Recent trip to Israel

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

i have friends that have stayed at the Renaissance in Jerusalem and they definitely have mixed swimming unless it is rented primarily to a large ultra orthodox group for a Jewish holiday. Rosh Hashanah may come out in September or October depending on how the Jewish Calendar falls out and when Rosh Hashana comes in early September you can also have the holiday of Sukkot and Simchat Torah at the end of September.

For example if you were there in 2002 Rosh Hashanah started on Sundown September 6 and Sukkot started on Sundown September 21 and lasts for 8 days and is very popular for large groups renting out hotels for the entire holiday.

September 2010 also had the Jewish holidays in September with Rosh Hashana in the early part of September and Sukkot starting September 23 and again lasting through the end of September.

We're not Orthodox but we were a very big group. Maybe that's why. Our tour had 2500 people on it and we chartered a few planes and about 50 buses. I know we had trouble getting a cab a few nights. Ended up walking quite a ways.

[J.Wentworth Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close J.Wentworth]

I really like this discussion, the travel experience shared in the discussion helps me so much and keep me updated. Actually, i have to travel to Israel for my next vacations. Can you please suggest me some good travel attractions and accommodations at Israel. I have to travel with my wife and kid. Thanks in advance i am waiting for response.
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[Larry Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Larry]

I really like this discussion, the travel experience shared in the discussion helps me so much and keep me updated. Actually, i have to travel to Israel for my next vacations. Can you please suggest me some good travel attractions and accommodations at Israel. I have to travel with my wife and kid. Thanks in advance i am waiting for response.
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Although Israel is a small country about the size of NJ there is so much to see and I have listed many of the highlights of my trip in this post as well as my post on Part III. when you say you want travel suggestions on
" attractions", I think of Disney type attractions where Israel has historical, biblical, cultural, nature, etc. etc. So it would be helpful if you stated what your area of interest is and how long you will be there so that we can add to my list appropriately. for example tour guides in Israel set up entirely different itineraries for Jewish groups, Christian groups and Muslim groups.

So I will start with some very generic sites I would go to if this were my first trip that I did not go to on this trip.

1) Masada. I climbed up the mountain when I visited during my college days and because of the desert heat everyone did the climb way before sunrise. I believe I started at around 2:00 AM and got to the top just about when the sun was coming up. I believe Masada may now have a tram so no need to climb. They also now have an outdoor theater near Masada for nightime shows so you can make this an all day trip.

2) Tel Aviv- Cosmopolitan seaside city with great nightlife.

3) Caesaria- seaside ancient city built bi Roman's

4) Haifa- third largest city in Israel and largest port city in Israel on the Mediterranean Sea.

5) Numerous biblical towns and sites depending on your interests, such as Nazareth, Jericho, Bethlehem, Hebron ( tomb of the Jewish Patriarchs), Churches, Synagogues and Mosque's ( usually only allowed to enter by Muslims). Many archeological sites of interest including spending a day digging at a site.