Ultimate Israel 14 nights 15 days arrival any day

Day 1 TEL AVIV

Upon arrival in Israel, you will be met by a Monarch-Israel representative and transferred to your Tel Aviv hotel for overnight.

DAY 2 TEL AVIV

Start your tour with an orientation of Tel Aviv. Visit the Independence Hall, where David Ben Gurion announced the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Continue to Rothschild Blvd. and nearby streets to see some of the 4,000 Bauhaus buildings that make up the White City, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Then to the Palmach Museum to see, hear, and feel what it meant to be a youngster fighting for Israel’s independence. End the day with a drive to Holon, 4 miles south of Tel Aviv, to visit the amazing Children’s Museum, where you may take part in either The Dialogue in Silence or The Walk in the Dark, whichever is available that day. Continue to the flea market in Jaffo. Browse the art galleries in Old Jaffo and make a stop at the nearby, beautifully renovated Tahana (old railroad station), with many upscale boutiques and cafes. Return to your hotel for overnight.

DAY 3 TIBERIAS

Depart Tel Aviv and drive along the Mediterranean coast to the ancient city of Caesarea, once the Roman capital of Palestine. Continue to Mt. Carmel and the city of Haifa. Visit the Naval and Clandestine Immigration Museum. Continue to Beth Shearim and see the Tombs of the Sanhedrin. On to Acko for a visit to the Knights' Halls. Drive north to visit the grotto of Rosh Hanikra. Continue to Tiberias for overnight.

DAY 4 TIBERIAS

Drive to one of the four holiest Jewish cities, Zafed, steeped in the mystical tradition of Kabbalah. Visit the art galleries and the ancient synagogues and meet David Friedman for a talk on Kabbalah.Continue on the narrow road to Alma and Dalton and visit the Dalton Winery. Continue to Nebi Yesha and an old British police station from which Arabs attacked Jewish villages until 1948. Heroic battles took place here. Visit the memorial, rarely seen by foreign tourists. Continue to Kibbutz Manara and take the cable car down to Kyriat Shmonah, a city that has suffered more than any other from attacks by the PLO and Hezbollah. On to Tel Hai, the site where Yoseph Trumpeldor lived and where he died in 1921, inspiring one of Israel’s greatest modern legends.Continue off the beaten track of the Golan Heights by 4X4 vehicle and stop to gaze down over the Galilee as the Syrians once did. In the Valley of the Tears, hear the moving story of the brave Kahalani’s battle to secure the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War. On to Mt. Bental for an outstanding view of the Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights. Return to Tiberias for overnight. Visit the Caprece Diamond Center, and see Israel's largest export industry in action.

DAY 5 DEAD SEA

Depart Tiberias and drive south to the Kinneret Cemetery with the tombs of some of the political, cultural and spiritual founders of Zionism. Continue to Belvoir (Kohav HaYarden), one of the best preserved crusader fortresses in Israel. Walk across the moat and visit the fortress with its spectacular views of the Jordan Valley. Visit the ruins of Beth Shean, one of Israel's most ancient cities. Continue along the Jordan Valley to the Bika Monument, a memorial to the Israeli soldiers who died in this area between 1967 and 1971. Drive via Jericho, the oldest city in the world, to the lowest place on earth: the Dead Sea. Take advantage of a free afternoon to experience the therapeutic and invigorating Dead Sea mineral treatments offered at the hotel spa.

DAY 6 EILAT

Drive to Masada. Take the cable car to the top of the rock and visit the Roman palaces, store houses, synagogues, and bath house which witnessed the Jewish resistance to the Romans approximately 2,000 years ago. Descend by cable car and drive through the Arava Valley to the southern part of Israel. Stop at Kibbutz Yotveta and try some of Israel’s most delicious dairy products. Continue to Eilat for overnight.

Day 8 EILAT

Day at leisure. Optional tour to Petra is available.

DAY 9 MITZPE RAMON

Visit the Timna Valley and climb on King Solomon’s Pillars. Drive through the spectacular Ramon Crater (Israel’s Grand Canyon). Then, arrive at our unique Beresheet Desert hotel for a free afternoon to relax.

DAY 10 MITZPE RAMON

Drive to the archaeological site of Avdat to see the ruins of this interesting Nabatean city and learn about this once powerful civilization. Return to Mitzpe Ramon for a visit to the Ramon Crater nature reserve and visitor center. For lunch, enjoy a traditional Bedouin Hafla. The experience of the place and the meal give a good sense of the desert way of life, very little changed since the days of the Patriarchs. After lunch, take a 2-hour 4X4 ride in the crater. Return to the hotel for the rest of the afternoon free.

DAY 11 JERUSALEM

Drive to Sde Boker and visit Ben Gurion’s hut and tomb. Then visit Hatzerim, the museum of the Israeli Air Force. This open-air museum displays over 90 aircraft, from Israel's first Messerschmidt and the Supermarine Spitfire flown in combat by Ezer Weizman to the Boeing 707 used in the Entebbe rescue mission. Continue to Beth Nir Kibbutz near Lachish, where we will learn about their olive oil production, including a tasting. Then climb the Judean Hills to Jerusalem for overnight.

DAY 12 JERUSALEM

Drive to Mt. of Olives and enjoy the panoramic view of the most beautiful city in the world. Continue to the City of David and see excavations that reveal the earliest days of Jerusalem dating back to King David. If weather permits, walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Walk the newly opened Pilgrims Tunnel direct to the Old City. Visit the Davidson Center and see a multi-media presentation about Jerusalem in the days of the Second Temple. Walk to the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism and the only visible remains of Herod’s splendid Second Temple. Walk through the excavated Western Wall Tunnel, huge arched spaces which link to a water tunnel cut through the rock to the north, apparently dug in the Hasmonean period (163 to 37 BCE). Drive to Mt Zion and visit David's Tomb. Take a walking tour of the Jewish quarter, including the Burnt House and the Herodian Quarter. Visit the newly opened Hurva Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Jerusalem until its destruction by the Jordanians in 1948. It reopened for use in 2010. Return to your hotel for overnight.

DAY 13 JERUSALEM

Visit Hadassah Hospital to see the famous Chagal Windows there. Drive to the Israel Museum to see the new Herod Exhibit and the scale model of Jerusalem in the days of the Second Temple. Continue to Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. May we never forget the terrible price Israel paid to establish her country. Meet a local cantor for a short service in the memory of the 6,000,000 Jews murdered by the Nazis. Drive to Ammunition Hill to see the bunkers that the Israeli Army conquered to liberate the city in 1967. Continue to the Machne Yehuda Market, a landmark institution and one of the most prosperous markets in Israel. We’ll have an in-depth tour with emphasis on the history of the market, the types of foods sold and their uses and origins. Return to the hotel for overnight.

DAY 14 JERUSALEM

Visit the Avshalom Stalactite Cave, one of the best stalactite caves in the world despite its small size. Continue to the Latrun Junction to see the Tank Memorial. Continue to Mini Israel, a unique birds-eye view of more than 300 models of different buildings and sites in Israel. Drive to the Ayalon Institute near Rehovot, an underground ammunition factory that operated in 1948, unbeknownst to the British, who prevented the Jews from buying or manufacturing any weapons in anticipation of the Arab invasion of Israel. Then visit the Castel Winery, one of Israel’s best.Return to the hotel for overnight.

Day 15 DEPARTURE

You will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight.