Home > Jerusalem > Little Town of Bethlehem Half Day Trip from Jerusalem
USD $70.00
Little Town of Bethlehem Half Day Trip from Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel
Take a half day tour from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and discover the town famed as the birthplace of Jesus. Tracing the events of the Nativity, this comprehensive tour uncovers the highlights of this holy city for worshipers of all religions!
Your day tour begins with an air-conditioned drive south-east from Jerusalem to the holy city of Bethlehem. Focusing on the Nativity, your visit begins at the Church of the Nativity - widely cited as the birthplace of Christ, and one of the oldest surviving Christian churches in the world.
The hub of religious activity in Bethlehem is Manger Square which is flanked by the Church of the Nativity and also the Mosque of Oman - a site of importance for the many Muslims who live in the city.
At the Manger Square you can walk on the ground where Jesus was laid down after his birth, and go on to explore the Milk Grotto. Here you will notice the white color of the chalk walls, which tradition states was caused by a drop of milk that fell while Mary was feeding the baby Jesus.
Visit the Greek and Catholic churches, before moving onto the Shepherd Fields where the 'shepherds watched their flocks by night'. Returning by air-conditioned coach to Jerusalem, you'll take home special memories of your visit to this must-see Holy Land city.
OK tour but the transportation is not great. We were told that they would pick us up at 8:30 AM at our hotel. A Taxi pulls up late and tells us he is taking us to the tour start. We get to a location and the taxi drive tells us to get out and the tour will start here. There were lots of groups of people all going to tours in different parts of Israel, so we had to keep asking around for the Bethlehem tour. We found the right person and he put us in a van with a few others and drove us to a hotel in Jerusalem were we waited another half hour for a different van to come get. That van took us half way to Bethlehem where we met another van and a car. The van could only hold six so our group split up between the car and the van. We were wondering if we would ever make it to Bethlehem but we eventually did. We visited the Shepherds field and cave and the Mary's Milk Cave. The guide provided very little information about each of the sites but you did get to see them and walk around. We went to the Church of the Nativity which was in use because our tour was on Sunday. The guide took us in part of the church and initially said we couldn't see any more because the church was in use. We also wouldn't be able to see the birth cave of Jesus because the line was too long, our group of 8 was too big, and the tour of the birth cave wouldn't be able to start until after the church service was open. Our guide found another guide who could take part of our group and we eventually were able to see the cave but we had to tip the other guide at least 20 shekels per person. _br/_ We ended the tour at a store in Bethlehem were the put strong pressure on you to buy things that are expensive and then to eat at a restaurant. I wouldn't do a tour with this group again but we did get to see all the important sites.
Review by: ANDREW G, May 2018
The trip was good and the guide excellent. However, and this was mentioned by our guide, it is NOT recommended to do this trip on a Sunday as the Church of the Nativity is crowded and there are restrictions in place for seeing it all
Review by: michael k, March 2018
There was a lot of chaos in the beginning. For a trip 5 miles away from Jerusalem, we walked 15 minutes to the meeting point and had to take three vans to get to the sights with little explanation.
Review by: corrsplay, March 2018
Low cost. Shopping time in the store is too long.
Review by: Mark J, February 2018
Terrible. More interested in the souvenir shop. We waited an hour there. No one buying but still waited. The had to walk up to Church. Church under renovation. Can’t see much. Catholic Church closed until 2 pm so missed it. Guide no history at all. Said Jesus born lived and died.Well not good enough
Review by: C S V, February 2018
Excellent tour with a lot of knowledge for Bethlehem. Recommend strongly if you only have a 1/2 day.
Review by: trudynlnl, December 2017
Pick-up at hotel and drive to Bethelem went well, but the tour itself was not as we expected. The tour-guide was showing us the important places, but he was rushing us all the time telling us that we had to hurry back to the car/bus to go to the next location. He gave us the relevant information but we didn't see/feel any enthousiasme in his guidance. But at least we saw all the things we expected to see.
Review by: Judith G, December 2017
Our tour guide in Bethlehem was knowledgable and polite. We were nervous about this excursion because we had heard that there were protests against Americans. Our guide assured us that all was well and we felt totally safe. He was knowledgeable, friendly and covered all of the sites we wanted to see. Overall, a really nice tour.
Review by: Patricia D, December 2017
Wonderful and the only way to go without stress. Great tour guide. She really cared that we saw everything and great explanations.
Review by: Helen A, December 2017
We were able to enter the grotto where the inlaid silver star marked the point of Jeus birth in the Church of the Nativity. This tour also took us to the Chapel of the Milk Grotto and the Chapel of the Shepherd's Field. It was a wonderful experience made more memorable since we went 4 days before Christmas. There were not a lot of tourist which was unfortunate since the city depends on tourism. We were treated very well despite the frightening historic news of what can happen in Palestine to tourist. My family and I are catholics and I appreciate being given the opportunity of this once in a life time experience.
