price.
Written February 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi 896katharinam, thank you for your feedback. We value our customers and want to provide the best experience possible. We are glad to hear you enjoyed the tour in Jerusalem with Allan, it is an amazing place with so many important sites and history to cover, so we do not also give time for shopping in order to make sure our tours cover as much as possible. We are sorry if you felt rushed and did not enjoy every aspect of the tour in Bethlehem. We, as all Israeli tour operators, cannot operate in Bethlehem and so we must use a local operator, so we unfortunately do not have as much control over this portion of the tour, but we will be sure to pass on your feedback. We know that not everyone enjoys the souvenir shop there, but it gives the opportunity for those who do want souvenirs to buy them, and it helps to support the local economy. the Dead Sea is an amazing place, and the number of people as well as cleanliness both depend on the time of year and can vary day to day and beach to beach. We take all of our groups to this private beach and often get positive feedback that it is clean and customers are able to float and collect salt, so we are sorry that this was not your experience on this particular day, sometimes it has more visitors than other times.
We do sometimes need to switch buses, such as when going into Bethlehem, because as I mentioned we must work with a local operator there and our vehicles cannot enter. We are sorry if this affected your experience. We hope you still enjoyed seeing all the amazing sites covered on this tour.
Written February 23, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sara Monnecchi
Siena, Italia20 contributions
May 2022 • Couples
All in all was a positive experience and I would really recommend it.
The price is fair and in line with others we saw online.
The guide is well informed and experienced. He has a nice touch when it comes to keep people entertained and involved.
It is good to visit Jerusalem in the morning (the scheduled departure from there is at 11) before it gets too crowded.
The lunch restaurant in Bethlehem could have more choices (we were just given two options, namely falafel or hamburger). The visit in Bethlehem is worth it and after that the Dead Sea for about 2 hours, which are enough for a nice experience there.
It’s just a bit disappointing what happened for the beach entry. We paid 25 ILS to the guide to “avoid wasting time with multiple payments” and so we paid more than the entrance price as seen in the price list at the entrance (18 ILS).
The price is fair and in line with others we saw online.
The guide is well informed and experienced. He has a nice touch when it comes to keep people entertained and involved.
It is good to visit Jerusalem in the morning (the scheduled departure from there is at 11) before it gets too crowded.
The lunch restaurant in Bethlehem could have more choices (we were just given two options, namely falafel or hamburger). The visit in Bethlehem is worth it and after that the Dead Sea for about 2 hours, which are enough for a nice experience there.
It’s just a bit disappointing what happened for the beach entry. We paid 25 ILS to the guide to “avoid wasting time with multiple payments” and so we paid more than the entrance price as seen in the price list at the entrance (18 ILS).
Written May 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JetterUK10
Burnley, UK55 contributions
Feb 2023
Fast paced day starting at 630am, arriving back to tel Aviv around 6-7pm. What we wanted and included Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Dead Sea.
Our guide through Jerusalem and western wall was great, including allowing 15-20 mins at western wall privately to explore up close. Then the tomb of Jesus in holy spectre, we queued with just minutes to spare (40 min queue). A group of 20 was manageable.
We then went to Bethlehem, and the dynamic of the trip changed, crossed the Palestine border and the guides changed due to local politics! Arrives the local Palestine guide ‘Mahmoud’ or a name to similar effect or something similar. Obnoxious, unprofessional and shameful to the company, let me explain why.
First they stop at their local gift shop, all fancy and close the doors behind you, more or less lock you in, never mentioned before and this minimises your times in each of the places your signed up to visit. Trying to sell you overpriced tat. Don’t buy anything, the company gets commission, spend your money with the local Palestinians. Then, “to save time” they make you order food on the bus with their pre planned restaurant once in Bethlehem, with 3 options, horrendous food as expected and nobody enjoyed. We declined and he asked why on the microphone in front of the whole coach! It’s all about money, Which is to be expected in these parts.
Once in Bethlehem, you walk as a group from the bus station to the church of nativity, birth spot of Jesus. We walk in and Mahmoud conveniently says we can’t visit the birth place of Jesus, a quick 10 minutes in and the group goes off to the restaurant. A man in our group has done the tour before, he says ignore this guide and get in the queue for the birth spot and meet the group back at the bus. Mahmoud says it’s a 2 hour queue, this is a lie, it took us 20 mins. We separated from the group and say we didn’t sign up to 40 minutes in a gift shop or an hour at a dive of a horrific tourist restaurant for a once in a lifetime visit down to the birth spot.
