The Times of Israel Tour

March 9-16, 2026

Contents

Day-By-Day Itinerary (Subject to Change)

Day 1: Monday March 9, 2026

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

Rates (Land Only)

$7,985 USD

Price per person sharing a double room

$ 1,500 USD

Single Supplement to reserve a room for individual occupancy

Accommodation

Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv

2 nights

WhatsApp Image 2025-08-04 at 14.14.58

Edmond Hotel, Rosh Pina

1 night

Edmond

Theatron Hotel, Jerusalem

4 nights

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Included

Excluded

Guidelines for Payment and Cancellation

Payment policy:

  • Payment 1: A deposit of $500 is due upon registration per registrant. This amount is fully applicable to the total price of the tour package.
  • Payment 2: A Second payment of $3,000 per registrant is due no later than December 28, 2025. If you register on or after this date, you will be required to pay the full $3,500 upon application.
  • Balance due in full no later than February 9 2026, at which time payment is due in the amount equivalent to the Full Amount less the total amount actually paid by you prior to this date. For each registrant separately, the Full Amount is comprised of the total of:
    • The price of the Package plus
    • the Single Supplement if applicable plus
    • The charges for any supplemental services you may have requested.
  • Supplements for additional services are due upon confirmation of the selected services

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.

  • Until December 28, 2025 any deposit paid is fully refundable
  • From December 28, 2025 – January 9, 2026, Inclusive, $ 2,500 becomes non-refundable
  • From January 9 – February 9, 2026, inclusive, $ 3,500 becomes non-refundable
  • After February 9, 2026 the entire cost of the program becomes non-refundable

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.

Travel Protection

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

VAT (Value Added Tax)

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:

  • Should any members of your group be either holders of an Israeli passport or residents of Israel, they are subject by Israeli law to Israeli VAT (Value Added Tax) which is 18%, a tax which is not included in the above prices since non-Israeli tourists are exempt from this tax on key services. If we are informed of the participation of Israeli citizens/residents in advance, we can bill accordingly from the outset. Otherwise, any Israeli passport holders and/or residents regardless of where they reside, will be charged VAT by the hotel reception.
  • With respect to tourists, although current regulations continue to exempt them from VAT on key services, this could change at any time, in which case VAT would have to be added by law to the services provided.

 

Any questions? Contact us at [email protected] 

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