Booking a tour with kids - which is better, Ashdod or Haifa?

[Seraphine]

With the price of tours being so steep for four people, I would prefer to only do one day as a family. Our kids are 3 and 7.

 

We are in Ashdod first, the Haifa on a Costa cruise. We have found a well-recommended tour guide that has openings for both days.

 

If you were bringing kids, which port would be best to take the kids? (the other day, my husband will be touring by himself while I stay onboard with the children).

 

I need some advice!

Thank you

[John Bull]

No need for a ship's tour at either.

 

To get best value:

Ashdod. Independents take a free shuttle to the port gate, where taxis will be waiting. A taxi to Jerusalem (about 90 mins) costs 100 euros each -way, get the driver to drop you/collect you at Jaffa Gate of the walled city, & take a free walking tour of the walled city. Then a free tour (just tip the guide) of the walled city, lasting about 2 hours. It covers all the major sights - wailing wall, last supper, Holy Sepulchure, etc.

http://www.newjerusalemtours.com/

After that just wander the walled city by yourselves, lots of busy little alleys and nooks & crannies. But keep the kids close, its very easy to get lost.

Or, on the way to Jerusalem, check what your driver would charge to take you to places outside the walled city, such as Gethsemene, when he collects you for the return to the ship later in the day, & agree a time accordingly.

Sorry, don't know the road laws in Israel, so don't know whether, with kids aged 3 & 7, its possible to share the cab with another couple.

Simple 90 min transfers, busy busy day in between.

Alternatively there is a bus service but you need to get to/from bus station, & its a slow journey.

(Bethlehem is complicated & time-consuming cos it's Palestinian-controlled, not suitable for a DIY excursion)

 

Haifa. There are taxis & vans lined up at the cruise terminal offering tours. Most popular is a long day taking in Nazareth, Cana (water into wine), a kibbutz, River Jordan (lots of baptisms every day to watch), & Tiberias on the Sea of Galillee. Cheapest by sharing a van with other at the cruise terminal (vans carry about 8 to10), sorry can't remember the cost but very reasonable - mebbe 30 euros pp (?). Sorry, don't know how that would work with your kids - probably something like the two kids for one adult price.

A more laid-back & varied day, much longer total time in the vehicle but because of the number of stops it's chopped into bite-size journeys.

Or taxi or train to the crusaders' fort at Acre (various spellings), about 20 mins north of Haifa.

 

You should all be able to explore from both ports for the same or less than the cost of ship's tour at just one.

 

JB :)

[Seraphine]

No need for a ship's tour at either.

 

To get best value:

Ashdod. Independents take a free shuttle to the port gate, where taxis will be waiting. A taxi to Jerusalem (about 90 mins) costs 100 euros each -way, get the driver to drop you/collect you at Jaffa Gate of the walled city, & take a free walking tour of the walled city. Then a free tour (just tip the guide) of the walled city, lasting about 2 hours. It covers all the major sights - wailing wall, last supper, Holy Sepulchure, etc.

http://www.newjerusalemtours.com/

After that just wander the walled city by yourselves, lots of busy little alleys and nooks & crannies. But keep the kids close, its very easy to get lost.

Or, on the way to Jerusalem, check what your driver would charge to take you to places outside the walled city, such as Gethsemene, when he collects you for the return to the ship later in the day, & agree a time accordingly.

Sorry, don't know the road laws in Israel, so don't know whether, with kids aged 3 & 7, its possible to share the cab with another couple.

Simple 90 min transfers, busy busy day in between.

Alternatively there is a bus service but you need to get to/from bus station, & its a slow journey.

(Bethlehem is complicated & time-consuming cos it's Palestinian-controlled, not suitable for a DIY excursion)

 

Haifa. There are taxis & vans lined up at the cruise terminal offering tours. Most popular is a long day taking in Nazareth, Cana (water into wine), a kibbutz, River Jordan (lots of baptisms every day to watch), & Tiberias on the Sea of Galillee. Cheapest by sharing a van with other at the cruise terminal (vans carry about 8 to10), sorry can't remember the cost but very reasonable - mebbe 30 euros pp (?). Sorry, don't know how that would work with your kids - probably something like the two kids for one adult price.

A more laid-back & varied day, much longer total time in the vehicle but because of the number of stops it's chopped into bite-size journeys.

Or taxi or train to the crusaders' fort at Acre (various spellings), about 20 mins north of Haifa.

 

You should all be able to explore from both ports for the same or less than the cost of ship's tour at just one.

 

JB :)

 

Hi John

 

Thanks for that - I appreciate the help!

 

I'd rather not do this independently, to be honest. We were looking at some private tour operators that were recommended here on Cruise Critic, and they are looking at about £400 per day (based on 4 people in a 6-seater minivan with a/c). Pretty steep, agreed. But with two kids, and neither of us knowing the area at all, I really would rather have some help on this one.

 

We tend to avoid the ship's excursions because of the mark-up, but don't like to leave things entirely to chance with the children. If it's just the two of us, I'm willing to be a bit more spontaneous!

 

I'm still very confused.

[epixx]

The answer to you question is really easy. Definitely Ashdod, for the trip to Jerusalem. If you're visiting Israel, the one iconic location is Jerusalem. Nothing compares.

 

Also, I definitely agree that you can easily go off the ship on your own in Haifa. You can just walk right into town for some of the museums or the Bahai Gardens. You won't have any trouble getting around. Most of the people speak English and are very willing to provide guidance on public transportation.

 

Lastly, have you checked prices for the kids for ship's tours? Usually the ship tours offer a significant discount, and you might find that less expensive.

[John Bull]

Understood.

 

It's partly a matter of what the kids will get out of either tour, also what the left-behinds might get out of either port.

