Welcome to Israel - Jerusalem, City of Gold

Land at Ben Gurion Airport to VIP greeting at the aircraft, fast-tracked paperwork and a private transfer straight into the day. Meet your guide and ride a camel at Genesis Land south of Jerusalem, then take in the Old City from the Mount of Olives. Walk the Jewish Quarter - the Cardo, the Broad Wall and the rebuilt Hurva Synagogue - down to the Western Wall, and stay to welcome Shabbat at the Kotel.

Highlights included:

✓ VIP airport arrival ✓ Genesis Land camel ride ✓ Mount of Olives ✓ Jewish Quarter & Western Wall ✓ Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel

Overnight: Jerusalem

Kings and Rebels in the Desert of Judah

Drive down to the Judean Desert for one of Israel's most stirring stories. Ride the cable car to the top of Masada and hear how its last defenders held out against Rome almost 2,000 years ago. Take a short hike to the hidden waterfalls of Ein Gedi, then float weightlessly in the mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea.

Highlights included:

✓ Masada cable car ✓ Ein Gedi waterfalls hike ✓ Float in the Dead Sea

Overnight: Jerusalem

The New City of Jerusalem

Explore the modern face of Jerusalem at a family pace. Visit the Biblical Zoo, famous for its biblical and endangered species, and the children's wing of the Israel Museum, then taste your way through the Machane Yehuda market on a culinary tour among vendors from Morocco, Yemen, Iraq and Ethiopia. Finish high above the Old City on the Ramparts Walk, with intimate views over its rooftops and courtyards.

Highlights included:

✓ Biblical Zoo ✓ Israel Museum ✓ Machane Yehuda culinary tour ✓ Old City Ramparts Walk

Overnight: Jerusalem

From Jerusalem to the Desert

Leave Jerusalem and head south into the lowlands and the Negev. Explore the carved underground chambers and bell caves of Beit Guvrin National Park, with archaeology from biblical to Crusader times. Continue to Ein Avdat National Park, a dramatic desert canyon where springs feed deep pools and waterfalls into a green oasis.

Highlights included:

✓ Beit Guvrin bell caves ✓ Ein Avdat National Park ✓ Pita baking on the fire

Overnight: Mitzpe Ramon

Into the Negev and the Ramon Crater

Set out by 4x4 into the heart of the desert for a two-hour hike inside the Ramon Crater, surrounded by its colors, formations and silence — geology you can stand inside. Stop at the Mitzpe Ramon Visitor Centre on the crater's edge, telling the story of the world's largest erosion crater and of astronaut Ilan Ramon. In the afternoon enjoy an easy horseback ride through the desert hills at the Alpaca Farm, suitable for the whole family.

Highlights included:

✓ Ramon Crater hike ✓ Mitzpe Ramon Visitor Centre ✓ Alpaca Farm horseback ride

Overnight: Mitzpe Ramon

From the Desert to the City

Feel the desert up close on a two-hour RZR ride through unique geological scenery, then visit Ben-Gurion's grave and desert home at Midreshet Ben Gurion — meet the man who set out to make the desert bloom, at one of the Negev's most beautiful viewpoints. Travel north to Tel Aviv to settle into the energy of the coast for the evening.

Highlights included:

✓ Desert RZR ride ✓ Ben-Gurion's grave & desert home ✓ Midreshet Ben Gurion visit

Overnight: Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv — The First Hebrew City

Wander the ancient stone alleys and harbor of Old Jaffa, then stroll Rothschild Boulevard — Tel Aviv's grand avenue of poets, dreamers and visionaries — and stop at Independence Hall, where the State was declared in 1948. Dive into the color, noise and aromas of the Carmel Market, the largest Middle-Eastern market in the city, on a tasting walk through its stalls.

Highlights included:

✓ Old Jaffa ✓ Rothschild Boulevard ✓ Independence Hall ✓ Carmel Market

Overnight: Tel Aviv

North to the Galilee

Travel to the green Galilee for a hands-on day at Kibbutz Harduf, an anthroposophical community. Tour its galleries and rehabilitative workshops, gather eggs in the free-range coop and prepare a fresh Israeli vegetable lunch together. In the afternoon set sail on a private wooden boat across the Sea of Galilee, with the Golan and Galilee hills spread out before you.

Highlights included:

✓ Kibbutz Harduf farm experience ✓ Israeli veggie lunch ✓ Private Sea of Galilee boat

Overnight: Upper Galilee

The Golan Heights — Borders and Geopolitics

Climb the dormant volcano of Mount Bental for panoramic views over the Golan and Syria and an in-depth look at the geopolitics of Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. Set out on a 4x4 jeep tour along the northern borders with a local guide for a real understanding of the region and its different ways of life. Finish at Tel Dan National Park, a lush nature reserve wrapped around a biblical archaeological site.

Highlights included:

✓ Mount Bental ✓ Golan border jeep tour ✓ Tel Dan National Park

Overnight: Upper Galilee

Spirituality and Mysticism in the Upper Galilee

Drive to the top of Mount Meron, the highest peak in Upper Galilee, for a light loop hike with views over the Sea of Galilee, Tzfat and even Lebanon. Walk the mystical alleys of 16th-century Tzfat — birthplace of the idea of Tikun Olam — visiting its synagogues and artists' quarter. End in the Hula Valley aboard a safari wagon at Agamon HaHula, one of the world's great bird-migration routes.

Highlights included:

✓ Mount Meron hike ✓ Mystical Tzfat ✓ Agamon HaHula safari wagon

Overnight: Upper Galilee

From the Galilee to the Coast — Farewell

Make your way to the Mediterranean coast, pausing in Haifa for a view over the cascading Bahai Gardens. Explore Caesarea National Park, Herod's magnificent ancient harbor city on the sea, named the best tourist spot in the Middle East — a fitting finale of ruins, beaches and sea air. After a final evening, a VIP transfer takes you to the airport for your flight home.

Highlights included:

✓ Haifa Bahai Gardens ✓ Caesarea National Park ✓ VIP airport departure

Tour ends: Ben Gurion Airport