America Israel Tours® (AIT) America Greece Tours®Reviews of americaisraeltours.com

We had a wonderful tour guide. Trip of a lifetime

There were several groups all combining to form one large, 39 person, group. All of these groups arrived to Israel at the airport at the same time. Except for 2 people. All other people were left to sit in the cafeteria in the airport for several hours while we waited for the 2 stragglers. After having traveled 15 hours to get there, to be forced to sit in an uncomfortable metal cafeteria chair for hours was inhumane! America Israel Tours was aware of this large gap of arrival times yet determined that the large group should sit and wait rather than being escorted to the hotel in the bus (which was there and ready) and sending a car for the 2 people. So 37 had to suffer, for hours, for 2. This same horrible treatment was experienced at the end of the trip as those same 2 were leaving five hours before everyone else. Yes five hours. International flights require you be at the airport to hours early. So 37 people, all for the sake of 2, had to be at the airport five hours even earlier!! This is beyond ridiculous. The only saving grace of the entire trip was our tour guide while in Israel, Shimon Zemer. He was a delight and his humor was a soothing balm to an otherwise unbearable start. While visiting the sites, he was filled to the brim of his straw hat with knowledge of the history and events (past and present) of everything that happened in the area. He was very accommodating to the wants and needs of the group and even helped us plan events for our free day. The hotels were lovely, the food delicious, and the tour itself was amazing. I would only use America Israel Tours again if they make better considerations for their guests regarding the airport. They knew the 37 would be so inconvenienced after long flights and no sleep but never told any of us so we were not prepared for what we would be facing once we arrived, or when it came time to leave.

AIT worked with us to coordinate our extra days before and after our tour. That help enabled us to relax and enjoy the experience. Our Tour Guide, Bus Driver and the Tour Guide in Bethlehem were all excellent. We would have liked to have done the hike in En Getti but there is always a trade off. Overall Excellent!

After conducting research and looking at several tour companies, I decided to take a tour with America Israel Tours. I have no regrets about my decision. The trip exceeded my expectations on several levels. The customer service representatives were very professional and responsive. The tour was exactly as described on their website and printed materials. The guides who accompanied us on the tour were great. They were approachable, professional and very informative. They always took the time to respond to our questions, regardless of the subject. I felt safe during our travels through Egypt, Jordan and Israel. We stayed at several outstanding hotels during this trip. Overall, this was a wonderful tour.

I simply must say that this tour is a wonderful tour. This was the second time we took this tour and we were not disappointed. Try these words on for size: Quality, Value, Experience, Thorough, Delightful, Friendly, Spiritual and Exceptional. My wife and I were pleased in every way and will be returning for another installment. Thank you for this experience1

This is our 2nd time on the Roots of Our Faith Tour. We enjoyed it so much that we took 15 people with us this time. I was concerned that seeing the sights a second time might be somewhat disappointing, but I was wrong. What we learned this time enhanced what we learned last time. I am ready to go AGAIN!