We got into a confrontation with Mahmoud, who insisted to be inappropriate and speak down to the female members of our group, I suspect this is their culture. Think he forgets this is our day and not his. Insist you get in the queue to see the spot, wasting time elsewhere didn’t help, and an official complaint has been lodged with tourist Israel about him. He gave us the biggest evil eye after, like being at school. He then kicked up a fuss about food orders and he is really controlling and inconsiderate to 2 other female guests who say he was rude. He also told the rest of the group we were lost!
Anyway, down to the Dead Sea for a quick 45 minutes which was also very rushed. But all in all a good day. Just insist it is YOUR DAY. don’t let them tell you where you are eating or going, if you want to separate briefly and meet up after, we would recommend doing so if their are parts you really want to see!
Our guide through Jerusalem and western wall was great, including allowing 15-20 mins at western wall privately to explore up close. Then the tomb of Jesus in holy spectre, we queued with just minutes to spare (40 min queue). A group of 20 was manageable.
We then went to Bethlehem, and the dynamic of the trip changed, crossed the Palestine border and the guides changed due to local politics! Arrives the local Palestine guide ‘Mahmoud’ or a name to similar effect or something similar. Obnoxious, unprofessional and shameful to the company, let me explain why.
First they stop at their local gift shop, all fancy and close the doors behind you, more or less lock you in, never mentioned before and this minimises your times in each of the places your signed up to visit. Trying to sell you overpriced tat. Don’t buy anything, the company gets commission, spend your money with the local Palestinians. Then, “to save time” they make you order food on the bus with their pre planned restaurant once in Bethlehem, with 3 options, horrendous food as expected and nobody enjoyed. We declined and he asked why on the microphone in front of the whole coach! It’s all about money, Which is to be expected in these parts.
Once in Bethlehem, you walk as a group from the bus station to the church of nativity, birth spot of Jesus. We walk in and Mahmoud conveniently says we can’t visit the birth place of Jesus, a quick 10 minutes in and the group goes off to the restaurant. A man in our group has done the tour before, he says ignore this guide and get in the queue for the birth spot and meet the group back at the bus. Mahmoud says it’s a 2 hour queue, this is a lie, it took us 20 mins. We separated from the group and say we didn’t sign up to 40 minutes in a gift shop or an hour at a dive of a horrific tourist restaurant for a once in a lifetime visit down to the birth spot.
We got into a confrontation with Mahmoud, who insisted to be inappropriate and speak down to the female members of our group, I suspect this is their culture. Think he forgets this is our day and not his. Insist you get in the queue to see the spot, wasting time elsewhere didn’t help, and an official complaint has been lodged with tourist Israel about him. He gave us the biggest evil eye after, like being at school. He then kicked up a fuss about food orders and he is really controlling and inconsiderate to 2 other female guests who say he was rude. He also told the rest of the group we were lost!
Anyway, down to the Dead Sea for a quick 45 minutes which was also very rushed. But all in all a good day. Just insist it is YOUR DAY. don’t let them tell you where you are eating or going, if you want to separate briefly and meet up after, we would recommend doing so if their are parts you really want to see!
Written February 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
alexcoomer
London, UK9 contributions
Aug 2022
If, like us, you are only visiting the area for a short time & want to see the main sights in one day then I would very much recommend this trip. It's quite an early pick up in Tel Aviv but this meant we got to Jerusalem before the crowds. Our guide, Jossi, who met us in Jerusalem was entertaining and informative and really seemed keen to show our very small group as much as possible in the short time we had. He took us to the place of The Last Supper, King David's Tomb, the site of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection as well as the Wailing Wall and continued to provide many interesting facts & answer questions as walked around the Holy City. The visit to Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity really added to the day & we were lucky to practically have the place to ourselves. I agree with other reviews that the stop at the souvenir shop and the lunch in Bethlehem weren't great but neither of these detracted from the trip and I can appreciate that the company are keen to support local businesses and, to be honest, if you want great food and shopping then you can find that anywhere in Tel Aviv and Jaffa. The float in the Dead Sea was the perfect way to round off the trip and the hour we had there was plenty long enough. A couple of pieces of advice, women should wear clothing below the knee & bring something to cover shoulders and arms when visiting the holy sights and long trousers for men are advisable but not essential. Bring plenty of water and leave jewellery at home if you plan on a dip in the Dead Sea as apparently anything other than gold will tarnish in the salty water! Overall a wonderful day out and excellent value for money!
