Private Tour: Highlights of Israel Day Trip from Jerusalem Including Old Jerusalem, Western Wall and the Dead Sea

Start your tour with a pickup from your centrally located hotel or prearranged location in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, and meet your private driver-guide.

Settle into your private vehicle and travel to the Mount of Olives, east of Old Jerusalem. Feel free to talk to your guide about tailoring your itinerary to any particular interests, perhaps to spend more time at one site than another.

As you travel, listen as your guide shares interesting snippets about Jerusalem’s 3,000-year old history, and explains its hallowed place in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions.

On arrival at the Mount, gaze out over the old city and its gold-covered Dome of the Rock, and hear tales of the biblical events that took place on the mount's slopes. Then, descend to the walled city, passing the ancient Jewish cemetery and Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was arrested, on your way through the Kidron Valley.

Enter Old Jerusalem through one of the age-old gates, and pass through the bustling Armenian quarter to the Jewish quarter. See the restored, 1,500-year-old Byzantine Cardo, and stop at the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) as your guide explains why the wall has become Judaism's most sacred site, and, effectively, an open-air synagogue for thousands.

Continue to the Christian quarter and follow in Jesus’ steps along the Via Dolorosa, his believed route to Calvary. Look out for some of the Stations of the Cross and then visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on Jesus’ reputed crucifixion site.

After a stop at the Old City Market, return to your vehicle and travel to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth at 1,312 feet (400 meters) below sea level. On arrival at this spectacular inland sea, enjoy free time to float in the salt-heavy waters and, if you wish, grab the opportunity to enjoy a mud bath, lathering your skin in the mineral-rich mud.

After, drive back to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv and end your tour with a drop-off back at the original start point.