Half Day or Full Day in Jerusalem

[thorntor]

We just realized that the full day private excursion that we have booked with GTI is actually a half day in Jerusalem and a half day (more or less) in Bethlehem. My thought is that we might be better off spending the entire day in Jerusalem rather than rushing all morning just to see the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Opinions please.

[cruisemom42]

I had the same thoughts when I was in Israel in September. I know a lot of people rave about GTI, but their itinerary just looked way to busy for me. There is a lot to see and take in in Jerusalem and I didn't want to short-change my time there. Plus, I read quite a few reports that Bethlehem took a lot of time for what is essentially a brief stop.

 

I understand that for some it is a must. But if you are on the fence, I would highly recommend a full day in Jerusalem. I did it with a private guide (we had a group of just 3) and we fit an incredible amount into the day without feeling rushed. Of course, even a day is still just a taste of Jerusalem, but I felt we at least were able to make some sense of the old city rather than just rushing into and out of a couple of places.

[motib]

We just realized that the full day private excursion that we have booked with GTI is actually a half day in Jerusalem and a half day (more or less) in Bethlehem. My thought is that we might be better off spending the entire day in Jerusalem rather than rushing all morning just to see the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Opinions please.

 

You don't know how right you are!

I can tell you from a guide point of view that it is always frustrating.

You are sending your group into Bethlehem to the hands of the Palestinian and they spend there 3-4 hours, and for what? Almost an hour spent on the waiting line to the grotto, another hour is spent in the "must" stop at the souvenir shop, and as an Israeli guide, not going into Bethlehem, you don't have any control on that. All together what you see in Bethlehem, apart than the inside of the souvenir shop, is the church. Then you get back your group and you have 3-4 hours for only to see Mt of Olives, visit Gethsemane, the Old City, the Wailing Wall, walk the Via Dolorosa at least from station 5, visit the Holy Sepulture, without entering the sepulture itself because the waiting time for this can be even longer than the one to the Grotto in Bethlehem, all together what can be a 2 days itinerary in 4 hours of rushing.

Well, you might ask then why is it done that way?

The answer is simple – demand.

Bethlehem is a meaningful site for a lot of people and this excursion is the bestselling.

Is it wise?

Well I hear more and more people giving feedbacks that if they had known what is the meaning of having Bethlehem on the tour they would have prefer to have more time in Jerusalem rather than to spend half of the tour on one church.

Never the less, for pilgrims it is not an issue at all, the want to see both places.

 

BTW

 

On what ship are you coming and on what date?

Are you on a "private tour" or are you on a "small organized group? Because if you are really on a private tour you can control the itinerary, what you cannot do when you join an organized group no matter what is its size. Most people tend to mix between the 2, they join a small group organize by a local shorex agency and the call it a private tour, it is not!

You are on a small organized group you might consider one of the 2 options:

Find another group that is doing an itinerary that suit your agenda better.

Arrange yourself a real private guide for a private tour

[UKBayern]

Unless you are very religious, I would do a full day in Jerusalem. So much to see there!

[paul929207]

I think that unless seeing the birthplace of Jesus is critical to you, skip Bethlehem and spend the entire day in Jerusalem. Even with a fullday you will not see everything.

[OreetS]

You don't know how right you are!

I can tell you from a guide point of view that it is always frustrating.

You are sending your group into Bethlehem to the hands of the Palestinian and they spend there 3-4 hours, and for what? Almost an hour spent on the waiting line to the grotto, another hour is spent in the "must" stop at the souvenir shop, and as an Israeli guide, not going into Bethlehem, you don't have any control on that. All together what you see in Bethlehem, apart than the inside of the souvenir shop, is the church. Then you get back your group and you have 3-4 hours for only to see Mt of Olives, visit Gethsemane, the Old City, the Wailing Wall, walk the Via Dolorosa at least from station 5, visit the Holy Sepulture, without entering the sepulture itself because the waiting time for this can be even longer than the one to the Grotto in Bethlehem, all together what can be a 2 days itinerary in 4 hours of rushing.

Well, you might ask then why is it done that way?

The answer is simple – demand.

Bethlehem is a meaningful site for a lot of people and this excursion is the bestselling.

Is it wise?

Well I hear more and more people giving feedbacks that if they had known what is the meaning of having Bethlehem on the tour they would have prefer to have more time in Jerusalem rather than to spend half of the tour on one church.

Never the less, for pilgrims it is not an issue at all, the want to see both places.

 

BTW

 

On what ship are you coming and on what date?

Are you on a "private tour" or are you on a "small organized group? Because if you are really on a private tour you can control the itinerary, what you cannot do when you join an organized group no matter what is its size. Most people tend to mix between the 2, they join a small group organize by a local shorex agency and the call it a private tour, it is not!

You are on a small organized group you might consider one of the 2 options:

Find another group that is doing an itinerary that suit your agenda better.

