Shore Excursion suggestions in Haifa and jerusalem

[NanaCaro]

We are booked on the VIKING STAR in late October...sailing from Athens to Rome...with stops in Haifa and Jerusalem.  We would like to hear from others who have taken this voyage..and can share their experiences on the various shore excursions....also, if you chose an independent tour, please give the contact info for the tour provider.

 

Many thanks!

nanacaro

[palacecrystal1]

We were on Orion to Hong Kong in August 2017.  The Included Tour of Haifa and Acre was OK.  The Option Tour of Caesarea, Tel Aviv and Jaffa was not.  The time spend at Caesarea ruins did not leave much time at Tel Aviv or Jaffa with a lot of time on the tour bus, though the lunch at the Arab restaurat was really good.  We wanted to go to Jerusalem & Bethlehem, but the excursions were full with 4 hours of the excursion web page being open to the DV cabins for booking.  ENSURE that you get on MVJ at 0000 PDT based on your cabin class to book your excursions.  

 

[cocopico]

We just got back from this cruise (actually, just the Rome to Athens cruise) and we decided to do the Israel stops on our own.  We usually do some combination of included and paid excursions but just didn't really want to do the offered tours and spend a lot of time on a bus.  Instead, we rented a car in Haifa, which was surprisingly cheap -- I think we spent $72 total at Hertz to have a car for two and a half days, and that included mandatory insurance required in Israel.  We were able to park the rental car for free right outside the port terminal, so access to the ship was a breeze.  We picked up the car around 10:00 a.m. on the day we arrived and managed without any difficulty to visit the old port of Acco (not far from the Hertz office where we picked up our car), the amazing Ba'Hai Gardens on Mount Carmel (very close to the port), and Caesaria (about 45 minutes south of the port.  We stayed on the ship that night and the next morning got up early and headed for Jerusalem.  We drove to the Mount of Olives to visit the overlook to the old city and a few of the historic churches before checking into our hotel and then spending the afternoon wandering through the old city.  We got up the next morning and spent some more time in the old city before heading back to the ship in the afternoon, which, due to weather issues, remained in Haifa rather than moving to Ashdod.  (Our original plan was to turn in our rental car in Ashdod and meet the ship there, but the crew tracked us down to let us know the ship wouldn't be going to Ashdod so we made a slight adjustment and returned to Haifa instead.)  Everything worked great.  If you are the least bit adventuresome, this is definitely an option you could consider.  

[just_dont]

 ENSURE that you get on MVJ at 0000 PDT based on your cabin class to book your excursions.  
 

Actually, it's 12:01 PM PDT now. But yes, do get online right away.

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[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 5/12/2019 at 4:11 PM, cocopico said:

We just got back from this cruise (actually, just the Rome to Athens cruise) and we decided to do the Israel stops on our own.  We usually do some combination of included and paid excursions but just didn't really want to do the offered tours and spend a lot of time on a bus.  Instead, we rented a car in Haifa, which was surprisingly cheap -- I think we spent $72 total at Hertz to have a car for two and a half days, and that included mandatory insurance required in Israel.  We were able to park the rental car for free right outside the port terminal, so access to the ship was a breeze.  We picked up the car around 10:00 a.m. on the day we arrived and managed without any difficulty to visit the old port of Acco (not far from the Hertz office where we picked up our car), the amazing Ba'Hai Gardens on Mount Carmel (very close to the port), and Caesaria (about 45 minutes south of the port.  We stayed on the ship that night and the next morning got up early and headed for Jerusalem.  We drove to the Mount of Olives to visit the overlook to the old city and a few of the historic churches before checking into our hotel and then spending the afternoon wandering through the old city.  We got up the next morning and spent some more time in the old city before heading back to the ship in the afternoon, which, due to weather issues, remained in Haifa rather than moving to Ashdod.  (Our original plan was to turn in our rental car in Ashdod and meet the ship there, but the crew tracked us down to let us know the ship wouldn't be going to Ashdod so we made a slight adjustment and returned to Haifa instead.)  Everything worked great.  If you are the least bit adventuresome, this is definitely an option you could consider.  

 

Interesting idea, thank you.  And parking wasn't a problem in Jerusalem?  Where did you stay, if I might ask?  (We will have just one overnight, but I like the idea of seeing some of the sights adjacent to Haifa on our own. )  How is the walking in the old city? 

 

I'm wondering.  Presumably there is public transportation between Haifa and Jerusalem as well--have to look into that. 

[cocopico]

20 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Interesting idea, thank you.  And parking wasn't a problem in Jerusalem?  Where did you stay, if I might ask?  (We will have just one overnight, but I like the idea of seeing some of the sights adjacent to Haifa on our own. )  How is the walking in the old city? 

 

I'm wondering.  Presumably there is public transportation between Haifa and Jerusalem as well--have to look into that. 

We stayed at the American Colony Hotel, which is about a 15 minute walk from the Damascus Gate.  Very interesting historic hotel, which happened to include free parking.   Pricey, but you can get deals if you reserve early (and we got a $50 hotel food credit, which we used for dinner).  On the walk to the old city you pass some interesting places, including an old Armenian pottery shop where historic Jerusalem pottery is made.  Walking in the old city is crowded, interesting and sometimes difficult (lots of up and down hill walking on crowded cobblestone "streets") but we enjoyed it.  The Damascus Gate enters the Muslim Quarter, but it is a pretty easy walk to cover major sights like the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, etc.  We happened to be in Jerusalem on a Sunday and went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at around 9:00 a.m.  It was an amazing experience with the "competing" religious factions all holding services at the same time and the church itself is an archeological wonder.   As for public transportation, that is affected by when you are there.  We arrived in Haifa on a Friday (and had to get our rental car in the morning because the rental car agencies all close at noon and don't re-open until Sunday).  I believe the trains also close from Friday noon until Sunday.  We found the rental car option worked well -- you'll have to take a cab from the port to the rental car agencies, which was about a $25 ride -- but really enjoyed having the flexibility of the car during our visit.