Program is tentative and subject to change. Connect with our Customer Care Team by calling: (888) 230-6008 Mon.-Thur. from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).
YOUR journey
J² crafts journeys of inspiration, education, and Jewish connections to Israel and worldwide. We are guided by a simple but powerful concept: No two trips are the same; each experience should be personal, meaningful, and backed by superb service. Travel is not just about the places you visit, but the connections you make along the way.
Family Friendly 
Food Tasting Tour 
Nature Walks 
Rafting & Kayaking 
Street Art 
Art & Culture 
Active 
Food & Wine 
Heritage 
Local Specialists 
Jeep Tour
THE EXPERT
Program Itinerary
DAY 1
DEPARTURE
Thu. Jun 13, 2024
- Depart the US.
Overnight: Flight
DAY 2
WELCOME TO ISRAEL
Fri. Jun 14, 2024
- Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport.
- Check into the hotel.
- Step outside and create a community circle on the glorious beach of Tel Aviv. Enjoy the power of the sand, sea and the rush of the water as you celebrate the beginning of your journey throughout Israel. We’ll welcome Shabbat together as a community with Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz, Cantor Juval Porat and Mark Baranek.
- Festive Shabbat dinner.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
Meals: Dinner
DAY 3
SHABBAT IN TEL AVIV
Sat. Jun 15, 2024
- Beginnings: Modern Tel Aviv grew out of ancient Jaffa. Gaze out over the Mediterranean Sea; learn why Jaffa, mentioned in the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale, is so historically important; and see how its Old City reflects the present as well as the past.
- Arming for Independence: Visit the Ayalon Institute near Rehovot and uncover its role in the establishment of the state of Israel. This secret ammunition factory produced millions of bullets for Jewish forces fighting for a Jewish state and the end of British rule over Palestine.
- Walk along the Independence Trail in Tel Aviv and embark on a remarkable journey that begins with the founding of Tel Aviv in 1909 and ends with the establishment of Israel in 1948.
- Mark the end of Shabbat with a communal Havdalah ceremony.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 4
ALONG THE COAST
Sun. Jun 16, 2024
- Check out of the hotel.
- Experience the dynamism of Jewish life at the newly-opened ANU Museum of the Jewish People, dedicated to telling their story and representing their diversity, highlighting the creative works and cultural riches of a variety of communities in different periods of history until the present day.
- Visit Caesarea, one of the Land of Israel's most important cities during the Roman Period.
- Continue north and check into the hotel.
- Dinner and reflection session.
Overnight: Upper Galilee
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 5
NATURE, SECURITY & SERENITY IN THE GOLAN
Mon. Jun 17, 2024
- Enjoy a hike in the beautiful Tel Dan Nature Reserve.
- Higher Ground: Hit the ground racing as we go off-road for a jeep tour of the Golan Heights that will combine natural beauty with security insights into one of Israel’s most strategically important areas. Retrace the experiences of Israeli soldiers in their battles during the Six-Day War of 1967 and the 1973 Yom Kippur War and talk with your jeep drivers about their personal experiences and feelings about the Golan.
- Proceed to a Druze village in the Golan Heights for a window into the unique world of the Druze community.
- Visit Emek Habecha (“the Valley of Tears”) on the eastern edge of the Golan Heights, the Site of one of Israel’s fiercest battles in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
- Raft or kayak down the Jordan River.
- Join Gadi Elias and his family at their Baba Yona Ranch for a home hospitality dinner.
Overnight: Upper Galilee
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 6
ALONG THE RIFT
Tue. Jun 18, 2024
- Early breakfast at the hotel, followed by check out.
- Spend time in Tsfat, where you will:
- Visit the Ari Synagogue.
- See the Caro Synagogue, built originally, like the Ari Synagogue, in the 16th century.
- Walk through the Artists’ Colony.
- As we drive south through the Jordan Valley, we’ll discuss the strategic and political situation in this area and consider how Israeli control over it is viewed by some as vital to national security but by others as an impediment to any future agreement with the Palestinians.
- Check into the hotel and experience the weightlessness of the Dead Sea as you float in its waters.
- Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Dead Sea
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 7
DEAD SEA BASIN
Wed. Jun 19, 2024
- Early breakfast at the hotel, followed by check out.
- Take the cable car to the top of Masada with its extraordinary views and fascinating archaeological remains. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is where Jewish rebels are believed to have made their final attempt to resist Roman invaders (c 74 CE). We'll learn about Masada's importance as a symbol of Jewish defense and discuss its influence on modern Israel.
- Join as a community and bless the B’not and B’nai Mitzvah as they wrap themselves in a talith for the first time at the ancient synagogue in Masada. At the east overlook.
