Day 1: Arrival in Israel

Your 8-day/7-night Bar Mitzvah Tour begins with a meet and greet at Ben Gurion International Airport. Our dedicated travel representative will be there to assist you from the moment you alight the plane. Once customs have been cleared, you will be transferred to your overnight accommodation in Tel Aviv in private, air-conditioned transport. Depending on your arrival, you may have free time to explore your hotel’s surrounding area at your leisure.

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Day 2: Tel Aviv City Tour

This morning, we’ll begin our Bar Mitzvah Tour in Israel with a visit to the Diaspora Museum, an incredible place to learn about the Jewish heritage and its evolution through the eras. This is an enthralling and unmissable museum, especially for first-time visitors to Israel! Our museum visit will be followed by a driving tour of downtown Tel Aviv, exploring the business and entertainment districts. We’ll make a brief stop at Rabin Square and visit the memorial marking the spot where former Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. After this, we will continue on to Old Jaffa, an 8000-year-old port city and now a fascinating neighborhood defined by its art galleries, theatres, and an array of excellent restaurants. Walk through the ancient cobbled streets that hide endless ancient stories and discover the old painter’s quarter which has been beautifully gentrified. Next up is a walk through the oldest neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Neve Tzedek, We’ll also meander along Nahalat Binyamin, one of the city’s outdoor pedestrian malls and a place brimming with lively entertainment and a bevy of boutiques selling handmade jewelry and objets d’art. By mid-afternoon, we will explore the neighborhood around Sheinkin Street, a bustling and colorful area revered for its unique shops, café life, and young and trendy vibe. We will then travel to Jerusalem, where we will stay overnight.

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Day 3: Jewish Heritage Tour of Jerusalem

Today begins with a trip to Mount Scopus, near the Hebrew University Campus, from where you’ll soak up spectacular views across Jerusalem and the Judean Desert. The vistas of surrounding landscapes are simply magnificent from here! By mid-morning, we will move on to the Tomb of King David atop Mount Zion, one of the most important historical highlights in Israel. After a guided tour, you will enter the southwest perimeter of the old city through the 16th-century Zion Gate, one of the seven ancient gates opening up to the Old Jerusalem. The route from the gate guides you through the fascinating Armenian and Jewish quarters. Take a walk along the Cardo, the Byzantine-era colonnaded lower road, and tour the remains of the former perimeter wall of Jerusalem, dating back from the 1st Temple period. Exploring the Jewish Quarter in more depth, visit the four 16th-century Sephardic Synagogues, wonderfully restored after the devastating war of 1967. Continue your historical tour with a visit to the Davidson Center, Jerusalem’s expansive archeological park, and learn more about the region’s incredible history through interactive, audio, and visual displays. We’ll end the day’s exploration with a visit to the southern Kotel excavation and a tour of the Wailing Wall. For those of Jewish heritage, this is the holiest site of all. Enjoy another evening and overnight accommodation in Jerusalem.

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Day 4: New City of Jerusalem and Surroundings

After breakfast, we’ll guide you on a memorable visit to the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery. This is the last resting place of Israel’s former prime ministers and valiant soldiers who lost their lives in war. We will then continue to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, Israel’s official homage to Holocaust victims. This is undoubtedly one of the most touching highlights of our tour. This morning’s itinerary will also include a drive-by viewing of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament building, as well as the famous Menorah, where the Supreme Court is now housed. You’ll finally cast your eyes on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Shrine of the Book, displayed in the world-leading Israel Museum, together with an amazing model of Jerusalem as it stood, during the Second Temple period. A fun and light afternoon will be spent around the wonderful Mahane Yehuda Market, so you can meet different local ethnic groups and taste some of their traditional foods. Enjoy another evening and overnight accommodation in Jerusalem.

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Day 5: Masada Fortress and the Dead Sea

On day 5 of your Bar Mitzvah Tour, you’ll travel through the Judean hills to the desert and enjoy a visit to the spellbinding Masada Fortress. Reaching the castle by scenic cable car ride, you will tour the 2000-year-old fortress built by King Herod. We’ll drive past the Ein Gedi kibbutz and eponymous nature reserve, where you might like to stop and enjoy a leisurely walk to view lovely waterfalls and enjoy vistas across the Dead Sea. We’ll then move on to Qumran, where you will tour the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Here, you can also enjoy a stunning mud-enriched bathing experience in the Dead Sea. At 400m below sea level, it is the lowest place on earth! Take a unique therapeutic mad bath and enjoy the magnificent feeling of seamlessly floating on one of the most salt-enriched bodies of water on earth. By mid-afternoon, we will drive to Tiberias in the north, to spend the night.

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Day 6: Golan Heights

This morning, we’ll take a drive to the Golan Heights and visit the Museum of Antiquities of the Golan. Afterward, we’ll take you on a fascinating tour of the preserved Talmudic Village and Synagogue, which dates back to the 4th-century and offers a glimpse into an ancient way of life. The Golan offers an array of activities for young and old alike and we leave it up to you to decide what you’ll do next. Perhaps you’d like to visit a local winery or hike on Mount Bental for breathtaking views. There’s an ancient Roman Bathhouse to discover or, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, join a thrilling ATV tour. Overnight in Tiberias.

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Day 7: Tiberias, Rosh Pina, Tzfat

Tiberias is one of the Four Holy Cities in Israel and this morning is our chance to discover its 2,000-year-old heritage. Sprawled across the western shores of the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias is a treasure of antiquity like few others, anywhere in the world. Exploring its every nook and cranny is immensely rewarding! Next up, we’ll guide you to one of Israel’s oldest and most unique colonies: Rosh Pina. Founded in the late 1800s by a group of ultra-orthodox Jews, Rosh Pina was meant to become an agricultural titan in the region yet the project was eventually abandoned and, today, Rosh Pina is a delightfully enchanting town renowned for its great restaurants, cafés, and art galleries. After enjoying a local lunch, we’ll drive up to Safed (Tzfat), another of Israel’s Holy Cities, where we will walk through the gorgeous cobbled Old Town Centre and discover the city’s fascinating ancient history. Visit the 15th-century synagogues for which the city is famous and end your tour with at the artists’ colony, where we will meet a Kabala artist and learn about his unique techniques. Museums and shops abound here so you’ll find something to intrigue everyone in the family. After an illuminating tour, we will drive south to Tel Aviv, where you can enjoy your last evening in Israel.

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Day 8: Departure

After breakfast, your Mazada Tours private transfer will take you to the Ben Gurion International Airport for your flight back home. We hope you have enjoyed your Bar Mitzvah Tour in Israel and hope to see you back in Israel soon!