Home > Tel Aviv > Day Tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv
USD $115.00
Day Tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv, Israel
Escape the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv, and discover the roots of different religions on this inspiring day trip to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. These ancient Holy Land towns will provide you with a fascinating mix of people, views and stories, making this an unmissable Israel day tour!
Departing from Tel Aviv in your air-conditioned coach, your first stop is the Mount of Olives for scenic views over Jerusalem. From this vantage point you can see the Dome of the Rock at the Temple Mount Esplanade, where heaven is said to meet earth.
Pass the Garden of Gethsemane before continuing to the walls of the Old City. Here you will enter through the Armenian Quarter, and see the famous Western Wall (Wailing Wall) which functions as an open-air synagogue for thousands of worshippers. Crossing over to the Christian quarter, you can follow the route of the Via Dolorosa. Look out for the 14 Stations of the Cross as you trace Jesus' steps to the site of his crucifixion at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
After a short walk back along the ancient Byzantine main street, your overview of Jerusalem concludes in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, where your air-conditioned coach will be waiting to take you the short 6-mile journey south to Bethlehem.
The hub of the religious activity in Bethlehem is the Manger Square which is flanked by the Church of the Nativity and also the Mosque of Oman - significant sites of importance for the different people that live in the town. At the Manger Square you can walk on the ground where Jesus was laid down after his birth, and see the places of significance from nativity stories. Visit the Greek and Catholic churches, before an hours drive back to Tel Aviv.
I loved this tour. It was a little difficult on me because of my bad knees and there is a lot of walking on uneven surfaces. I would caution you if you have bad knees or mobility. Otherwise it was awesome. Jerusalem old and new is beautiful and so rich with history. Israel is all around great.
Review by: Kenneth K, April 2018
This tour gives a great overview of the Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We got to see the most important sites and learn the histories behind them. Our tour guide, Itamar, the Best!
Review by: tspcpa, April 2018
We learned and saw so much on this tour! Our guide, Ossie Kaufman, knew everyone wherever we went. Very long day but well worth it!
Review by: Denise V, March 2018
This is a great introductory tour of these 2 Holy Sites. Bus pick up at the hotel was on time and comfortable. The drive to Jerusalem was relaxing and the driver pointed out several things along the way. We stopped at the University to pick up other tourists and then went to lookout point to see the city and prominent land marks. I was mildly disappointed as I thought that we were going to the Mt of Olives, but we just looked at it from the distance. Our guide was knowledgeable and kept the group on schedule. Watch out for the street vendor selling cinnamon rolls. If you buy one, be sure to try it there as he sold some to our group that were old as Jerusalem. Jerusalem was crowded and hot, be sure to wear sunscreen. You will hit the main sites and get a feel for the area. Be sure to bring pen and paper to leave your plea at the Wailing Wall. You only see 3 stations of the cross. Lunch was ok, nice roof top terrace. I recommend going back to Jerusalem on your own to explore at your leisure. Bethlehem Church of the Nativity was interesting, the manger area was dark and a little confusing. Probably no need to see this twice. My recommendation is to stay in Jerusalem if you have the time and do more exploring on your own time.
Review by: Shannon M, March 2018
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Cyn D, March 2018
Most wonderful experience during our 2 week stay
Review by: Sharan K, March 2018
Jerusalem and Bethlehem are definitely worth a visit. Our guide, Ozzy Kaufman, was very knowledgeable. The downside of thuis tour was that we wasted so much time (hours!), picking up people, people had to change van for a different tour etc. Time actually spent in both cities was very limited...
Review by: Slawomir N, February 2018
Getting together 41 people including 3 kids from different parts of Tel Av-iv, move them throughthe Old City in Jerusalem, take them to Bethlehem and finally bring back to the starting point in 10 hours seems to be challenging enough that there is not much time left for sightseeing. Four lengthy stops: for coffee, buying souvenirs no 1, lunch and buying souvenirs no 2 made time for sightseeing significantly shorter. The guide Jouvel - I'm sorry if i got his name wrong was very good but next time I would arrange such a trip by myself.
