Ashdod Port Shore Excursion: Jeruzalem en Bethlehem-dagtour vanuit de haven van Ashdod

Yoav Malachi was our wonderful guide on this one day tour. He covered a lot in the one day so it was a fast paced tour. Yoav was the perfect guide, keeping the group of 29 together in such a busy city is a difficult task which he managed with good humor. The tour was the highlight of our 7 day cruise and fulfilled a lifetime goal to see the holy land.

Prima verzorgd, mis alleen een geluidsinstallatie. Alles gezien wat we wilden en aangeboden was. Ook de reisleider was prima en vertelde prima. Alleen doordat de groep erg groot was, was het soms moeilijk te verstaan

This tour had poor communication on pick up location which resulted in people being lost and late trying to find the bus. We were all from the Norwegian Jade ship and had to meet the tour bus in Ashdod outside the Sea Mall but the instructions were too vague. The tour guide seemed impatient with tourists. We drove to Jerusalem and entered at Jaffa gate. The guide advised there was a small washroom at the gate and too many women went and we ended up waiting 35 mins for them all to get back. The tour guide should have found a different restroom stop in the old city that was less crowded!! This resulted in him RUSHING the tour through the old city quarters, walking so fast most could not keep up with him. The small alleys were packed with cruise ship tours and almost impossible to move in. The guide took us to the Christ church in the Muslim quarter which was chaotic and disorganised packed with way too many people to either see or enjoy. The Western Wall was worth witnessing and we did have enough time there. The tour has a LOT of steps and stairs and winding uphill alleys which should be explained in the tour details. This is NOT a tour that someone that has mobility issues or is not fit should be taking in the heat. We were held up several times waiting for people to catch up who were struggling to cope with all the walking and stairs. We did not have any time to stop in the little shops in the old city and the lunch stop was planned by the tour at an over priced upstairs falafel counter who charged ridiculous Euros prices (22) for a falafel or sharawrma sandwich and drink!!! This The 2nd stop was Bethlehem. This was disappointing. It was over crowded, hot and disorganised and should be at the BEGINNING of the tour (if at all) so the group has time to shop in Jerusalem old town. We asked the guide to allow us to shop somewhere in Bethlehem and we were dropped at a run down, grubby, mall with over priced poor quality items and a store that only sold insanely priced Christian carvings. This is not what most on our bus wanted and was a waste of time. If you are choosing a Jerusalem excursion choose one that allows for free time in the Old City and without lunch stop included. If we could do it over we would have skipped the chaos at the Christ church and spent the time wandering in the spice and gift shops in the Christian quarter, chose our own lunch spot, and met the guide back at the Jaffa gate at a predetermined time. It would have been far more enjoyable than the stress of keeping up with our guide racing through lanes and alleys packed with tourists.