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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.
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THE EXPERT
Program Itinerary
DAY 1
DEPARTURE
Sat. May 4, 2024
- Depart the USA.
Overnight: Flight
DAY 2
WELCOME TO PRAGUE
Sun. May 5, 2024
- Arrive at Prague International Airport.
- Check into the hotel.
- 4:00 p.m. Meet your tour educator in a hotel lobby for an orientation.
- Explore the Old Town Square, Prague’s main marketplace since the 10th century. See its Astronomical Clock, a symbol of the city, and explore Prague’s Art Nouveau architecture.
- Festive welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Share group and personal goals.
Overnight: Prague
Meals: Dinner
DAY 3
THE GLORY OF PRAGUE
Mon. May 6, 2024
- Discover the sometimes glorious, sometimes tragic, past of Prague’s Jews with a walking tour to the Jewish Ghetto. Our visit will include:
- The Maisel Synagogue.
- The Pinkas Synagogue.
- The Old Jewish Cemetery.
- The Spanish Synagogue.
- The Altneushul.
- Visit the Prague Castle, enjoy an overview of the City of 100 Spires, and walk along the Golden Lane.
- Meet with Tomáš Kraus, a prominent figure in the Czech-Jewish community. Presently, he holds the position of Director at the Terezín Initiative Institute and serves as the representative of the American Jewish Committee for the Czech Republic. We're eager to engage with him and learn from his wealth of experience and insight of Jewry in Europe.
- Return to the hotel. Enjoy a free evening and explore Prague’s nightlife.
Overnight: Prague
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 4
MEMORY & CONTINUITY
Tue. May 7, 2024
- Head to Lidice, the site of a notorious Nazi act of brutality against Czech non-Jews. We’ll visit the memorial to the victims.
- Continue to Terezin (Theresienstadt), the ghetto-camp established here during World War Two where over 100,000 thousand Jews were worked to death or sent to extermination camps in the East. Our visit to Terezin will include:
- The Historical Exhibition which explains the history of the camp and its role in Hitler’s Final Solution.
- Chilling propaganda movies made by the Nazis which were designed to convince the world that Terezin was a spa town and retirement center for elderly Jews rather than a death-ridden way station to the extermination camps.
- A reconstruction of the overcrowded dormitory and other parts of the camp complex.
- The Hidden Synagogue that an inmate, Artur Berlanger, created out of a tiny storage space.
- A memorial service, where we’ll remember those who died here as well as the more than 80,000 Jews who were sent to be killed in Auschwitz and elsewhere in the East.
- Packed lunch, en route.
- Return to Prague.
- Share a coffee (or try a local Czech beer!) with residents from Moishe House, an international non-profit organization made up of a collection of homes throughout the world that serve as hubs for the young adult Jewish community.
Overnight: Prague
Meals: Breakfast & Packed Lunch
DAY 5
FROM PRAGUE TO VIENNA
Wed. May 8, 2024
- Check out of the hotel and drive to Vienna.
- Arrive in Vienna and meet your local guide.
- Take a panoramic orientation tour along the Ringstrasse, the main avenue circling the city center, for a view of the city's main landmarks, including: The Hofburg Palace, St. Stephen's Cathedral, St. Peter's Church.
- Visit the Stadttemple Synagogue, the only synagogue in Vienna to survive Kristallnacht and World War Two. Hear about the synagogue’s role in Vienna’s Jewish life today.
- Step into the dynamic world of European Jewish leadership during the meeting with Dr. Ariel Muzicant, the newly appointed President of the European Jewish Congress (EJC). Dr. Muzicant, a seasoned figure in Jewish community affairs, brings over four decades of dedication and experience to share.
- Check into the hotel and enjoy an evening at leisure.
Overnight: Vienna
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 6
JEWISH LIFE IN VIENNA
Thu. May 9, 2024
- See The Kiss and other groundbreaking paintings by Gustav Klimt at the Belvedere Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Europe’s most beautiful Baroque buildings.
- Move to the main wing of the Jewish Museum of Vienna with its innovative exhibitions about modern Jewish life in the city.
- Visit the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial, also known as the Nameless Library because it resembles a library where the books are unreadable.
- Explore the Judenplatz, a center of Vienna’s Jewish life.
- See the Jewish Museum’s underground wing at the Judenplatz.
- Look for signs of the large Jewish community that once lived in Leopoldstadt, an island in central Vienna.
- Return to the hotel.
Overnight: Vienna
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 7
FROM VIENNA TO BUDAPEST
Fri. May 10, 2024
- Check out of the hotel and drive to Budapest.
- Arrive in Budapest and meet your local guide.
- Take a bus tour along stylish Andrassy Avenue with its palaces and mansions. Home in the 19th century to aristocrats and bankers, it is now also a chic street of designer stores, upscale boutiques, and the glorious State Opera House. We’ll jump off the bus at Heroes’ Square to see the iconic statues commemorating one thousand years of Magyar (Hungarian) tribes, leaders, and kings.
- Check into the hotel with time to freshen up before Shabbat.
