Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv

Disappointing!!! Our trip started at 6:35am from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Our guide, Ivan, gave us some general information at the beginning about the city of Jerusalem and informed us that it is easy to get lost in the narrow roads of the city, so we were very cautious and walking fast to be next to our guide. He didn’t not let us know the itinerary/ specific stations that we would make but only told us that if we would get lost, we should meet at 11am at the Jaffa gate. We started our walk, passing by only 2 stops of the Via Dolorosa and headed to the Holly Sepulchre. Once we entered to the Holly Sepulchre very quickly and superficially we did the tour and while in the Tomb, the guide told us there was a big line and due to this, we didn’t have time to queue in order to visit the inner part of the Tomb of Christ. He told us that we have to carry on and he would wait for us outside. After exactly 2 photos we went outside and our group had already left. We got lost in the quartier and once we finally called the service provider, they gave us the phone of our guide in order to contact him. Finally, after 1h, we met with the group. After 30’ we had to leave, to take the bus and visit Bethlehem. The guide tour didn’t come with us. Once we entered the Palestinian site, a woman entered our bus and she introduced herself as our guide. She said that we firstly had to stop in a store to buy souvenirs for 20’. We were finally, waiting almost an hour, where the majority of the group didn’t purchase anything and the woman excused telling that there was a problem with the payments. We then arrived in the parking area to leave our bus and visit the Church of Nativity. Once we entered the area, the guide told us again that it was too crowded and we couldn’t wait to visit the specific room!!!! Also all the areas of the specific church were also closed due to the specific time and the service schedule!!! Then she said that we should go on to have a break and visit a restaurant for a buffet. When we asked if we could stay there in order to visit properly the church as we were not hungry, she declined and said that we had to stick together. Due to the fact that neither the majority of our group wanted to go to this restaurant, she said that then we had to continue our trip to the Dead Sea. She didn’t even propose to stay in the church, she just left the bus. The trip continued only with the driver to the Dead Sea, no video played in the bus as written in the service provided. The duration at the beach was of course more than needed, we left from the Kalia beach at 4:20pm and arrived to Tel Aviv at 6:10pm.

It was very comfortable to travel with the agency viator. The members of the organizations are very nice, funny and have a lot of informations for you.

Myself and my wife booked 2 tickets for a tour of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Dead Sea for a cost of €186, not cheap but a full day tour of 3 locations. Starting at 6.30am we departed Tel Aviv and headed for Jerusalem. We started our tour a Jaffa Gate and immediately were told to use the bathroom and get a coffee before we start, pointed out the shop to get the coffee, obviously there was a queue so my wife joined the queue and I took a walk around the vicinity, I came across a shop with no queue and phoned my wife to join me. It turned out the coffee in the recommended shop was 15 shekels, where we got our coffee 10 shekels, our guide was very good and knowledgeable and easy to understand, after the Jerusalem tour (no chance to buy souvenirs even though we passed dozens of places that were cheap ( 20 shekels for rosary beads) We left Jerusalem and arrived in Bethlehem, first stop was at a Souvenir shop. 20-25 minute stop- everything over priced, (70 shekels for the same Rosary beads that were 20 in Jerusalem) Next was the Church where Jesus was born, bus was parked and the guide told us we were running late so only 20 minutes in the church, we entered the church and told the queue for to see the place where Jesus was born would take at least 30 minutes, this would eat into our lunch time at a restaurant across the road, not acceptable, we came on a tour to see where Jesus was born not to eat overpriced food where I suspect the tour company would get commission. We stay and saw what we came for and ate at a fast food outlet in the bus station. Then we went to the dead sea, great resort, enjoyed it, each time we got off the bus both doors were opened, front and rear, only time this did not happen was at the end of the tour, before we got off the bus the driver announced that the tour was over and any tips we wanted to give him would be accepted. Then he opened the front door so everyone would have to pass him before getting off, I believe this was shaming people into giving a tip. Again not acceptable. Bad enough taking everyone to overpriced souvenir shops and restaurants and not staying in places of interest longer. We paid for a tour. We got a company that puts the tourist 2nd and its commission 1st

Great tour, the Guide Allan was excellent and very professional. The tour itself was great with a few areas oportunity. The driver defiantly was the worst, bad driver, bad mood, fighting with everybody while driving, almost crashed twice. Horrible! The Bethlem tour was very poor, we couldn’t go down and see anything. Apart from that we really enjoyed and it’s very worth it.

Allan, our tour guide, was absolutely phenomenal and had a great idea for tour pacing. Not too much and not too little.can recommend very highly

Good trip. Fitted a lot of things in one day. Guides were good. Dead sea was a hi light of the trip.

I am a frequent traveler and I have had some bad experiences as much as good ones, but this one was simply a disaster. Poorly guided and organized, the guide did not speak good English, drivers and guides were constantly fighting. Visitors are never aware of what is going on and when we asked, the guides were extremely rude. It is a shame the low lever of service this company provides.

Let me first say the tour guide in Jerusalem was the best part of the tour.Everything else was so disappointing with the the constant change of drivers and always waiting around for a driver. We were suppose to get back to TLV at 7pm we got back at 9:30pm.

We enjoyed this trip very much.Our guids and drivers were very professional and fun people to spend the day with.Also, we were lucky to meet and to be with great persons(tourists) in this trip.The grup was perfect the guids the same,it was really a very good day. Thank you for the awesome day.

The trip itself was amazing but the guide and the company who arranged this was not. Elijah spelled differently was not a very good host in fact actually biased. He thought that there were no Muslims on the tour but he was wrong so I felt alienated at times. Then the company screwed up my arrangements by having me taxi to Jerusalem their suggestion to be picked up for sake of time and totally forgot about it when it came to take us to our hotel in Tel Aviv. We were embarrassed and treated horribly except for the woman that I spoke with on the phone who told me that this should never of happened. Do the tour but with a better vendor.