Israel and Beyond — Self-Launched

Fly into Ben Gurion Airport and take the fast train to Jerusalem Navon station (~25 min, ~£4) or the Nesher shared sherut to your accommodation (~£10). Check into a hostel in the Nachlaot/Mahane Yehuda or Hillel Street area. In the late afternoon walk 10 minutes to Mahane Yehuda Market as it wakes up for the evening — grab rugelach, hummus and a craft beer, and get oriented with a free self-guided wander of the surrounding Nachlaot lanes. Book your Masada sunrise bus and any guided Old City tour online tonight.

🚌Airport train ~£4 or shared sherut ~£10

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Jerusalem (£15–28)

• →Mahane Yehuda Market evening wander
• →Nachlaot neighbourhood walk

Join a pay-what-you-wish Old City walking tour (tip-based, ~£15–20 in tips, bookable via GetYourGuide or locally) to cover the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock viewpoint, the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter and the Hurva Synagogue, then walk the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the afternoon take the 20-minute walk or a local bus up to the Mount of Olives for the classic panorama back over the city, and walk down through the Garden of Gethsemane. In the evening, instead of a private scholar talk, join a public lecture or dialogue session at a Jerusalem cultural centre (e.g. the Van Leer Institute or a West–East dialogue NGO) — many run free or ~£8 ticketed talks.

🚌Walking + local bus ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Jerusalem (£15–28)

• →Tip-based Old City walking tour
• →Western Wall and Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• →Mount of Olives viewpoint
• →Public interfaith/politics talk

Take bus 27 or the light rail + shuttle to Yad Vashem (free entry, allow 3 hours — book the free timed slot online). Continue to the Israel Museum (~£11 entry) to see the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Shrine of the Book and the model of ancient Jerusalem, and add the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum if time allows (free). Late afternoon, swap the private chef for a small-group Mahane Yehuda food walk or a kosher/Israeli cooking workshop booked through GetYourGuide or a local culinary school (~£45–60). Eat your way through kubbeh, sabich and halva.

🚌Local buses and light rail ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Jerusalem (£15–28)

• →Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial (free)
• →Israel Museum and Dead Sea Scrolls (~£11)
• →Mahane Yehuda food walk or cooking workshop (~£50)

Take the 231 bus from outside Damascus Gate to Bethlehem (~30 min, ~£1.50; bring your passport — carry it, don't leave it in the hostel). Visit Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity (free), then the Milk Grotto and the Separation Wall graffiti near Beit Sahour. Book a Palestinian home-cooking or women's cooperative workshop directly through a community tourism operator (e.g. a Beit Sahour or Aida camp women's centre, ~£25–35 including lunch) — these are the same grassroots projects the group tours use and are easily booked by email or through GetYourGuide. Walk through Aida refugee camp with a local guide from the Lajee Center (donation/tip based). Return to Jerusalem by bus before dark.

🚌Bus 231 both ways ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Jerusalem (£15–28)

• →Church of the Nativity and Manger Square
• →Palestinian women's cooperative cooking workshop with lunch (~£30)
• →Aida refugee camp visit with Lajee Center guide

Book the public sunrise bus from Jerusalem to Masada (Egged route 486 departs ~3:30–4:00am, ~£5 one way) and hike the Snake Path up for sunrise, or take the cable car (~£12) if you prefer. Explore the Herodian palaces and bathhouses (~£9 entry with the Israel Pass discount). Take the same bus down and stop at Ein Bokek public beach to float in the Dead Sea (free, showers ~£2). From Ein Bokek catch the afternoon bus north toward Tiberias with a change in Beersheba or Arad (~4–5 hrs, ~£12). Alternatively pre-book a shared day-tour from Jerusalem that ends at the Dead Sea (~£40–50) and take the evening bus to Tiberias.

🚌Egged 486 to Masada ~£5, Dead Sea to Tiberias ~£12

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Tiberias (£18–30)

• →Masada sunrise hike or cable car
• →Herod's palace ruins on Masada
• →Float at Ein Bokek, Dead Sea

Take local bus 450/451 or a shared taxi (sherut, ~£8) around the lake. Stop at the Mount of Beatitudes (free, donations welcome) and the Church of the Beatitudes, then Capernaum (~£3 entry) and the Yigal Alon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar if you want to see the 'Jesus boat'. Continue to Nazareth (~30 min, ~£3) for the Basilica of the Annunciation (free) and the old market. On the way back, book a tasting at a small Galilee or Golan winery — the Golan Heights Winery visitor centre or a boutique family winery near Yavne'el offers tours/tastings for ~£12–20 with direct online booking. A kibbutz visit can be done independently by booking a guesthouse stay or a kibbutz tour at Kibbutz Ein Gev or Degania (~£8).

🚌Local buses/sherut around the lake and to Nazareth ~£12

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Tiberias (£18–30)

• →Mount of Beatitudes and church
• →Capernaum ruins
• →Nazareth Basilica of the Annunciation
• →Galilee/Golan winery tasting (~£15)
• →Independent kibbutz visit

Take the train from Tiberias area (via Afula or Beit She'an) or a bus to Haifa (~1.5 hrs, ~£5). Ride the Carmelit funicular or walk the Bahá'í Gardens terraces (free, book the free timed terrace tour online), then take the train south to Caesarea (~25 min, ~£3) and walk from the station to the ancient harbour city (~£8 entry) — Herod's hippodrome, aqueduct and amphitheatre right on the beach. Continue by train from Caesarea to Tel Aviv (~40 min, ~£4) for your final night. Head to the beach promenade or Florentin/Jaffa for dinner and a last wander through Jaffa's old port.

🚌Train and bus legs ~£12

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Tel Aviv (£20–35)

• →Bahá'í Gardens, Haifa
• →Caesarea Maritima ruins (~£8)
• →Jaffa old port and Tel Aviv promenade

Depending on your flight, spend the morning at the Carmel Market, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art or on Gordon Beach, then take the train from Tel Aviv HaHagana/HaShalom straight to Ben Gurion Airport (~20 min, ~£3). If you want a final foodie hit, a sabich at a Florentin hole-in-the-wall is the classic send-off.

🚌Train to Ben Gurion Airport ~£3

🛏—

• →Carmel Market
• →Beach or museum morning