Review by: Suzanne W, November 2017
DO NOT use Bein Harim Tourism Service to book this tour!! My husband and I took the Little Town of Bethlehem Half Day Trip from Jerusalem with the Ben Harim Tourism Services 4 weeks ago. The day began with disorganization and poor time management, and ended with bad driving in a harrowing bus ride that resulted in passenger injuries, being dropped off and abandoned at a medical clinic, and total disregard, lack of responsibility and professionalism from anyone at Bein Harim!
Review by: Claire B, October 2017
Lovely trip. Amazing to see the actual birthplace of Jesus, as well as the field where the shepherds were. We were lucky and didn't have to queue for too long 45 minutes to get into the Church, but be prepared for longer waiting times. Our guide was very informative. Lots of changing of coaches but still very enjoyable.
Review by: Virginia S, October 2017
I enjoyed the tour of Bethlehem. I found the pick-ups with all Viator tours to be punctual and easy during the change over of vehicle. It was a fairly fast paced tour but enough time was spent at each site. As the half-day tour was combined with another full-day tour, I was expecting to be back in Jerusalem earlier than we arrived as we were not supposed to be stopping for lunch I thought but we did so because of the full-day tour group were with us sharing the coach. Therefore, I was not back to Jerusalem until about 1:00pm when I expected to arrive back at 1:00pm, to spend the afternoon at the Israel Museum.
Review by: FSM1995@yahoo.com, October 2017
This was an incredible experience, particularly with the transition from the Israeli controlled side of Jerusalem through security to Bethlehem. I can not imagine visiting Bethlehem unguided. It is worth it simply for the access and time saving.
Review by: Mark B, October 2017
For a half-day trip it felt rushed. The tour guide was very knowledgeable. I like the skip the line for the manger site.
Review by: kitty, September 2017
The tour is interesting. The guide was helpful. But working with Viator is a nightmare. They're extraordinarily disorganized, e.g. regularly missing morning pick-ups. We booked five trips with Viator and each time we had a huge problem. They'd forget to pick us up, then send a frantic taxi to get us, as we went careening through the streets in the cab while other the other tourists already on the bus waited for us to arrive. Another day they told us the wrong start time so we missed the tour entirely!
Review by: Courtney S, August 2017
I enjoyed this tour however I booked an English speaking tour and as there were several Spanish speaking people on the tour who had also booked an English speaking tour and could speak English our guide presented the tour in Spanish and then English. She spent the majority of the time speaking in Spanish and also answered all of peoples questions in Spanish, so I felt like I missed a lot of information, which was very disappointing.
Review by: wellnesgrp, August 2017
Great experience. As a Christian, going into Bethlehem is a must if you are in the area, despite the potential danger. I would note that the Palestinian tour guides and drivers are awesome. Despite being victimized by their Israeli employers, they are upbeat and do a great job explaining the area's history. I was most upset at how Israel treats and puts Trump-like walls around the Palestinian towns and how inhumane they treat residents when they build settlements. Imagine some jackass trying to move in his family into your backyard and fencing your home in to protect his family from the backlash you may inflict on him.
Review by: l11jackson, June 2017
This was our first trip of the holiday and it was excellent. Our guide gave us a first class account of everything. Booked a number of trips with Viator and all were very good. Would definitely recommend.
Review by: Kristen R, May 2017
This was a great short trip to Bethlehem. We saw all the important sites. Our guides, Itamar and Nabil, were excellent!
Review by: Atoorva S, April 2017
Effectively we spent only 2 hours in Berhlehem. We waited 40 min near Hebrew Univ in Jerusalem to change the bus....then we were forced into a soveneir shop at Berhlehem with which they had a tie up. Wasted 1 hour there . Again waited for cars ..all this ensured that there was not much time left.
Review by: Henry G, April 2017
Very well organized, love it .
Review by: Graham B, April 2017
excellent trip to Bethlehem, loads of sights and informative guide - the stop at the souvenir shop at the end of the tour was far too long
Review by: Stephanie T, March 2017
The entire experience was unpleasant from start to finish. The agent provided a pick up address but the driver waited at a different spot When we finally met, driver questioned why i wasn't at his spot with an angry tone when it was not my fault. At Bethlehem, while the guide was good strict which is not what one would like on a social tour, the entire process felt rushed. On the way home, the driver did not ask for our drop off location and when i asked him at jaffa gate, he rudely questioned why i did not ask earlier and agent did not provide information on drop off point. I do not recommend this tour to anyone.
Review by: JURATE C, March 2017
The place is worth to visit, but the company time managemnet was bad - I need to wait more one hour to start trip.
