How To Prepare For Your Israel Christian Tour: Gil Travel Shares Tips For Holy Land Travel

Sharon Cheeseman, General Manager of Gil Travel, a leading provider of Israel tours since 1974, shares insight into what travelers should know in order to experience the best possible Christian Israel tours.

1. Bring your Bible.  “It may seem obvious, but bringing a Bible is absolutely critical for any Christian Israel pilgrimage,” says Cheeseman.  “It is truly an exceptional, indescribable experience for travelers when they see the Bible come to life before their eyes.” 

Cheeseman emphasizes that having a Bible on the tour helps Christian travelers to embrace the significance of the gospels, from the annunciation of Christ to His crucifixion on the cross at Calvary.   As tourists walk in the footsteps of Jesus, this enables them to follow along verse-by-verse to gain a renewed appreciation for His sacrifice and a deeper understanding of Israel’s culture, land and people.

2. Dress for Comfort.  “The more comfortable you are during your trip to Israel, the more fulfilling and enjoyable your experience will be,” Cheeseman explains.

Israel’s rough terrain, rocks and sandy hills require that travelers wear comfortable, rubber soled shoes.  Travelers should dress in plenty of layers as temperatures can fluctuate significantly in a single day.  Hats, sunglasses and sunscreen are strongly recommended. 

According to Cheeseman, dress is casual and modest, although many Holy sites require more formal attire.  For men, hats are usually provided.  Women should generally wear scarves to cover their heads and skirts that fall below the knee when visiting these Holy sites.

3. Choose a Comprehensive, Guaranteed Tour.  Cheesemanemphasizes thattourists should choose a guaranteed tour in order to avoid having their trips cancelled or rescheduled at the last minute because of low participation.

Additionally, she recommends that Christian travelers take the time to research a tour’s itinerary to ensure a complete Israel tour experience.  “Israel offers so many opportunities for the traveler to fully explore the land of the Bible,” she says.  “It is important to choose a tour that includes a complete look at the Holy Land’s key Christian sites.”

 

Just a few of the sites on Cheeseman’s must-see list include:

Caesarea, the capital of Judea under the Romans. (Acts 9.30 Acts 10 24-48)

Tabgha, where Jesus performed the Miracle of the Bread and Fish. (Matt. 13, Mark .33-45, & John 21)

The Mount of the Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. (Matt. 5, 6, 7, 8)

Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist. (Luke 1.39-80)

The Banias Spring and Waterfall, where Jesus was recognized as The Messiah by His Disciples. (Matt. 16.13 and Mark 8.27)

Nazareth and Cana of Galilee. (Luke 1.26, 4.16-29, Matthew 2.23) (John 2.1-11)

Mount Zion, where travelers can see the tomb of King David and the nearby Room of the Last Supper. (Mark 14.13, Luke 22. 10-38, Matt 26 17-29, Acts 1.13 and Acts 2 The Pentecost).

For more information about Christian Israel tours, please visit http://www.giltravel.com or call 1-800-223-3855.

Established in 1974 as a full-service, licensed agency, Gil Travel has since grown to one of the largest meeting and travel networks in the travel industry. Gil Travel has many years of experience in large and small group movements, as well as individual travel and travel coordination for meetings, conferences and other planned events worldwide.

 

Specializing in Israel tours, Jewish heritage travel and group tours, Gil Travel has professional, multi-lingual staff located in offices in Philadelphia, New York, Boca Raton, Jacksonville and Tel Aviv.

 

The Wharton Business Development Center and Philadelphia Business Journal named Gil Travel among the 1994 Philadelphia 100, as one of the fastest growing private companies in the Delaware Valley. Gil travel is a member of ASTA, IATAN, ARC, MPI, and Vacation.com.

 

For more information, please call 800-223-3855 or visit http://www.giltravel.com

Egypt Travel Package, Holiday Egypt, tour packages egypt, egypt vacations, holidays egypt

In this tour you will stay in Cairo for four nights with all the guided tour to the great sights, visit the Great Pyramids, Sphinx and the Citadel of Saladin. Then Fly to Aswan to board the Nile cruise with all the sightseeing tours from Aswan to Luxor, to visit Karnak Temple, Valley of the Kings, Hatshipsut Temple, Kom Ombo Temple, Edfu Temple, High Dam, Philae Temple and the unfinished Obelisk

Tour Details
Tour Length: 8 Days / 7 Nights  Tour Location Cairo, Aswan, Luxor  
Schedule: All Week Days  Tour Price  
Tour Type: Private Tour Package  

Tour Itinerary

Day # 1:) Arrival Cairo
Arrive in Cairo to discover the contrasts of this ancient city, our representative will meet you at Cairo international airport beyond passport control to handle your Egyptian entry visa then will be accompanied to your hotel for check in with free welcome drink. Tonight, relax or enjoy optional evening of out of this world entertainment as we go to the Pyramids for the incredible Sound and Light Spectacular after you will return to your hotel and then the night is at leisure.

