December 5, 2016

Great trip to Israel and our tour guide could not have been better. In fact, the whole experience with the company in terms of designing our trip was Spectacular. We only had four days in Israel but we were able to make the most of it by working together with Touring Israel. We were able to accomplish so much working together with our guide and in even deviated occasionally from the itinerary so that we could cover things that we otherwise would not have been able to experience. I only have the best things to say about our experience A customer from Philadelphia

November 28, 2016

Although I have been to Israel many, many times over the past 45 years, I had never been to Jordan, and it had always been a dream of mine. I contacted Gil at Touring Israel in November, explained what I wanted to see and the time I had available, and with just a few days notice, he put together the experience of a lifetime for me and a friend. We were met at each point by courteous, efficient people -from the drivers to the border crossing personnel, to our guide in Jordan and his driver. The highest level of professionalism on all accounts. The hotel in Petra was magnificent and we felt safe, informed and comfortable every minute of our stay. I consider myself an experienced traveler and was delighted at the top notch level of service during our tour. Everything went smoothly (flights, personnel, hotel, everything!) and I highly recommend the firm, Touring Israel, Gil and the entire staff we worked with. They made our 2-day trip one of the most memorable I have ever experienced. A customer from Los Angeles

November 19, 2016

My father and I were fortunate enough to get Joe Yudin, Touring Israel founder and owner, to show us around Israel on 6 guided day tours. It was hands down the best, most interesting and informative trip we’ve ever taken. From learning about ancient world cultures and religions to current and past politics regarding the state of Israel and relations with their neighboring countries, Joe was a walking/talking Google search engine. He’s an American that became an Israeli citizen and served in their armed forces. He’s a great guy as well and he runs a tight ship, so I can imagine any of the Touring Israel guides would have to be equally as competent. You can’t see Israel, or better said fully appreciate Israel, without guided day tours (I did on my first trip and it wasn’t the same). Israel is in the Fertile Crescent and at the intersection of three continents where conquerors of great civilizations clashed, ruled, lived and died (not to mention the origin of some of the world’s major religions). If you want to see Israel (and you should), we couldn’t recommend Touring Israel & Joe Yudin more… A customer from New York

November 3, 2016

My husband and I along with two other couples went to Israel this September for the first time and it was altogether an amazing experience. With the exception of one of our group, we were all first timers. We chose touring Israel based upon recommendations from two friends who had traveled with Joe Yudin. We are a group of adventurous 50+ year olds and we were looking for a well rounded trip combining education and adventure. This trip did not disappoint. While it was difficult to communicate overseas because of the time zone difference, touring Israel made every effort to be available to us. Gil planned our itinerary and was very patient even through the 6th (or maybe 7th draft)! I know everyone comes back from Israel saying that their tour guide was the best but ours was actually the best! Lior was our guide and I don’t think there are enough positive adjectives to describe him. He was smart, funny, engaging, adventurous and above all patient with our many questions and concerns. He has a very balanced perspective about political events and there were many interesting conversations about Israeli cultural and political issues. One of his best qualities was his ability to engage the local people in conversations that added color and depth to all of our activities. We love hiking and Lior took us on some wonderful and challenging hikes. All in all it was an extremely positive experience. We’re all still missing Israel and our tour guide!! Lisa R, New York

September 15, 2016

My wife and just returned from a wonderful 10 day trip that we arranged through Touring Israel. Joe and his team of Jonathan and Maria were excellent to work with. They had no problems revising our original 14 day itinerary to accommodate our budget and still included everything we want to see. The itinerary also included unique foodie elements that were special to my wife. We also can’t say enough about our personal guide – Amir Mor. He was knowledgable and passionate about Israel while being flexible and patient to our individual needs. But more than anything, Amir is a good guy and we enjoyed getting to know him. Gregory Y New jersey

September 11, 2016

Touring Israel executed a flawless, fun first class trip for my family. We decided to go to Israel for my Son’s Bar Mitzvah. We brought my 10 year old and all the Grandparents with us. Touring Israel helped plan and seamlessly executed a perfect trip. I wanted an unforgettable trip for everyone and Touring Israel provided exactly that. Our Tour guide was brilliant, he knew EVERYTHING about Israel past and present and so much more! I was thrillied and amazed at how much knowledge my Son came home with. We were there for almost 2 weeks and everyday was fun and adventurous. We did so many wonderful tours everyday. Visiting the Lone Soldier center and meeting several soldiers that were there and helping to fill backpacks for them was fantastic, a wonderful mitzvah project for my Son. Chef Tal was unforgettable, as was cooking with Chef Tali. Everyone loved the IDF training and Tank base visit. There are too many amazing days to mention them all. You hsve to book your own trip with Touring Israel to experience it all. I can’t wait to go back for my daughters Bat Mitzvah. I know Touring Israel will have more amazing tours for us. Leslie A New York

