My first trip to Israel

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amother

Apricot

Sat, Sep 29 2018, 11:35 pm

You read that right, I’ve never been. What are your top recommendations for a family with toddlers to do? Where to stay? Any general tips? (My husband has been, but as a bochur, and I don’t know that he saw much more than a beis medrash)

amother

Babypink

Sat, Sep 29 2018, 11:37 pm

so much depends on

(1) do you plan on renting a car
(2) are your toddlers good with car trips.

amother

cornflower

Sat, Sep 29 2018, 11:38 pm

I’ll be iyh traveling to Israel soon for the first time in many years. I’ll be following this thread! Re where to stay, we plan to use air bnb for a place in Jerusalem.

ILOVELIFE

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 12:40 am

Wow! May it go beautifully.

It’s tough to “cover ground” with toddlers & I’ve never done that so my suggestions may be off for you. For me, I try not to do too many holy sites in one day. It takes away from the incredible feelings and it also makes those days too heavy. I prefer to split each day into diff kinds of activities.
Like I did: Kotel, VR at the Kotel, Old City activities and shopping and then ended the day with the incredible Ihr David tunnels which are a blast.

Fri morning I did Kever Rochel followed by shopping at the Shuk followed by visits to some relatives.

Up north I love water activities and we did a great chocolate factory.

If Strauss is open for tours (u need to book far far ahead) that’s super and also Coca Cola factory. Oh and swimming in the Kinneret or any of the separate beaches is a treat for me

The blind museum is not for toddlers but the children’s museum part of it is.

Did Dead Sea, Ein gedi/Masada

Also, it depends what your personality is like and how long you’re staying...

To the amother looking into Airbnb, make sure you ask a local b4 booking. My friend got a stunning place on AirBnB but it ended up being in a heavily Israeli arab section of Jerusalem...

Just check because few Airbnb listings in Jerusalem that I saw were in Frum neighborhoods

amother

cornflower

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 12:51 am

Ilovelife, first of all why do you say that about air bnb? There are many that showed up in the frum neighborhoods...

Also, aside from recommendations on imamother - although yours sound great! - how did you go about planning your itinerary? Did you get ideas from friends? That’s what I’ve pretty much been doing but just wondering the best way to go about it. Are there any good websites etc

dankbar

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 1:08 am

Theres a zoo in yerushalayim....which u might consider if u go with toddlers

EishesYo

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 1:53 am

Very exciting! How long are you going for? What parts of the country would you like to see? Is it a fun vacation or a spiritual one?

The biblical zoo (gan hachayot) is beautiful!

There is lots to do and much can b done with toddlers. You dont must rent a car there is public transportation but it can take longer an daoemtimes cant b relied upon!!

amother

Vermilion

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 2:01 am

גן התנכי
מיני ישראל
ירושלים תחנת הילדים Gymboree
Cellphone company use partner /012 formerly known as orange

Apartment to rent (yidish/hebrew)

Samet
+972 2-537-7225
Eisenbach
050-410-9434
Brandsdorfer/Gottlieb
+972 2-627-2675
They all have better apartments and also cheaper ones depending on how much you want to spend.
I would give a child a bottle for landing/takeoff swallowing helps for air pressure.

It's not worth bringing paper goods and shampoos to Israel as they have everything from head and shoulders to pantene etc.
There are nice parks as well
גן סאקר
גן הוורדים/וואל
I don't know, when we went with babies we never went on trips its ridiculous to shlep them around town.
We rent cars from hertz as we are American airline customers.
I'm sure your husband knows where everything is.
Enjoy your trip! I miss my place and my family there!

doctorima

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 10:56 am

Renting a car will give you so much more flexibility, especially with little ones. Eretz Bereishit is great for kids, and if you're going up north, check out Gan Guru near Tiveria.

thunderstorm

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 12:17 pm

I went to Eretz Yisroel for my first time two years ago at age 35. But I only went with DH. We were there for a week and did the following :

Day One Thursday- Stayed at the Avnei Choshen Hotel in Tzfas.
Spent time in the old city of Tzfas.
Went to the Arie's kever, shopped and looked around.

