Jerusalem Half-Day Tour from Tel Aviv

The Western Wall, often called the Wailing Wall, is sacred to Jews; other denominations are also welcome. It is adjacent to the wall of the Second Temple, which is all that remains of the Temple. The 4th Century Church of the Sepulcher is the site where Christians traditionally gather to commemorate the site of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Sepulcher is also an important destination on the Via Dolorosa, Christ's Way of Suffering. These sites appeal deeply to believers.

They keep rushing us around. No patience for older people because they walk slowly. No a good experience

Our family of four signed up for the half-day old Jerusalem tour from Tel Aviv. It was convenient to book online. While not horrible, we should have put time and effort into booking a private tour. I would have paid more for a better experience (which we did the next day for Masada and the Dead Sea, not with this tour company). I was so glad we had not booked the full day tour, which would have continued on the bus. Of the ~6 hours we spent on this tour, ~3 hours was driving + actually touring, the rest was a waste of time. The good —easy to book and covered major sites in the old city. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable. I felt bad for him that he had to corral people who did not pay attention to his directions. The rest — Hotel pickup was at 650 and we did not reach the old city until 945! Was picked up in mini bus, which was promising, until we realized it was just to take us to a stadium parking lot, to transfer to a big bus. Thankfully, the big bus was nice, clean, modern with Wi-Fi. The ride to Jerusalem was smooth, but before starting our old city tour we made a stop that was not on the agenda - at a dirty, Elvis-themed gas station. No joke. This was billed as a “rest and coffee stop” but it appeared to be an arrangement to bring business to this random place that was peddling trinkets and food. We had only been on the bus for like 45 mins, no need for a rest stop, and we just left our hotel so no need for a bathroom or coffee break either. We were forced to get off the bus (we asked to stay on board and were told no, it would be locked). The bathrooms were gross. Unless you wanted to shop or wait in line for gas station food (which could not be taken onto the bus), you had to stand in the sun in an old gas station parking lot for 25 minutes. My family literally had to do this. A complete waste of time and an offensive practice by the tour company. Mt Scopus was another stop before reaching the old city. This was a tour bus meeting place where we stopped to collect other participants. They let us off the bus for photos - nice view of the old city and way better than the Elvis place - but this was another tour transfer spot/parking lot and not a historical site. The tour guide didn’t even go with us to the viewpoint. He was busy collecting new tour participants. Finally arrived to start the old Jerusalem tour at 945, ~3 HOURS AFTER HOTEL PICKUP. Once the tour started, it was a decent tour. Large group of 25+ people, guide speaking in English, then French, which slowed things down bc he had to say it all 2x. For example, the guide said we could not tour Jesus’ tomb because our group that day was too large and there was a line. (So why did we waste time at the gas station??) A few people would not follow directions for meeting and he had to go track them down, several times. There was another shopping stop, this one was fine because we actually needed a break by then and we were not forced to stay in/at the shop, as we had been at the Elvis dump. Overall, was a pretty basic intro tour, which is what we wanted (with 2 teens in the heat of summer, all we could handle) but if you want more in-depth, book something else. We left the group around 1230 (the group continued on to lunch and a museum) and we were happy to have time on our own to go back and view the tomb, etc. We wandered around the old city some more, then explored the area outside the walls, and took the fast train back to Tel Aviv on our own. While not a horrible experience, upon reflection, we should have booked a private tour from Tel Aviv, or just taken the train and found an independent tour guide (or joined a free tour) in Jerusalem.

The streets of Jerusalem, the sepulchre and monuments. The guide was not objective regarding the history, not very knowledgeable, and not friendly. No drop off at hotel. Had to find my own way back to Tel Aviv. Had I known that, I would not have had lunch with the group, very disappointing. I would have left right after the end of the tour, before lunch.

With a religious background, imagine and feel the suffering before the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus on the way through the city of Jerusalem. Without a religious background, in this piece you can feel the ancient architecture of the unique culture of the market. Becoming a tourist area is undisputed, and there are some women quietly crying and praying in the temple/cry walls. Believe in free religion and respect each other.