Holy Land Trip (1/50): 28 First Timer’s Questions and Answers to help plan your trip to Israel’s Holy Land

Planning a trip to Israel to visit Christian sites and other popular sites

Israel is a country every Christian dreams to visit in their lifetime. We are not an exception to that. To see the holy sites and to walk in the footsteps of Jesus is an experience every Christian must have. We did our 10 day Holyland trip to both Israel and Jordan in April 2018. Israel was awesome and we all had a wonderful time in Israel. If you plan right, Israel has so much to offer and will give you best experience as a family.

Israel and the Holy Land (regions surrounding Israel according to The Bible) is a must visit for Christians in their lifetime. But planning a trip to Israel isn’t easy especially a trip to Holy Land, with all that we hear in the news media. As a first timer, it was hard to figure out and plan a trip to Israel. When we started planning, we had may be these exact same questions you might have.

First timer’s questions

1. Is it safe to travel to Israel?

Israel is a great country to travel to and is very safe. We understand everyone ‘s concern and we did have may be very similar concerns before going there. The main tourists sites are full of tourists and once you are there, you will wonder, ‘why did I even question whether Israel is a safe place?’.  We did have wonderful 7 days in Israel and 3 days in Jordan. There are friendly police everywhere in the border crossing and in all the sensitive areas. Throughout our trip, we felt totally safe. We crossed the Jordan border, and traveled north and went closer to the Syrian border. Israel is completely safe. We even drove a rental car and it’s super easy to drive around too.

2. Is it possible to cross from Jordan to Israel?

Yes! There are 3 main crossing from Jordan to Israel. You can enter through one and exit through another. Just like how we did. Lots of tourists enter Israel via Jordan and exit through Jordan. Israel, Jordan and Egypt have a peace treaty between them and they allow tourists to enter and exit through their borders or fly from one country to another safely.

Crossing border between Jordan and Israel is easy as both countries has peace agreements

3. Is it possible to cross one Jordan border and re-enter Jordan through another border?

Yes, like we told earlier, you can do that. You may need to pay border fees at both Israel and Jordan when entering and exiting each country. We entered through King Hussain bridge and exited through Eilat Araba border in the South. We got the re-entry stamping at Araba border, then we proceeded to tour Wadi Rum and Petra, one the seven wonders of the world.

Crossing from one border of Jordan and re-entering Jordan from Israel is not clearly defined but possible

4. How do we do a trip to Israel by ourselves at our own pace?

Follow our blog posts, we will share our trip planning and tips and it is easy to travel Israel at your own pace, if you are renting a car or having a private driver or a guide.

In Via Dolorosa, All 14 Stations of Christ’s Path to the Cross is very popular

5. Can we drive in Israel?

Yes, you can. We have the US driver’s license and we were able to drive and navigate pretty well in Israel. Having a car is super convenient especially when you like to visit lots of sites, like how we did. There are almost every well known car rental companies that you can rent the car from Tel Aviv airport or in Jerusalem. We rented in Jerusalem, few minutes after we reached the beautiful city.

Driving in Israel is pretty straight forward provided your tour guide can navigate many off beaten path like this

6. Israel is a kids friendly country?

Definitely. There are so many things that kids can enjoy and have fun. Sights include: Dead Sea, Hezekiah tunnels, Banias waterfalls, Ein Gedi, Sea of Galilee, walking in the narrow tunnels from Pool of Shilom to Solomon’s temple, Camel ride etc etc.

From food choice to activities to hiking, kids will love Israel

7. Easy to travel with elderly parents?

Yes. We will soon have a separate blog post from our friend who traveled to Israel for the very time with her elderly mom.

People from all ages across the world visit Israel as the sacred Bible land

8. Is it possible to do a trip to Israel and Jordan combined together?

Yes. Kindly refer to answers for Question 2.