Arrange yourself a real private guide for a private tour

I will echo every single word that Moti stated. Sadly, the situation is exactly as he describes.

 

For some people it is a "must" for religious reasons to visit Bethlehem. However, if that is not the case - then skip it. It will be frustrating for you and equally frustrating for your guide (speaking from personal experience) who will wait and not be able to do anything to move things along, as we sit and watch the clock ticking and realize what you will be missing in Jerusalem as you are being "convinced" to buy more souvenirs in Bethlehem.

[bellagirl]

Hi-I am going to be the odd woman out here,but I would give a vote for visiting Bethlehem and I am in no way religious. The "hand-off" went very smoothly to our Palestinian guide who got us in to the church very quickly and we were able to go to the head of the line(only 5 of us in the group).

We used the services of GTI and they were excellent. When we met up again with our regular guide, he quickly drove on to Jerusalem where we continued on with our tour.

In my opinion, much is made of the "hand-off" unnecessarily. Yes, it is somewhat intimidating with the barracks-like atmosphere, but it is a speedy process and in these politically tense times, it is what it is. Don't be put off by Bethelehem because of this. Shelly:)

[cruisemom42]

Hi-I am going to be the odd woman out here,but I would give a vote for visiting Bethlehem and I am in no way religious. The "hand-off" went very smoothly to our Palestinian guide who got us in to the church very quickly and we were able to go to the head of the line(only 5 of us in the group).

We used the services of GTI and they were excellent. When we met up again with our regular guide, he quickly drove on to Jerusalem where we continued on with our tour.

In my opinion, much is made of the "hand-off" unnecessarily. Yes, it is somewhat intimidating with the barracks-like atmosphere, but it is a speedy process and in these politically tense times, it is what it is. Don't be put off by Bethelehem because of this. Shelly:)

 

How long did the Bethlehem portion take? I am asking for a couple of reasons. First, I am going back to Israel in a couple of weeks and was thinking of taking this, which is called a "half day" tour. Did it really take a half day? Or about how many hours? I am curious what time I might be done so that I can make other plans for the remainder of the day.

 

Second, if it truly takes a half day (say 4 hours), I am just curious -- assuming it's not a religious "must" -- why you would rate it as worth doing considering all the equally beautiful and ancient sites within Jerusalem itself? Even though I am going to be in the city for 3 days this time, I'm still waffling as to whether it is worth going.... For example, in that amount of time I could visit Temple Mount or spend a half day in the Israel Museum, or........

[bellagirl]

If memory serves me correctly, it was no more than a 3-4 hr. tour to Bethlehem. Our guide timed it perfectly so we were the only ones going through the partition and we were met promptly by our guide on the other side and taken directly to the church. We spent about 1/2 hr - 45 min. at an olive wood shop and then were on the road to Jerusalem.

As to my interest in Bethlehem, I guess I have to admit I was curious as to what it was like. I did not feel in any way that my time in J'em had been short-changed. Jerry covered all the high points for us and I was very pleased.

Hope this answers your questions! Shelly

[cruisemom42]

If memory serves me correctly, it was no more than a 3-4 hr. tour to Bethlehem. Our guide timed it perfectly so we were the only ones going through the partition and we were met promptly by our guide on the other side and taken directly to the church. We spent about 1/2 hr - 45 min. at an olive wood shop and then were on the road to Jerusalem.

As to my interest in Bethlehem, I guess I have to admit I was curious as to what it was like. I did not feel in any way that my time in J'em had been short-changed. Jerry covered all the high points for us and I was very pleased.

Hope this answers your questions! Shelly

 

Thanks; that's pretty much the timeframe I was thinking it would be. Now just have to decide what to do.....:)

[thorntor]

Based on the all of the feedback and not wanting to get tied up at the border crossing when coming back into Israel, we have decided to spend our day in Jerusalem. Thanks everybody!

[kazu]

i think you have made a good decision. We did Bethlehem but had more than one day so we were not short changed on Jerusalem or anything else.

 

There is plenty to see in Jerusalem and note, Bethlehem - it is assumed this is the spot, but not known for sure. We loved both, but with limited time, definitely just Jerusalem. enjoy your trip. We loved it :):)

[kazu]

i think you have made a good decision. We did Bethlehem but had more than one day so we were not short changed on Jerusalem or anything else.

 

There is plenty to see in Jerusalem and note, Bethlehem - it is assumed this is the spot, but not known for sure. We loved both, but with limited time, definitely just Jerusalem. enjoy your trip. We loved it :):)

[cruisemom42]

For those contemplating a full day in Jerusalem, here is a link to the review I wrote on our day there in late September. As you can read, it was jam packed. I can't imagine trying to fit Bethlehem in, or what we would have skipped in Jerusalem itself.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=26518714&postcount=20