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Refresh & Recharge:
Return to Israel with Hadassah
Led by Aileen Bormel
September 4-15, 2019

Tour Rates & Dates:

There are no Departure Dates available for this Package.
*Please note that all rates displayed are based on standard room double occupancy.
All rates above are in US Dollars, and are based on full payment by credit card unless otherwise noted.
If check payment discount is available for this tour, it can be selected after clicking "BOOK" above.
(Deposit can still be paid by credit card). Upgraded room categories may be available to book later in the booking process.
If Land & Air price is displayed, the air portion includes tax and fuel surcharges, which are subject to change until ticketed.

Save $355 over the rates listed above!
Hadassah discount applied during the booking process. 
Click BOOK above to begin.  Rates are valid until June 14, 2019.

Group flights available on El Al from JFK at $1,399 per person!

Tour Overview:

See Israel from a totally new perspective.  From new sites to people-to-people visits, to seeing popular sites in a totally new way, this tour is designed to challenge, engage and delight participants in unexpected ways.

INCLUDED:

5 nights Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
1 night Irus Hamidbar (Desert Iris) Hotel, Yerucham
1 night Beresheet Hotel Mitzpe Ramon, Mitzpe Ramon
2 nights Carlton Hotel Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe air-conditioned bus with an English-speaking guide
Breakfast daily
6 dinners, including Shabbat dinners in Jerusalem & Tel Aviv
2 lunches
Meeting with Miriam Peretz
Shabbat walking tour on Hanevi'im Street
Sound and Light show
Meeting with a member of the Knesset
Tour of Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital
Chef tour & cooking class at Machane Yehuda (included in dinners above)
Beit Guvrin dig
Winery tour and tasting
Salad Trail (included in lunches above)
Meeting with artist, Yaron Bob
Program in Yerucham with Mayor Michael Biton
Midreshet B'er or Mechina program
Stargazing (weather permitting)
Sunrise jeep tour into the Ramon Crater
Bedouin hospitality (included in lunches above)_
Tree planting
Visit to Taglit Innovation Center
Meeting with a leading local fashion designer
Transfer upon arrival and departure with main group
Entrance fees per itinerary
Porterage

NOT INCLUDED:

Roundtrip airfare, taxes and fuel surcharges (subject to change until ticketed)
Border taxes and visa fees
Tips to guide, driver and dining room waiters ($20 per person, per day; pre-collected)
Meals not listed
Items of a personal nature
Travel insurance (highly recommended)

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Wednesday, September 4, 2019: DEPARTURE

• We depart the United States on our overnight flight to Israel.

Day 2: Thursday, September 5, 2019: WELCOME TO ISRAEL!

• We arrive in Israel and are met by an Ayelet Tours representative. Welcome home!
• Our first stop is at the biblical botanical gardens of Neot Kedumim, where we see life as it was lived by our ancestors 3,000 years ago.
• We continue to Jerusalem, stopping atop Mt. Scopus to say the “Shehecheyanu” as we look out over the City of Gold.
• We check into our hotel and refresh.
• This evening, we enjoy a welcome dinner together, marking our first night in Israel.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 3: Friday, September 6, 2019: A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet Holocaust survivor Rena Quint.
• Next, we see Yad Vashem in a completely new light, as we view the moving exhibitions focusing on children's drawings and art created during the Holocaust. We complete our visit with a memorial ceremony at the Valley of the Communities.
• Atop Mt. Herzl, we visit the new Remembrance Hall built to honor those who gave their lives fighting for Israel. We'll take a walk through the military cemetery, where we pay our respects and hear important stories about the life and work of Israel's past leaders, as well as those of lesser known heroes.
• As the sun begins to set, we join together to welcome Shabbat at the Kotel with the people of Jerusalem, followed by Shabbat dinner at our hotel.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 4: Saturday, September 7, 2019: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Spend the morning at leisure attending Shabbat services on own or relaxing.
• This afternoon, we enjoy a guided stroll along Hanevi'im Street, one of the first streets built outside the city walls and formerly the site of many hospitals, churches, government offices and homes of wealthy citizens of all faiths. This is also the former site of Hadassah College.
• We enjoy Havdalah together later this evening.
• Enjoy the evening at leisure to discover Jerusalem and have dinner on own as the city comes back to life after Shabbat.
• Option to attend the spectacular Sound and Light show at the Tower of David Museum.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 5: Sunday, September 8, 2019: MODERN ISRAEL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We visit Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital, where we tour the Mother and Child Pavilion. We get an inside look at the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower featuring the most modern hospital facilities in the region, and visit the synagogue featuring the famed Chagall windows.
• This afternoon, we enjoy a special VIP visit to the newly renovated Israel Museum to see the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed, as well as many of the new exhibits.
• A chef leads us through Machane Yehuda, for a sensual immersion, engaging with the vibrant colors, smells and flavors that will be found in this bustling marketplace. We wander through the pyramids of spices, bright-colored exotic vegetables, nuts, olives, and delicious halva creations. Our chef will introduce us to the most characteristic ingredients of the local cuisine and to the Israeli food habits, while we prepare dinner together with our purchases.
• After dinner, we stroll through the market again, this time to view the artistic graffiti on the closed shutter stall doors.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 6: Monday, September 9, 2019: DIGGING ISRAEL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village, where we interact with the kids and staff and visit the village, including their working farm and winery.
• We enjoy lunch en route on own.
• We travel to Beit Guvrin, where we participate in a hands-on archaeological dig, allowing us the opportunity to unearth remnants from Israel's ancient past.
• This afternoon, we visit a local winery for a tour and tasting.
• Evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Tuesday, September 10, 2019: SOUTHERN EXPLORATION

