Jewish Israel Luxury Tour 10 days

Traveler Reviews

• PS

  Paula4.0•June 2023
  We booked a 10-day Luxury Private tour of Israel. Overall, we enjoyed the trip, but there were some disappointments...
  We booked a 10-day Luxury Private tour of Israel. Overall, we enjoyed the trip, but there were some disappointments and several surprises that were not clear in the offering materials. The best part was that the guides were quite good. Our guide on the second day seemed to be willing to stay with us until 7 pm, but we had not energy for that. Perhaps he was paid by the hour! The connections to and from the airports were flawless. One flaw was that none of the guides offered us a map of the country or locations we were visiting. We had to get our bearings on our own. On the first three days, our guides (Gil and Eli) charged us for parking fees and entry fees. Thankfully, you have refunded these fees. We wonder if these two guides were reimbursed by the tour company as well as collecting from us. Our fourth guide (Sarah) paid for all fees. On the last day, Moti also paid for all fees. Our guide on the third day, Gil, skipped the visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Instead, he just summarized it verbally while driving past it on the highway. When we said that the visit was on our itinerary, he replied: “It’s optional.” Ha Ha! He evidently wanted to get home early that day, as he dropped us off at our hotel at the Dead Sea at about 2:30 pm. Thus, we did not get the full-day tour for which we paid. Gil had incorrect information about which was our hotel at the Dead Sea, but it was cleared up by phone calls just prior to our arrival. We did not understand that we would have no continuity of service from Bookings. Tour guides picked us up in the morning and returned us to our hotel at the end of the day. We did not have the names of our guides in advance, and were not provided with a telephone number to reach them. As a private tour we were to have some discretion over sites visited. Some guides understood this while others did not. The itinerary in the offering materials for the days in the Galilee made little sense, but our guide (Moti) was able to construct tours that worked. Our major complaint is that you promoted this as a luxury tour, yet there was little luxurious about it. Our Jerusalem and Dead Sea hotels were good. Our Tel Aviv hotel was less than good. Our 3-day kibbutz stay was not good. At the kibbutz, the room was not properly cleaned when we arrived. The TV was tiny and barely functional. We were nowhere near places to eat the evening meal and transportation to/from dinner was not easy. We tipped someone to drive us to and from dinner one night. However, the kibbutz breakfast was excellent. We think you owe us a partial refund for the three nights we spent at the kibbutz. In the evenings, we wanted to watch the French Open tennis at the hotels, but the hotel in Tel Aviv did not offer that channel. Also, at that hotel, I asked at the desk clerk if they could change a 100 NIS bill. The answer: “No.” Also, in that hotel, the thermostat was set to a temperature that was too cold for us, but it COULD NOT be changed. The hotel desk clerk advised with a smile: “You could turn it off.” Though the location was good, the breakfast at that hotel was plentiful but not the best. We added a day trip to Petra, expecting it to be of the same quality as the rest of our trip. Far from it! We traveled on 40-person buses and toured with the same large group. The walking tour was long, and we had to pay $50 for a return golf-cart ride.Show more
  Traveled in May 2023
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  SofiS5.0•March 2020
  I've been to Israel 5 times but this is the first visit for my husband and the first time we are doing an 10-day tour...
  I've been to Israel 5 times but this is the first visit for my husband and the first time we are doing an 10-day tour together way, knowledgeable, funny, patient, efficient and professional, we had Ido (Jerusalem), George (Bethlehem, Jericho), Eli W (Masada, En Gedi, Dead Sea), Yonathan (Caesarea, Akko, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee) Kudos to all and to YONATHAN who is actually an Archaeologist, we are blessed to have him for 2 days, he has the personal and special touch, knowledge is excellent! Booking-tours is very organized from the Day 1 arrival at Ben Gurion to the last day of the tour, they took care of us, always making sure there is someone who is looking after us, esp point of pick up and drop off. We love Booking-tours company and will definitely recommend to our family and friends... Until our next visit, Toda Raba! Shalom!!!Show more
  Traveled in March 2020
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  SiennaTorres5.0•February 2019
  Led by Christine
  We just came back from Israel I would say that we are all happy and satisfied with Booking Tours company. They gave...
  We just came back from Israel I would say that we are all happy and satisfied with Booking Tours company. They gave us a very memorable trip and our tour guide Adi is very good explaining to us the history of all the places we have been. The company is very organized from booking our hotels and are easy to deal and communicate. My contact person is Vera Veinberg who is very good communicating with us, and she makes sure that everything will work fine. I would recommend Booking-tours, and we would use them again for a future trip to Israel.Show more
  Traveled in February 2019