Review by: emanuelegalasso, February 2018
The tour was very well structured and organised, our guide Shalced was really amazing, full of insights, cultural and other information, really recommended
Review by: Jacqueline T, February 2018
I liked that they picked us up in Tel Aviv but we saw very little in Bethlehem _br/_ and way way too much time was spent on shopping.
Review by: JOSE A, January 2018
It was just and simple the best, thank you so much, i had only two days in Israel and this tour_br/_ My my trip and full fill my life as a Catholic Christian._br/_ Will take this tour every time. I also would love to thank our Guie he was awesome.
Review by: Carmella G, January 2018
There aren't enough words to describe what an amazing day this was....it wasn't simply the extraordinary biblical locations.....their beauty and power.....the history that is the foundation of the Western world...which was pretty amazing, I must say. It's having the privilege of being with our tour guide Amir Call Or who is an extraordinary combination of historian, etymologist, sociologist, geologist, archeologist, comparative religious studies professor, and story teller who asked not to site see, but instead site feel our way into the middle east with him and see how all the contradictory pieces wove together into the state it is in today...it literally shattered my belief of what the issues were, and more importantly how I assumed it could be solved AND left me with immense hope. He is an ambassador for Israel, compassion and peace with his eyes wide open....a remarkable combination. It was a journey on a lot of levels. I hope you are as lucky as we were.
Review by: Christina W, January 2018
Our tour guide Avishai created a wonderful memory of Jerusalem and Bethlehem for us. He is very knowledgeable and funny too!! Best tour guide I’ve had. Please give him a raise. _br/_ Thank you Avishai hope to see you again one day.
Review by: Djordje R, January 2018
Amir Call Or is THE best guide I ever had! He made everyone in the group really feel Israel and its rich history. Thumbs up!
Review by: ALLAN A, January 2018
A lot to do in one day but well worth it if you are short on time. Fascinating and the guides and drivers were brilliant.
Review by: Tim, January 2018
Overall, the trip was amazing! The tour guide made the experience so much more rewarding. There were some people that had special needs on the trip so the guide reworked some of the day to make sure everyone had en enjoyable experience.
Review by: Booker K, January 2018
It amazing that they can do both tours of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in one tour. All the tour guides were knowledgeable. I want to take the whole family one day. Highly recommended!
Review by: Mari B, January 2018
Jerusalem was amazing, of course. But I was disappointed with this tour for two reasons. The main one is that we wasted a lot of time waiting around. We sat for a long time at the bus terminal in Tel Aviv, then stood around for a long time in Jerusalem, where our group had to wait for another group to finish lunch before we could go to Bethlehem. We were not told how long the waits would be. Also, we were not advised that there would be a 3-hour wait in the Church of the Nativity, nor that the we would not see anything in the sanctuary because it is boarded up, undergoing repairs. Finally I was disappointed by our guide's attitudes. The first one gave us a lecture on what was wrong with the Palestinians and the second chose a member of the group a lovely German doctor to make fun of repeatedly -- not so nicely. All in all I returned frustrated.
Review by: Deirdre S, December 2017
Israel is an incredible country. Out guide for the day was very informative but he walked way ahead of the group, not waiting for the older, slower people on the tour. He spent a lot of time texting on his phone.
Review by: Judith F, December 2017
This was my second Viator tour, in a different country this time, and it didn't disappoint. The driver/guide was prompt, arriving at our hotel about 10 minutes early. We started with Bethlehem, which meant that we had to have a local Palestinian guide and he was excellent. We made a stop at a Christian souvenir shop and then visited the Church of the Nativity, with the guide helping us understand this complicated church. After leaving Bethlehem and returning to Israel, we stopped for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. We entered the city through the Jaffa gate and passed through part of the Christian and Jewish quarter. Unfortunately, it was Saturday, so photos and writing notes for the Western Wall was prohibited. We passed into the Muslim quarter having some time to shop and traversed the Via Dolorosa, arriving eventually at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was super crowded, and the guide gave us an excellent explanation before we entered the church. I loved that we had a little time for shopping, too._br/_ The only negative I have is that our guide should have been more informative about the rules on Shabat. He implied that photos were not permitted only of the Western Wall, but that was not the case, photos of any kind were not permitted. And one Jewish woman from the US but not in our group was disappointed that she wasn't allowed to write a note for the wall. He did stop us at an overlook so we could take photos at a distance before entering the area._br/_ It's a totally fascinating city with its diverse groups and it was interested to see the separation wall and the West Bank settlements closeup.
