Jerusalem

Jerusalem Half Day Tour: Holy Sepulchre and Western Wall

Badge of ExcellenceJerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem Half Day Tour Dome of the Rock and Western Wall

From $50.00

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

7 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Get a panoramic look at the city of Jerusalem and visit some of its most well-known sites on this half-day tour. Look down on the city from atop the Mount of Olives, with a view of the Dome of the Rock, one of the oldest works of Islamic architecture and Jerusalem's most recognizable landmark. Visit Holy Land sites like the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion; the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located where Jesus was crucified; and more. Jerusalem hotel pickup and drop-off included.

Half-day tour of Jerusalem
Enjoy panoramic views from the Mount of Olives
Enjoy views of the Dome of the Rock, an iconic Jerusalem landmark
See popular Holy Land places such as the Garden of Gethsemane, the Western Wall and the site of the Crucifixion
Explore the Old City of Jerusalem
Transport by air-conditioned coach

What's Included

Hotel pickup
Professional guide
Air-conditioned vehicle
Entrance fees

Food and drinks
Gratuities
Hotel Drop off

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

07:50 AM

Pickup details

Please note that our pickup/drop-off is available from a few central hotels only. Please select the hotel closest to your address from the drop-down menu on the tour page. If you are not sure which of the listed hotels is a good fit, please choose the option “I don’t see my pickup location” and insert enter your accommodation address. After the booking is approved by the local tour operator, a confirmation email from Bein Harim will be sent to you mentioning the final pickup point closest to your address. Please read the email with the attached booking confirmation carefully to make sure you are waiting for the pickup at the correct location. Please make sure to wait for the pickup at the hotel entrance.

What To Expect

This half-day tour begins with a Jerusalem hotel pickup in an air-conditioned coach.

Kick off your sightseeing at the Mount of Olives for a scenic overview of the entire city of Jerusalem. This mountain ridge is east of the Old City of Jerusalem and named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. According to the gospels, a number of important events in the life of Jesus took place here, including where he ascended into heaven. The Mount has been a site of Christian worship since ancient times and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant believers.

From atop the mount, there is also a view of arguably Jerusalem's most recognizable landmark: the Dome of the Rock, a shrine located on the Temple Mount and one of the oldest works of Islamic architecture.

The tour then passes through the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, known as the place where Jesus prayed, and also where his disciples slept, the night before his crucifixion. Then it’s off to the Walls of Jerusalem that surround the Old City. The walls were built in the 1530s, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire, to protect its borders from intruders.

Further along through the Armenian Quarter, visit the famous Western Wall, the holiest of Jewish sites, then to the Christian Quarter along the Via Dolorosa, the street that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. Here, look for the 14 stations of the cross while retracing Jesus’ steps to the Hill of Calvary, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The tour concludes at the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, where the coach awaits for a return trip to Jerusalem hotels.

Mount Scopus

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Garden of Gethsemane (Pass By)

Kidron Valley (Pass By)

Dome of the Rock (Pass By)

Old City of Jerusalem

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Jewish Quarter

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Western Wall

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Temple Mount (Pass By)

Christian Quarter

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Way of the Cross - Via Dolorosa

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Eglise du Saint-Sepulcre

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Muslim Quarter

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Tour ends approx. 13:00 in the Old City of Jerusalem. There is no return back to your hotel
The tour includes a reasonable amount of walking - comfortable walking shoes are recommended
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
A moderate dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. Please refrain from wearing shorts. Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
Please note this tour is not suitable for children under the age of 4
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 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.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

nadiasm2001

This was a great tour is a very comfortable bus. We stayed with the guide who was very knowledgeable about the city and it’s history. He was very helpful in guiding us to the Places where we wanted to go after this half day tour. It is a good tour and I would definitely recommend it.

Reviews

4.5

76 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 76 reviews

Bethlehem

Mary_M, Aug 2023

Elias was very knowledgeable and he made sure we were all accounted for. The tour to Bethlehem and Mount of Temptation was wonderful. The weather in August was very hot. We have to hydrate by bringing water and getting fresh squeezed juices. The tour stops were enough for bathroom breaks. We stopped at a store. They served tea us tea and Baclava. They even gave us some free small crosses and Dates.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thank you for your kind feedback! We're thrilled that you enjoyed the Bethlehem tour with Elias. We're glad the tour stops provided ample opportunities for bathroom breaks, and it's great to hear you had a pleasant stop at the shop. We appreciate your review and hope to welcome you again on another tour soon!

Worst tour ever

Joseph_M, May 2023

We’ve been touring with Viator for 10+ years. First, late pickup on shuttle, assigned to wrong tour bus, complete disorganization at meeting spot, no representative on site to help. Tour guide, Avi, was incompetent and so soft spoken, many people could not hear him. He only spoke to few people next to him. We left after a few minutes at first stop. Waste of time and money. Were forced to find sights and information on our own.

