Guided Tours Israel

[mabert]

I was also in Israel when Ashdod was attacked with 37 rockets (unrest in not a proper description since people in that area were kept in the bomb shelters for a day+) and all cruise ships were either diverted to Haifa or stayed in Haifa.

 

It was a difficult time for GTI. There were 6+ ships in Haifa Oct 31st and many many tours. Even the ship tours had a difficult time.

 

GTI did their best given that guides and buses had to be brought to Haifa in short order.

 

On my first day, before the attacks, on our private tour, the van had a wierd computer transmission communication issue (don't ask me I am a gal) at the end of the tour. They brought a substitute within an hour and bought us coffee and treats. :):)

 

I had plans for a private tour on October 31st and ended up on a bus. GTI refunded the difference from the cash they received from the others that day.:):)

 

The guide for the bus tour on Oct 31st was Zahi Shaked. He is AMAZING. He videos each day's tour for the group and makes a youtube video. :):)

 

 

I highly recommend them.

 

Miriam

[GriffOnGriffOff]

I was on the 6Nov11 sailing of the Celebrity Constellation and had arranged private tours for all 3 days in Israel with GTI. I handled all arrangements via email with Leo, who was very good at responding to my various questions regarding how much time would be allowed at Yad Vashem, the Dead Sea, etc.

 

For our first two tours from Ashdod, our tour guide was Ami (sorry, but I didn't get his last name; however, his girlfriend Hadar is also a guide with GTI). Ami was very good, as was our driver, and we had a 3-month old Mercedes coach. Because our ship was late in getting clearance, we were almost an hour later than we should have been getting off. But Ami made sure we still had enough time to see and do everything as promised (Yad Vashem, Jerusalem/Wailing Wall, etc.). We managed to keep Ami for day two's trip to Masada and the Dead Sea. We even talked Ami into an additional stop on the way back through Jerusalem at Mount Scopus at twilight - what a beautiful sight!

 

On day three out of Haifa, our guide was Hillel Meyer. I can't say enough about how wonderful Hillel was. He is working on his PhD, and his knowledge of the history of Israel is impressive, yet he is able to convey the information in a way that is easy to understand, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He took the time to learn a bit about of each of us in the group, and by the time our tour was over I felt like I had truly made a new friend in Hillel.

 

I whole-heartedly recommend GTI to everyone. Here's their web site:

http://www.guidedtoursisrael.com/about-us.html

 

Cynthia

[cruise pup]

Hello Putham

We hope to be in ASHDOD/HAIFA 23/24 Dec on ADONIA. How did you find the walking on your tours. We are both Seniors and wondered if we could manage a lot of walking. If we are tired, could we sit on in the bus/coach? Did you make your booking with GTI by direct to them E-mail? Very interested in any information you can give.

Hunnibear.

 

Hi there. I used GTI in October for 3 days. I have problems walking and I spoke to my guides about it and we were always able to work out a plan so that I managed to see what I wanted to see most and skipped some others. For example, it was no problem getting to Masada but once I got off the cable car ride and entered the site I realized the walking would be too difficult to tour so I walked around the area immediately by the entrance and took photos while the group toured the site. In Old Jerusalem the group got off the mini-bus to walk through the old city. I stayed on the mini-bus and the driver let me off at the Wailing Wall where I had a place to sit and wait for the group to catch up. I feel the few hours I had at the wall was one of the most interesting visits on my trip. The humanity that paraded by was amazing. The people on my tour didn't get to spend much time there so in a way it worked out even better for me.

 

So don't worry. The guides are great (I had Miki in Ashdod for 2 days and Mordy in Haifa for 1 day).

[librarylover]

We just returned from a Mediterranean cruise that included two days in Haifa, Israel. While my family tends to tour independently, our arrival on a Saturday meant that we could not rent a car. Our choices were a shore excursion from our cruise ship or arranging our own tour. I read many glowing reviews of GTI and made arrangements with them for our first day in Israel, and I'm very happy with how everything worked out with them.

 

Arrangements with Leo via email were easy and handled quickly. I was able to connect with a couple here on the roll call board so we had a private tour with six of us. The day before we were scheduled to arrive in Haifa, our ship's captain informed us that we would be arriving an hour earlier than scheduled. That evening we checked our email and there was a notice from GTI that they would adjust their arrival time accordingly. Sure enough, when we (finally) left the ship, our guide, Joe, was waiting for us at the terminal. We traveled quite comfortably in his Mercedes minivan on our tour of northern Israel.

 

Joe spoke knowledgeably about the places we were going, putting things in historical perspective for us. We visited the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River baptismal site, the church of the loaves and fishes, the church of the beatitudes, Capurnaum, and Nazareth. Joe also showed us some the sights in Haifa after we returned there. I enjoyed our independent day in Jerusalem, but this day was the highlight of our trip.

 

Highly recommended!

[wiseoldowl]

We would like to book a private tour with this company but don't like giving credit card info on line. Has anybody else had such concerns and what has been your experience in going that route with them.

 

As well , it would seem that as an arranger of a private tour you are responsible if there are no shows or cancellations which would seem to be a further concern regarding your credit card - any thoughts?

[aqua]

I paid for all 4 days of touring a few weeks in advance. I used my credit card through the website that GTI provided. The only "problem" I had was when the tour guide tried to collect from me on the first day. I told him that I had paid in advance and produced the receipt. A few minutes later, the agent from GTI called and apologized.

