The 15 Best Shore Excursions in Israel

1.Ashdod Shore Excursion: Jerusalem and Bethlehem – for cruise ship guests only

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 149 reviews · from $115Our pick

Review of the Ashdod shore excursion to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, with holy sites, practical tips, walking demands, guides, value, and cruise timing.

“Small group, comfortable air-conditioned transportation, informative tour guide, wonderfully full day. Same guide for two days of touring, Haifa and Ashdod. Very pleased with both tours. Highly recommend our very considerate, excellent tour guide, Doron.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.From Ashdod Port: Jerusalem and Bethlehem Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 111 reviews · 9 hours · from $120

Review of the 9-hour Ashdod Port tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, with sacred sites, practical cruise timing, costs, guides, and booking advice.

“The tour did not wait for us to get off the ship. We had to wait for our group to be called and missed the tour.”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Haifa Shore Excursion: Nazareth and the Galilee – for cruise ship guests only

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 109 reviews · from $115

Review of the Haifa shore excursion to Nazareth and Galilee, with biblical sites, practical tips, costs, timing, transport, and honest drawbacks.

“Wow this is a must tour for any first time visitor. From the minute you walk off the ship, to the minute you return, it was breath taking. Our driver and tour guide knew how to get the most out of the day. These kinds of tour adventures are so dependent on one thing..YOUR GUIDE! Ours was RYAN... he was fantastic. Answered every question and was a wealth of knowledge. He maxamized the time spent at all of the top locations, and even tossed in a great local stop for a bite to eat. Cant thank him enough for making the tour so fantastic. We were so fortunate to have…”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Ashdod Shore Excursion: Jerusalem and Dead Sea – for cruise ship guests only

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 104 reviews · from $125

Review of the Ashdod shore excursion to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, with walking demands, costs, sights, timing, guides, and practical tips.

“The tour guide Annas talked about religious too much and spent too much time in one place, ran out of time for dead sea. She even asked us to pay for dead sea entrance fee but that was not part of the package deal. She didn't even pay for the entrance fee why asked us to pay her?? Also her mouth breath was so bad that it was suffocating to sit near her.”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.From Ashdod Port: Masada and Dead Sea Guided Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 54 reviews · 9 hours · from $120

Visit Masada and float in the Dead Sea on a nine-hour Ashdod shore excursion, with cable-car access, a guide, and port transfers.

“Cruise ship had canceled port the day before and I lost money because I was not able to cancel at sea. 2 people lost a lot of money. I contacted the tour operator who would refund the money, but unfortunately I never received the money back. Cruise schip had de dag ervoor haven gecanceld en ben geld verloren doordat ik niet in de mogelijkheid was om op zee te annuleren. 2 personen volle pot geld kwijt. Heb contact gehad met touroperator die geld zou terugstorten maar spijtig genoeg nooit geld terug”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Haifa Port Shore Excursion: Nazareth and Sea of Galilee Day Tour from Haifa Port

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 36 reviews · from $120

Review of the Haifa shore tour to Nazareth, Galilee churches, Capernaum, and Yardenit, with practical advice on timing, lunch, and value.

“Alona made this day memorable with her tender way of handling religious discussions. Loved our driver Dean!!!”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Jaffa: Old City, Port & Shuk Hapishpishim Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 33 reviews · 90 minutes - 2 hours · from $39Best value

Explore Jaffa’s Old City, port, mosque, church, flea market, and legends on a guided 90-minute walking tour.

“I loved this tour! Alina was so kind and knowledgeable; she offered historical, religious, and cultural insights into Old City Jaffa. She connected the dots between the past and the present, and I left wanting to come back soon to explore and dig deeper into this beautiful part of Tel-Aviv. Thank you, Alina! And thank you for the beautiful pictures you took of me :) I highly recommend this tour and I would take it again myself.”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Ashdod Port Shore Excursion: Jerusalem and Bethlehem Day Tour from Ashdod Port

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 31 reviews · from $120

Review of the Ashdod shore tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, with Old City sights, Mount Scopus views, practical tips, value, and drawbacks.

“Both Jerusalem and Bethlehem tours were excellent. Tour guide and bus driver did a fantastic work. The tour guide explained very good the history of each places and was always alert that we make it save to the bus. The driver give us a smooth trip even on difficult places to drive.”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.2024 Jerusalem & Bethlehem from Ashdod Port Small Groups

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 30 reviews · from $225Top rated

Review of the Ashdod to Jerusalem and Bethlehem tour, with Mount of Olives views, holy sites, small-group transport, price, and practical tips.

“History of Jerusalem past and present. Extensive bible knowledge with each site visited. Guide was great!”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Jerusalem & Bethlehem Tour from Haifa Port 2024 – Small Group

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 30 reviews · from $255

Review of the Haifa to Jerusalem and Bethlehem tour, with Christian landmarks, port transfers, guide quality, timing, value, and practical tips.

“Tour two places in one day is too much. Actually just Jerusalem need a whole day. Drive round way takes 5 hours. Traffic jam in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. By the time we arrive Jerusalem old town, it is already 3:30 pm. Sunset at 4:40 pm. The Read more”

Check availability →Read our full review

11.Ashdod Port Shore Excursion: Masada and the Dead Sea Day Tour from Ashdod Port

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 29 reviews · from $120

Review of Ashdod’s Masada and Dead Sea tour, with cable-car views, guided history, port transfers, costs, tips, and drawbacks.

“Our tour guide Ziv was magnificent! His humor and wealth of knowledge made the tour a great experience. There is a lunch break given at the end of the Masada tour where only the only option to buy food is the Masada restaurant which is very pricey for the cafeteria type of food in my opinion. I would’ve preferred for the break to be given where you can find different options to choose from.”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Ashdod Shore Excursion: Private Jerusalem and Bethlehem Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 19 reviews · from $500

Review of a private Ashdod shore excursion to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, with sacred sites, port logistics, costs, guides, and practical tips.

“Highlight of our two weeks in the area. Guide was perfect! Excellent source for history, customs and local knowledge. Wow, we are rebooking in 06/2017 for same trip with our grandkids.”

Check availability →Read our full review

13.Tel Aviv; Jaffa Old City, Port & Shuk Hapishpishim Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 11 reviews · from $59

Review of Jaffa’s 90-minute walking tour, covering the Old City, Flea Market, mosque, St. Peter’s Church, port, and practical tips.

“They did not show up or respond to messages. I walked 4 km to the meeting spot and then stood in the blazing sun for 30 minutes waiting on them - still nothing.”

Check availability →Read our full review

14.Ashdod Shore Excursion: Private Jerusalem and Dead Sea Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 8 reviews · from $550

Review of a private Ashdod shore trip to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, with holy sites, Old City walks, floating, costs, tips, and honest drawbacks.

“Our day with YOAV was wonderful! He is terrific and we learned so much from Him. A great representative of Viator! He went above and beyond to provide us with as much information as we could absorb - and more! We will return to Jersulaem again.”

Check availability →Read our full review

15.Ashdod Shore Excursion: Private Jerusalem Tour Including Western Wall

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 7 reviews · from $480

Review of a private Ashdod shore excursion to Jerusalem, with Mount of Olives views, Old City quarters, Via Dolorosa, and the Western Wall.

“Our guide, Raz, was professional and very knowledgeable about the sites. He knew the best places for photos and planned an efficient tour of this very busy place that enabled us to see the most important sites during our limited time. He was also friendly and I appreciated that he took photos during our tour that he shared with us at the end.”

Check availability →Read our full review