Day Two- Friday
Ate breakfast at a cafe and shopped for Shabbos food in Tzfas.
Drove to Teveria, saw the Kinneret, went to the Kevarim there and then drove to Jerusalem to spend Shabbos.
Stayed at an apartment in the Old City.
Walked to the kosel right after candle lighting and saw the kosel for the first time, davened At the kosel.

Day Three- Shabbos
Davened by the Kosel Shabbos morning
Enjoyed a relaxing Shabbos and took walks through the old city
On Motzai Shabbos I went to Ir David and strolled about

Day Four- Sunday
Had brunch at Holy Bagel
Checked out the Churvah Shul
Drove to Yad Vashem
Checked into hotel (the Plaza)
Went out for dinner

Day Five- Monday
Kosel Tunnels
Mamila Mall
Went to the Shuk
Strolled through a park near the hotel
Just spent the day checking out shops in Jerusalem
And we also squeezed in a trip to Kever Rachel

Day Six- Went to the kosel again
Then drove to Ein Gedi
Hiked Ein Gedi
Drove to the Dead Sea
Checked into a hotel at the Dead Sea

Day Seven- Ordered sandwiches at the cafe at the mall near the Dead Sea to take along on our outing
Went into the Dead Sea early in the morning
Drove to Masada
Ate a picnic lunch
Hiked up Masada , it was amazing!
Drove back to hotel at the Dead Sea

Day 8- Checked out early from Hotel at the Dead Sea
Drove all the way to Jerusalem just so that we could bid farewell to the kosel before leaving to the airport to go home.

This was more or less my trip without every detail.

SuperWify

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 1:24 pm

OP let’s us know more details.

How long are you going for? Where do you plan on staying? One central area or do you want to go all over the place?

Also know that- Before my baby- in my single days and as a newlywed- we definitely did more adventures (ATVing, scuba diving, hiking ect and in general much more touring) but now it’s much more difficult and we end up in one central place (yerushalayim or benai Brak) and will go on one “major trip” for a full day or even two (Netanya or up north to the kinneret, the Dead Sea, Chermon ect). The rest is more chilled, we just enjoy being in Israel and spend time at the kotel and with family.

HeartyAppetite

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 1:56 pm

I went two years ago, but it was just me and dh. These are some attractions we did that are toddler friendly.

Binyamina winery
We took a cable car up mearet eliyahu

We visited the stunning rosh hanikra grottos
We took a tornado boat
Tour the city of tzfas - art galleries, candle store...
Emek hachula the bird story
Beautiful walk in tel Dan reserve

This was amazing!!! We went in a Jeep through the dessert and visited the Bedouin’s

Di karina chcolate factory
Cow farm
Kosel tunnels
Ir David
candy factory

You could check out @mimumaxi on Instagram. She’s in Israel with her children and she’s goin to a lot of fun places.

amother

Maroon

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 5:06 pm

HeartyAppetite wrote:

I went two years ago, but it was just me and dh. These are some attractions we did that are toddler friendly.

We took a tornado boat

What's a tornado boat, and where do you do it?

HeartyAppetite

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 5:45 pm

amother wrote:

What's a tornado boat, and where do you do it?

https://israel-extreme.com/sit.....nean/

I see on the site they say it’s for ages 5 and up. So it might not work for you if your kids are younger.

amother

cornflower

Sun, Sep 30 2018, 6:14 pm

Have any of you been to the Gush Etzion winery?

OP, I don’t want to hijack the thread, just thought it might be helpful to share all ideas here. Although a winery is not for toddlers of course. Let me know if you prefer I start my own thread.

Zeleze

Tue, Oct 02 2018, 6:41 am

Great info here, Hope to remeber this topic when I will need it

Thanks

someone

Tue, Oct 02 2018, 8:03 am

If you are on Facebook there is a group called Love Love Israel - Tried and Tested (I think that's what its called). Its a fantastic resource for looking for trips and activities.

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