 

When I inquired about cancellation, this was the response:

No charge if the ship do not dock in our port or you notify us of any cancellation 7 days prior.

[librarylover]

When we booked our private tour, I gave my credit card just to secure the tour and then we paid the guide in cash at the tour's end. The other couple who were part of our tour made their own arrangements, so my card was not attached to their reservation. If I remember correctly, they paid in advance for their tour and just tipped the guide at the end. GTI can handle either arrangement, and the tour was well worth the price!

[infiniteelite]

From the Haifa port Guided Tours Israel offers both a Jewish Oriented Route and a Christian Oriented Route. We only have one day in Haifa, so have to select one of these options. I am interested in hearing from anybody who did both of these tours which one was more scenic/interesting?

 

Thanks

 

My wife and I were on the Holland America Prinsendam Grand Voyages 62 day in spring 2011. We chose the Jewish Route tour with israelexplorations.com

I believe they have their government trained guides cater to both the Christian and Jewish. Anyways, the American born and educated guide was superb. Nava (I think thats the spelling) was exuberant and full of great facts. I wish we had more days with them as she was booked already for our Ashdod stop.

[infiniteelite]

GTI has come back with 1 of the 3 tours which I can confirm. I'll do that one and stay with Celebrity for the other tours.

My wife and I were on the Holland America Prinsendam Grand Voyages 62 day in spring 2011. We chose the Jewish Route tour with israelexplorations.com

I believe they have their government trained guides cater to both the Christian and Jewish. Anyways, the American born and educated guide was superb. Nava (I think thats the spelling) was exuberant and full of great facts. I wish we had more days with them as she was booked already for our Ashdod stop.

[Miamitennismom]

From my own experience, I can tell you that I did have a lot of difficulty finding others to share a tour IF you want to personalize it and not just do a "highlights" or standard tour.

 

I always do a lot of advance research and had specific sites I wanted to see. My tours were not geared toward Christian sites or Jewish sites but rather toward those ancient sites I felt best represented a specific period.

 

I was not able to find ANYONE (despite months of trying to recruit) to share my tour from Haifa -- so yes, I paid for a private guide all to myself. And for Jerusalem, where we did quite a few basic highlights but also a few specific things to the Roman period -- I could only find one other couple to share.

 

The issue I have with the GTI "canned" group tours is that they try to cover too much. It seems everyone would rather spend 20-30 minutes at 15 different sites than see fewer things in more depth.....:cool:

 

Dear Cruisemom, I have read and appreciate your superb posts for the last month in preparation for a Nautica (Oceania) cruise beginning Oct.8 - 18, 2013 in Athens and ending in Istanbul. Do you have any suggestions for small group shore excursions out of Haifa? I have contacted so many companies, but it seems that it is too early for anyone to have a group together (GTI), and also that the companies expect me to put the group together. Our Oct.8-18 Nautica Oceania Roll Call is nearly nonexistent, at least compared to last year's Celebrity Baltic cruise.

We are interested in the Christian sites' excursions, but really can't afford to pay $900 a day for a private tour. Does it help to post on TripAdvisors.com?

Does Cruisecritic send daily email notifications this year (2013). I see a way below to sign up, but never saw that this year, so maybe people just forget to check it. Any suggestions? miamitennismom mlinden4@bellsouth.net

[TaliaBT]

Dear Cruisemom, I have read and appreciate your superb posts for the last month in preparation for a Nautica (Oceania) cruise beginning Oct.8 - 18, 2013 in Athens and ending in Istanbul. Do you have any suggestions for small group shore excursions out of Haifa? I have contacted so many companies, but it seems that it is too early for anyone to have a group together (GTI), and also that the companies expect me to put the group together. Our Oct.8-18 Nautica Oceania Roll Call is nearly nonexistent, at least compared to last year's Celebrity Baltic cruise.

We are interested in the Christian sites' excursions, but really can't afford to pay $900 a day for a private tour. Does it help to post on TripAdvisors.com?

Does Cruisecritic send daily email notifications this year (2013). I see a way below to sign up, but never saw that this year, so maybe people just forget to check it. Any suggestions? miamitennismom mlinden4@bellsouth.net

 

I don't know who told you that a private tour cost 900$USD.

Private tours cost around 550-700$ depends on the mileage.

From Haifa the regular Christian tour to the Galilee is the shortest one and cost 550$. I think that if you'll find even one couple to join you the cost per person will be like the cost of the cruise company for a bus tour. course if you'll form a larger group you cost will be less.

October is a busy month in Israel, it is just after the New Year Holidays and a lot of cruise ships a calling the Israeli ports.

From personal experience most companies in Israel don't charge deposit and have a very flexible cancelation policy. if i were you i would book a private tour with whoever you'll decide of to even now and keep looking for partners.

[Miamitennismom]

Thanks for replies and encouragement. I will re-check the prices quoted, try to compare tours whose prices varied according to the # of people.

I already have good excursions set up with Ekol in Ephesus and Istanbul (ask for Azize) for Oct. 16-18, 2013). Their prices are very reasonable, and reviews on T***A*****R.com are good.

I am still not receiving any notifications from CCritic of replies/new postings as was done last year. I see "additional options" below, but wonder what I am doing wrong, or maybe they are out-dated? Can anyone help?

I have written to the administrator/helper, but it appears that this year there is none. Anyone else receiving notifications? miamitennismom mlinden4@bellsouth.net