Petra, Jordan is just few hours drive from Eilat border of Israel

9. If we are flying in to Amman, Jordan, is it easy to cross from Jordan to Israel?

Again, kindly refer to answers for both Questions 2 and 3.

Amman Jordan Airport provides additional option for tourist visiting Israel and has many attractions within Jordan for tourists

10. Are there more places to see than just the Christian sites?

Israel was full of surprises. Israel is packed with amazing natural resources like Jordan River, 7 waterfalls of Ein Gedi (where David spares Saul’s life), Masada, Banias National Park etc etc. By doing a private tour and not with a group, we incorporated an itinerary that was a good fit according to what we like as a family.

Floating in the Dead Sea is a fun experience for family

11. Is Jordan a kids friendly country?

Jordan is a great country to visit by itself. We discovered that after going there and talking with people. They are very friendly and their food (just like Israel) is amazing! For kids, you can plan to do a trip to Wadi Rum desert and if time permits, you can stay gazing at the million stars in the night at many of their overnight camps. Walking or horse/mule/donkey riding in and around Petra is also super fun. There are so many other sites to visit Jordan. Since we wanted to visit Israel, our primary focus was on Israel and we have just 3 actual days in Jordan.

Camel back riding in the Wadi Rum desert of Jordan was fun experience

12. Easy to arrange a tour guide?

Arranging a tour guide in Israel is easy and it is also the way to visit Israel to get their local and ancient knowledge on the sights you will be visiting. In Israel, the tour guides have to go through a vigorous 3 year program to be a tour guide. So it’s a big deal for them. It comes at a cost as well. So be prepared. We had the same tour guide for all our days in Israel. But you can customize and choose according to the number of days you wanted a tour guide. But we recommend having a tour guide throughout your time in Israel and let them help you with everything.

Our Jordan driver took us to cool places and he was our photographer too

13. Can we arrange to travel at our own convenience without doing a package tour?

We have listed the difference between doing tour privately with a tour guide Vs doing a tour with a group. We did this entire 10 day trip to Israel and Jordan by ourselves and we highly recommend doing a trip privately if you can drive. If not, do a guided tour. Both ways, it will be a great experience overall.

Shabbat evening and dinner was amazing experience in a very traditional Jewish way

14. Can I do within a limited budget?

Yes. Again, I suggest you to go to our post reg. Doing trip privately or as a tour group. We have addressed some budgetary concerns as well.

Tourists still get baptized in Jordan River baptism site near Sea of Galilee

15. Do I need a smart phone while visiting the Holy Land?

Not really, but it helps. For me, to carry my big backpack of my camera bag didn’t work after day 1. Since it was super heavy and maneuvering to steep hikes and narrow tunnels with a heavy backpack was not fun. Since we both had iPhones, we used it to take photos and videos and we also purchased data plan for our unlocked phones to share pictures with family, friends and social media and also to call our tour guide.

16. Can I fly from one destination to another within Israel?

Yes you can. We flew from Tel Aviv to Eilat for just $35 per person and it was comfortable to cross the border from Eilat to Araba and then on to visit Wadi Rum and Petra, which are closer to Eilat Araba border.

Arkia Air provides easy and low cost flying option within and outside Israel

17. Can I also visit Petra?

Yes. See above posts. I will be writing a separate blog post just for Petra. It was beautiful, mesmerizing, amazing, colorful and full of ancient history.

Petra, Jordan trip is a must when visiting Israel, which is only few hours away from Israel border

18. Are the Israeli food just Kosher?

No. Off course you can eat Kosher meals but we are at restaurants which are non kosher. We stayed in Airbnb in Old city of Jerusalem and we were super close to maybe 100s restaurants in Muslim Quarter, Christian Quarter and Jewish Quarter.