Review by: STEFAN BOGDAN V, December 2017
The tour was very good. We got the chance to visit the nativity church in Bethlehem. It was worth it. The guide answered all our questions and provided valuable inputs. Jerusalem was also almost perfect, we visited most of the important sites for quite a while, and had discussions about them and about the ones we did not visit. I think this is a place to go at least once in your lifetime. A little disappointing that , due to a queue of 50 people, the guide skipped the visitation inside the tomb of Jesus Christ saying a procession is about to start, however the procession started only after 40 minutes, so I think we could have made it. That is the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5, even so, I recommend this tour as being one of the best ones.
Review by: Paul, December 2017
I did this tour on Christmas Day so it was a little busier than normal. We stopped at Bethlehem and visited the Church of the Nativity. The local guide tried to convince us not to visit the birthplace of Jesus as the queue was long but it turned out he had to go off and see more tour groups in the day. We queued for quite a while and then left the church. We didn't see any more of Bethlehem though and didn't see Manger Square. We then drove to Jerusalem and had a very good tour there. It was actually better than the Old Jerusalem Day Trip from Tel Aviv tour as we we given more time to see everything.
Review by: Mary P E, November 2017
Our tour guide was fabulous Italmal,sp. They will pick you up from certain hotels which is nice. The Jerusalem part of the day was filled with sights, sounds and lots of walking, wear comfortable shoes. We visit everything in a rush and you better keep up or you could get lost in the markets. They take you to the main historical spots listed and then you have time at the Western Wailing Wall to say your thoughts. Please remember to have pants on, covered shoulders and bring a scarf for your head.Bring water and snacks as we do not stop for lunch until after 1:00. They bring you to their favorite shop only one as well as their place for lunch. You can leave your belongings on the bus in between stops which is nice. On to Bethlehem, don't go to this as the church is under renovation for a few years and you can't really see anything. We were fortunate our local guide was able to bring us downstairs to view the birthplace of Jesus - normally you can not get there. They then take you again to one shop their choice. The return trip they drop you off again at your hotel. If I had to do this trip over again, I would do Jerusalem and the Dead Sea if possible.
Review by: Nikkole L, November 2017
I like this trip and our tour guide but the area was so crowded and we moved at such a quick pace it was hard to truly enjoy and appreciate the locations. By crowded I mean packed, hard to move without bumping into anyone. The queues were so long that we didn't get to see everything. We a good but limited options and late lunch. We also didn't have much time to shop, which isn't a big deal to some but when looking for gifts for family and friends it was very limited. I would recommend knowing what each person is looking for before hand to make sure the small amount of time you have you can make the most of.
Review by: Peter P, October 2017
It took us almost 3h to travel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Eventhough the guide told us it will be very crowded I could not imagine how horrible it is going to be. We had ony very limited time to enjoy Jerusalem, cause it was more to push a herd of sheeps throught the narrow streets, always in a rush!
Review by: Jose G, October 2017
Wonderful tour from Tel Aviv. I was picked up at my hotel in Tel Aviv and taken to a meeting place to sort out all the buses. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. I thoroughly enjoyed all the visits and especially the chance to see so much history and to follow Jesus' footsteps._br/_ the only negative was the forced stop in an over priced souvenir shop that I'm sure provided a commission to the tour company.
Review by: frmartelet, October 2017
The guide was great. Very knowledgable and insightful. The tour in itself is stunning. All in all this tour was outstanding.
