As many of you know, our family has been on vacation in Israel for the past two weeks, heading back tomorrow. Some have asked if it was scary, dangerous, etc? I decided to share my answers here.
Our kids are 4,8 and 11. They
are all begging to stay, saying this was the best vacation they have ever been on!
I should add we have vacationed and traveled all over the world; this was by
far not one of their first international vacations.
We rented an apartment in
Tel Aviv, within walking distance to beach. The two older kids were able to walk
around by themselves in a few block radiuses to shop for surprise souvenirs,
get ice cream or grab some cupcakes. My oldest speaks Hebrew, but it’s not
truly necessary as everyone speaks English.
In Israel, everyone’s
children are treated like royalty. Our kids wanted to surprise us for our
anniversary- they went to exchange some currency and were given an extra couple
of shekels to buy themselves something by the bank tellers. They then went to
the store to buy the actual present. The storeowner gave them free wrapping
paper, lollipops, bows for the gifts and his phone number in case we didn't
like it and wanted to exchange. These are just two stories; I could post many
more that shows Israel is very centered around children, both younger and older.
We did a lot were
swimming, both on the Tel Aviv beach and in the Kinneret, a freshwater lake;
the kids absolutely loved it!
Our sight seeing trips included
Jerusalem, to see the old city, as well as many ancient tunnels and the Herodean
quarter. We then spent another day there to tour the older neighborhoods like
Yamin Moshe, etc. These areas are SO beautiful, historically significant and
are also full of parks with many attractions. The parks are huge and they have
fountains and light shows and beautiful historical artifacts. I should not that
these parks are not parks in the American sense- to get an idea, Google
“Jerusalem’s Teddy Park” and you will see for yourselves how fascinating they
truly are.
We visited the Biblical
Zoo in Jerusalem-hands down the best zoo we have ever been to! We also stopped
at Tzfat, the mystical city of kabbalists to see the vistas and the old
synagogues. It’s a beautifully preserved old city with lots of history.
I
don’t want to leave out the fascinating tank museum in Latrun or the luscious
gardens in Rechovot.
Overall, it was an
incredible vacation, fun, suitable for any budget and I recommend it to
everyone!
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