David Wexler Israel Tour Guide

As much as we love conducting our Break Forth Journeys trips to the Lands of the Bible, we know that a bus tour is not for everyone. If you are touring the Lands of the Bible we strongly encourage you to hire an excellent private guide if it’s in your budget. 

This article is written by David Wexler, one of the top guides we use in our Break Forth Israel tours. If you are looking for reasons to hire a private guide, you’ve come to the right place.

Please read on . . .

Ten Reasons to Hire a Private Guide in Israel

1. Maximizing limited time – Considering its tiny size, there is a vast amount to see and experience in Israel. The time you have available for touring is always a limiting factor. By working with a tour guide, you’ll find that you can see so much more than when trying to figure it all out on your own. And the time you spend at each site will be of far higher quality with a professionally guided experience.
2. Crafting the most sensible day for touring – A good tour guide will know how to structure each and every day of touring to make sure you’re in the right places at the right time of day. For instance, a typical Christian walking tour in and around Jerusalem’s Old City should start with a morning panoramic view from the Mount of Olives (when the sun is in the right location to optimize those fabulous photos you’ll want to capture). Your tour guide will know just when to get you to the Pools of Bethesda before the site closes for siesta and will know where it makes sense to stop for lunch along the Via Dolorosa.
3. Planning an itinerary that integrates guided experiences with days of independent exploration – Not all visitors to Israel are interested in working with a guide for the entire duration of their visit. Sometimes budgetary constraints influence visitors to explore certain places on their own, while using a guide for other sites. A well-trained licensed tour guide can help you with itinerary planning for those days you’ll be on your own. He/she can make recommendations as to where you’ll receive the most benefit from a professionally guided experience versus which places you can effectively explore independently.
4. Bridging a cultural gap – Selecting a guide with a good command of the English language and with an accent you can understand is important. But is that good enough? Though your guide may have a good handle on English, does he/she understand the culture from which you come? There are many licensed guides in Israel who were born and raised in North America in environments similar to yours. They understand how you think and can put themselves into your shoes while you’re experiencing Israel. A bi-cultural guide can help you effectively understand the cultural differences between your world and the world you will encounter in Israel.
5. Handing off the logistics headache – Many sites in Israel require you to make advance reservations. Churches often having split opening hours. Sometimes something as mundane as lunch can become a challenge to integrate into a day of touring. By working with a tour guide, you’ll leave the logistics headache to a professional and free yourself to enjoy and absorb all Israel has to offer you.
6. Leaving the driving to a local – Driving in Israel, especially in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, is not for the faint of heart. Parking can be a considerable challenge in the major cities. Just the thought of driving in Nazareth leads many a Christian pilgrim right into the arms of a professional driving guide or guide with a dedicated driver.
7. Engaging children – Touring Israel as a family can be a particularly rewarding experience. But keeping the attention of young children or teens can be a challenge. A tour guide with experience in guiding families will know how to include kid-friendly activities in each and every day of your Israel program. Your children stand to gain the most from a guided experience they’ll never forget.

8. Setting a reasonable pace for those with mobility challenges – Touring in Israel, especially in and around the Old City of Jerusalem, requires a considerable amount of walking. Those with mobility challenges may find it impossible to keep up with the pace of a group tour. By hiring your own private guide, you’ll tour at a pace that’s slow enough for all in your group to enjoy. And if the walking challenge is too difficult, your guide will suggest a way to make the most of your days while keeping the physical challenges to a minimum.
9. Tailoring the tour to your own specific interests – A visit to Israel is not like touring in London, Paris or Berlin. The religious heritage and specific interests of visitors will always influence their Israel itinerary. A Jewish heritage program will look quite different from a Roman Catholic pilgrimage. And an evangelical Protestant itinerary will differ from either of the two. Share your background and interests with your private guide and he/she will come up with a program that’s geared specifically for you.
10. Enhancing the experience by making history and the Bible “come to life” – There is nowhere on earth where the Scriptures ‘come to life’ like Israel. Add to that thousands of years of human history and a multitude of cultures and civilizations. Making sense of it all is one of the biggest advantages in working with a professional tour guide. A good guide will tie together sites such as Old Jaffa, Caesarea and Mount Zion in exploring the birth of the Gentile Christian Church. A mound of rocks in Capernaum will come to life when your guide shares with you the significance of the historical house of Peter. The site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus is often particularly challenging for Protestants to grasp. An expert guide will help you make sense of some pretty intense places.

Watch our next post on top tips to know how to hire the right guide to make your experience the best ever! Don’t miss this one whether you are hiring a private guide or whether you are conducting your own group tour!

NOTE: David Wexler will be guiding us for Break Forth Israel & Jordan NEXT Level 2016. Spaces are filling fast. You can learn more about this tour: Click Here!

David Wexler is a licensed Israel tour guide based in Tel Aviv. David was born and raised in the United States and immigrated to Israel in 1986. For more information about David, visit his website at www.davidsland.com and follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/davidsland.

Confused? We’d love to help . . .

The brochures come through email, the mail, in person and at the back of the church. Take this tour to the Holy Land. Take that tour to the Holy Land. Choose one led by a friend. Choose one led by a pastor you know. Choose one led by a Christian radio or TV personality.

Confusing? Absolutely.

Hopefully, we can help.

Do you want your group tour to be a deeply spiritual and well run experience? If so, we believe there are certain things you should be looking for.

What to look for:

1. Tour group leaders who have led a minimum of two group tours.
2. Tour group leaders with strong leadership, problem solving and organizational skills.
3. Tour group leaders who are physically fit enough to handle the pace of leading, helping others, packing supplies and running ahead for quick changes if needed
4. A spiritual teacher who is experienced, scholarly, spiritually sensitive and engaging.
5. 