Dinner at Decks restaurant in Tiberias

19. Is it possible to do all Christian sites in 10 days?

Israel is full of ancient history including biblical events from both Old and New Testament. It is hard to cover every Christian sites within 10 days. But we will put out our itinerary for first timers to visit for their first ever trip to Israel

Capharnaum is the town where Jesus lived and did many miracles

20. Are there any free tours offered?

Yes. Sandeman’s free walking tour Jerusalem offers tours every day different times. Some are free tours and it is generally recommended to give a good tip for the tour guide. Check out their website

 

Herod’s Theatre at Caesarea National Park hosts lots of popular events till date

21. What are hotel or staying options in the main cities of Israel?

Tel Aviv has many big chain hotel options. Jerusalem has few, but they are outside the old city, which is packed with so many tourist attractions. Instead of traveling every single day from outside the old city to the old city to visit the sight seeing, we opted to stay in Airbnb. For the first 3 days we stayed in the Christian Quarter near the Church of Holy Sepulchre, next 2 days in Tiberias overlooking the Sea of Galilee and last 2 days again in Old city of Jerusalem but this time in the Jewish Quarter, 5 minutes walk from Western Wall.

Airbnb gives the tourists option to stay at the heart of Old City of Jerusalem

22. Do the passports gets stamped after your arrival in Israel?

No. Upon entering Israel either by road or through air, no more passport stamping is done. Instead they issue a paper entry pass which you need to surrender before exiting Israel

23. Public transportation any good?

Although we didn’t use public transportation, we saw and heard the public transportation is pretty good including the Sabbath days

24. Is there any activity depicting the first century/ time of Jesus?

‘Nazareth Village’ in Nazareth, where the church of annunciation, where angel Gabriel met Mary to announce the birth of Christ. Nazareth Village isn’t a play, but it will take back to the Bible days with people wearing traditional bible day clothes etc. They will be answering your questions and you can interact with them. Our kids enjoyed feeding the sheep, working on the olive press, rearing wool from sheep etc. You need to book in advance to reserve your spot though.

Nazareth Village: A first-century farm and village presenting the life, times and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth

25. Can we visit the Western Wall on Sabbath day?

Visiting Western Wall on Sabbath day is fun. Jews across Jerusalem gather together (including teenagers serving the army) amidst other thousands of tourists. They sing and dance all night, while many go in front, touch the wall and pray and cry. Western Wall is the only part  that remains for Jews from the first temple of Solomon, which was destroyed and later built by King Herod. Hence it is so significant and you can see it action.

Jewish people gather together every Saturday night (Sabbath) at the Western Wall

26. Are there many major car rental agencies to rent car?

Almost every major car rental companies are available to rent a car from Tel Aviv airport and also few major car rental companies are available in Jerusalem just near the Old city.

 

Major car rental companies are available to rent car just outside the Old City of Jerusalem

27. Can we carry spices and souvenirs from Israel to home country?

Yes. When you walk from one Quarter to another Quarter, you will come across many different shops which sells souvenirs, spices, Dead Sea materials, bags, books etc. You can buy them and can take it to your home country

Colorful spices of Old City Jerusalem

28. Instead of going through Jordan, can I directly fly into Israel and do side trips like visiting Petra, Jordan?

Off course you can and most the tourists, who fly directly in to Tel Aviv, Israel do the similar thing. There are few tour companies that do side trips to Jordan and you can visit popular sites including Petra and Wadi Rum

 

Our thoughts

If these are your questions, then follow us through our first time experience in Israel and be inspired to travel to Israel in much a easier way since we can guide you in this blog through our experience.

Planning a trip to Israel (and through Jordan) wasn’t easy for us either. And that’s the reason for starting this blog, Blessed2Travel to make it easy for the readers.

Since we are traveling as a family (2 adults & 2 kids), many questions came to our mind: where should we fly into, where to stay, should we take a package tour or a private tour guide, is it a safe country, border crossing, visa requirements, should we drive, if we go with private guide: where to look for them, etc. etc.

Don’t worry, through this blog, we will help you plan a perfect trip for you and your loved ones with by providing you with all information we have gathered and experienced.

