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Ashdod Port Shore Excursion: Jerusalem and Bethlehem Day Tour from Ashdod Port
Ashdod, Israel
From $120.00
Select Date and Travelers
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
- 9 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Make the most of your off-shore excursion in Israel during this full-day tour of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Experience two of the most historic cities in the Middle East, with round-trip, air-conditioned vehicle transfers from the Ashdod port. Highlights include panoramic views from Mount Scopus, a walking tour through Jerusalem’s Old City, and a visit to the Church of the Nativity.
- A full-day guided tour of Jerusalem and Bethlehem from Ashdod
- Tailored schedules: tours are timed to adapt to your cruise arrival and departure
- Enrich your visit with context and commentary from a designated tour guide
- Door-to-door A/C vehicle transfers are provided
What's Included
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- All Fees and Taxes
- Pick-up/drop-off at Ashdod cruise port
- Lunch
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup point
- Port of AshdodAshdod, Israel
Start time
08:00 AM
Pickup details
When you arrive at the port, a guide from Bein Harim will be waiting for you, holding a sign that reads “Bein Harim”.
What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour is not suitable for people with mobility issues.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 45 travelers
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
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Reviews
3.5
31 reviews
Andrea_W, Jun 2023
This tour had poor communication on pick up location which resulted in people being lost and late trying to find the bus. We were all from the Norwegian Jade ship and had to meet the tour bus in Ashdod outside the Sea Mall but the instructions were too vague. The tour guide seemed impatient with tourists. We drove to Jerusalem and entered at Jaffa gate. The guide advised there was a small washroom at the gate and too many women went and we ended up waiting 35 mins for them all to get back. The tour guide should have found a different restroom stop in the old city that was less crowded!! This resulted in him RUSHING the tour through the old city quarters, walking so fast most could not keep up with him. The small alleys were packed with cruise ship tours and almost impossible to move in. The guide took us to the Christ church in the Muslim quarter which was chaotic and disorganised packed with way too many people to either see or enjoy. The Western Wall was worth witnessing and we did have enough time there. The tour has a LOT of steps and stairs and winding uphill alleys which should be explained in the tour details. This is NOT a tour that someone that has mobility issues or is not fit should be taking in the heat. We were held up several times waiting for people to catch up who were struggling to cope with all the walking and stairs. We did not have any time to stop in the little shops in the old city and the lunch stop was planned by the tour at an over priced upstairs falafel counter who charged ridiculous Euros prices (22) for a falafel or sharawrma sandwich and drink!!! This The 2nd stop was Bethlehem. This was disappointing. It was over crowded, hot and disorganised and should be at the BEGINNING of the tour (if at all) so the group has time to shop in Jerusalem old town. We asked the guide to allow us to shop somewhere in Bethlehem and we were dropped at a run down, grubby, mall with over priced poor quality items and a store that only sold insanely priced Christian carvings. This is not what most on our bus wanted and was a waste of time. If you are choosing a Jerusalem excursion choose one that allows for free time in the Old City and without lunch stop included. If we could do it over we would have skipped the chaos at the Christ church and spent the time wandering in the spice and gift shops in the Christian quarter, chose our own lunch spot, and met the guide back at the Jaffa gate at a predetermined time. It would have been far more enjoyable than the stress of keeping up with our guide racing through lanes and alleys packed with tourists.
Response from Host, Jun 2023
Thank you for providing your feedback on the tour experience. We apologize for the challenges and inconveniences you encountered during the tour. We take your comments seriously and will address them with the necessary parties to improve our services.
Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your valuable feedback. If there is anything else you would like to discuss or if you have any further suggestions, please feel free to contact us directly.
Katie_B, Jun 2023
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour. It was one of the highlights of my trip. Dan Porges was our guide. He was friendly, funny, knowledgeable and efficient. From the time the bus took off, we were learning facts and history about our destination. I highly recommend going on a guided tour. We would have wandered aimlessly without Dan. It’s a very long day, be prepared for that. I thought lunch was included, it was not. We stopped at a restaurant as a group and enjoyed an incredible meal.
Response from Host, Jun 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're thrilled to hear that you thoroughly enjoyed your tour and that it was one of the highlights of your trip. We appreciate your kind words about our guide, Dan Porges. He takes great pride in providing a friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient experience for all our guests.