Review by: Angeline R, October 2017
Pick was half an hour late. Tour guide to Jerusalem Norbert was very good with a great sense of humour. Trip was excellent in what we saw however, it was hot and there was a lot of walking. I have done trips in hot countries before where they provide you with bottles of water, but not the case here, so make sure you take some to avoid dehydration. Sadly, felt let down on the Bethlehem tour. Law demands a Palestinian guide and although he was nice enough the Church of the Nativity was undergoing reconstruction and most of the beautiful gold leaf mosaic walls were under wraps. In addition the church was very crowded and officials made the whole tour feel very unwanted by telling us all to move to the side and ' be quiet' to the tour guide, so we couldn't hear a thing he said. The entrance to the place where Jesus was born was a no go as the waiting line was hours long. Altogether disappointing and underwhelming. On the bright side, Jerusalem was an excellent experience and no passports were required to be shown on entering Palestine, but would not have gone without taking them!
Review by: Dean R, October 2017
We arrived around noon to our hotel and wanted a first evening adventure._br/_ were picked up at the hotel at the appointed time._br/_ good narration of sights on the way to the cape a couple of stops for pictures then some time at the adjacent harbor before heading up to the Temple of Posieden. _br/_ we took the sunset tour so got a bit crowded as sunset neared._br/_ the setting sun put an enhancing glow on the structure so heightened the beauty._br/_ Very nice view of the sunset over the islands and the Posieden Temple was impressive._br/_ Recommended for an evening tour._br/_ A bit of a long drive over an hour to the cape, but after leaving the city a lot of nice views of the seacoast and islands on the way.
Review by: Sergej G, October 2017
This was a trip worth taking and paying for. Our guide Yoav was brilliant, he told us a lot of very interesting things about the history of Jerusalem and in fact spurred our interest to find out more, as the history of this amazing city is too rich for a one day tour. The visit to Bethlehem was also very educational. All in all this was a very memorable day!
Review by: Neil W, October 2017
Superb Tour, Moodie ? guide was pleasant and knowledgeable. Jerusalem is a fascinating place even for someone like myself with little religious knowledge. Got to see the four quarters of the old city and feel the history of the place. Going to Bethlehem enhanced the trip too. Would recommend this trip.
Review by: Paul S, August 2017
Excellent tour guide - tour was great - awsome going to some of the places you've only read about._br/_ only comment - is that despite being hot, if you want to visit inside some of the most sacred places, wear long pants, women- dress/slacks and of course shirt over the shoulder
Review by: Randy K, July 2017
What a great tour! Even better was the tour guide as she was knowledgeable, friendly and approachable. She seemed to enjoy both people and what she was doing.
Review by: Marie H, July 2017
Our guide Zahi was extremely nice, funny and helpful. He added more to the tour than we actually paid for, and we had a rich experience of both Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Review by: Gioanna B, July 2017
This a tour not to be missed when in Israel. Our guide, Hezi, was very knowledgeable about the cultures and religions, pertaining to all the holy sites and explained all in details. Our tour had 30 to 35 participants, all with different backgrounds and cultures and Hezi was extremely talented and diplomatic around sensitive issues and truly a joy to watch. Well done and planned!
Review by: sgp, July 2017
Outstanding tour with an outstanding tour guide. It was without question above and beyond my expectations. Pls be prepared for crowds on special Holy days. The overall organization of the Bethlehem part of the trip could be slightly improved to make it as outstanding as the Jerusalem parts.
Review by: Andreas O, July 2017
I think I did two tours with this company, one to Masada and the Dead Sea and another to Jerusalem and Betlehem. They were both pretty good and informative, even though the first one was with a really big group. Its nicer when the group is smaller as it was for me in the tour to Jerusalem and Betlehem. On the bad side was the stops in different shops. I join tours to learn something not to buy things, but apart from that I really enjoyed the tours. The guide I had in the Jerusalem and Betlehem tour Shmil Afias was REALLY good. He only guided in Jerusalem though, and in Betlehem there were other guys!? and it was just very disorganized...