Written August 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shalom Alex,
Thank you for leaving us a 5-star review and for your valuable feedback.
We are thrilled to hear that you had such a great and meaningful experience with us.
We take great pride in the work we invest in our tours, and our sincerest hope is that each of our travelers enjoys our tours.
We are looking forward to seeing you again in Israel :)
Best regards,
Written August 24, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Perry S
West Palm Beach, FL1 contribution
By the time we got off the bus after the 12.5 hours (listed as 10) I was not happy to say the least. Started the tour without a guide and only the bus driver who proceeded to have a very loud 45 minute personal conversation in Arabic while driving somewhat erratically with one hand while holding his blue tooth speaker right up to his mouth with his other hand for the entire trip from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We did get our guide Shai in Jerusalem and he gave us a wonderful extremely informative 3 hour tour. In hindsight if we only did Jerusalem for half a day I would have been very happy! Shai then left us before we entered Palestine! (Israelis aren’t allow in) for the Bethlehem portion and we picked up our second guide at the next stop. We then WASTED 30 mins at a gift shop (that wasn’t listed on tour) the people were very nice there but getting back in the bus we were harassed by locals aggressively trying to sell cheap items and then asking for donations as we tried to walk away and board the bus.
We visited what looked like the only attraction in Bethlehem where we stood in a crowded line for the opportunity to walk past the spot Jesus was born. We then had the opportunity to buy lunch at only one cafe (food was eeh) with very limited time, ( not listed by the tour) and even though our order was called in ahead ( three choices) we spent most of our allotted time waiting for the food. Palestine looks like a war ravaged third world country that I did not feel very comfortable in at all. Our guide then leaves us and the same bus driver makes a personal stop, runs out for the bus leaving the door opened. I thought this was where the bus gets taken hostage! Luckily that didn’t happen and we picked up Shai once we got back through the check points. Then an hour to get to the Dead Sea where the tour says it’s a private beach with amenities. Once we got there we had an hour to buy our admission tickets, get changed, (bring your own towel and water shoes (never mentioned by the tour) , and walk down a slippery muddy slope with hundreds of tourists and locals all trying to get in the very rocky beach (no place to put your things) and nothing private about it at all. In and out for the water for minutes to get back up the slope and showered to be at the meeting point on time. We then proceed to wait and wait for the handful of people on our tour that never respected the meeting times all day. Then once on the bus we had to wait at least 30 minutes for another group from a different bus (same tour company) who were also going back to Tel Aviv.
Finally made it back at 7:00 pm (6:30 AM meeting time) and couldn’t wait to get off the bus. Overall it was way to much travelling for so little time spent at each place. The instructions from the tour company on what to expect could have been spelled out better. Our two guides worked hard and I appreciate their effort.
We visited what looked like the only attraction in Bethlehem where we stood in a crowded line for the opportunity to walk past the spot Jesus was born. We then had the opportunity to buy lunch at only one cafe (food was eeh) with very limited time, ( not listed by the tour) and even though our order was called in ahead ( three choices) we spent most of our allotted time waiting for the food. Palestine looks like a war ravaged third world country that I did not feel very comfortable in at all. Our guide then leaves us and the same bus driver makes a personal stop, runs out for the bus leaving the door opened. I thought this was where the bus gets taken hostage! Luckily that didn’t happen and we picked up Shai once we got back through the check points. Then an hour to get to the Dead Sea where the tour says it’s a private beach with amenities. Once we got there we had an hour to buy our admission tickets, get changed, (bring your own towel and water shoes (never mentioned by the tour) , and walk down a slippery muddy slope with hundreds of tourists and locals all trying to get in the very rocky beach (no place to put your things) and nothing private about it at all. In and out for the water for minutes to get back up the slope and showered to be at the meeting point on time. We then proceed to wait and wait for the handful of people on our tour that never respected the meeting times all day. Then once on the bus we had to wait at least 30 minutes for another group from a different bus (same tour company) who were also going back to Tel Aviv.
