JERUSALEM private tour with ELAD VAZANA - Life in Israel & Palestine Then & Now

The tour is unconventional and inspiring. Elad has so many stories about Israel and Palestine, and we deep dived into the local history, religion, and culture. If you’re going on a trip with him, ask him anything and he’ll tell you a great story!

Elad is an amazing tour guide. He knows so much about the history of the historic sites and the stories of the past. He speaks Hebrew and Arabic in addition to English which is very helpful because he helped interpret when we wanted to talk to the locals. Elad is such a kind and happy person. You'll love taking a tour with him. I promise you wont regret it!

Where to start... first I must say that i waited a while to write this review because i had several trips planned to Israel back to back with different organizations and I wanted to write and informed review of my time with Elad Vazana. I can say with 1000% confidence that having Elad with my group traveling all around Israel was the corner stone of our traveling experience! Initially when planning the trip I communicated the purpose of my groups journey to Israel. I was bringing 100 graduate students to Israel who had never been and knew very little of the region and its complexity. My task was to show them as much of the diversity as I possibly could while honoring the complexity and richness of the people and of the region. I did not want a disneyland version of Israel but rather as real of a snapshot of life as we could get. Elad delivered on what I wanted but brought so much more than I could have ever asked for. Is was clear from the very beginning that he loved what he did and that palpable energy never faded throughout the entire 10 days he was with us. He was a library of information no matter what we asked for. He was able to talk about the same event or place from multiple perspectives being very mindful to make sure that the narrative he shared about that topic was authentic to the community he was talking about or as he often did strike up a conversation with a local in front of us asking for their views on what we were discussing. He created an incredibly immersive experience bringing us into the daily life of so many people and communities. We went from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ramle and Lod, we met with countless people from every different walk of life having conversations facilitated by Elad. His excitement and openness brought the curiosity from the participants and joy of learning about the region. Moreover his travel props were amazing and something the participants really appreciated as they tried to digest the complexity of the region they were moving through. Moving through Israel with Elad for these 10-days was definitely unlike the subsequent trips I went on ( I often found myself remembering things Elad shared and asking the other tour guide about them to see what they could add and the others seemed to not have the depth and breath of knowledge that Elad brings to the experience. I am planning on bringing participants every year to Israel for the same purpose and plan on Asking Elad to guide us every time. Thank you Elad for making our trip so special and I look forward to spending some time with you around Israel soon!