Kimkim Trip Reviews for Israel

We had an intensive 9-day tour planned, so it was critical to get the right guide and driver. We also wanted a short time break, even if it meant having an extra long day to make up the sites missed.
We were fortunate to acquire one of the best guides in Israel, Ille, and an excellent driver in Michael. Ille spoke very good English and had an encyclopedic knowledge about everything. He also knew everyone and was able to get us singular access to important sites, even with dense crowds and... read more

We had an intensive 9-day tour planned, so it was critical to get the right guide and driver. We also wanted a short time break, even if it meant having an extra long day to make up the sites missed.
We were fortunate to acquire one of the best guides in Israel, Ille, and an excellent driver in Michael. Ille spoke very good English and had an encyclopedic knowledge about everything. He also knew everyone and was able to get us singular access to important sites, even with dense crowds and long lines. Ille is very personable and accommodating and was able to make several day-to-day adjustments to our schedule to better fit our needs. For example, we swapped out going to Haifa for traveling through Bethlehem on the way back without problem.

We were extremely impressed by Jerusalem, of course, but Masada was much different, and more dramatic, than I had pictured. Also, the vide of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv couldn’t be more different. Btw, we felt extremely safe in every sector of Old Jerusalem, even walking at night outside the walls. The same for Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv

Hotel Reviews

The American Colony Hotel

Jerusalem

This is an iconic and historical hotel. It’s very pricy but this was our last big splurge., The garden grounds alone are worth a stay. The staff are absolutely first rate and very attentive and helpful. The large rooms are magnificent. Ours had a balcony overlooking a peaceful courtyard. Each night chocolates were delivered. The included breakfast is so massive, with at least fifty stations of all sorts of freshly prepared items, that there was no way to taste them all. There is also a lovely indoor garden restaurant. The American Colony hotel is located within easy walking or taxi distance of the Damascus Gate. There are also many good restaurants in the area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Extremely attentive and knowledgeable.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Some days our rooms were cleaned twice, with lovely chocolates delivered.

Tal By the Beach Hotel

Tel Aviv

A beautiful hotel located just two walking blocks from the beach and a string of excellent seafood restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very helpful, but I had trouble with getting taxis. I think it was more of a language problem. A great guy next to me at an ice cream shop used his app to get us a taxi back to the hotel.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tel Aviv City Tour ( Tel Aviv & Jaffa)

Israel

I went on a private group tour of Tel Aviv and Jaffa and it was a great experience. Our guide, LA, was amazing and knew all the right places to take us. We were able to skip lines that would have taken a long time otherwise. Overall, it was a fantastic trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Old City Jerusalem

Israel

I was part of a private group when we visited the Old City of Jerusalem. Our guide was LA and he was very knowledgeable and knew all the right places to take us. It was an unforgettable experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jerusalem, Mount of Olives and Mt Zion

Israel

Our group visited Mount of Olives and Mt. Zion with our guide, LA. He was extremely knowledgeable and made the experience highly enjoyable. It was fascinating to explore these historical sites.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day trip to Yad Vashem, Ein Karim and the Israel Museum

Israel

In a private group tour, we visited Yad Vashem, Ein Karim, and the Israel Museum. Our guide, LA, was very knowledgeable and provided great insight into the history of the museum exhibits. I particularly enjoyed the Israeli National Museum.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip to Masada & Qumran

Israel

We had a great day trip to Masada and Qumran with our guide, LA. The experience was interesting, and it was clear our guide knew the history of these sites very well.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

STAY PUT JERUSALEM / FREE DAY / OPTIONAL TOURS

Israel

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

JERUSALEM / HAIFA / CAESAREA / ACRE / TEL AVIV

Israel

We had to change our plans and ended up not going to Haifa, Caesarea, and Acre due to feeling unwell but instead traveled directly from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. However, we were able to visit Palestine, which proved to be an extremely interesting experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

For as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of visiting the Middle East. My wish finally came true when my friend Leyda was invited on a Catholic pilgrimage to Israel. While Leyda was keen to visit the holy land, she didn't want to be part of a large tour group. She wanted to experience the country on her own terms. Another motivation for her trip was to visit her mother's best friend, Dorita, whom she considers her aunt. Leyda's family has been closely connected with Dorita's for over six... read more

For as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of visiting the Middle East. My wish finally came true when my friend Leyda was invited on a Catholic pilgrimage to Israel. While Leyda was keen to visit the holy land, she didn't want to be part of a large tour group. She wanted to experience the country on her own terms. Another motivation for her trip was to visit her mother's best friend, Dorita, whom she considers her aunt. Leyda's family has been closely connected with Dorita's for over six decades, and Leyda was eager to see her again, especially since she is now 92 years old.

