jamal n. photography

I have had so much fun building my trip to Israel with all your great advice. There were a few things I knew I wanted to include in my trip but overall my itinerary has been shaped entirely from recommendations so I know this is going to be an amazing trip.

DAY 1: EXPLORE TEL AVIV
I will fly into Israel around midnight so the first thing I will do is head off to the Hayarkon 48 hostel for some shut eye before waking at a decent hour to explore Tel Aviv. The hostel was recommended by my college friend Lauren and is kindly provided me with tips for making the most of my time in Tel Aviv.

DAY 2: MORE TEL AVIV TIME BEFORE HEADING TO NAZARETH
After a second day in Tel Aviv we will take a bus to Nazareth and stay with our hosts in the Fauzi Azar Inn. After reading this post from Borders of Adventure I knew I wanted to visit Nazareth.

Abraham Tours

DAY 3: TOUR HAIFA, ACRE AND ROSH HANIKRA FROM NAZARETH
Maggie has traveled to Israel before and now lives there so I am eternally grateful to her for coming along on some of these tours with me. I asked her to get recommendations for a few places to go that she hasn’t visited before. Haifa was on her list and that fact, along with pictures of the caves and cliffs of Rosh Hanikra convinced me I had to go on this tour.

DAY 4: RETURN TO TEL AVIV TO CELEBRATE NEW YEAR’S EVE
This whole trip was born out of a pact Maggie and I made to reunite in Tel Aviv for New Year’s Eve. Well here we are, six month later preparing to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Tel Aviv. You live the life you lead – so this year, promise yourself you’ll do the things you really want to do!

embassies.gov.il

DAY 5: HEAD TO JERUSALEM FOR A HOLY CITY TOUR
Every recommendation I received made it abundantly clear that my trip would not be complete without a holy city tour. Israel has captivated my attention for a long time because there are so many dual narratives surrounding such a small piece of land. If it weren’t for the next item on my itinerary, this day would be right at the top. In the evening I have the opportunity to meet other travelers and participate in a hummus workshop at Abraham Hostel.

DAY 6: BUCKET LIST TOUR OF MASADA, EIN GEDI AND THE DEAD SEA
Sometimes it’s best to travel off the beaten path, but other times the iconic sites are not to be missed. I’m going to head up to Masada to watch the sunrise over the Dead Sea before heading back down for a float. You can read more about this tour or book it for yourself here.

DAY 7: HEAD NORTH FOR A DAY IN SAFED
Today I had to make the tough decision between exploring the West Bank and going north to visit Safed. If only I had time for both. After countless recommendations for Safed, the birthplace of Kaballah, and considering the political unrest that has dominated Israel’s news lately I decided to spend the day in Safed (thanks to Brittany from my Contiki tour, Maggie and a few of my coworkers for recommending). Luckily, it’s hard to go wrong when picking between two destinations… just another excuse to come back in the future!

jamal n. photography

DAY 8: HOP OVER TO JERASH AND AMMAN BEFORE CAMPING WITH A BEDOUIN TRIBE
Since I’m already traveling to Israel, I wanted to make a pit stop in Jordan. Okay, sure I heard it’s going to be cold camping in a tent in the dessert… but how cool is that? If you don’t agree, no worries, I’m excited enough for the both of us. Thanks to my friend Graham for the recs regarding Jordan!

jamal n. photography

DAY 9: EXPLORE THE LOST CITY OF PETRA
Move over Indiana Jones, I’m coming to the lost city! I can’t wait to make the epic walk to Petra through the Siq. Then after a long day of exploring it’s back to Jerusalem and off to Cairo on a red-eye.

DAY 10: THE GREAT PYRAMIDS OF GIZA
Yet another bucket list item, yet another check. I’m really hoping the stereotypical camel ride is involved. This is where the itinerary gets a little loose.

DAY 11: WANDER THE STREETS OF CAIRO
Today will actually be my birthday so I have marked the day with a list of things I’d like to discover and when the time comes we will see how many I tick off the list. Hopefully the day will be filled with lots of fun surprises and good memories.

jamal n. photography

DAY 12: HEAD SOUTH TO LUXOR
I actually found out by reading travel forums and doing a little experimentation of my own that the flights from Cairo to Luxor are significantly cheaper (even after currency exchange) if you list Egypt as your country from the EgyptAir homepage but I am somewhat skeptical. Are the prices going to jump back up when I insert my passport information? Will there be a problem with my ticket at the airport? I will book one of the cheaper flights and then get back to you all to let you know if this travel hack actually works. Update: there were no issues with my ticket so use this trick to save on airfare!

DAY 13: OFF TO THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS
I have been looking at horse and camel rides per one recommendation but we may end up renting bikes. I also read you can ascend in a hot air balloon over the ruins. How fun would that be? Actually, never mind.

DAY 14: RETURN TO CAIRO
The very last day we will return to Cairo to catch any last minute sites we missed the first time around. I fly out early the next morning with a layover in Istanbul.

Does this itinerary make you want to try out the Middle East?

A big thank you to Tourist Israel, Abraham Tours, Abraham Hostel, Hayarkon 48, Fauzi Azar Inn and everyone else who has helped plan this trip and make it possible.

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