Response from Host, May 2023

We sincerely apologize for the disappointing experience you had on our tour. It is disheartening to learn that you left with such a negative impression. It is important to note that Avi has consistently received excellent reviews for his knowledge and communication skills. We are genuinely surprised to hear that your experience with him did not meet our usual standards.

A historic tour of the bible. Am I was quite knowledgeable

Shawn_D, Apr 2023

Am I was a knowledgeable tour guide and provided excellent information about Jerusalem, which helped me later explore on my own. I just wish we could have stopped in more places and seen more sites rather than standing outside in the sun. Am I was very funny and quite humorous. I really enjoyed his company

Response from Host, May 2023

Great and sincere feedback. Ami sure is worthy of your praise for his efforts.

We were asked to meet at...

Ioli_M, Apr 2023

We were asked to meet at 7:50am, but the actual tour started at 9:00am which meant we wasted too much time just waiting around to be separated into buses. Overall the knowledge of the tour guide about history and landmarks was good, but we didnt like the fact that he made us go into a specific store as part of the tour where the owners tried to incessantly sell things to us. This made us feel uncomfortable and we would have much preferred to be given some free time to explore the shops on our own instead. We had the unfortunate incident of losing two members of the tour who were very delayed in coming to the pre-determined meeting point. Because of that we weren’t able to enter the Holy Sepulchre as the guide told us the line was closed just to make it in time for lunch. Given that this was the main landmark of the tour, we were very disappointed that we wasted time doing other things (eg forced visit to souvenir shop) rather than prioritizing our entry to the Holy Sepulchre.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Sorry that this was the nature of your tour. There have major constraints over the long Easter weekend and Churches changed entry hours. causing a logistic problem with the tour schedule. People in a group who get lost indeed pose a problem for others. Regarding shop stops. it is, also the bathroom stop there, in the Old City. No one is forced to buy anything.

Jerusalem

Sonia_C, Dec 2022

The tour guide was not interested on Christian history of Jerusalem. I had to re-do it to enjoy this sacred place.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Dear Sonia, we are most regretful and surprised to read this kind of comment, as the main part of this tour is Christian highlighted locations. It sounds rather uncommon what you list, and rather an issue of miss expectation of what such a tour itinerary comprises.

Not recommend

Atif_J, Oct 2022

Pick up was one hour late. Then the start time was delayed another hour due to going to several hotels to pick up other customers. Guide was grumpy.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Dear Atif_J, Please contact the office with your order number for further investigation regarding the late pick-up and the guide. We appreciate every chance to get better.

Uninformative and not that great

Melissa_D, May 2022

If you wander around Jerusalem and read on google, you will likely enjoy your experience more than this tour. Tour guide was a bit gruff, not loud enough, and didn’t wait for the group to be together before offering explanations. Go visit the via dolarosa and western wall and holy Sepulchre with your guide book and save your money.

Response from Host, May 2022

We are regretful that this was the nature of your tour experience with one of our guides.this doesnot sound like the quality we strive for, (5*As listed in all our reviews on this site) Guided tours are not always suited to every traveler.There are constraints.

disappointing & annoying

maik_n, Apr 2022

we got picked up at 7.50am as planned from a hotel nearby. 20min later we were standing somewhere in the middle of nowhere with other 100 people being allocated to different busses. After waiting for 20min for a big bus to arrive, we had to wait for another 20min together with around 25 people in the bus for 2 ladies who did bot show up. So around 9am (75min later) we started in the bus. the bus tour led to the university campus with a quick view over jerusalem and ended 15min later at zion’s gate. at 09.45am we arrived there. …when you book a half day tour, any delay is stealing valuable time. long story short: we rushed through the city with very little explanation of sights but 2 toilet breaks and ended up in front of the holy sepulchre which closed right in front of our eyes. then the tour guide pointed out th at 12pm is a bit late to enter the church indeed and blamed the group that it was our fault since we were always late and since some did not show us. So we did not see the church from the inside and ended up in a souvenir shop. Overall, terrible time management. one third we spent waiting. explanations were rather short. questions were not appreciated. And we did not visit the highlight of the tour.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Maik this doesnot soulnd a pleasant experience. Indeed the pickup arrangements re to meet at a central spot. is the only way to overcome driving in a bus around the city to fetch all particpants.Latecomers mess up things! Logisitics are complicated and as you can see by 95 % of reviews we operate smoothly most days without delay. The closure of the CHurch is most unfortunate , we apologise for this . BUtdue to high Holiday season these weeks they donot relay infomration to tour companies so that we can rearrange shedule .Our professional guides receive continual positive reviews here , so surprising you claim , answers were short and insufficient. We do fully regret that this was your experience with us.

Old Jerusalem City tour

Linda_M, Feb 2020

Omri our tour Guide did cover every thing.He is excellent in what he does. The rain did not prevent him from doing all the stations . We are satisfied.

Excellent Tour

nadiasm2001, Jan 2020

Lots of wasted time

LasseDuhn_C, Apr 2019

Overall a good experience but too much wasted time in arranged souvenir shop with horrible overpricing on the souvenirs!

