Welcome to Israel!
3:00 pm Meet the ToI and Routes teams in the lobby to receive a welcome
package and check in to the hotel.
5:30 pm Depart Carlton hotel to Cheder Prati
6:00 pm Cocktail reception and opening Private Dinner with David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. He is the author of “Still Life with Bombers” (2004) and “A Little Too Close to God” (2000), and co-author of “Shalom Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin” (1996). He previously edited The Jerusalem Post (2004-2011) and The Jerusalem Report (1998-2004)
9:30 pm Return to the hotel
Overnight: Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv
Breakfast at the hotel
9:00 am Cultural Program with ToI Culture Editor Jessica Steinberg
Drive to Levinsky Market
12:30 am Tasting Tour Lunch in the Levinsky Market with Harry Rubenstein
Return to the hotel
4:30 pm Meeting with Biranit Goren at the hotel. Biranit is editor of Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister publication.
6:00 pm Free evening and dinner on your own in Tel Aviv
Overnight: Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv
A day in the north with ToI diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman
Breakfast at the hotel and Check Out
8:00 am Depart for Northern Israel
10:00 am Introduction with ToI diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman at Bir Elmakhsur
10:15 am Visit the Bedouin village of Bir Elmakhsur and meet Guy Gadir (TBC): The experience and contributions of Bedouin Israelis.
Continue North
12:00 pm Lunch at Ein Camonim
2:00 pm Overview from Misgav Am with Lazar Berman Israel’s complex ties with Lebanon
Drive to an overview of Syria
4:00 pm Overview from Mt. Bental with Lazar Berman: Bitter foe, potential partner?
Drive to Majdel Shams
5:15 pm Visit Majdel Shams and meet Naela Eldin, who lost her daughter during the Hezbollah attack on the soccer field in July 2024
Drive to Yesod Hama’ala for dinner
7:00 pm Home Hospitality Dinner in Yesod Ha’Maaleh
9:00 pm Drive to the Hotel and check in
Overnight: Edmond, Rosh Pina
A day in the north with ToI reporter Diana Bletter
Breakfast at the hotel and Check Out
8:30 am Depart hotel
Introduction with ToI reporter Diana Bletter
9:15 am Understanding Life on the border with Marcel Vaknin at an overview of Lebanon from Dovev
10:45 am Geopolitical overview of the northern border from Mt. Adir
12:00 pm Home hospitality Druze Lunch at Hurfeish
2:00 pm Visit to ‘Talking walls’ at Shtula and Meeting with Ohad Hatan, owner of On the Border Coffee Shop
Drive to Jerusalem
7:00 pm Check in to the hotel
Dinner on your own in Jerusalem
Overnight: Theatron Hotel, Jerusalem
Breakfast at the hotel
8:30 pm Meeting with Author Yossi Klein Halevi TBC
Yossi Klein Halevi is an American‑born Israeli author and journalist; senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute; author of “Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation” and “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor”; Times of Israel, NY Times and Wall Street Journal op-ed contributor.
10:30 am Tour of the Old City – Four Quarters/Three Religions/One City
12:30 pm Hummus lunch in the Old City
2:00 pm Return to the hotel and prepare for Shabbat
4:45 pm Drive to the Old City
(Shabbat begins at 5:10 pm)
Shabbat experience at the Kotel
7:30 pm Private Shabbat Dinner at the Jerusalem House of Quality
Return to the hotel
Overnight: Theatron Hotel, Jerusalem
Breakfast at the hotel
Option 1: Day at leisure
Option 2: Masada, Ein Gedi, Dead Sea
Lunch on your own
5:00 pm Meeting and discussion with speaker TBC
6:23 pm Havdala
Evening at leisure
Overnight: Theatron Hotel, Jerusalem
A day in the south with ToI Political Correspondent Tal Schneider and ToI Military Correspondent Mannie (Emanuel) Fabian for a military overview, honoring the Oct. 7 victims, and a look at community rebuilding.
Breakfast at the hotel
7:45 am Depart to the Gaza Envelope
9:45 am Meet ToI military reporter Mannie (Emanuel) Fabian for a military overview of the Gaza envelope from Black Arrow view point.