Knowing of my own desire to visit Israel, Leyda invited me to join her. She also suggested that we take the opportunity to see the Pyramids in Egypt while we were in the region. I was overjoyed at the prospect and readily agreed to go. However, we had limited funds for our trip and were looking for a package that would provide us with a safe, hassle-free, and affordable way to visit many of the holy, cultural, and geographic sites in the area within just 10 days. Finding such a package seemed like an insurmountable challenge.

That's when I turned to KimKim, a reputable travel agency with strong connections in the area. They put us in touch with Samir, who was able to deliver a travel package that surpassed all our expectations. Despite our demanding and specific requirements, Samir was able to provide us with an incredible travel experience that met all parameters and was one of the most amazing of my long, well-traveled life.

The journey officially began when our plane landed in Tel Aviv airport. We were met by Michael, our driver (and guide) in Israel. I put the word ‘guide’ in quotes because Michael told us he is only licensed for driving, not being a guide. He was tremendously knowledgeable, humorous, friendly, knew people everywhere we went and drove well.

We spent our one free day in Israel with Leida’s family in the Dalia Kibbutz and returned to the By 14 Hotel in Tel Aviv. The hotel was excellent, our favorite part was the fresh Mediterranean cuisine offered at breakfast.

Israel was a hotbed of religious activity on a grand scale with Western and Orthodox Christian Easters, Passover and the Holy Month of Ramadan occurring at the same time. Michael impressively negotiated the crazy maze that was Jerusalem on days when the city was partitioned to accommodate hordes of Pilgrims from several religions and scores of sects. He also explained how the city managed the chaos using zones, barriers, checkpoints and many other means of controlling the movement of people based on their intentions and ethnicities.

Our itinerary took us to additional compelling destinations that were steeped in history and a privilege to visit: Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, Qurman and Masada.,

We said good bye to Michael at the Allenby Bridge and crossed into Jordan after a relatively smooth passage through customs.

Bart (I’m not sure I remembered his name correctly) was a reassuring sight as we entered Jordan. He exuded a sense of warmth and tranquility, which immediately put us at ease. This was just the beginning of our journey in Jordan, a country that proved to be a hidden gem in the Middle East. From the moment we arrived, we were treated like honored guests, not just tourists to be milked for money at every step We found this hospitality to be the case in both Israel and Jordan.

Bart delivered us to Yazeed (not sure of the spelling) our driver. Yazeed not only took us around per the itinerary, but found more scenic, interesting routes. Thanks to him we were able to see the people and countryside of Jordan that would have been bypassed. He applied his creativity to enrich our travels and we appreciated it.

Petra, of course, was fabulous. Per Yazeed’s suggestion, we saw the site at night. That was a nice adventure. We toured Petra for a full day with Ied, our guide. He is very educated and provided excellent information. We were exhausted after walking the full length of the site and Ied negotiated a camel ride. We rode two beautiful, well kept camels back to the Treasury, serving as much needed transportation, and an exhilarating experience at the same time. That night we took advantage of the Turkish Bath that was attached to our Hotel – another special experience.

Yazeed dropped us off at the Amman Airport after completing a job well done.

Henry met us at the Cairo Airport and handed us off to our driver, Sabri. We really appreciated the smooth transitions that Samir coordinated!

Egypt was challenging, not at all because of the tour itself. We found it to be chaotic, unpredictable, and the tourist-facing people to be extremely venal. This did not keep us from appreciating the greatness of this country and provided an element of adventure as well.

