Buckeye4_4 Posted August 20, 2018 #1 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Booked on Celebrity for next year to visit Israel. Itinerary features an overnight in Ashdod with another, subsequent day, in Haifa. With our 2 days in Ashdod, we are only really interested in Jerusalem. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a 2 day tour focused on Jerusalem that returns to the ship in the evening? It seems that most tours are focused on providing anoverview of the city hitting the highpoints over the course of 1 day, but withour 2 days in port it affords us an opportunity to see things a bit more indepth. Thank you for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaBT Posted August 21, 2018 #2 Share Posted August 21, 2018 You are right that all local suppliers, following the demand, offer only one day tours to Jerusalem, while on the second day most people go on the Masada and the Dead Sea tour. If you are looking for a 2 days tour to Jerusalem only, possibly with an overnight, your best option will be to hire a guide and go privately. Take into consideration around 1,100-1,200USD for the guiding and transportation only. I suggest you to contact directly a local guide, work with him/her on the itinerary, then come to your cruise roll call board and try to find partners. Most guides in Israel are using minivan on 6 seats so if you find partners it will end up with you paying less than you would have paid if booked the ship excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dszrew Posted August 21, 2018 #3 Share Posted August 21, 2018 We thought of doing 2 days returning to the ship. But yours typically cost more to take you back to port than end in Jerusalem, so staying overnight isn’t much more expensive. Plus tours are limited to 8-10 hours, including driving time from the ship and back. You can easily use up 3 hours driving. If you stay in Jerusalem you can get the guide for an extra hour or so. Also, you can walk the streets in the evening or morning before tours start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted August 21, 2018 #4 Share Posted August 21, 2018 You might consider just getting yourself from Ashdod to Jerusalem (and back), especially on the first day when your ship overnights -- no big pressure to be back for sailaway. A few years back, a round-trip taxi ride from Ashdod to Jerusalem and back ended up being the equivalent of about $150. The old city is pretty compact and you can plan ahead of time what you want to see. If you wanted to get to Bethlehem, perhaps there is a one-day tour on Day 2 that includes it; maybe easier than trying to do it on your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syesmar Posted September 26, 2018 #5 Share Posted September 26, 2018 (edited) If you were able to get to Jerusalem independently, here are some ideas for some unforgettable tours, excursions and museums: Western Wall Tunnels: https://english.thekotel.org/western_wall_sites/western_wall_tunnels/ City of David: www.cityofdavid.org.il/en Archaeological Seminars - Tours and Dig for a Day: http://www.archesem.com/index.htm Jewish Quarter Sites and Tours: https://www.rova-yehudi.org.il/en/ Temple Institute: http://www.templeinstitute.org/new-location.htm Tower of David Museum (Citadel): https://www.tod.org.il Israel Museum with Dead Sea Scrolls and miniature first century Jerusalem: https://www.imj.org.il Bible Lands Museum: http://www.blmj.org Edited September 26, 2018 by syesmar spacing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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