Walkway to Hezekiah’s tunnel

For this trip, we started our travel plans in December (just 5 months before our actual travel dates). It was so confusing to make a family friendly trip. There weren’t much YouTube (our usual source) videos on Holy Land trip by a small family by themselves. The videos we saw were helpful, but only in pieces. So to put together an entire itinerary for 10 days involved lots of time and effort. We will be happy to make a video sometime down the line and hopefully help YouTube travel planners.

 

Traveling with kids

If all the travelers in your group are adults, then a package trip totally makes sense. Since we weren’t flexible with our travel dates, and we checked with major tour companies, no package tours were offered during our dates (April), that option was ruled out. Also in our case, we are 2 adults and 2 kids (one is a toddler) and it doesn’t make any sense to pay the adult price for the kids. And the kids will be super bored if we are going to just the ancient Biblical sites as well. To have a fun trip, we would love to see our kids having fun as well. So the best thing is to plan a customized itinerary suited for both adults and kids. Believe me, both kids had a great time through the trip and almost all the days.

The Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus prayed on the night of His betrayal and arrest

This blog posts will talk about our experience based on our interests and our custom made itinerary which included Biblical sites from both old and new testament plus fun things to do in modern Israel: eat local food, experience the local culture, etc., As we were planning, we had to change lots of things which originally we planned to do, for good reasons. For example, we wanted to stay in hotels using points and not in Airbnbs. But eventually ended up staying all 7 nights in Airbnb (5 nights in Jerusalem and 2 nights in Tiberias) in Israel. And we stayed in hotels in Amman and Petra, Jordan.

Israel & Jordan together

For this trip, we mainly wanted to visit Israel. Since we fly in and out via Amman, Jordan, we couldn’t resist ourselves not going in to Petra, the one of the wonders of the world.

So we decided to do Israel for 7 nights and Jordan for 3 nights.

We will go over the details in the coming parts.

Best month to visit

We were told tourist flock to Israel from all over the world in all the 12 months. Depending on the seasons, tourist’s experience visiting Holy Land will be different and beautiful in its own way.

Ein Gedi is an oasis in the Judean desert, where David spared Saul’s life in Old Testament

June, July and August is their peak summer months. November, December, January and February are their colder months. The time that we visited (April’2018: kid’s Spring break) was perfect weather wise. No rains and the sun was out at almost 70-80 degree Fahrenheit with slight cold breeze so we didn’t feel the heat much.

The Banias Waterfall is, without a doubt, the most impressive waterfall in the land of Israel.

Jerusalem is comparatively colder than Northern Israel (Nazareth, Tiberias, Banias) or Judean desert (Masada, Dead Sea)

Mobile Sim Cards

We purchased 2 Israeli sim cards from Global012 for both of us from the US 30 days before our trip and they ship the sim cards to your home address.

Link: https://www.012global.com/

The coverage was pretty awesome. Highly recommend it.

Conclusion

Practically in most of the aspects, planning a trip to Israel with family or a group is easy. But where to start is always challenging. Combining with the side trip of Petra and Wadi Rum in Jordan will make the trip even more interesting. We did the trip in April 2018, and we had many questions when we started planning. We visited many Old testament and New testament sights along with other great attractions that Israel offers tourists. Follow along with our 10 day trip to Israel (7 days) and Jordan (3 days).

Our questions to you?

Are you a first timer?

Do you plan to visit Israel or Jordan?

What was your question?

Post your questions in the comment section below. May be we can answer. If not, we are sure someone will, so that we all can learn something new.

Or just drop a line to say if we need to include any other favorite question of yours when you planned your trip to the Holy land.

 

Entire Holy Land Trip Index

Trip to Israel as family was amazing. Getting to see the Holy Land which we have read and heard about since our childhood Bible story days is truly special indeed. We have put forth 50 detailed post on our DIY trip to Israel & Jordan.

Check out our entire 10 Day Trip Index of Holy Land. We would love to hear your feedback.