Due to an unexpected unavailability of a scheduled guide, we ended up with Hoda. She was the only person who dealt with us that was in any way disappointing. Her presentations on ancient Egyptology were fair, but several of recent cultural and historic facts she discussed were inaccurate. She was rude to wait staff at our lunch restaurant, telling the waiters in a haughty manner to move food away from her because the smell of it would interfere with her fast. Worst was when she had an attendant in a parking lot throw stones to chase away a street dog that was lying on the pavement not bothering anybody. Finally, she didn’t adhere to the itinerary and we missed our opportunity to see Giza. We went to a carpet factory, which was not on the schedule, that ate up valuable time, so when Giza closed early we were unable to see it. This would have been disastrous, since Giza was our reason to visit Egypt. Fortunately, we had to wait a full day to fly out at 3:15 am the following day and Sami had reserved Sabri for that time. The following day he took us to Giza, where we had a very exciting, satisfying visit to the pyramids and sphynx. We then saw much of Cairo and spent the evening exploring old Cairo.

Sabri took us to the airport where Henry met us for the departure. We were exhausted, but absolutely thrilled and grateful for the experience.

Overall, the quality of our accommodations during our trip was excellent. All were high-end, clean with great service and food. We were pleased to note that Samir pays close attention to quality and rescheduled a hotel Torino to Ambassador Hotel due to less than favorable reviews.
The Helnan Dreamland hotel in Cairo was spectacular. We spent a magical evening in the pool area in what looked like a huge Bedoin tent. A trio of musicians played authentic Egyptian music as we took in the beautiful evening.

The food everywhere was good Mediterranean fare – fresh and delicious with a broad selection.

Often, we saw large groups of tourists being corralled and gaining only encapsulated exposure to people and places. The bespoke service provided by KimKim allowed us to explore at our own pace without being stranded or scrambling because of unforeseen contingencies. We were happy to be independent, but completely taken care of at the same time.

Hotel Reviews

BY 14 HOTEL TEL AVIV

TEL AVIV

BY 14 Hotel Tel Aviv offered a fantastic location, great service, and the best food we had during our trip. It was a comfortable and enjoyable stay, and we would highly recommend it to other travelers.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holy Land Hotel - Jerusalem

Jerusalem

The Holy Land Hotel in Jerusalem provided a comfortable stay with good service and no complaints. Overall, it was a positive experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Silk Road Petra

Wadi Mousa, Petra

Silk Road Petra was an amazing hotel, and we highly recommend it. The option to enjoy a Turkish bath and massage on-site was an added bonus. Overall, the stay was fantastic.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cairo Pyramids hotel

Cairo

he Cairo Pyramids Hotel was a beautiful resort, and we liked it best during our trip. However, we encountered some issues with locals in Cairo being aggressive when trying to sell us services. Despite these challenges, the hotel's amenities and location made it an enjoyable stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Jerusalem, Mount of Olives and Mt Zion

Israel

The private group tour of Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, and Mt Zion was an amazing experience. Our drivers and guides were knowledgeable and allowed us a deeper insight into the culture and history of the places we were visiting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Old City Jerusalem

Israel

Our Old City Jerusalem and Bethlehem private group tour gave us the flexibility to explore these historic locations at our own pace. The drivers and guides were very informative, and we learned a lot about the local culture and history during our tours.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip to Masada & Qumran

Israel

The trip to Masada and Qumran was another fantastic experience, with private group transportation and knowledgeable drivers. We got to see many interesting sites and gained a broader understanding of the history and significance of these locations.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Petra (With Site local Guide or private guide)

Petra

The full-day Petra private group tour exceeded our expectations. Our driver and local guide were incredibly knowledgeable, and we felt truly immersed in the history and culture of Petra.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Giza Pyramids Tour with Sakkara & Memphis

Egypt

The Giza Pyramids tour with Sakkara and Memphis was a good experience, but it required us to be vigilant and assertive when dealing with locals trying to bargain for services. Our driver, however, added value to the experience by taking us around and sharing his knowledge of the sites.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We visited 3 countries, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Egypt was outstanding 4.5/5. The driver was excellent and the guide although a bit quiet at times was smart and helpful. Jordan was the highlight of the trip. All visitors must go to Petra and Wadi Rum. Mind blowing to say the least. If you go you must ask for Anees to be you guide! 10 out of 10 fantastic person! The trip fell off a bit in Israel as we were only given a driver and no guide. I don’t think a tourist should be left to navigate... read more