Review by: noleenka, March 2017
Amazing tour and guide. Had great fun. On time drop off and pick up. Thanks for world class service
Review by: noleenka, March 2017
Amazing tour and guide. Had great fun. On time drop off and pick up. Thanks for world class service
Review by: noleenka, March 2017
Amazing tour and guide. Had great fun. On time drop off and pick up. Thanks for world class service
Review by: Michelle H, February 2017
A few hiccups getting started but it was a trip worth taking. I was picked up at the designated hotel but taken to another spot where I was left with two other people who had booked the same tour in a parking lot for about 15 minutes without any good information about what would happen next. The tour company apparently called a taxi driver who eventually did come to pick us up and things smoothed out from there. Our guide, once in Bethlehem, was 'opinionated' regarding the neighboring 'population' - an opinion that I found slightly off-putting but that I was nonetheless interested to hear. Perspectives certainly differ in this part of the world and it is part of the education. Go to Bethlehem. Go to Palestine. And learn.
Review by: Nigel K, January 2017
It was not a great experience with Ben Harim tours who operate this tour. Firstly, I had to call Viator to see if the local operator were confirmed to pick us up from our hotel. Viator were great and contacted the Ben Harim to confirm but the lack of direct and pro-active contact was poor. Secondly, it is actually a seven 7 hour expedition starting with an 8:30am pick up and almost half the time was actually spent in Jerusalem. We did not arrive in Bethlehem until 11:00am - the 3 hours of which were spent being driven from our hotel to a car park where we waited for 1.5 hours for our Bethlehem bus to arrive, 1/2 hour spent at a look out point over looking Jerusalem, and 1/2 hour driving from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
Review by: Margit B, January 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: bglou, November 2016
This was a good and educational tour and great sights to see, highly recommend.
Review by: Patricia C, October 2016
Rather to many people and including a stop at a souvenir shop was not welcome.
Review by: Andrea Z H, October 2016
This was a wonderful half-day trip. Well organized and interesting.
Review by: John A, October 2016
Guide excellent.
Review by: patsy1403, September 2016
Great tour and guide. Managed to cover a lot in a short time. Would highly recommend if you are limited with time.
Review by: christi_crux17, August 2016
You get to see just Bethlehem and the most important sites in Bethlehem, just a simple, relaxing, half-day tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable, super friendly, told us lots of amazing stories, saw a side to Bethlehem that I thought I'd never see! My advice to people booking this tour is that it might be a little easier to book on any day other than a Sunday cause the Church of the Nativity was VERY crowded, and also BRING YOUR PASSPORT
Review by: Lance Owen G, May 2016
I was collected on-time by the tour bus at the collection point which was a two minute walk from my central Jerusalem hotel._br/_ Remember to take to your passport as Bethlehem is located in the West Bank and you actually have to leave Israel to visit it. _br/_ We changed guides once we were in the Palestinian Territories and our guide Elijah, a Palestinian Christian, was friendly and knowledgeable. He took us to see all the main sites and secured access for us to the Grotto of the Nativity. _br/_ The tour ends in a local gift shop where your purchases help to support local Palestinian Christian families and most people on the tour bought one or two items. _br/_ My only complaint about the tour, and the reason that I didn't give it five stars, is that I would have liked to have been taken to the so-called Separation Wall to take a few photographs.
Review by: FOP234, April 2016
great tour see the church of the nativity where Christ was born and the milk grotto and sheperd's field a great 1/2 day tour
Review by: JURATE C, April 2016
All was OK
Review by: Milda N, March 2016
Very long stop at the shopping place, a lot less time spent on sights. It should be the other way around.
Review by: Nazlee M, March 2016
The trip itself was great and informative but we had to wait maybe half an hour or so for another people to join our group at Jerusalem University. Also at the end of the tour, the driver did not send back to our respective hotels only dropped us at Jaffa Gate. Which was in turn okay for me and other guys as we wanted to go to Church of Holy Sepulchre for another self-tour.
Review by: agnieszkabudynek, January 2016
Highly recommended. This trip was very interesting, good organized and we had lovely guide.Thank you Michael.
Review by: bruinchyck, January 2016
We booked a tour with Bein Harim, which assigned us to Yoav Malachi. First, pre- trip communications was excellent. I had a lot of questions and they responded promptly.
Review by: Brian W, November 2015
It was ok...Bethlehem itself is a big disappointment but the driver and guide were very good,,,
Review by: Thomas S, September 2015
Very well done tour. We packed a lot into a half day tour, and our guide was especially good at helping us negotiate some of the crowded venues.
Review by: Ryan K, September 2015
Not bad, the Bethlehem side guide was very good. Avoid doing this on Sundays, hard to get into several sites due to masses being done.
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