Drive to Kfar Aza
11:15 am Tour of kibbutz Kfar Aza
1:30 pm Lunch at Geula food truck at Tkuma
2:45 pm Women’s Courage on October 7th: Visit the Nachal Oz Observers memorial monument with ToI Political Correspondent Tal Schneider
Drive to the Nova festival massacre site
Visit the site of the Nova Music Festival Massacre site and meet Shalev Biton,
Nova Festival Massacre survivor, and Younis Algrenawi, who risked his life to save those fleeing from Hamas terrorists
5:30 pm Drive to Jerusalem
Dinner on your own in Jerusalem
Overnight: Theatron Hotel, Jerusalem
Breakfast at the hotel and Check Out (load luggage on the bus)
Start the morning with Meetings at the hotel:
9:00 am Meeting with Dr. Tal Becker
Former Legal Adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs; senior member of Israeli peace negotiation teams in successive rounds of peace negotiations; represented Israel before the International Court of Justice; Times of Israel op-ed contributor
10:30 am Meeting and discussion with ToI Deputy Editor Amanda Borschel-Dan.
12:00 pm Free Time in Jerusalem and lunch on your own
4:00 pm Program Summary with ToI Founding Editor David Horovitz at the hotel
David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. He is the author of “Still Life with Bombers” (2004) and “A Little Too Close to God” (2000), and co-author of “Shalom Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin” (1996). He previously edited The Jerusalem Post (2004-2011) and The Jerusalem Report (1998-2004)
5:15 pm Drive to final dinner
6:00 pm Private Farewell Dinner at Sea Dolphin
8:30 pm Group transfer from dinner to the Ben Gurion Airport
9:30 pm Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport for departure flights
Price per person sharing a double room
Single Supplement to reserve a room for individual occupancy
Payment policy:
Please note that the second and third payments will be automatically charged to the same credit card used for the deposit. An email will be sent to you regarding these charges before being processed.
▪ Please note that a 3.7% processing fee is charged to any amount paid by credit card (other than the initial $500 deposit).
▪ Payment via Bank Wire Transfer is also accepted.
Cancellation policy:
All cancellations must be made in writing and addressed to: [email protected] . The applicable cancellation fee is determined based on the date when Operator receives written notification of Customer’s request to cancel Customer’s booking. The term “all amounts owed for the tour’ includes the basic Tour Price, Single Supplements, where applicable, and the cost of any additional services requested.
Non-Operation of Tour:
Please note that the rates above are based on a minimum of 20 Tour participants. In the event the number of registered participants is less than 20 on December 29, 2025, the Operator will consult with the Tour Sponsor (TOI) with a view to exploring if there is a solution to operate the Tour with less than 20 participants or alternatively at a later date. However, Operator reserves the right and at Operator’s sole discretion to cancel the Tour and refund amounts received from each participant.
More than ever, Travel Insurance is a vitally important feature of any planned travel and safeguards against unexpected developments
Travel protection offers many great benefits and peace of mind when traveling. One of the many benefits is, to insure the travelers trip cost, in the event a traveler needs to cancel the trip, due to unforeseen medical illness of the insured or of an immediate family member.
The other key benefit included here is medical expense coverage, given that the majority of our health insurance plans, lack coverage for accidents/illness occurring outside of the US.
In addition to trip cancellation and medical expense coverage, other benefits protecting the travelers during their journey are , trip delay , trip interruption, lost or delayed luggage upon arrival in destination, medical evacuation, 24/7 emergency assistance and much more.
To receive a quote and for any travel insurance questions you may have, please reach out to Liana DiCurzio at Traveland. Her email is [email protected] please be sure to mention that you are traveling with ToI/Routes Trips
We highly recommend reaching out for an insurance quote, as soon as possible after making the very first initial payment, as some benefits and plans such as the Cancel For Any Reason plan (CFAR), are time sensitive, and are only available for purchase within 13 days of the very first trip payment
Israeli VAT not applicable to non-Israeli tourists for a variety of services and is therefore not included in our prices. In this connection, please note the following:
If the trip is oversubscribed at the time of your registration, please fill in your information on the registration form, and you will be added to the program waiting list