Your recommendation of going on a guided tour is greatly appreciated. Our aim is to provide a seamless and enriching experience for our guests, ensuring that they make the most of their time and fully appreciate the destinations they visit.
Tyle_A, May 2023
We got to see every places listed on the itinerary but it was very rush. The tour guide stopped at a store where they had jewelries, status, and many other religious items.
As we also stoped at other similar stores and the price was much cheaper at the store were taken to. It was an identical piece of jewelry. We just didn’t understand that.
Overall it was okay.
Response from Host, May 2023
Thanks for sharing as well as raising the matter of shop stops. We are unable to allow travelers to wander off on their own...The vendors in Both cities often sell similar items
The nature of market suq shops.
Kevin_H, Apr 2023
My family (4 of us) took this tour from the cruise terminal in Ashdod, we were in port from 6AM until 11PM and had next day in Haifa so were not too worried about missing the ship. Passing Isreali immigration took about 30 min and we left the port on the tour at about 9AM after waiting for a few additional passengers (can't really fault tour guide for this but from what I have heard in past that immigration is occasionally done on Sea Day the day before arriving which would have been a much smoother process).
The tour bus driver must've been new because he got lost trying to leave the port (kind of funny) and also had some trouble accessing Bethlehem. Our guide Lior was definitely knowledgeable when asked but I felt he could be encouraged to share a bit more information (especially on the ~1 hr drive up the Jerusalem). We also could have spent a little less time in the gift shop in Bethlehem (not sure why people get caught up in this). Other than that the actual tour parts of the day out were great, we saw all the major sites and it was definitely an eye opening experience for my first time in Isreal.
Response from Host, Apr 2023
Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed review of your experience on our tour.
We're glad to hear that you enjoyed seeing all the major historic sites and that it was an eye-opening experience for you. We appreciate your understanding with regards to the time taken for immigration and waiting for additional passengers to join the tour.
About the gift shop, we understand that some people may not be interested in spending too much time there, and we will take this feedback into consideration.
jaybird, Mar 2023
Left Ashdod with Ave our guide and Izak driver promptly.First stop Mt Olive went smoothly
We were told we would not be visiting Bethlehem do to alerts
While there were large crowds.on our first stop numerous tour members were lost
This happened numerous times during tours
We feel Ben Harim should have better control i of groups
We rushed through many stops and were not given a choice of where to eat or shop
I believe the tour company could have had either colored hats like some companies or at least another flag to be carried by last person or radio head sets
Considering we missed two stops no credit was offered This was a trip of a lifetime and Avi warned us about buying things off peddlers He took us to one store but didn’t give us anytime to browse
Also considering the price and length of tour I would think some beverages would be supplied
Izak offered water at $1 or $2 for soft drinks
Avi was an excellent guide
Response from Host, Mar 2023
We are most regretful that this was the nature of your experience. Indeed entry to Bethlehem was barred due to Security forces activity there. We don't ever compromise the safety of our travelers.
Regarding shopping, it is always a dilemma whether to do less touring, it is difficult to answer the needs of all travelers. Most travelers are indeed an irritating part of traveling in a group. We only see groups for the day handing out hats etc is not economically viable. (it would mean over 300 hats per day!!l)
Sorry but again due to complex logistics currently, we do not hand out free drinks. (Per bus/van daily..)
But thanks for suggesting anyway.
Kristina_P, Mar 2023
The ship was running late so I called the tour company to let them know.
I was told by the tour agent that the tour was canceled and that there was no tour from the port that day.
When I finally got through to Viotor I was told that the tour was cancelled on March 5th due to insufficient passengers (the tour was on the March 7th)
However we received our tickets with barcodes from Viator on the 6th. Obviously Viator was unaware of the cancellation.
We were very upset as Jerusalem is very far from the port and taxi would not be an option.
We were lucky to find another bus, at a higher cost, as they were running behind.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
We are most regretful that this occurred, but once the ship dock schedule is changed !! so does ours.
The tour would only have been canceled if we could not arrange it with others too.