Day # 2:) Giza Sightseeing Tours
After your relaxing breakfast at the hotel in Cairo your own private English speaking Egyptologist guide will take you to Sakkara that is part of Memphis’s massive necropolis, and the burial site of the most ancient Pharaohs where you will see the first pyramids ever built in Egypt “Step Pyramid of King Djoser that was designed by Imhotep, the ancient Egyptian architect also you will visit the Teti Pyramid and tombs in Sakkara then a relaxing drive to the famous Giza Plateau, home of Egypt’s GREATEST attractions to visit The Great Pyramids, ONE of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world including the Great Pyramid of Cheops, middle pyramids of Chephren and the little one of Mykerinos with camel ride and family photo in front of Pyramids, then visit the mysterious Sphinx, the Father of Terror for the ancient pharaohs, the tour includes visit to the valley temple facing the great sphinx with option visit to the solar boat this was a boat used to carry the pharaoh’s mummy across the Nile, and then buried at the foot of the pyramid for his use in the afterlife then you will be transferred back to your hotel for a peaceful over night stay in Cairo

Day # 3:) Cairo – Aswan Nile cruise Holiday
Breakfast and then you will be transferred to Cairo airport to board your flight to Aswan, where you will be met and assisted by a REP who will transfer you to embark your Nile cruise for the next 4 days / 3 nights. Later you will be taken in an exciting tour to the world famous High Dam that was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. It contains 18 times the material used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops; continue to the granite quarries which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples. The quarries still hold the famous Unfinished Obelisk and then you will be taking by motor-boat to island of Egilka visit the majestic Philae temple that was dedicated to the Goddesses Isis. For our enjoyment, a Felucca Ride is included on the Nile River in Aswan this afternoon. A final optional evening excursion will offer the sound and light show at the Temple of Philae. Return to the hotel free time at leisure in Aswan and overnight stay  

Day # 4:) Nile Cruise Holiday
Sail to Kom Ombo. After breakfast will be accompanied by your English speaking guide to visit Kom Ombo temple, the crocodile-headed God of fertility and creator of the world, lunch aboard your cruise with free time at le isure whilst sailing to Edfu to explore Edfu’s Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved Ancient Egyptian temples on the Nile Continue the cruise down the Nile to Luxor. Afternoon tea is served on the sun –deck with dinner and overnight stay onboard cruise

Day # 5:) Nile Cruise Holiday
Breakfast onboard the cruise, and then you will be taken into the West Bank of the river Nile to visit the two colossal statues of Amenhotep III (Colossi of Memnon), and then visit the Valley of the Kings, where the magnificent tombs discovered, those tombs were carved deep into the desert rock, richly decorated and filled with treasures for the afterlife of the pharaohs, you will visit 3 tombs. Continue the tour to visit the Hatshipsut temple at El Deir El Bahary, this impressive temple dedicated to the Queen Hatshipsut the only female pharaoh rises out of the desert plain in a series of terraces and merges with the sheer limestone cliffs that surround it then back to the cruise for lunch, after afternoon tea on the ship with free time at leisure and overnight stay. Tonight, if you wish, enjoy an optional sound and light show at the Temple of Karnak   

Day # 6:) Nile Cruise Holiday – Luxor – Cairo
Today and after breakfast you will be accompanied by Egyptologist guide to visit Karnak Temple, the largest place of worship ever built. Its ancient name Ipet-isut means “the most sacred of places.” The temple, or, more correctly, the complex of temples, was built over more than two thousand years by generation after generation of pharaohs. Within the complex, the great “Hypostyle Hall” is an incredible forest of giant pillars .Then you will be transferred to the majestic Luxor temple which built by Amenhotep III and Ramses II for ritual and festivals and dedicated to the god Amun, and then you will be transferred to Luxor airport to fly back to Cairo with dirct transer to your hotel in Cairo for check into the hotel with free time at leisure and overnight stay.

Day # 7:) Cairo Sightseeing Tours
Full day tour to visit the world-renowned Museum of Egyptian Antiques that was built in neo-classical style designed by the French architec t Marcel Dourgnon which exhibits a collection now over 120000 masterpie ces ranges from pre-dynastic era, Pharaonic era to the Greco-roman period in Egypt including the treasures of the child King Tutankhamen, Pharaonic Gods and Goddess, with option visit to the mummies room at the Egyptian Museum where you may learn about the Great Egyptian civilization and the mummification art in ancient Egypt. Then you will also visit the Citadel of Saladin that is overlooking the city from the Muqattam Hills and Mohammed Ali Alabaster Mosque inside that was built in Turkish style and very similar to the Blue Mosque in Turkey and simply considered to be one of the landmarks in Cairo whose minaret can be seen from any part of old Cairo then visit the Christian heritage in Coptic Cairo including some of the early religious monuments of the city such as the hanging church or the suspended church this basilica church was named for its location on top of the south gate of the Fortress of Babylon the church became the center of the Christian Church of Egypt you will visit also the famous Jewish heritage in Cairo including Ben Ezra Synagogue the temple contains a Jewish heritage library, containing documents found here in 1896 that describe the economic and social conditions of Jews under Arab rule as well as descriptions of relations between various Jewish sects from there you will be transferred to your hotel for free time at leisure and overnight stay in Cairo

Day # 8:) Cairo /Home
Breakfast at your hotel in Cairo then you will be transferred to Cairo airport to fly back home.