We visited 3 countries, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Egypt was outstanding 4.5/5. The driver was excellent and the guide although a bit quiet at times was smart and helpful. Jordan was the highlight of the trip. All visitors must go to Petra and Wadi Rum. Mind blowing to say the least. If you go you must ask for Anees to be you guide! 10 out of 10 fantastic person! The trip fell off a bit in Israel as we were only given a driver and no guide. I don’t think a tourist should be left to navigate Old Jerusalem on his own. We did have to spend an additional $1150 on guides in Israel to get the full experience. Overall an amazing trip though. And oh yes the help we received from ambassadors at the airports in Cairo and Amman was outstanding as well!

Hotel Reviews

Helnan Dreamland Hotel & Conference Center

6th of October City

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shams al weibdeh hotel apartment

Amman

Authenticity & Character

Location

You

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Petra Palace

Wadi Musa, Petra

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holy Land Hotel - Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nof Ginosar Kibbutrz Hotel

Tiberias

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tal By the Beach Hotel

Tel Aviv

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cairo Airport - Cairo (Transfer)

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Giza Pyramids Tour with Sakkara & Memphis

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cairo - Tour3 - Museum & Mosques

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Meet & Assist - Queen Alia Airport

Jordan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amman-Jarash-Ajloun-Amman city tour

Jordan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amman-Madaba-Mount Nebo-Karak-Petra

Jordan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Petra (With Site local Guide or private guide)

Petra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip to Masada & Qumran

Israel

Qumran closed when we got there

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Old City Jerusalem

Israel

No guide provided. Disappointing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jerusalem, Mount of Olives and Mt Zion

Israel

No guide

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Tiberias, Haifa, Caesarea and Acre

Israel

No guide

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The good, the bad and the ugly…
Pros:
1 Samir, our local specialist was easily available whenever I needed to contact him. This was necessary as there were multiple hiccups. Additionally, the people he subcontracted to, Bethlehem tours were in touch with me and readily available.
2 We had assistance with the border crossings to make sure that process went smoothly.
3 Our drivers were on time and affable.
4 Our tour guide Hussam was amazing! He really made the trip for us in the Israel... read more

The good, the bad and the ugly…
Pros:
1 Samir, our local specialist was easily available whenever I needed to contact him. This was necessary as there were multiple hiccups. Additionally, the people he subcontracted to, Bethlehem tours were in touch with me and readily available.
2 We had assistance with the border crossings to make sure that process went smoothly.
3 Our drivers were on time and affable.
4 Our tour guide Hussam was amazing! He really made the trip for us in the Israel portion of the trip!
5 Nick was quite entertaining and willing to do anything for us.
6 Israeli breakfasts are amazing.

Cons:
1 I had been given our drivers phone number by Samir, and when that changed, I was not informed of the name change or the telephone change.
He also did not let me know that we were not doing the sunrise hike in Masada. These changes should have been communicated to me.
2 The hotel in Nof Ginnosar was an absolute dump and should have had a rating of two. Extremely dated with bugs. The food was mediocre and there was nowhere else to go.
3 We liked the personality of our driver Johnny and He met us promptly at the airport in Israel. He was always on time and most importantly, he showed up at 3 AM to take us to the airport to go home. However, He took the long way from the airport to our hotel which was clearly obvious to us because we were mapping it on our phones. He would not take instruction and we went in circles taking an hour and a half for a half an hour trip. We were then taken to the incorrect hotel. We eventually made it to the correct hotel. When we returned to Israel, he again took the long way to the hotel through the downtown traffic instead of the freeway, even though I showed him multiple times on my phone how to go. He ignored my suggestions and was on the phone with his wife/family.
3 When we started booking with Kimkim, we wanted to book our own hotels, and they would not let us. I understand that that is likely one of their biggest sources of revenue. However, with that comes the responsibility of making sure the bookings are correct. It was extremely important to me that we had the panoramic tents in Wadi Rum. When we got there, we were told they were no panoramic tents. After many calls to Samir and the office and many delays, we were given one panoramic tent. This was a huge disappointment because my adult son was particularly looking forward to the stargazing which is the whole point of the panoramic tent, and the price that you pay for it. Samir tried to blame it on the hotel, but it was truly the responsibility was his. He apologized for the hiccups on the trip, but was not straightforward with me concerning the tent situation. I am still awaiting the refund from Kimkim for the difference between the panoramic tent and the tent that my adult children ended up staying in since we were unable to get the second panoramic tent. The office should have confirmed these reservations and clearly did not. This is inexcusable, particularly given the expense of this trip. This reservation should have been confirmed. They tried to make it up to us with a dinner in Tel Aviv, which was appreciated , but cannot really make up for the disappointment.
I will make an addendum to this review to let the reader know if I receive the refund due to me for the downgraded room.