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• This morning, we drive to Netiv HaAsara, located next to the Gaza Strip, where an electric fence and concrete walls were built for protection from Palestinian incursion. We visit the Peace Wall and hear how some residents choose to deal with this challenging situation.
• Our next stop is at the “Salad Trail”, where we will participate in a unique hands-on agricultural tour, and witness how Israeli innovation is literally making the desert bloom with crops grown out of some of the most inhospitable sands imaginable. We will pick and taste fruits and vegetables straight from the kibbutz's self-picking farm, and encounter flying strawberries, tiny orange orchards, racing pigeons and herbal gardens. We participate in a MasterChef style cooking competition ending in a delicious lunch.
• Later this afternoon, we meet Yaron Bob at his workshop. Struck by the terror of shell attacks, Yaron decided to transform something horrible into something beautiful, and so began his artwork known as “Rockets to Roses”.
• We drive south to Yerucham to meet Mayor Michael Biton, called by some the small-town mayor who just might “rekindle Zionism” with his work inspiring many to acts of chesed and social justice.
• We enjoy a special program with Midreshet Be'er, a pre-women's study and volunteer academy, or the Yerucham pre-army Mechina.
• We check into our hotel and enjoy dinner together this evening.

Overnight in Yerucham

Day 8: Wednesday, September 11, 2019: INTO THE NEGEV

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• This morning, we visit Sde Boker to see David Ben Gurion's gravesite and original hut.
• We continue with a hike in the Ein Avdat Nature Reserve, stopping for a chance to cool off in the Ein Avdat springs along the way.
• This afternoon, we check into our resort in Mitzpe Ramon and spend the remainder of the day relaxing and being pampered at the spa.
• We enjoy dinner together at our resort this evening.
• Later tonight, we lay under the beautiful desert night sky for a stargazing experience (weather and visibility permitting).

Overnight in Mitzpe Ramon

Day 9: Thursday, September 12, 2019: DESERT ADVENTURES

• We set out early this morning for a sunrise jeep tour and hike in the Ramon Crater, as the landscape is bathed majestically in the first light of day.
• We return to our resort for breakfast and check out.
• After breakfast, we stop at the Mitzpe Ramon Visitor's Center, where we learn about the area and the home of former resident and astronaut, Ilan Ramon.
• This afternoon, we visit a Bedouin community, for lunch and hospitality, as we learn about this unique culture.
• In nearby Be'er Sheva, we visit the Hadassah/JNF Forest to plant trees as part of an initiative to make the desert greener.
• We travel north to Tel Aviv to check into our hotel.
• Spend the evening at leisure discovering all that this metropolitan city has to offer and enjoy dinner on own.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 10: Friday, September 13, 2019: TOURING TEL AVIV

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we visit the Rabin Center, where the spiraling exhibits lead us through the modern history of the state and broader world history through the prism of the life of one of Israel's most beloved leaders, Yitzhak Rabin.
• At the cutting-edge Taglit Innovation Center, we catch a glimpse into Israel's high-tech advances in the fields of science, medicine, security and space. We visit the interactive exhibitions and continue with a meeting with one of Israel's innovative entrepreneurs.
• This afternoon, we meet fashion designer Reuma to learn about her work and the fashion industry in Israel today.
• We continue to Old Jaffa for a tour of this ancient port city, strolling through the cobblestone alleyways admiring the cafes and crafts in the artist's colony. We also take in the sea views.
• As night falls, we come together for Shabbat and a festive farewell Shabbat dinner at our hotel.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 11: Saturday, September 14, 2019: DAY AT LEISURE/DEPARTURE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Spend the day at leisure relaxing at the beach, by the pool or doing some last-minute shopping.
• We check out of our hotel and transfer to the airport this evening for our overnight flights back to the United States.

Day 12: Sunday, September 15, 2019: WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive back in the United States this morning.

THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!
*itinerary subject to change