Tour Includes
– Meet and greet service by our representatives at Cairo /Aswan/Luxor airport
– All transfers by private air – conditioned deluxe vehicles
– Egyptian entry visa upon arrival Cairo airport
-Interior flight tickets from Cairo – Aswan and from Luxor – Cairo with Egyptair
– Accommodation for 4 nights in Cairo hotel of your choice with breakfast
– Accommodation for 3 nights on board cruise Aswan-Luxor on full board
– Tour to Pyramids, Sphinx, Valley temple, Sakkara and Memphis
– Tour to the High Dam and Temple of Philae in Aswan
– Tour to Kom Ombo temple and Edfu temple enroute
– Tour to Karnak temples and Luxor temple in East bank of the Nile
– Tour to Valley of the Kings , Hatshepsut temple, colossi of Memnon
– Felucca ride in Luxor with sunset attendance
– Lunch meals (open buffet) during tours in Giza, Cairo
– Entrance fees to the sights in Giza/ Cairo /Aswan/Luxor
– English speaking guide in Giza / Cairo Aswan/Luxor
– Service charges and taxes included throughout the tours  

Tour Excludes
Personal Expenses and Optional Tours  

Summer prices ( May – September )
Three Stars  Four Stars  Five Stars  Luxury  
Triple room  690.00 $  775.20 $  918.00 $   
Double room  704.40 $  789.60 $  932.40 $   
Single room  789.60 $  946.80 $  1046.40 $   

Winter prices ( October – April )
Three Stars  Four Stars  Five Stars  Luxury  
Triple room  804.00 $  946.80 $  1032.00 $   
Double room  818.40 $  961.20 $  1046.40 $   
Single room  932.40 $  1060.80 $  1160.40 $   

All prices are quoted in Euro currency per person

Please add 135 Euro during XMAS. New Year, Easter periods  

Three stars Accomodations
Cairo: Pharoahs Hotel
Cruise: Nile Quest Cruise

Four Stars Accomodations
Cairo: Zoser Hotel
Cruise: M/S Shehrazad

Five Stars Accomodations
Cairo: Movenpick Pyramids
Cruise: M/S Al Jamila

Optional Extras
– Sound & Light show at the Pyramids at night
– Hot air balloon ride in Luxor  

Children Policy
– Child up to 2 years old free of Charge (exept flight excursions
– Child between 2-5 years old gets 50% Discount
– Child between 6-12 years old gets 35% Discount
-12 years old and plus pay adult rates considered adult person  

General Information
Tour Guides:
All our tour guides in Cairo are knowledgeable Egyptologist with at least 5 years experience. Also they have academic qualifications to make your tour such a success.

Payment plan:
25% down payment required to secure the booking and can be done online by Credit card, Visa and Master or bank  transfer
75% balance will required in arrival in Egypt and can be paid by credit cards or cash
Booking:
Booking of your trip will be complete and confirmed by your tour designer as soon as we receive the 25% down payment

Egypt Aceesible Tours & Travels
we offer travel experiences for travelers with many types of physical disability. We are specialized in disabled travel in Egypt and Jordan. We offer private and customized accessible tours in Egypt for individuals, families and groups. Just send us your request details. Selected tours and shore excursions from the Europe cruises, Mediterranean cruises, and African cruises.
Extra charge for Wheelchair traveler to provide:
1. Personal care from our staff throughout the trip
2. Accessible modern air-conditioned vehicles provided
3. Selected hotels & Nile cruises with accessible room/cabin facilities
4. Wheelchair if required

What To Bring
– Hat
– Sun block
– Sunglasses
– Comfortable shoes
– Photo/Video Camera
– Warm clothes in winter
– Cotton clothes in summer
– Passport valid for 6 months

Contact us:
http://www.albaraagroup.com
www.egypttravelhotdeals.com

Albaraa Travel Egypt-Hurghada Branch
No: 12, 3 Floor in front of Mubarak II
TEL: 002 0653 452872
Fax: 002 0653 452871

 

Cell : 002 0100850146 or – 0020141182688 Emails:  tamer@albaraagroup.com
Website: www.albaraagroup.com
www.egypttravelhotdeals.com