Review by: jorge s, July 2017
This is a good tour for Indians but it is not for foreigners._br/_ My guide was a fine gentleman who did his best to make this tour something great but the places we went to were not the best for someone who wants to learn more about Mumbai._br/_ I would suggest that the persons in charge of designing this tour have places in mind like Crawford Market, the fish market, the flower market, more places could be added. I don't think that the museum should be included.
Review by: anthony, July 2017
Tour guide wasn't the better might have been an off day as other reviews have said she was good but the sits more than made up for it. The view of the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall is a highlight. A must do tour!
Review by: David F, June 2017
incredible day tour loaded with history, but be aware of your surroundings. tensions are still running high and armed soldiers are patrolling everywhere.
Review by: Vladimir B, June 2017
This trip was awesome! Our guide Norbert was very funny, his english was very good and also my friend who doesnt speak very good english understood him. Thanks to Norbert was this tour one of the best. The Jerusalem is so beautiful town. We were walking a lot, so its very important to have a really good and comfortable shoes.
Review by: Amanda D, June 2017
Very good trip. And guide yousaf. Lots of walking at quite a fast pace and some steep steps so might be too much for some . But we found it very interesting and would say go it's well worth it.
Review by: ianromano, June 2017
I would like to express my extreme satisfaction following this one day tour in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Our tour leader Mr Yoav made this tour one of the best I have ever been to, he was very knowledgeable and planned the tour excellently and always took care of every person in the group with great responsibility. Thank you Yoav!
Review by: RESHVINDER S, May 2017
Thoroughly enjoyable, especially the Jerusalem part of the tour. Avishay was an excellent guide, providing lots of useful information in a fun and engaging manner._br/_ I would suggest the Bethlehem part of the tour could have taken less time as much of the afternoon was spent waiting in queues and changing buses. _br/_ It was a great experience and I would recommend this if you have limited time to see as much as possible.
Review by: Yuzo C, May 2017
Jerusalem is a very exciting place and worth spending more than a few hours. However, this tour will give you just enough to appreciate what this magnificent city can offer. Our guide Amir was a bit overwhelming and spent too much time on his own opinions about political aspects of the area. Also we are an elderly couple who sometime could not catch up with the pace of walking. I asked him to consider slowing down a bit, but the response we got from him was that this is a general tour meaning if you don't like it, hire a private guide and his 90 plus grand mother did it without problem what an insult. The part for Bethlehem could be skipped which should give more time for Jerusalem.
Review by: Katarzyna M, April 2017
Great tour if you and #39;re short on time. It provides great quality, information sand is well organised. Guides were knowledgable and friendly and very friendly.
Review by: Jamie I, April 2017
What could be a good tour let down by very poor logistics. Both guides good, but 7 different vehicles and long waits between changes. Not a 12 hr tour, more like a 4 hr tour dragged out over 12 hrs.. Lunch in Bethlehem was at a dreadful place. Hours wasted watching drivers on phones organise things
Review by: Shreedipta M, April 2017
I think our wonderful tour guide Eli made this trip as enjoyable as it was! He gave us a lot of insight into the history while keeping it fun. Israeli sarcasm is great! _br/_ We had a packed itinerary and got a lot done in the day. Certainly a memorable trip!
Review by: Donald W, February 2017
Great tour of Jerusalem and Bethlehem! The tour covers a lot of places, so be ready to walk. It can be fast paced at times, but be assured, they won't lose you. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the places visited and about questions asked. Don't be afraid to speak up if you have questions, as they are friendly and will answer you the best they can.
Review by: Oliwia C, February 2017
The trip to Jerusalem and Bethlehem I participated in started from Tel Aviv. We had the tour guide Eli, who was absoluteley great, funny and had really impressive knowledge - whatever you asked him, he knew the answer. Also the places we visited were well chosen, because we could appreciate different aspects of the City._br/_ Also the bus was very comfortable with good temperature.
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