- In Genesis Land:
- Ride a camel into the heart of the desert and bake pita.
- Enjoy hospitality in a desert tent and share a traditional “hafla” lunch.
- Stop at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem for a traditional “shehechiyanu” blessing of thanksgiving.
- Arrive to Jerusaelm and check into the hotel.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
DAY 8
I DIG ISRAEL
Thu. Jun 20, 2024
- Take part in an interactive archeological dig geared to all ages at the Beit Guvrin Caves.
- Take a multicultural tasting journey through the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda open-air market: Enjoy the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds of this vibrant area where Jerusalemites shop.
- Return to the hotel.
- Israel Today: Dialogue with Dan Feferman, author, speaker and researcher, and Director of Communications and Global Affairs at Sharaka, an NGO that works to build people-to-people peace between Israel and the Arab world.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 9
HISTORY & SPIRITUALITY IN JERUSALEM
Fri. Jun 21, 2024
- B’nai Mitzvah Tefillin ceremony at Azrat Yisrael (the Egalitarian Platform).
- No visit to Israel is complete without experiencing the Kotel (Western Wall), widely considered Judaism's holiest site. Each year, over one million notes containing prayers and wishes are placed in the cracks of the wall. We'll discuss the wall's historical and contemporary importance and experience its unique atmosphere.
- Take a walking tour through Jerusalem’s Old City and the Jewish Quarter and experience the center of Jewish life, history, and holiness. Among the highlights will be:
- A walk along the rooftops will provide an extraordinary scene of multi-faith Jerusalem. From this one spot, we will see the domes of three great religious landmarks:
- The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (marking where Jesus is believed to have been crucified).
- The Jewish Quarter’s Hurva synagogue.
- And the Dome of the Rock, one of Islam’s most sacred and beautiful sites.
- The Cardo, the main street of Roman-controlled Jerusalem and its spectacular Byzantine-era columns.
- King Hezekiah’s “Broad Wall”, a massive wall built to protect Jerusalem from invasion 2,700 years ago.
- Explore the City of David, the core of ancient Jerusalem, and wade through Hezekiah’s tunnel, a 2,700-year-old water tunnel.
- Shabbat services at Kehilat Dror, a local Reform congregation.
- Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 10
SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM
Sat. Jun 22, 2024
- Optional shabbat morning services.
- Option 1:
- A Mountain Holy to Many: Experience the complexity of inter-religious relations on Mount Zion. We’ll first visit the Upper Room. It is venerated by Christians as the location of Jesus’ Last Supper but was, for a period, converted into a mosque. In a room directly below, Jews pray at the place believed to be King David’s Tomb.
- At the end of the Via Dolorosa is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified. This is one of Christianity’s great pilgrimage sites and a testament to the remarkable diversity of the Christian world. It includes an empty tomb where it is said that Jesus was buried and resurrected.
- There will also be time to see the bargains and the bargaining in the Old City Shuk (market) in the Christian Quarter.
- Option 2:
- Explore the wonderfully creative Israel Museum, housing more than 5,000 years of cultural treasures. Highlights include the archaeology wing, with the most extensive collection of biblical artifacts in the world; the Jewish art and life wing; the fine arts wing; the sculpture garden; and the open-air model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. Don’t miss the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, considered the world’s oldest existing biblical manuscripts.
- B'nai Mitzvah celebrations at HUC followed Havdalah and Dinner.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 11
THE POWER OF MEMORY
Sun. Jun 23, 2024
- Check out from the hotel.
- Meet elderly immigrants at Yad LaKashish (Lifeline for the Elderly).
- Adults and children over 10: Visit Yad Vashem. Your guided tour will include:
- The Avenue of the Righteous.
- The Historical Museum.
- The Children’s Memorial.
- Children’s program: Two by Two the Animals Went into the Ark: The Biblical Zoo is one of Jerusalem’s loveliest places. It has a great collection of animals with a special focus on creatures mentioned in the Bible. It includes 62 acres of open areas where the animals live, a zoo train if you don’t feel like walking, a petting zoo, and plenty of other activities to keep all ages enthralled.
- Plant trees at the Jerusalem Bird Observatory and enjoy free time at the New Jerusalem Deer Valley Park.
- What We’ve Seen and Felt During Our Journey: Share the experiences and discoveries that have inspired you during this trip as we get ready to say Shalom U’lehitraot (Bye and see you soon) to Israel.
- Farewell Dinner.
- Group transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport.
Overnight: Flight
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 12
HOME
Mon. Jun 24, 2024
- Until we meet again.
