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Forum -> Relationships -> Simcha Section
Family trip to Eretz Yisroel



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yitel




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 9:35 pm
My twins Bar Mitzva is coming up and I was thinking of skipping the traditional Shebang and just do a Kiddush in Shul on Shabbos. Their birthday is Shabbos. I would instead put aside the money to have a family trip to Eretz Yisroel; we were never there yet and spend a beautiful week or more together touring, davening and visiting Tzaddikim. What would you estimate this would cost us? We would be able to get cheap tickets, possibly with points and would need a driver with a van, lodgings and food. We don’t have Family in Israel. Would anyone know if a reasonable, trustworthy person who could arrange it for us?
Thanks so much! Please tell me what you think of this idea.
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amother
Plum


 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 9:37 pm
This sounds lovely. A trip like this can generate a lifetime of memories.

Curious why you would need a driver instead of renting a car and using Waze, though.
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yitel




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 9:44 pm
We would get lost! I was never in Israel and my husband isn’t either familiar with the country.
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amother
Plum


 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 9:46 pm
yitel wrote:
We would get lost! I was never in Israel and my husband isn’t either familiar with the country.


It's a lot cheaper to install Waze than to hire a driver, and I thought cost was a big factor.
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yitel




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 9:50 pm
I’m afraid of ending up in an Arab village, we don’t speak Hebrew well at all. Cost is a factor but so is safety and time.
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amother
Plum


 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 10:50 pm
Ok, I'm sure you'll make the right choices for your family. Have a wonderful time!!
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amother
Puce


 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 11:00 pm
We recently did a trip with two of our children. It was an amazing experience.

With kids, it is cheaper to rent an apartment since hotels charge you a lot. according to my research, every 2 kids equals another room. I believe that in some hotels there is a possibility to come only for breakfast-if you want that experience.

We did a shabbos it Tzfat-it was beautiful. Rentals are reasonable and you can buy good american food in two takeout stores. There are tons of shuls and some have amazing carlbach davening.

You should do more research about a car. Having a car is a huge plus. We put in waze and it worked just like it does in NY. There is a setting that prevents it from taking you into arab villages.
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amother
Salmon


 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 11:10 pm
Find an apartment on AirBnb.
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amother
Salmon


 

Post Mon, Nov 27 2017, 11:15 pm
Driver services - look up in the business directory of janglo.net - it's an anglo website for advertising and for services in Israel.

http://www.janglo.net/componen.....,239/

You'll only need a driver for going out of town. Assuming you'll be based in Jerusalem, you can get around town with busses and taxis.
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amother
Aquamarine


 

Post Tue, Nov 28 2017, 12:27 am
I have been to those "close-to-Arab villages" places and OP, you are spot-on about not taking the risk - Waze is sadly not infallible...

Why not split the trip into "risky area" days (with driver) and use public transportation or a short-term car hire for the rest?

Amazing tour guide:

http://bessintours.com/about_my.html

Mazeltov and safe journey!
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amother
Aquamarine


 

Post Tue, Nov 28 2017, 12:30 am
https://btnews.online/2016/09/.....lage/
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 28 2017, 12:41 am
- Where exactly in Israel are you planning to visit? If you are staying in Jerusalem, take the light rail or a bus. A taxi can be hired for a specific outing. A dedicated private driver will cost you a fortune. Plus parking in Jerusalem isn't a picnic.

- Once you are out of Jerusalem, rent a car or van. You are very unlikely to accidentally drive into a dangerous Arab village driving from Jerusalem to Tveria, for example, while using Waze.

- Rent airbnbs. Cheaper than a hotel and more roomy.

- A week is a very short amount of time. Can you stretch it to at least 10 days?
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BH5745




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 28 2017, 3:28 pm
I concur with the OP. If you want to travel around the country you need at least 10 days to do so. If you want to stay in one place (for example Jerusalem) than a week is sufficient. Figure the first day you arrive you'll be too exhausted after the long flight to do much besides check into your vacation apartment and get something to eat. Then the last day you'll be packing and heading back to Tel Aviv. That leaves you with 5 days for experiencing Eretz Yisroel, one of which will surely be Shabbos and the other erev Shabbos (which means spending the day to prepare for Shabbos). Really you have 3-3 1/2 days for sightseeing.

To save money I recommend taking Bus 485 from Termin 3 at Ben Gurion Airport to Yerushalayim main bus station. Stay somewhere central, and either take a bus or taxi from the main station to your vacation apartment (not hotel- that will be very expensive). Stay the entire week at that one place, and sightsee in and around Yerushalayim during the day. The Kosel/Old City is an entire day in itself. So is the shuk and sightseeing around central Yerushalayim. Hebron/Me'aras HaMachpela is a great day trip, though you really must take the (bulletproof) bus there and NOT go with a private driver. The local Chabad in Hebron offers very reasonably priced and excellent tours of the Jewish area of the city, by the way. If you're interested go to their website and send them an inquiry.

There are other great places to visit near Yerushalayim, but I don't know what you're interested in seeing... I really want to say that I would not hire a private driver. When we visited (all kids 5 and under at the time and I was pregnant), we took only public transport. Just to give you an idea of what a private driver costs, I know someone who spent about $100 to get from Ben Gurion to Yerushalayim...

Now on getting back to Ben Gurion airport, bus 485 also leaves from right outside the Yerushalayim main station which takes you to Terminal 3. Let me mention that the bus is far cheaper than the sherut (shared taxi van) and far, far cheaper than a driver.

Maybe you'll just come to Eretz Yisroel for a visit, fall in love, and make aliyah a few months later like we did Very Happy
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fbmommy




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 28 2017, 5:38 pm
This is really a once in a lifetime experience!
Renting an apartment is the cheapest way to go. When we went I brought along tons of frozen food, and we spent almost nothing on the food. If you have an apartment then it is really simple to cook your own food/prepare for trips. We found that the apartment rental and the transportation were the biggest costs.
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yitel




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 28 2017, 6:25 pm
Thank you so much for all the great tips!
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