August 29, 2016

We visit Israel often and have extensive ties to the country, but for my daughter’s bat mitzvah year we wanted to do something special and give our kids a small taste of the whole place. Joe Yudin’s company Touring Israel was amazing. Everything was seamless for us, our guide was wonderful and had a degree in history, and we felt really taken care of. While the trips to the touring “musts” like Masada and the Old City were special because of our guide’s knowledge, it was the more unusual experiences that Joe organized that made the trip unforgettable. The highlights for us start with a private gourmet lunch cooked on a little cliff overlooking the beach by Chef Tal — honestly the best meal I’ve ever had. We also LOVED participating in an archeological dig, touring the Golan Heights by jeep and sampling top rated Israeli wines at a boutique vineyard. We can’t wait to come back. Miriam S New York

August 15, 2016

This was our 2nd trip to Israel. Our first trip was 3 years ago to celebrate my eldest daughter’s bat mitzvah. For that trip we used a mitzvah tour company which was great. But this time we didn’t want to tour the same sites and visit the same tourist attractions. We wanted to go off the beaten path and experience the nooks and crannies of Israel. And boy did we! On this trip it was myself, my hubby and our 2 girls, ages 12 and 15. Thanks to Touring Israel’s VIP Airport Assistance service we were greeted immediately off the plane…not at the gate but on the walkway to the gate! I don’t know how they do it but we skipped the long lines and arrived to our driver in no time at all. Same on the way home. This service alone was priceless. Our tour guide was Jon Cutler. Though not Israeli, Jon’s passion for Israel and his historical knowledge are superb. Additionally, he was fun to be with and when we asked him to ease up on the history a little bit (b/c there is sooo much of course), he was able to impart interesting facts and stories and make it fun too! We spent everyday with Jon and within 2 days he was like a fun uncle to my kids! Our fave experience was cooking with Chef Tali and touring the Jerusalem food markets with her. She’s a doll, her kitchen is wonderful and the food was amazing! Other highlights included hiking Masada before sunrise. Jon picked us up at our hotel at 3am (oy) and drove more than an hour to Masada for this adventure. We then spent the day at Isrotel hotel, went into the dead sea and my husband and i had massages. The kids hung out at the beautiful pool. We celebrated our youngest daughter’s mitzvah at Robinson’s arch near the Wall. (Last trip, our older daughter was bat mitzvahed on Masada). Joe Yudin (the owner of TouringIsrael.com) connected us with Rabbi Stacey. She was delightful. Joe had offered to get us a photographer and we chose not to, but that’s an option. There were other mitzvot taking place and other families had photographers, musicians and family/friends present. We enjoyed our special time together with Rabbi Stacey and my daughter chanting torah however I wish we had more family or friends with us and maybe even a musician. Oh well. We visited an army base to learn krav maga. Our teacher was wonderful. There was also an opp to learn how to shoot a rifle/gun at this base but we chose not to do that. In another location, we visited some soldiers finishing up a tank drill. We got to climb in and on the tanks and ask the soldiers questions as well as thank them for protecting Israel. If you like to zip line and you have gone zip lining before then I would skip the zip lining arranged for us. I can’t recall where it was but it was very short and not worth the drive/time. We had a private tour at YadVashem. Her name is Sarah Eismann and she was amazing. She shared interesting stories that appealed to our girls. Joe had arranged a Twinning ceremony for our bat mitzvah and I really didn’t know what it was or think much of it. But when Sarah brought out a folder with a photo of a young girl with the same name as our daughter (Margo) who perished in the holocaust and thus was not able to become a bat mitzvah, I started to cry and was so touched by this experience as was my daughter. Another wonderful experience was lunch at a winery and sampling wines. We also took a jeep tour that included seeing the vast amount of farming and agriculture taking place in Israel. Our driver stopped at several crops and picked fruits and veges for us to taste right off the vine. We also did a street art tour of Tel Aviv which was quite interesting. Unfortunately, we were not able to kayak in Rosh Hanikra (bad weather) but I mention it b/c you might want to ask to do this. I will mention that my husband and i got sick one day and spent most of the day in our hotel. Jon/Joe were able to switch some things around and accommodate us. That was helpful. I could go on and on singing Touring Israel’s praises. But you must experience it for yourself! S. Kaye, Atlanta, GA

June 30th, 2016

Now or Never! That was my ultimatum to my family! Our 5-month pregnant daughter and her husband both missed out on birthright, (they are now 31!) and my husband and I just never made the journey. From the minute the wheels touched ground, we never looked back! And our Lara never missed a step! Sure, everyone can tell you a million wonderful tales, but, until you smell the Mediterranean Sea, walk the cobblestone streets, taste the sweetness of the fruits and feel touch and see the warmth – no one can tell you anything! And what it really boils down is one word-make it two: Amir Mor, our guide. However, that word doesn’t begin to tell you anything about Amir. Because Amir IS Israel and Israel IS Amir. I am so deeply grateful for his words, his kindness, his sense of adventure and finding the right answer to ALL our questions! He made our trip a time that still brings tears to my eyes- longing to go back. Shalom A Gradet, NYC, NY