The 3-yearold, I'm guessing its a matter of which is easier for you.

You'd know better what interests the 7 yearold.

 

Jew & Palestinian get along together much much better in the north (Haifa), where I saw no signs of tension or division.

 

As Epixx says, Jerusalem is the iconic historic city of Israel, and it's the one which is much more likely to remain in your memory. But it will involve quite a lot of walking around the walled city, which is mainly pedestrian alleys. Not buggy-friendly though a buggy isn't impossible. Cafes & other opportunities to take a break.

Ashdod itself - we taxi'd to a car rental agency in the town & drove south to the Negev, returning next day from the east, Jerusalem. From what I saw of it, Ashdod itself is unremarkable not worth any effort.

 

From Haifa, as my post, a tour will be much more laid-back - still interesting & historic but more rural & varied. Probably better fun for the kids at the time, though can't match Jerusalem's religious sights, which might be or become more relevant to the 7 yearold

Haifa is far more pleasant for a lazy day. From your ship, you can see a swathe of public gardens tumbling down to the town from the hill behind it.

You can take a simple little taxi tour from the quay, including a stop at the gardens & stops at viewpoints over the town from that hill. Easy enough, even for one plus two.

Acre is probably not ideal for one plus two.

 

Difficult choice, I guess I vaguely agree with Epixx that you shouldn't miss Jerusalem. And Haifa is much easier to fix up on-the-fly if you decide last-minute that you all want to explore.

 

A word of caution. Trouble between Jew & Palestinian can flare up, resulting in a port being cancelled last-minute. Much more likely for Ashdod than Haifa. Ashdod was cancelled at short notice on several cruises last year - in a couple of cases it was replaced by extra day/s in Haifa. So do check out cancellation terms of your tour operator should that happen. But if Ashdod is substituted by an extra day in Haifa, Jerusalem can still be toured from Haifa, with a slightly longer drive.

 

Just MHO

 

JB :)

[Seraphine]

You guys are great, thank you!!!

 

I'm going to get a back carrier for the 3 year old, in case she gets tired (I've used it with her before, and it's good with my back) as I figured a stroller would be a nightmare.

 

Yes, I think we'll plan on making Jerusalem the main tour and we'll wing it for Haifa. I'll double check as well about trip cancellations.

[shallani_74]

Thank you for the tip we are going there on Nov 14 and 15 was thinking of taking the ship excursions but having second thougths because it's just to expensive it will cost us around $1,000 are there a lot of private tours that are cheaper. How much should we bring I guess we have bring local currency.

[John Bull]

Thank you for the tip we are going there on Nov 14 and 15 was thinking of taking the ship excursions but having second thougths because it's just to expensive it will cost us around $1,000 are there a lot of private tours that are cheaper. How much should we bring I guess we have bring local currency.

 

 

Since you'll be in Israel two days, best get some local currency (shekels), but euros are also very widely accepted.

If your cruise includes euroland ports its useful to change into shekels only what you're certain you're going to spend, and carry euros in reserve. Plus of course a credit card, especially for bigger purchases.

 

Just how much to change depends mainly on where you want to visit, & how you propose to pay for the transport/tour. I know that taxis & vans at the port in both Haifa and Ashdod will accept euros. You can even pay in a mix, to use up unspent shekels.

No experience of trying to spend USD, I suspect much less-widely accepted & probably at a poor rate of exchange.

 

I've got no experience of pre-booked tours in Israel, though there's plenty of recommendations on Cruise Critic.

In Haifa it was very easy to share with other cruisers a tour van negotiated at the pier. Driver accepted shekels & euros but not cards.

We had a rental car for Ashdod (two days, so we overnited in Jerusalem), but taxis to/from Jerusalem were plentiful. That's taxis, not tours. But see my first post re booking a free walking tour of Jerusalem (starts/finishes at Jaffa Gate). Taxis accepted shekels or euros, doubt they'd accept cards.

 

I see you've only posted on this forum.

Time to introduce you to the Cruise Critic Roll Calls.

 

To find the Roll Call for your cruise, go to "forum jump" at the bottom of this page & click on the arrow alongside it.

This will bring up a frighteningly long list of forums.

Scroll up to the heading ROLL CALLS & click on the one for your cruise line.

This will open a fresh page, listing the ships.

Click on your ship.

This will open a fresh page of threads, each relating to a cruise on that ship.

Find the thread with your sailing date. On that thread will be posts by folk on your cruise. Many of them will be looking for fellow-cruisers to share private tours, so a small group at economic cost - way better & cheaper than ships' tours.

Post on there to introduce yourselves & mebbe respond to a tour-share post.

The car we rented at Ashdod? We didn't - an American couple rented & posted on our cruise's RollCall looking for sharers. So through the RollCall we got the car at half-price, & pleasant company to boot.

 

If you're as technophobic as me, the Cruise Critic site is big & possibly difficult to navigate at first. But there's an absolute mountain of useful info & contacts, so its well worth feeling your way around.

If my feeble instructions don't do the job, just quote your ship & sailing date & I or someone else will provide you with a link to your RollCall.

 

If you ever get lost while exploring Cruise Critic, just click on your screen name, top right on any page. It'll take you back to your home page/posts.

 

JB :)

[John Bull]

Thank you for the tip we are going there on Nov 14 and 15 was thinking of taking the ship excursions but having second thougths because it's just to expensive it will cost us around $1,000 are there a lot of private tours that are cheaper. How much should we bring I guess we have bring local currency.

 

I think I've figured your cruise.

Norwegian Jade, sailing 10th Nov?

If so, here's your RollCall.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1513982

Eleven pages of posts to wade through :D

 

JB :)

[shallani_74]

Thank you very much for your help it is greatly appreciated.