We took the "into the promised land tour" on Nov 7. This was the best vacation that we had ever been on. We have had many amazing once-in-a-lifetime vacations and experiences so it is saying a lot for me to give this my top rating. All of the guides in all of the countries were great but you should be flexible with your dates and make sure that you go when Ya-Ear is available in Israel. He is not only a passionate Christian that knows the Bible as well as any pastor, he is also an archaeologist. He will read from the Bible all the time and tell you the archaeological facts which prove it. Some people were nervous at first that he was talking too much and they were going to miss things but once they realized they could trust him to get them everywhere they relaxed and really enjoyed it. All of the hotels are extremely nice, we even had our own balcony sometimes and the breakfast and dinner buffets are excellent. I am the worlds pickiest eater and I could always find something to eat. I recommend getting to Egypt three days early if you can get the extra time off of work. Give yourself one day to enjoy the hotel and take advantage of the inexpensive massages and soak in the hot tub in the spa for free. Use the other two days for day tours. We went to Alexandria. I would not really recommend Alexandria but I had my heart set on seeing it which is why we went. I'm glad we did but it wasn't what I expected. The other day we went to a village where they showed us how the ancient people lived. It was similar to the holy land experience in Orlando if you have ever been there. It was an excellent and affordable tour. At the end of the tour there is a small bazaar with very inexpensive souvenirs and there is a guy that sells blown glass and they will even put the person's name on the glass for free and they bubble wrap everything. The prices are so cheap they will blow your mind. We bought about 40 pieces. Plan on buying most of your souvenirs in Egypt because everything gets very expensive after that. Try to go to the main bazaar in Cairo which is amazing. There is a bazar in Israel that you go to your last day & you can really negotiate there. I bought something for $30 & they had started at $185. My husband is totally blind and I am legally blind and we enjoyed this tour very much. Set your mind from the beginning to get out of your comfort zone and live in the moment. We had an amazing praise and worship session on the sea of Galilee. Get up and dance with everyone don't just video tape from afar. Sing like you know that God doesn't care if you have a "good" singing voice or not. We did and it was an incredible memory. This experience along with getting baptized in the Jordan River, floating in the Dead Sea, cruising down the Nile, going inside the pyramid, and so much more are highlights of the trip but for us the biggest highlight was climbing Mount Sinai. Now don't go into the climb thinking that because blind people did it it must be easy. That is not true. It is a very difficult climb for everyone. My husband and I are not average. We have traveled to 32 countries and done just about everything that involves a waiver form. It is incredibly rocky and it would be very easy to sprain, twist, role, or even break your ankle with every step. That being said, don't wuss out just because you're not in the best shape of your life and without any injuries. If there was ever a time to put mind over matter & just do something for the experience of a lifetime, this is it. My husband also has asthma and his knees grind and we both have bad backs and I have a serious knee injury. Just do it! Set your mind ahead of time that it will be one of the hardest things that you have done, it will hurt, but it is worth it. Pray for strength. You can help yourself a lot by climbing is many stairs as possible from now until your trip in order to help get your lungs in shape. This is the night that you have dinner in a bedwine tent and afterwards they put on a little show for you. I know I say to do everything that this tour has to offer including all of the optional things but I would say skip the show. Go to bed because you will need your rest. Not just for the climb but for the incredibly long day after the climb. This is the day that you have to cross three border crossings. I had no idea what that entailed. It is just as difficult to leave the country as it is to enter one. You have to drag your luggage a long way and stand in line a long time and after your passport is checked 27 times and several hours later you are finally through the process and can't wait to fall into bed like never before. Pray for patience. Don't climb it without hiking boots. They are $30-$50 at Walmart and worth it. This will secure your ankles and make the climb a lot easier. They will loan you a walking stick with a flashlight at the end of it but they are not very bright and one of them went out completely on our climb. I brought some extra small ones that I rubberbanded to my white cane so I was able to loan that person one of my flashlights. You should also buy a $20 flashlight that has at least 350 lumens. I brought one and it really lit the way for everyone. I recommend giving your flashlights to the Bedwines afterwards. I recommend taking the camel up and down. You can't use the flashlights when you are on the camo because it messes them up but you will need them the rest of the time. They will tell you when you are there that the camel ride is for the whole way except the staircase but the paperwork which states that the camel ride is 30% of the way is more accurate. You will hike before and after the camel ride. I thought the camel ride would be more scary because I anticipated more of an incline but the incline is not that bad so don't worry about that. It is very uncomfortable though even painful. You are wedged between two wooden handles and the front one is like a gut punch most of the time. There are no stirrups so your legs just hang. Your inner thighs will hurt and the rest of your legs will go totally numb. They have to help you off and help you walk the first few steps. That being said it's better than hiking the whole way. You should spend most of your ascent looking up at the stars. I saw stars for the first time in my life. There were thousands of them and they were huge. As you get closer to the top the stars actually look like they are closer. We got to the top just in time for me to see the sunrise. All I could do was cry. To make it to the top and to know that you are where Moses was and to see the sunrise is overwhelming.

Our experience with AIT was exemplary from the very outset. They provided a comprehensive set of information and worked with us to keep things on track. The time spent in Israel was informative, enjoyable and a tremendous learning experience. Our guide was experienced and had a thorough working knowledge of the place today as well as a strong biblical background. Even our bus driver was excellent and helped ease my wife's problems with mobility. I can only praise them for their excellent program.