Israel 🇮🇱

7 Days in Israel: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Dead Sea - Masada, Tiberias - Sea of Galilee, Nazareth & Natanya

TEL AVIV

Hotel (1 night): Gordon Inn $92

Day 1: Arrived in Tel Aviv from a 2.5 hour layover in Warsaw, Poland at 8:30pm. Picked up rental car (7 nights for $200), found hotel to drop off bags, and went out for pizza and beer.

Day 2: Headed to the beach for breakfast and then drove 1 hour to Jerusalem, stopping to check out Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, before finding our guest house to check in.

JERUSALEM

Hotel (2 nights): Mike’s House $179

Day 2 (continued): Explored Jerusalem and were absolutely wowed by the incredible history! Went out for a lively dinner at a bar with awesome patrons and entertainment and returned to find a parking ticket on our rental car. Apparently, we couldn't read the sign, but we were able to pay the ticket online back home with the help of one of my students who was Hebrew-literate.

Day 3: Visited the KEY SITES at Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, Israel Museum, Dome of the Rock, Al Aqsa Mosque, and the Western Wall. The most incredible was walking the Stations of the Cross, the route Jesus took after Pontius Pilate condemned him to die on the cross. There are 14 stations stretching 2000 feet, the last five are in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the hill known as Calvary or Golgotha where Jesus was crucified and died

Pictured above: the Western Wall, Via Dolorosa (the Stations of the Cross), the Stone of Unction where they laid Jesus when they took him down from the cross, the Tomb of Jesus, the Stone of Unction from above, the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Station of the Cross 5 where Simon helped Jesus carry the cross, the Golgotha Rock of Calvary (the site of Jesus' cross), the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jerusalem Citadel.

DEAD SEA - MASADA

Hotel (1 night): Villa Hahagala $89

Day 4: Drove 2 hours to the Dead Sea and stopped at a random roadside location to take a dip. The sea floor was made up of sharp salt crystals, so shoes were necessary. As a non-swimmer, Toy was fascinated that he could float. It was incredible the amount of salt all over our car seats from the short ride to our guest house.

Day 5: We woke up early for the 5am sunrise hike up the Snake Path to the Masada, a fortress built by King Herod. The hike was 2.1 km at 1100' elevation and took us about 40 minutes at a good clip, but it was well worth it! Watching the sun rise over the Dead Sea was beautiful!

SEA OF GALILEE - TIBERIAS

Day 5 (continued): Drove 2 hours and 45 minutes to Tiberias, to visit the Sea of Galilee, known in the New Testament as the place where Jesus performed miracles along the shores of the lake (walking on water, calming a storm, and feeding the masses). He also performed the Sermon on the Mount and was baptized by John the Baptist.

Pictured above: Christ's Table (the stone where Jesus laid the fishes), St. Peter's Church, Monastery of the Apostles, Mount of the Beatitudes, and Capernaum where Jesus worked miracles.

NAZARETH

Hotel (1 night): Sweet Dreams Apartment $85

Day 5 (continued): From Tiberias, it was a 45 minute drive to Nazareth where we visited the Basilica of the Annunciation and had a nice dinner. Nazareth is a small village and easy to navigate on foot.

NETANYA

Hotel (1 night): Kikar Boutique Hotel $111

Day 6: From Nazareth, we headed west 1 hour and relaxed in the coastal town of Netanya. We had lunch overlooking the beach and dinner and entertainment aboard a ship.

TEL AVIV

Hotel (1 night): Rena’s House $114

Day 7: It's only a 30 minute drive from Netanya to Tel Aviv where we spent our last night. Our favorite meal of the trip was shakshuka, pictured above. The following morning, we headed to the airport to fly home.

PACKING SUGGESTIONS

• Check The Weather Channel for the time of year that you will be traveling

• Travel light: use a Samsonite Underseat Carry-On or backpack and packing cubes or vacuum sealed bags

• Bring a crossbody bag, travel wallet, portable charger, toiletry bag and travel adapter (and this small travel adapter)

READ BEFORE YOU GO

• Lonely Planet: Israel

GETTING THERE

We booked our flights from Chicago's O'Hare to Tel Aviv with a layover in Warsaw, Poland on LOT Polish Airlines for $450 each, round trip. We drove from Minneapolis to Chicago and left our car in paid lot for a week.

BUDGET (2 people)

Flight: $900

Hotels: $670

Rental Car: $548 ($200 rental + $348 gas/parking)

TOTAL: $2118

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