Middle East Tours
Middle East Tours
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Welcome to the middle east tours offers you a unique visit to Israel - the local's perspective. We combine the famous tourist sites with local sites and our guides are friendly, fun, informative and most important - super informative. We discuss the real issues that makes Israel and promise you an experience you will never forget.
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5.0
137 reviews
Excellent
136
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1
veroniqueVDP
Antwerp, Belgium15 contributions
Nov 2019
We spent three days with Shai as our guide : in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Massada. Incredibly knowledgeable and a great storyteller, we highly recommend Shai as a guide! We learned a lot from him and would definitely contact him again on future travels to Israel/Palestine.
Written November 9, 2019
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.
John Owens
2 contributions
Jun 2019 • Business
I just completed an 8-day tour of Israel lead by Shari Goren and it can be summed up in one word: wow! Shai displayed incredible knowledge of this complex region of the world and shared this information in an engaging, thoughtful and, where appropriate, humorous way. I will be recommending him to any of my friends who plan to tour Israel and I know they will not be disappointed.
Written June 27, 2019
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.
Tania
Los Angeles, CA6 contributions
Dec 2018 • Friends
I recently visited Israel and booked 4 full-day tours with Shai. My friend and I could not have been any happier with our experience. Shai was PHENOMENAL. During pre-planning, he took the time to answer all of our questions, recommended sites to visit as well as listened to what we wanted to see, and arranged our days/schedules. From day one, he was quick and extremely responsive, as well as detailed about pricing/itinerary/what to expect, etc. Booking with him was super easy. Once in Israel, our experience with Shai only got better. His knowledge of history along with current events impacting the region is superb. Shai explained sites and their significance from multiple viewpoints, enlisted the help of other guides when needed, drove us to different parts of the country to visit different cities, made recommendations to help us experience the local culture, and really went above and beyond to make us feel welcome, comfortable and safe. He was never without a story—we learned so much over the course of four jam-packed days! If you’re looking to book a tour, book with Shai. He’s knowledgeable, likable, easy-going, patient, well-connected and a great storyteller.
Written December 17, 2018
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.
Rahul M
Salt Lake City, UT1 contribution
Jun 2018 • Business
I've never felt strongly enough to write a review before, but this is an exception. I've been on several guided tours before, but Shai is by far the most incredible tour guide I've ever had. Given the depth of his historical knowledge, his great sense of humor, and his exceptional presentation/storytelling skills, the tour really couldn't have been any better. For 10 days, we got to explore different religious, political, and cultural sites, and Shai did an incredible job of historically framing the significance of each of the sites in a way that helped explain how and why modern Israel is the way it is. I would highly recommend Shai for anyone coming to Israel. He's by far the best guide you'll find.
Written June 7, 2018
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.
elainequigleymet
Masssapequa, New York15 contributions
May 2018 • Couples
Shai is not only extraordinarily knowledgeable and historically accurate, but, he adds the fun side and to his broad knowledge of current events and pop culture that made understanding what we were seeing both important and relevant. One of the many things he did to bring history to life was to introduce us to King Herod on the top of Masada. Extraordinary! He listened very carefully and constantly surprised us with more interesting things to do and more amazing places to visit and understand. We toured privately and spent a week together. Shai will always be remembered by us for making our pilgrimage to the Holy Land such a wonderful experience.
Any age, any itinerary, any where in Israel, Shai is your guide!!!
Any age, any itinerary, any where in Israel, Shai is your guide!!!
Written May 26, 2018
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.
DennisRHM
London, UK36 contributions
May 2018 • Friends
I spent a week as part of an MBA group visiting a huge variety of sites around Israel under the expert guidance of Shai. He was not only knowledgeable, friendly and helpful but went to great lengths to make everyone feel included and ensure we got the most out of our trip, pointing us in the direction of great restaurants and out-of-the-way bars and sights.
He gave us a detailed, nuanced view of Israeli history and society which as a group we all agreed was reasonable and well thought through. Nonetheless, he was always careful to point out that there were other Israelis (and other nationalities, including Palestinians) who wouldn’t agree with him and that we shouldn’t necessarily take his view as the correct one, given that there’s no such thing as an objective history.
We were without Shai for a short section of our trip (in Bethlehem and the West Bank) which made us appreciate him even more, as the guide we had there was reluctant to talk politics and answer questions on anything other than basic facts, whereas we could always rely on Shai to give us a balanced answer and interesting context, even for the trickiest or most unexpected questions.
I would highly recommend a tour with Shai, and apparently even his competitors would do the same - two of them we bumped into on our visits described him as ‘the best Tour Guide in Israel’ and ‘the Mick Jagger of Middle East tour guides’ (which I think was a compliment) respectively!
He gave us a detailed, nuanced view of Israeli history and society which as a group we all agreed was reasonable and well thought through. Nonetheless, he was always careful to point out that there were other Israelis (and other nationalities, including Palestinians) who wouldn’t agree with him and that we shouldn’t necessarily take his view as the correct one, given that there’s no such thing as an objective history.
We were without Shai for a short section of our trip (in Bethlehem and the West Bank) which made us appreciate him even more, as the guide we had there was reluctant to talk politics and answer questions on anything other than basic facts, whereas we could always rely on Shai to give us a balanced answer and interesting context, even for the trickiest or most unexpected questions.
I would highly recommend a tour with Shai, and apparently even his competitors would do the same - two of them we bumped into on our visits described him as ‘the best Tour Guide in Israel’ and ‘the Mick Jagger of Middle East tour guides’ (which I think was a compliment) respectively!
Written May 6, 2018
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.
Alexa Kaskowitz
San Jose, CA10 contributions
Dec 2019 • Business
This was the most informative tour I have ever been on! Shai’s knowledge and insights of the region were unsurpassed. He provided context to the history helping understand the cultural and political current affairs. He provided a level headed approach to a very complex and emotional situation. I greatly appreciated his insights on extremely complex issues. In addition, he was funny and kind making the trip even more fun!
Written December 15, 2019
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.
LadyArlington
Cleveland Heights, OH44 contributions
Jun 2019 • Business
I just returned from a week-long professional development tour of Israel led by Shai Goren, one of the best tour guides I have ever had. He is extremely knowledgeable and presents information and stories with care and integrity. Shai's warmth and professionalism ensured that our tour ran on time every day and that we always had practical information to prepare for the day. He cared about us as a group and went out of his way to ensure our comfort and our learning. I give Shai my highest recommendation.
Written June 26, 2019
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.
Steven K
San Diego, CA8 contributions
Jun 2019 • Friends
Shai was not only our tour guide. He became a member of our group. Felt like part of the tour. Extremely knowledgeable and very proud to show off his country I would recommend him to any type of group
Written June 13, 2019
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.
Robert G
Danville, California10 contributions
Jun 2019 • Friends
Shai Goren is an amazing tour guide. Knowledgeable, friendly, patient, articulate, funny, interesting, personable. This is my first trip to Israel and I cannot imagine being here and having such an excellent experience without Shai. Thank you Shai for giving me a fantastic orientation to this wonderful country. You’re the best!
Written June 11, 2019
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.
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