Hotel Reviews

Ambassadore Hotel Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Tal By the Beach Hotel

Tel Aviv

Nof Ginosar Kibbutrz Hotel

Tiberias

This hotel should’ve had a rating of less than two. It was extremely extremely dated. They were bugs in my daughters room. The food was mediocre at best. They need new beds, new furnishings, new sheets, comforters, and pillows. Do not stay in this hotel. Very disappointing.

Shams al weibdeh hotel apartment

Amman

It was nice to stay in apartment with a little more room as opposed to a hotel room. The breakfast, however, was very mediocre. There were multiple restaurants we could walk to in the area that were good.

Movenpick Petra Resort

Wadi Musa

Activity Review

Masada Sunrise

Israel

We didn’t get to do this because the site did not open until 8 AM and the sunrise hike would have put us there at 6 AM with nothing to do but to wait until the guy could take the cable car up to the side at 8 o’clock. Make sure you work out these details before you go.

Samir tailored the type of trip was asked for through Israel abs paired us with an amazing driver and Jerusalem guide. I highly recommend KimKim and Samir to use them as their number one drive and number one guide. Both then tailored our trip even more for us once we could focus on what we really really wanted to see on our trip. Although none of the hotels in our voucher where actually booked due to over flow the replacements hotels were in even better relocation for us to make the most of... read more

Samir tailored the type of trip was asked for through Israel abs paired us with an amazing driver and Jerusalem guide. I highly recommend KimKim and Samir to use them as their number one drive and number one guide. Both then tailored our trip even more for us once we could focus on what we really really wanted to see on our trip. Although none of the hotels in our voucher where actually booked due to over flow the replacements hotels were in even better relocation for us to make the most of our trip… so that was also a major win! Thank you for everything!

Hotel Reviews

Tal By the Beach Hotel

Tel Aviv

Did not stay at any of these hotels but I will say amazing to all as don’t want to hurt the hotels.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Magdala Tiberias

Migdal

Did not stay at any of these hotels but I will say amazing to all as don’t want to hurt the hotels.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Harmony Hotel Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Did not stay at any of these hotels but I will say amazing to all as don’t want to hurt the hotels.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

JORDAN VALLEY TOUR (J) (Tiberias to Jerusalem)

Israel

This was a great day as we wanted to tailor it complete so our driver suggested the Dead Sea… so we had an incredibly beautiful and fascinating drive to the Dead Sea. Great day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TEL AVIV / CAESAREA / HAIFA / ACRE (ACO) / ROSH HANIKRA / GALILEE. (J)

Israel

Loved R.H and Gailiee!!! Everything else was fascinating too but really enjoyed that part of the day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Professional, prompt, informative, personable and listened to what we’d like to do and flexible with leaving times from Hotels.

Transport

Safed, Golan Heights

Israel

Banias Springs was lovely to walk round and Golan Golan Heights Fascinating

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

JERUSALEM TOUR (J)

Jerusalem

Very moving morning to go to the Holocaust museum. Our guide was phenomenal and changed a lot of the planned day to accommodate what I’d really like to see. Amazing day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Just like our driver… our guide was Professional, prompt, informative, personable and listened to what we’d like to do and flexible with leaving times from Hotels

Transport

JERUSALEM WEST TOUR (J)

Jerusalem

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit to Bethlehem

Israel

Bethlehem is a must!!!!! Incredible day and again our guide and driver made the day so smooth and amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

In Israel, our guide Joseph was amazing as he educated us throughout the Old City of Jerusalem. He was knowledgeable and invested in what he was doing. He truly cared and enjoyed all aspects of the trip. Our visit would not have been the same without him.

