April in the Holy Land

We went on a sightseeing tour April in the Holy Land (7 nights) with the tour operator News Travel in 2013. I bribed the lowest price of the tour after reviewing the offers of all other travel agencies. Although after reading a lot of negative reviews about this travel agency, we really wanted to visit Israel and we decided. I must say that the risk was not even very in vain. Boarding the plane in Boryspil and the flight went perfectly, UIA flew. Upon arrival, we went through customs control, where the airport employee clarified all the information: where we will live, in which hotels exactly, what places we are going to visit, and so on. At the Ben Gurion Airport we were met by our guide Eduard. He always and everywhere accompanied us throughout the trip on the excursion program. Special thanks to him for interesting stories about the Holy Land and useful advice. I would like to note the high professionalism and great experience of Eduard, as we were able to get and visit all the places and attractions planned by the tour program, which is important with such a small number of days allotted for excursions. Since the hot season begins in April in Israel and the number of tourists, pilgrims increases every day, there were quite a lot of people and long queues everywhere. But we did not have to wait very long, because. Eduard tried to skip the queues wherever possible.

Tour April in the Holy Land is quite intense: 4 days - excursions to the Promised Land, 1 day - Dead Sea, 2 days - seaside vacation in Eilat. But this sequence and saturation is chosen very correctly. Bus rides are not very long and not tiring, except for a trip to Eilat (4-5 hours) and back. But time passes quickly, because outside the window there are stunning views and the roads in the desert are even and smooth)). Of course, I want to note that the sightseeing bus was not new, but rather well-maintained and would require replacement with a newer one. Very often, the air conditioner switch broke on the passengers or it was not there at all, and when the air conditioner was turned on at full power, they were simply blown out. Therefore, the air conditioner always worked at half strength. Once, during a trip, the luggage hatch door opened, it's good that all the suitcases remained intact and in place.

A few words about accommodation and hotels. We spent four nights at the GRAND ROYAL HOTEL 4* in Palestine (Bethlehem). It's hard to give this hotel 4*, maybe only 3* with a stretch. Breakfasts and dinners were poor, the wind constantly blew from the windows, the cleaning of the rooms is minimal, but the hotel staff is good-natured, always ready to help in any matter. Because we only spent the night in the hotel, and spent the rest of the time on excursions, all this did not bother us much. We spent the next three nights at the La Playa 4 * hotel in Eilat on the Red Sea. This hotel is definitely 4*, although it is close to Ovda airport. But the noise of the planes in our room was not heard, because the windows of the room overlooked the courtyard of the hotel to the pool. Eilat is a small resort town, where many staff and residents are from the CIS, almost everyone knows Russian. The Red Sea was not very pleased with warm water, but we managed to swim. The water was cool, although the air temperature was 32-35C. The climate is specific, very hot, the wind is constantly blowing from the desert and you do not feel strong heat. But if you stay under the sun for a long time during peak hours without a cream with a high SPF coefficient, you can burn yourself instantly.

A few words about customs control upon departure. We walked it for about 2 hours. It consists of several stages: initial communication with an airport employee, a baggage scanner, baggage screening if required, check-in for a flight, hand luggage screening and passing through a passenger scanner. At all stages, you need to behave seriously and answer clearly and truthfully to the questions posed. This, of course, is tiring and unnerving, but you need to take it with the understanding that your safety on board the aircraft and during the flight depends on it.

In conclusion, I want to say that Israel is truly an extraordinary and amazing country. The truth is said that whoever visited it at least once will want and strive to return there more than once.

I hope my review is helpful.

I wish everyone and also myself more such unforgettable trips!!!

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