RATES & LODGING
participants
25+
Cost p/p in double room
$6,595
Cost p/p in single room
$8,665
Child As 3rd (Reduction)
- ($1,380)
Tel Aviv: Carlton
- Nights: 2
- Room Category: Premium Partial sea view
- Hotel Website
Upper Galilee: Pastoral Kfar Blum Hotel
- Nights: 2
- Room Category: Classic
- Hotel Website
Dead Sea: Noga
- Nights: 1
- Room Category: Deluxe
- Hotel Website
Jerusalem: Orient
- Nights: 4
- Room Category: Orient
- Hotel Website
What to expect
- 9 nights' accommodations.
- 10 days of touring with a tour educator (guide), 10 days of touring in a luxury, air-conditioned bus.
- Daily breakfast, 1 lunch & 7 dinners.
- Water on the bus.
- Porterage at the hotels.
- All site entrance fees & program fees as per your final program.
- Rental fee for B’nai/B'not Mitzvah ceremony on June 22.
- Gratuities: for Tour educator & Bus driver.
- Credit card fees.
- Flights to & from Israel.
- Late check out on the day of departure.
- Sound/lighting equipment (if needed) for B’nai/B'not Mitzvah Ceremony on June 22.
- DJ & Photographer for B’nai/B'not Mitzvah Ceremony on June 22.
- COVID related expenses, including tests.
- Evening transportation when dinner is not included.
- Amendments to the program: In the event that any sites, programs or meals etc. are added to the program, an additional fee may be required.
- Personal extras: Items of personal nature such as laundry, wines, mineral water, beverages, coffee, tea, food other than the table d’hotel menu, passport and visa fees, insurance, and foreign port taxes, unless otherwise specified.
- US and foreign airport taxes, Q fuel surcharge and border taxes when applicable.
- Value Added Tax is currently not applicable to tourists visiting Israel. Should the law change, you will be notified accordingly, and VAT will be added to your final invoice.
- Peace of Mind Travel Protection Program (POM).
- Please review our terms & conditions (T&C’s) or request that we send you our full T&C’s. Until you do that, here is the small print, and other stuff you may want to know:
- Validity | All prices quoted are based on exchange rates as of the proposal date and are subject to change without notice. Rates are per person and are based on shared twin room occupancy.
- How to Make a Reservation | The quickest way to make a reservation is to register online or contact us by email. We accept VISA, MasterCard, and American Express credit cards. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required in order to complete the registration process.
- For any assistance with this registration process or other trip-related queries, please email Customer Care: [email protected].
- Payments | The balance of your payment is due 90 days before your trip begins, or as specified in your invoice. You will receive an email reminder 2 weeks before this date. Various payment options are available as follows:
- Credit card | We accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Please check with your credit card provider regarding international processing fees. We are unable to process payments of over $1,000 over the phone. Please submit payment online via a credit card or by wiring funds via your bank.
- Domestic bank wire transfer | Payment should be wired in the same currency that is listed on your invoice. Please add the name of your group or invoice number as a reference and forward a copy of the transfer receipt by email. The bank transfer should clearly state the beneficiary’s name on the wire transfer.
- J² Adventures reserves the right to automatically cancel your reservation on that date and it may be subject to reconfirmation should the final payment not be received.
- Cancelation Policy | All cancelations need to be made in writing. The cancelation fee depends on the date when we receive written notification of your request to cancel your booking. Please note that the deposit is non-refundable.
- Cancelation fees | Cancelations made 90 or more days prior to departure incur the loss of the deposit. Cancelations made 89 to 46 days prior to departure incur the loss of 50% of the full trip cost. Cancelations made 45 days or less prior to the departure incur the loss of 100% of the full trip cost.
- Cancelation fees may also include: Hotel or supplier cancelation fees. J² Adventures reserves the right to adjust its terms of payment, including cancelation policies and initial deposits.
- Protect your investment for $495 p/p: Should you cancel your trip up to 5 days before your departure for any reason, our POM program offers you a trip refund. Call 888-230-6008 or e-mail: [email protected].
- Please click here to view our full terms (T&C’s). These T&C’s apply to all reservations created within J2 Adventures.
DISCOVER NEW WORLDS.
JEWISH JOURNEYS.
A family vacation to Israel. An adventure of a lifetime traveling with friends to Morocco. A trip to Poland or Portugal with your community. What do these trips have in common? No matter where you go, you will come back with a fresh perspective and appreciation of the place you visited as well as a heightened awareness of your identity as part of the global Jewish community.
J2 STUFF.
We have everything you need to know before you go. Check out our Instagram my_j2adventures for cool updates and interesting tidbits.
The J2 App
available on the App Store & on Google Play.
