Christmas Eve in Israel: Jerusalem & Midnight Mass in Bethlehem from Tel Aviv | La Vacanza Travel

Christmas Eve in Israel: Jerusalem & Midnight Mass in Bethlehem from Tel Aviv

Duration: 12 hours
Destination: Israel, Tel Aviv District, Tel Aviv
from
167.4

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  • 12 hours
  • Tel Aviv
  • E-Voucher
  • Lowest Price
  • Not-Cancellable

Overview

Spend Christmas Eve in the Holy Land on this full-day tour of sacred Christian sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem from Tel Aviv. See religious sanctuaries such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Nativity with a knowledgeable guide. Admire sweeping vistas of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and circle the Old City walls before walking through the Christian quarter. End your evening in Bethlehem, where you’ll enjoy a spectacular Christmas dinner and view midnight mass from Manger’s Square.

What Can You Expect?

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: Monte das Oliveiras, Mount of Olives Road, Jerusalem Israel

View the city of Jerusalem from Mt. of Olives


Pass By: Garden of Gethsemane, Jericho Rd, Jerusalem Israel

View the Garden of Gethsemane


Pass By: Kidron Valley, Behind Old City Walls, Jerusalem Israel

See the Kidron Valley


Stop At: Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem Israel

Visit the streets of old city of Jerusalem


Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Stop At: Christian Quarter Road, Jerusalem Israel

Walk in the Christian Quarter


Duration: 40 minutes

Stop At: Eglise du Saint-Sepulcre, Christian Quarter, Jerusalem Israel

Visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre


Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: Bethlehem, Bethlehem, West Bank

Arrive at Manger Square and enjoy a festive Christmas Eve dinner

Duration: 5 hours

Stop At: Church of the Nativity, Manger St, Bethlehem Palestinian Territories

If possible, attend the Mass or watch on outdoor screens


Duration: 1 hour

Inclusions & Exclusions

Inclusions
  • Professional guide
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Christmas dinner
  • Entry/Admission - Church of the Nativity

Exclusions
  • Gratuities

Additional Info

  • A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
  • Modest dress is obligatory for visits to holy sites; covered knees and shoulders
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Recommended to bring comfortable walking shoes and warm clothes
  • Hotel pickup provided from the following hotels in Jerusalem: Jerusalem Gate, Grand Court, David's Citadel and Dan Boutique. Please contact your local operator to reconfirm time of the service
  • Near public transportation
  • You will be required to change vehicles when entering the Palestinian territory
  • Most travelers can participate
  • Please note this tour is not suitable for children under the age of 4
  • A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking

Departure Point

Departure Point

Traveler pickup is offered


Departure Time

02:00 PM

Duration & Voucher Info

Voucher info

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

Duration

12 hours

Cancellation Policy

User's Reviews

I5694NWjohnm

08 Jan, 2023

Right from the start of the tour there were problems. We waited for ages for latecomers, with no explanation or apology. The part of the tour to the the old town near Jaffa Gate was very poorly set up and quite a few guests decided to go their own way and returned to the group later. The guide Raffy's approach was too informal, even to the point of sharing personal details of his love life and finances. He didn't seem to get the vibe that it was Christmas Eve with pilgrims on board. On such a busy night there could have been many adaptations made for the comfort of passengers. The wait for the restaurant was a surprise and showed a lock of understanding of what the evening would be like, with a high volume of visitors. Danny who joined the tour in Palestine was a bit more organized. However, sorting out how and where to meet up in Bethlehem, Manger Square, kept changing. What really got annoying was that the guides set up expectations and then weren't able to come through with them. Avoid this tour or avoid going on it at peak seasonal visit times.

916gm

29 Dec, 2022

To the point: If you want to be in Bethlehem for Christmas, find yourself a private guide. Avoid this destination management group; they cannot manage this particular destination. Overview: Perhaps the pandemic has left this tour operator scrambling to find good guides and regain their rhythm; however, this tour was, hands down, the least professional experience I have encountered in decades of touring (in developing and industrialized countries, from the jungle to the city). To begin, our party arrived early to the meet point. No one was around to tell us where to go, but eventually the guide appeared. He was completely out of his league (he was also under the influence, but that is another story) trying to manage what he had to do. We all boarded the bus, but then everyone wound up sitting and waiting for forty minutes for a late-arriving pair. That should not have been an option. The guide missed the tone of the group completely. People were interested (and had booked and paid for) in being in Manger Square for Christmas. We discovered there was no chance of being in the church, no opportunity for communion. His attempts at levity were poorly met, but the group remained polite. The driver was able to provide transport to and from, sans incident. There is a positive (without that, this review would have been rated "terrible"). The festive dinner was chaotic and very late. At one point, the guide asked if we'd like to meet at midnight to return. The group, again polite, reminded him of the reason we were all going to Bethlehem. For Midnight Mass in Manger Square. The guide was not able to communicate a plan in clear terms to the group. At one point, when we were about to visit the Holy Sepulchre, a number of the group had enough and simply asked the guide where to meet when it was really time to go to Bethlehem. His inability to think consequentially, communicate a schedule, and offer competent commentary were all well below expectations. He singing on the bus microphone was not welcome, but again, he was under the influence and not able to read the room and self regulate. We learned about his family, former girlfriend, and political stance (one sided and not welcome). Our guide in Bethlehem, Danny, was kind and welcoming (and saves this review from being "terrible"). Would I return to Bethlehem? Absolutely. Would I ever use this group? Not a chance. Save your money, and invest in a real tour with a competent guide.

jessikrdz

27 Dec, 2018

The fact that Ami got us into the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve and we received communion, is worth the 5 star rating alone. Ami was a fantastic guide. We had done the Jerusalem trip the previous day but even though we saw again the same places, it felt like a really nice supplement thanks to Ami's expert knowledge and different angle. In Bethlehem we had so much exposure to individual Palestinians and it was an amazing experience to be able to chat with them. The trip didn't always run smoothly...but considering we were 36 people in Bethlehem, in Palestine, on the busiest day of the year, with a few of our number who did not seem to care much about deadlines or timekeeping....the trip was an amazing success. We saw things that really we had no right to see and will remember for a lifetime. 10/10 for Bein Harim and Ami.

Darrin P

12 Feb, 2014

This tour was all about getting all of us to a souvenir shop in Bethlehem that the tour guide had a deal with. They were so blatant about it they left his commission sheet right by the cash register and he repeatedly was checking it.
They had us in a restaurant and asked that we return by 12:30. When we got back, our guide was sleeping on a couch.So as one of the others on the tour put it, "We ate cafeteria food and watched the mass on TV."
The only reason I gave it 2 stars was that we were two of the fortunate ones that got to see the shrine where tradition states that the manger actually was. Most of the people on our tour didn't.
Also, the tour of Jerusalem was all about rushing through everywhere but the 'Wailing Wall'. No time to speak of in the Church of the Sepulchre.We had taken a free tour of the city the day before that was far more informative. The guide on the La Vacanza Travel tour was either misinformed or simply lying when talking about many of the different places in the Old City.

David R

14 Jan, 2014

Going to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve is an amazing experience. Our bus was clean and comfortable. Our tour guide was nice and informative. He went out of his way to get us into the church. I could have done without spending up to an hour in one designated gift shop, which was overpriced.

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