- Join the Frankel Synagogue in welcoming the Sabbath, Hungarian Neolog-style. Before the service, we’ll join the community and hear from locals about Jewish life in Budapest today and the challenges and opportunities they face.
OR
Shabbat services at another local synagogue. - Shabbat dinner at a restaurant.
Overnight: Budapest
Meals: Breakfast & Shabbat dinner
DAY 8
SHABBAT IN BUDAPEST
Sat. May 11, 2024
- Morning at leisure with the opportunity to relax at one of Budapest's famous spas, the Széchenyi Bathhouse and the Gellert Bathhouse.
- Depart the hotel and drive to the top of Castle Hill, an ideal and spectacular spot to get your Budapest bearings. We’ll look down on the beauty of the city and see how the Danube river separates the hilly Buda area from the flat lands of Pest. Castle Hill, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is named after Buda Castle, which was built in the 13th century and now hosts the Hungarian National Gallery and other major cultural institutions. We’ll wander Castle Hill’s cobblestoned streets and appreciate the remarkable rebuilding of this area, which was reduced to rubble after World War Two.
- Enjoy the panoramic views of Budapest from the top of the Fisherman’s Bastion.
- Return to the hotel.
- Havdalah by the Danube.
Overnight: Budapest
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 9
JEWISH LIFE IN BUDAPEST
Sun. May 12, 2024
- Explore the story of Jewish Budapest over the past 160 years:
- The Dohany Street Synagogue.
- The Jewish Museum.
- The Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park.
- Visit the newly renovated Rumbach Synagogue.
- Visit the Holocaust Memorial Center, which, through photos, rare video footage, personal effects, and individual stories, traces the unique progression of the Holocaust in Hungary. The museum looks at the pre-war Jews of Hungary, their increasing disenfranchisement but relative safety in 1938, and the devastation in May 1944 when the Germans occupied the country and murdered over 500,000 Jews. The complex also features memorials to the victims.
- Meet young Budapest Jewish leaders and activists to talk about the issues that most concern them and hear what factors they believe will shape the future of Hungarian Jewry.
- Return to the hotel.
- Budapest has in recent years developed into a European center for nightlife. Check out the scene on a free evening, including the many options for dinner.
Overnight: Budapest
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 10
HUNGARY'S CONTRADICTIONS
Mon. May 13, 2024
- Is Hungary turning its back on democracy and returning to authoritarianism? Find out during this presentation by Gabor Gyori, senior political analyst at the Hungarian thinktank Policy Solutions. We’ll also hear how the rise of Christian nationalist politicians, such as Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister and a proponent of “illiberal democracy,” affects Hungary’s Jews, the country and, indeed, Europe.
- Walking tour of Budapest:
- Enjoy the lawns, walkways, and architecture of Liberty Square. We’ll also see that the square provides important insights into the transformations and turmoil of recent Hungarian history and politics.
- Walk by the Hungarian Parliament.
- See The Shoes on the Danube, a moving, sparse memorial to honor the Jews who were massacred by Fascist Hungarian militia belonging to the Arrow Cross Party in Budapest during the Second World War.
- Check out Budapest’s largest food market, the Nagycsarnok (Great Market Hall). Local foods, spices, and wines are downstairs while upstairs you’ll find traditional Hungarian costumes and crafts.
- Remainder of the afternoon at leisure.
- Farewell dinner on a private cruise on the Danube, share reflections of your journey. Enjoy views of the city at night.
Overnight: Budapest
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 11
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
Tue. May 14, 2024
- Check out of the hotel.
- Return flight to the USA.
Meals: Breakfast
RATES & LODGING
participants
20+
Cost p/p in double room
$4,995
Cost p/p in single room
$6,190
Cost of accommodations for pre & post nights including breakfast and all taxes:
-Prague: Art Deco Imperial $330,- per night per double occupancy room, $330,- per night per single occupancy room.
-Budapest: Continental Hotel $250,- per night per double occupancy room, $240,- per night per single occupancy room.
*All rates are subject to availability. Registration closed
Prague: Art Deco Imperial Hotel
- Nights: 3
- Room Category: Deluxe Room
- Hotel Website
Vienna: Hotel Am Konzerthaus, MGallery
- Nights: 2
- Room Category: Superior Room
- Hotel Website
Budapest: Continental Hotel
- Nights: 4
- Room Category: Deluxe Room
- Hotel Website
What to expect
- 9 nights' accommodations.
- 7 days of touring with a tour educator and local guides, in a luxury, air-conditioned bus.
- Daily breakfast, 1 boxed lunch & 3 dinners.
- The J² adventures App available on the App Store & on Google Play (active 7 days before your departure and throughout your trip).
- Porterage at the hotels.
- All site entrance fees & program fees as per your final program.
- Credit card fees.
- Flights to & from Europe
- Gratuities are excluded. For groups of 20 and more participants traveling to Central Europe: We recommend the following guidelines for tipping (amounts are in US dollars): Jewish Tour Educator: $12 | Local Guide: $10 | Driver: $5. Amounts are per day per person.
- 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.
- 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 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: customercare@j2adventures.com.
- 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. Please refer to the small print tab on your trip’s webpage or in your proposal for your cancelation policy and fees.
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
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