Finally made it back at 7:00 pm (6:30 AM meeting time) and couldn’t wait to get off the bus. Overall it was way to much travelling for so little time spent at each place. The instructions from the tour company on what to expect could have been spelled out better. Our two guides worked hard and I appreciate their effort.
Written July 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Perry,
Thank you for your detailed review of the tour. We greatly appreciate your feedback, and we're delighted to hear that you had a positive experience with our guides. Your comments are invaluable as they help us improve our services and provide an excellent experience for our customers.
We understand your concerns about certain aspects of the tour, such as the safety feeling in Bethlehem. While we cannot control these external factors, we apologize for any discomfort you felt. We will take your feedback into consideration and continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of our customers.
We also apologize for any confusion regarding the necessary items to bring to the Dead Sea. Although we mention these requirements on our website, we understand that we can improve the clarity of this information. Additionally, we will make sure to provide a better heads-up regarding the slippery and rocky conditions of the beach.
We understand your disappointment in the limited time spent at each place. Visiting three significant locations in one day does not allow for a comprehensive exploration of each site. For a more meaningful experience, we offer tours that focus on specific areas, such as our Jerusalem day tour, where you can delve deeper into the cultural and historical aspects of Jerusalem.
Once again, thank you for choosing our tour company, and we sincerely hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future.
Written July 3, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
karina18391
Malaga, Spain3 contributions
Jun 2022 • Friends
Such a disappointing experience. Not by the tour guides they did quite a good job sharing information about the sites, it was more regarding the organisation. All seemed to be quite orientated to a religious point of view and Jerusalem didn’t hit my expectations we didn’t even went to see the golden dome building and the wailing wall area was overcrowded. After that we went to Bethelem and both of them they only allowed you to shop in the shop that the company had an agreement with, like for lunch it was already organised you couldn’t choose where to eat and quite expensive too. After lunch they basically forced us to leave the bus to go onto the souvenir shop because it was agreed with the company and close the bus for people to not go in and make a purchase. They switched off the wifi during the trip on the bus and on the Dead Sea they took us to a beach not very nice (Kalia Beach) and with a very unfriendly woman at the entrance saying that we didn’t have other choice than buying the most expensive ticket because it was the agreement with tourist israel. The tour guides were very friendly and helpful it just the company policy.
Written June 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shalom Karina,
It's sad for us to hear that your expectations of the tour did not match, I have shared your feedback and every observation you have brought to our attention on your Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem tour with our operations team, and we'd love to get in touch and hear more about your experience that is our top priority, we rely on customers like you to see how we can improve our tours.
We are looking forward to serving you always,
Have a nice day!
Written September 16, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Susana
1 contribution
Jan 2023
We only had one day free, so we booked this tour to see the more important places. The guide was great, and the tour well organized. Just the meeting point was not obvious, the address is correct, and we were told there was an orange sign, but it is really very small, to the right of the door to the building in the address. It really was a good experience for the short time we had, regarding the sights. Some of the people on our tour did get delayed in Jerusalem at times and we had to keep waiting for them, but overall the guide was able to manage diplomatically. The stop at the souvenir shop in Bethlehem could be avoided, and a little more time in the dead sea would be better. The lunch wasn't bad but not great, definitely from the choices the chicken shawarma was not good and I regretted picking it. I agree with spending money in Bethlehem to help out, but the couple of shops next to the lunch place would have been more than enough and are less commercial, and time would suffice, as long as you eat quickly. I certainly recommend this tour if you are short on time and cannot book 2 on 2 different days to have a more relaxing time, and certainly the guide was the best part. Of note, I went with my mother who is 70 but is in good physical shape. I don't think this tour is suitable for people with any kind of mobility issues.
Written February 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nicole W
Liverpool, UK47 contributions
Feb 2020
We had been on a full day tour of Jerusalem 2 days before with another guide. In half the amount of time Alan gave us a much better understanding of the history of Jerusalem and how the old city world today. I really enjoyed Alan's enthusiasm for his subject - riveting! My 11 year old girl thought so, too. I wish we had Alan with us for our whole trip in the Holy Land, because his guiding really worked for us both.
