Ashdod port excursions help

[Aquitania01]

If anyone can recommend a shore excursion company for jerusalem and the dead sea.

Odyssey arriving 4th Sept 22.

 

I suppose im unsure of which company is the most reliable out of Viator, Shore Excursions group etc, as i have no experience with them.

 

Thank you

Blair

 

[NOLAcruizer]

1 hour ago, Aquitania01 said:

If anyone can recommend a shore excursion company for jerusalem and the dead sea.

Odyssey arriving 4th Sept 22.

 

I suppose im unsure of which company is the most reliable out of Viator, Shore Excursions group etc, as i have no experience with them.

 

Thank you

Blair

 

Blair;

I have used Guided Tours Israel, the tours are comprehensive and the company very reliable.

https://www.guidedtoursisrael.com

[Aquitania01]

Thanks you for the info. I’ve just contacted them for more info.

[cruisinsusin]

We used Moti Bar-Tuv  of Travel-Israel on our last cruise that had 4 days in Israel and so enjoyed the tours that we have booked with him again for later this year

https://travel-israel.info/home

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

In May we used Guided Tours of Israel.  We were happy with them.  You can book them for one day or three days, although initially they ask when you'll be in port and plan accordingly.  We were supposed to have 3 days in Haifa/Ashdod but Israel was testing at the time for Covid and we ended up having to sit on the ship all day our first day, which messed up our plans. They do not require you to book all days you're in port.  And the price is very reasonable.  We ended up doing a full day tour with GTS to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We then did Masada with cruise ship, but had planned to do it with GTS.  Things were a little more crowded on their vehicle (not a bus, but not sure what to call it!) than I would have liked, but perhaps that's just because they had to do some re-arranging of tours due to Israel's somewhat last minute requirements throwing a monkey wrench into plans. But overall we saw and did quite a bit, with lunch mid-day (at our expense - moderate price).  You cannot change the tour, so you can't customize it, although I believe they offer a Christian based tour versus a Jewish based tour, so you may want to ask about that if it matters.  And if you want a better experience, they offer a more private tour.   But in Jerusalem there are always crowds, so being with 16 other people was good enough for us.   The guide was good; arrangements were good, and the vendor made it clear he could come to either port (Ashdod or Haifa).  He's able to get right on the port grounds, too, which was nice.  You can prepay or pay day-of.  There's no time for shopping, though, so if that's a negative, you may not want to use GTS.  But our group of 18 was happy.

 

Edited July 24, 2022 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 7/18/2022 at 6:43 AM, NOLAcruizer said:

Blair;

I have used Guided Tours Israel, the tours are comprehensive and the company very reliable.

https://www.guidedtoursisrael.com

We liked them; see my comments! They go to Masada as well as Jerusalem.