We took this tour which we really...

Lydia_H, Apr 2018

We took this tour which we really enjoyed. Our tour guide was Yehudi, I believe. We really loved going to the Western Wall and was able to touch it. The walk through old Jerusalem was interesting. Going to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The tour did not take us to the Garden of Gethsemane, which really saddened me as that was one of the most interesting places I wanted to visit. We saw it from a distance but that was all this tour did. Our tour guide was amazing and allowed us to be dropped off at the end of our tour after having lunch with the others that were going on to other places with this guide. He dropped us close enough for us to walk down a hill and to visit the Garden of Gethsemane. That was amazing. The only thing was an uphill walk back into the old city through the different quarters to get back to our hotel. Overall really enjoyed the tour and an excellent gude.

I chose this trip for our extended...

gillians, Jan 2018

I chose this trip for our extended family for two reasons - 1. the fact that it started with a panoramic view of Jerusalem and the old city from outside, and 2. the fact that it allowed us an overview of the different quarters of the Old City. We did not realize that this meant almost nothing of the Jewish Quarter would be formally toured - but the fact that we got to see a large part of the Christian Quarter, and parts of the Moslem quarter - that we would not have seen - or understood - had we explored ourselves - made this tour worthwhile. The inevitable shop visit was - well I guess inevitable but we find it uncomfortable to be compelled into a single store and would prefer to be chaperoned to an area and left for perhaps 20 or 30 minutes to look around / have a drink etc.

Ami was a great tour guide! We saw...

Mike G, Dec 2017

Ami was a great tour guide! We saw the Western Wall and went throughout the city of Jerusalem and we saw all the stations of the cross. Ami was very detailed in his descriptions. We only saw the Dome of the Rock from above the city, I would have liked to visit the mosque.

This half-day tour is not conducted...

Sarah Marie F, Sep 2017

This half-day tour is not conducted as advertised. The sub-contractor that worked the tour did not fulfill as advertised. We were never 'at the Mount of Olives', we were never 'atop the Mount to view the Temple Mount or Dome of the Rock', which is a great view and vantage by the way...but not something we got to see from this or any other Viator tour that advertises that your tour starts from the Mount of Olives. We were first greeted with this revelation from the top of Mount Scorpus on the Old and New City Jerusalem tour which is farther away and next to the Mount of Olives. The guides even point to the Mount of Olives but don't like it when you question why the tour doesn't actually go there. We did not Kick off your sightseeing at the Mount of Olives for a scenic overview of the entire city of Jerusalem. This mountain ridge is east of the Old City of Jerusalem and named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. According to the gospels, a number of important events in the life of Jesus took place here, including where he ascended into heaven. The Mount has been a site of Christian worship since ancient times and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant believers.From ATOP the mount, there is also a view of arguably Jerusalem's most recognizable landmark: the Dome of the Rock, a shrine located on the Temple Mount and one of the oldest works of Islamic architecture. We also did not do the following from the description of 'what you can expect': The tour then passes through the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, known as the place where Jesus prayed, and also where his disciples slept, the night before his crucifixion. So, two of the biggest sites to see you don't get to see except from afar off when you're on the road the runs around the Old City. They point to it from the bus windows where you can't take great pictures, not to mention that it's from the wrong vantage. You're supposed to be looking at the Old City from the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane Church, not from the roads on the opposite side. This was essentially the Old City tour which was part of an earlier tour we'd taken. I didn't appreciate the manipulation of words the guides used to say that 'all of the mounts' are part of the same chain that make up the mountains of olives so technically they're fulfilling the tour description. That's just not honest. Don't take any tours that state they start from the Mount of Olives. You have to take a taxi and negotiate your own tour to visit these sites on the actual Mount of Olives. I saw tour coaches on top of the Mount of Olives every day but evidently not the ones contracted by Viator. This is also the second time my review was submitted because it was deleted previously.

It is a good overview of Jerusalem...

James L, Oct 2016

It is a good overview of Jerusalem. The guide took us to Mount of Olive and showed some sites and then stop by the good spot overlooking the dome of the rock and other domes to explain each of the structures. Then to the old city with all the important sites. Good introduction of Jerusalem and recommended.

The tour guide was great however we...

Scott_S, Oct 2016

The tour guide was great however we didn't get to cover nearly as much ground as hoped for and it was rather a clustered mess in the beginning as the guides were trying to figure out who was on what tour with who - overall a pleasant experience.

You have to do this tour before you...

Marcus_H, Jul 2016

You have to do this tour before you start your tour of Israel. The guide is very knowledgeable and he is able to give a brief history of Israel.

Very organized for transportation...

Elizabeth A, May 2016

Very organized for transportation. Great Tour guide and amazing tour. worth much more than what I paid.

Excellent tour and tour guide...

Bruce_M, May 2016

Excellent tour and tour guide - unfortunately I don't remember his name. Very informative and a great introduction to Jerusalem - I highly recommend this as a first tour when you arrive in the city.