In Jordan, our guide Wasef was a wealth of information. He was kind, he was informative, and he was passionate about giving us the best experience in our journey. He was energetic, spoke excellent English and negotiated for us on our... read more

In Israel, our guide Joseph was amazing as he educated us throughout the Old City of Jerusalem. He was knowledgeable and invested in what he was doing. He truly cared and enjoyed all aspects of the trip. Our visit would not have been the same without him.

In Jordan, our guide Wasef was a wealth of information. He was kind, he was informative, and he was passionate about giving us the best experience in our journey. He was energetic, spoke excellent English and negotiated for us on our purchases. He helped save us money by his ability to communicate on all levels.

There were so many highlights during our stay, it was absolutely amazing.

Hotel Review

Enjoy Desert camp

Wadi rum

Amazing place, excellent food, wonderful people. A great experience! Highly recommended, it was a highlight of the trip!

Tips for future travelers

This is a must see... enjoy the camel ride!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

I loved it all!

Activity Review

Old City Jerusalem

Israel

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was name Joseph and he was intelligent, kind, had passion for educating, and was overall one of the best guides we had. He was born inside the Old City and so was his father who is also still living there.... it was a very special experience!

Transport

First of all, I want to say thank you to Lena for sticking with us! We took months to plan and finalize our trip, and she was with us through it all, changing our itinerary multiple times and answering our seemingly endless questions promptly!

Jordan was full of natural beauty and we LOVED our hike in Dana and our guide Mohammed. Will never forget having Bedouin tea and freshly warmed pitas with him over lunch. Equally lovely was Wadi Rum. Aicha Camp was gorgeous (and they upgraded us to... read more

First of all, I want to say thank you to Lena for sticking with us! We took months to plan and finalize our trip, and she was with us through it all, changing our itinerary multiple times and answering our seemingly endless questions promptly!

Jordan was full of natural beauty and we LOVED our hike in Dana and our guide Mohammed. Will never forget having Bedouin tea and freshly warmed pitas with him over lunch. Equally lovely was Wadi Rum. Aicha Camp was gorgeous (and they upgraded us to a panoramic tent - superb!), and our driver on our Jeep tour, Adam, was wonderful. We loved our driver for the first portion of our Jordan trip, Hasan. Always on time and very kind! The only thing I wish we had done differently is make sure that we had transportation arranged for our day at Petra, as our hotel was a bit off the main Tourism Street (Petra Quattro). It was easy to hire our own guide for Petra at the Visitor's Center, but I'm sure Lena could have arranged this for us in advance had we wanted! I also want to note that we loved our cooking lesson at Beit Sitti in Amman our first evening!

Lena was very helpful in prepping us on what to expect during the border crossing at King Hussein Bridge. We were a little nervous, but it went smoothly and our driver Awas was waiting for us on the other side.

Jerusalem was an overwhelming city, but we had the most wondeful guide two days in a row for it and Bethlehem (I loved that we got the same guide as it really allowed you to make a connection). Ibrahim was one of my favorite tour guides ever, anywhere. If I am back in Jerusalem, I know who I am calling. He even checked in on us a few days later to make sure we were okay and ask if he could help us with anything more! The location of our hotel was pretty great too (Gloria on Latin Patriarchate Street near Jaffa Gate). It was definitely older (the dining area is currently being remodeled), but the location makes that worth it.

I thought the price we paid for the trip was quite fair, and appreciated the flexibility Lena showed in booking everything for us.

Thank you again for an unforgettable trip!

Overall itinerary was great. Monther Salah, our guide in Israel was fabulous and we had two guides in Jordan, Ahmed and Seyeal, who were equally good.

Highlights included: Jerusalem Old City; Masada; Sea of Galilee; Tel Aviv; Amman; Kerak; Petra and Wadi Rum.