We are most regretful and are sure the matter will be resolved by refund despite your disappointment and anger at our lack of service
Julian_R, Nov 2022
Avi was the tour guide (actually non-guide). His knowledge was good and his English was good. Unfortunately, his guidance was not good. We walked through the Jewish, Arab, and Christian Quarters. At one point, several vehicles delivering goods aggressively came through our tour and blocked us off from the rest of the tour ahead of head. Avi did nothing to make sure that everyone was accounted for and just took off while 10+ of us were left behind. By the time the roads were clear, we didn't know which way Avi went. Fortunately, he had mentioned that if we got lost head to the Jaffa Gate. We went there and waited for over an hour while we missed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the main things we wanted to see. When we later met us at the Jaffa gate, he showed absolutely no remorse for leaving us behind. There was no apology.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
We are most regretful that this is what occurred .Very surprising as Avi is a highly experienced guide and skilled in group management. Being separated form the group is an unpleasant experience, whatever the reason is. As From his side, he cannot leave the group and especially in the labyrinth of the Old City in search of travelers. However he did mention, as this can and does occur, where to wait for him. We will certainly pass this on to him to respond. Once again we are most regretful for this and can sympathies with your anger. Not only he to can be held responsible, as this a whole group with him.
CARLOS_Z, Nov 2022
This was the worst tour I ever had in my traveling life. At 1st, the bus assigned to us ( 8 people) left without us because one passenger was held by Immigration for a few minutes. The next bus with Daniel (tour guide) took us to Jerusalem. It was a fast tour without time to really see important emblematic parts of the city. Then He took everybody to a poor, ugly, super crowded restaurant. They took more than 1 hour to serve this trashy but expensive food. After that, We went back to the bus BUT, he could not find the bus. He made us walk for about 20 minutes under the rain until He found it. There were old people that got sick from getting wet. After that they drove us to the Nativity church. It took about 1.5 hours but right before We arrive to the church he said. “ I was just informed that the church is closed But I have a great alternative. We are going to turn around and visit a SOUVENIRS SHOP and a BATHROOM !”……WHAT ? He found out that the church was closed right before we arrived ? Come on ! Were are the logistics from the operations department ? This is a multimillion dollar company and you do not have a communication and updated schedule of churches openings..? He took us to a souvenir shop against our will except for a very few old passengers that been tired just wanted to go back to the ship. The bathroom was nasty, dirty and without paper !! We confront him about the situation and he said that he could not do anything ! We traveled thousands of miles to visit the church and he said that he had an “alternative” ? Going to a souvenir shop ? Where is the respect for all these people that made an effort to take this tour ? We only walked to the West Bank wall and that was it !! Me and my wife feel like We were not only robbed by this tour but disappointed. Coming to this church was one of the dreams of my wife and now what ? We will have to go back home and travel a couple of days and pay lots of money for this ? I am requesting a full refund for this tour. We took tours in Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Venice and other places during this trip to Europe but this one was just a night mare. Please refund our hard working money to our acount.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Dear CARLOS_Z,
Please accept our apologies for this negative experience. This is NOT our standard. Please contact our office for further care.
Smiley, Oct 2022
Western wall, walking on the steps of Jesus . The Dead Sea was great. Our Guide was great. His name is Témel. I hope I have it right. He was really good and knowledgeable .
Response from Host, Oct 2022
Tomer was his name . He deserves your mention for his efforts and tour management skills.
So glad to read that this was an excellent and memorable tour experience for you.
alanlam, Oct 2022
Poor arrangement at pick up. No guide with sign after 40 mins from pick up time and eventually left with 1.5 hrs delay. Fortunately our Guide Udi speak very good English and we were well informed all the way. Didn’t like the idea of visiting the souvenirs shop which was not in the itinerary!! Also lunch at the dedicated restaurant (although optional but you feel obligated to go).
Otherwise we enjoyed our tour.
Response from Host, Oct 2022
Dear alanlam,
We are most pleased to know you enjoyed your time with Udi. He's really amazing. The ports can get hectic and chaotic sometimes, and we do our best to handle w unexpected delays and changes. The stops at shops and specific restaurants are meant to cater for group tours s well as bathroom stops We are happy to read you enjoyed what you saw with Udi, a very capable and experienced guide
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