Written February 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi L216NWnicolew, thanks for your kind review. We are very happy to hear that you and your daughter enjoyed the tour with Alan and that he gave you an engaging and informative day! We hope to see you again soon!
Written February 27, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
lightclarity
Makati, Philippines13 contributions
Apr 2023
We did a tour to Jerusalem, Bethlehem & Dead Sea last April 7, 2023. we rode a gorgeous tour bus. Yaniv, our tour guide for Jerusalem was excellent. If Yaniv was our tour guide for the entire day, I would give a rating of 5. Our tour guide for Bethlehem was so-so. I felt that we were rushed through the process of going in to the Church in Bethlehem and done. For this tour, we appreciated the knowledge and expertise of Yaniv and Sam (our driver). Yaniv has a rating of A+++ as a tour guide, he was able to manage our big group nicely. We still feel grateful that we were able to go to Bethlehem. In Dead Sea, we had 1 hour to enjoy the place, my son had a wonderful experience floating in the Dead Sea. We were able to buy really great quality dates at very affordable price of 32 shekels per box. Overall, it was a happy experience to be able to visit 3 amazing sites in one day. Thank you Tourist Israel.
Written April 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gabrielle D
Tel Aviv, Israel1 contribution
Jan 2020 • Family
As a Christian, it was an incredible experience due to historic events that took place in the Holy Land. I felt very connected to the stories I knew that was related to my religion. Besides that, I was able to learn about other faiths as well since Jerusalem is not only home of Christianity but for the other two major religions.
Other than that, the Dead Sea is one of the most exciting experiences that a person will ever feel. It’s very breathtaking especially the view from above the mountains. Sadly, you’ll see how much has been depleted due to the industrialization of harvesting the minerals. A person can only imagine what it was decades ago.
Overall it's a must-go to areas. It's worth the long travels!
Other than that, the Dead Sea is one of the most exciting experiences that a person will ever feel. It’s very breathtaking especially the view from above the mountains. Sadly, you’ll see how much has been depleted due to the industrialization of harvesting the minerals. A person can only imagine what it was decades ago.
Overall it's a must-go to areas. It's worth the long travels!
Written January 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you, GabDac, for your review. It sounds like you had a wonderful tour and were able to connect to your religion even more - how exciting! We hope you'll join us again!
Written January 2, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
hi! we are planning to travel to Israel on July 3rd week. will it be possible to be dropped off at Jerusalem instead if Tel Aviv?
Gabriela Paulino
New York City, NY9 contributions
Hi, is there a pickup option for Jerusalem? We will already be in Jerusalem and would like to take this tour but I noticed that the pickup is only for tel aviv
Will you pick up and drop off at our hotel? Also do you have access to putting a wheel chair in the baggage area is a small flexible wheel chair
Mollie M
Minneapolis, MN18 contributions
Hello! We were wondering if we could tour with you on the 31st, but ONLY tour Jerusalem and Bethlehem —- pick up from Tel Aviv.
There are three of us. Please let me know.! We are having a hard time finding this combination!
Mollie
hartdvancouver-
Vancouver, Canada11 contributions
Hello Mollie,
Thank you for your note and request however, I live in Vancouver and went to Israel back in October! I did the Jerusalem and Dead Sea tour for the one day and enjoyed it.
Good luck finding your other individual for the group! Let me know if you have any questions about that day tour.
Cheers,
Hart
Bray McCollum
Ansbach, Germany2 contributions
What sites in Jerusalem are part of the tour?
Varun
New Delhi, India90 contributions
Tour of Jerusalem’s Old City. The guide will take you through the four quarters and tell you tales of this fascinating citadel.
Hi there,
Does a lap infant still pay the full adult fare?
Many thanks!
Izabela O
Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland73 contributions
We were 2 older Ladie, so I have no idea. Please contact Get Your Guide portsl, they will tell you Regards
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Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv provided by Tourist Israel
Product Overview: Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv
Prices From | $0 |
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Number of Reviews | 232 |
Number of Photos | 261 |
Duration | 720 minutes |






























