   Hans Weichbrodt Teaching At Break Forth Revelation

   A spiritual teacher who does not simply read out of a devotion book and move on.

6. An exceptional guide who has been evaluated and hand picked by the Group Tour.
7. Worship experiences that are deep and aligned with the site. (Examples: Revelation Song on Patmos, Holy, Holy, Holy from Mount of Olives, Here I Am To Worship at the Garden Tomb, Communion in the Israel desert at sunset where distractions are stripped away.)
8. Prayer ministry times at special locations (Examples: Healing prayer time at Pools of Bethesda, quiet meditate prayer times.)
9. Proper technology such as wireless headsets for each pilgrim and battery operated sound systems for on-site worship.
10. Hotels, meals and transportation selected with guidance from the Tour Group Leader for best value and comfort.

We’re going to talk a little more about choosing a personal tour guide in the next post. It’s all about making sure your tour is the best experience possible. Keep an eye out for it.

For now, though, review any Holy Land brochures and email invitations to make sure they pass the top ten tips above. We don’t want you to make a mistake.

As always, if you want to see if any of our own Holy Land tours are right for you, we’d love to have you check us out.

You can learn more about our upcoming Israel & Jordan NEXT Level tour here.

Wishing you the best journeys ever,

Arlen and Elsa Salte

Arlen and Elsa Salte

Dressing and acting in a manner that shows respect for the host country’s social and cultural values should be the pilgrim’s aim (more on this in the section on respectfully sharing your faith with Muslims. Read that here.).

Some social rules to be aware of in the Middle East are:

Take the Opportunity to Visit With Wonderful Muslim People. This lady made us a wonderful lunch with fresh fruit and vegetables from her garden.

• Never eat, offer or accept anything with your left hand (which among Muslims is reserved for bodily hygiene and is considered unclean).
• Communal eating is an indication of friendship. You don’t just eat to consume – you eat to commune. Take the time to enjoy the experience.
• Western women are not expected to wear head coverings except in the strictest and most observant areas.  Wearing head coverings in mosques and other holy sites is expected. You will also find this to be true in some Catholic sites.
• Avoid public displays of affection between people of the opposite sex. Also, women should avoid prolonged eye contact with men. This sends the wrong message, even if you are trying to be friendly.
• Don’t display the sole of your foot or touch anyone with your shoe. You can read about the reasons for this here.
• If you are offered a show of hospitality, whether it is coffee or tea or something more lavish, it is considered discourteous to decline.
• Do not ask for pork or pork products. Muslim and Jewish tradition frowns on consuming pork.
• Men shake hands. Women should wait to see if a man extends his hand before shaking it.
• Standing up for new guests is considered a way of honouring another person, especially if they are an elder.
• The concept of time can mean different things between the Middle East and the West, much like North America and Latin America.
• You will often see men walking hand in hand in Muslim nations. However, generally men and women do not hold hands unless they are married or related.
• Public displays of affection are generally frowned upon.
• During Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, eating or drinking in public in Muslim areas during the fasting hours should be avoided. When visiting holy sites, such as mosques, at any time during the year, maintain a worshipful, quiet spirit and cover up as the site’s hosts might insist. Mosques that allow entrance in Turkey, for instance, will provide plastic slippers for your bare feet and scarves for women to cover their heads.
• While it is difficult to visit the Middle East without being aware of political differences, pilgrims are wise to refrain from expressing opinions about it in public. Feel free to ask questions of the people you meet, but be aware that the answers you get will differ considerably, depending on the person you are talking to.

We’ll never forget the scene in that little cabin in Denmark.

Sparks flew everywhere as Elsa’s North American hairdryer exploded in a cascade of sparks, attempting to compete with a Tivoli Fireworks display. Arcs of fire and smoke belched out of the hairdryer. Elsa’s hair never caught on fire but we soon were holding a funeral for one deceased and melted appliance.

What happened? We’d simply forgot to flip the switch on our power converter from 110 to 220 volts.

It can become pretty confusing navigating power draws and formats all over the world:  120 – 220 – 3 prongs – grounded – ungrounded!

We hope these travel power pointers can help:

• You may need a converter for your electronics/blow dryers/curling irons, etc., if they are rated 120-160 volts. Make sure you get one that is good for the Middle East. Some electronics are rated at 110-220 volts. In that case you only need adapters to Middle East style sockets.
• It is a good idea to bring a power convertor or power adaptor that will make your North American three-pronged plugs into two-pronged plugs.
• More information here on converters. More information here on adaptors. You may also visit our site to purchase your adaptors and converters – Click here.
• We have travelled around the world with our little Belkin mini power bar with dual USB outlets and surge protector. It has served us well for years. Make sure you use a power converter. You can purchase the power bar – Click here.
• Most hotels provide hair dryers in each room. If not, you can usually request one at reception. It is rarely needed to pack a hair dryer.
• You can often find a 110-120 volt outlet on in room hairdryers. Although these are intended for shavers they can also charge low powered electrical devices such as cell phones, tablets and cameras.
• One place to find a spare USB outlet for charging may be on the in-room television if it is a newer LCD or Plasma model.
• Note that most laptops, cameras, camera battery chargers, tablets and smart phones have dual power capabilities built in. Check if yours does. It is usually printed on the back of the device or in the manual. If it does, all you need is an outlet adaptor, not a power converter. (Take a look at the two photos of laptop power adaptors at the bottom of this post to know where to look for dual power capability.)
• If you bring a laptop, don’t forget that you often have multiple USB ports on your laptop that you can use to charge other items overnight.

If you have your own suggestions, would you leave them below? You could be a big help to many.

Just the Flight has posted a helpful infographic for avoiding tourist scams around the world. Although our tour guides, drivers and leaders take good care of you on our trips, if you are on your own these are things you should especially be aware of.