Friends of J-Life Tour 16th 26th March 2019 General info document We suggest that you print this document and take it with you on the trip Contents: 1 Contact people 2 Weather 3 What to pack 4 Programme 5 What the tour includes 6 What the tour excludes 7 Currency 8 Communication with home 9 Electricity 10 Medical 11 Travel arrangements from the airport in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and directions 12 Reading reminder 1 Contact people John General co-ordinator & Finances (+27 84 799 7007) Lorna General co-ordinator & Care (+27 84 400 6133) Nader Tour operator (+972 2 6276965) 2 Weather Jerusalem 10'C (50 F) Lows and 21'C (70 F) Highs Galilee 12'C (54 F) Low and between 23 and 25'C (77 F) Highs Dead Sea 13'C - 16'C (55 F-60 F) Lows and 26'C - 30'C (79 F-86 F) Highs 3 What to pack Clothing and shoes: Lightweight rain coat/jacket or an umbrella - It can rain during this time of year Bathing suit for the dead-sea/hotel in Tiberius and those wanting to be baptised Swimming towel (you can t borrow hotel towels) Slops/plastic sandals for the Dead Sea Warm jacket for early mornings and evenings. It just coming out of winter, so does rain every now and again and can get quite chilly (Israel had a record amount of snow this winter!) Good walking shoes. These can be open sandals or closed boots/takkies/tennis shoes they need to be good, comfy walking shoes! Casual wear can be worn to most places (shorts, jeans and T-shirts) Modest wear is required at some sites. For these sites ladies will need skirts/pants that cover the knees and tops that cover the shoulders sleeveless tops are not allowed into some of the holy sites. Men may need long pants/jeans and no shorts at certain holy sites. An idea is to bring a sarong with you in your bag in case you need to cover up. We will warn you ahead of times as to when this is needed. No formal wear is needed we are not staying in any 5 star hotels, so casual wear is acceptable at dinners. Pants that can get wet for Hezekiah s tunnel (there is a dry tunnel for those not keen on getting wet) Other Torch (small torch for Hezekiah s tunnel
Day bag/small backpack a smaller bag to carry a water bottle, snacks, towel etc would be useful Water bottle You will need to buy water everyday should you not have a water bottle to refill at the hotel each morning before we leave Sun Block/Hat we will be spending a lot of time out in the sun You may also choose to bring: - Sachets of energy drinks to add into your water bottles - Coffee cup/travel mug/disposable cups and cappuccino/coffee/tea/creamer/sugar (for a cheap coffee you will be paying $3) - Snacks you may wish to bring snacks with you from home (nuts, energy bars, chocolates etc). We will stop every day for you to buy lunch (which will probably cost in the region of $10). You may prefer to not buy lunch and rather have your snacks completely your choice. 4 Programme The programme is really busy in order to ensure that we cover as much ground as possible. No one is forced to attend every day. You are welcome to remain at the hotel or in the bus should you not want to do a site at any time. We will be doing a good deal of walking so come prepared We will have 3 evenings where we get together for worship etc. Other than that, evenings are free for you to have an early night, retire to your room and journal/read etc, sit around and chat or play games (please feel free to bring playing cards or a board game etc), wander the streets, go out for coffee, etc. 5 What the tour includes Hotel accommodation on half board this will cover all our breakfasts and evening dinners both meals are buffets Transportation for all the touring and 1 bus trip back to the airport 2 x lunch Tips (for bus driver, tour guide, hotel staff etc) - we have included all tips. Some of those serving us may hint at getting a tip you are welcome to tell them that your tour co-ordinator will leave a tip for them when we leave. 6 What the tour excludes Accommodation and meals if you are arriving early. The hotel will provide our first meal on the night of the 16 th of March 2019. Lunch (other than 2 lunches) You can pack snacks in your bag to take into Israel or buy lunch each day (we will stop at convenient places for you to do this). Travel/Medical insurance - Your tour fee does not include this please make sure you have this as it is mandatory for the trip. 7 Currency You cannot use South African Rands in Israel. Most places will accept USD (United States Dollars) but you do tend to pay more if you pay in USD. We would encourage you to exchange into NIS ( : Israel New Shekel or code ILS) when in Israel and use it to make all purchases. The current Exchange rate: South Africa - 1 (NIS) will cost you R3.64 America - $1 will get you 3.64 (NIS) Australia - AUD1 will get you 2.65 (NIS) New Zealand NZD1 will get you 2.52 (NIS) There are 3 ways you can exchange into NIS o Credit card: Ensure that your bank knows that you are travelling to Israel so that you can draw cash from a local ATM. This is the cheapest way unless you have USD (United States Dollar) cash on hand. Make sure you get currency at the airport for your trip to the hotel and for initial spending money. We will be able to draw currency in Jerusalem later on should you need more.
o o Purchase USD or NIS: If you are from South Africa and want to purchase currency before you leave, you will pay more for the currency this way - especially if you get USD and then exchange that into NIS when in Israel If you have USD cash on hand when you get to Israel we will go to a money changer and purchase NIS through them. 8 Communication with home Free Wifi: You should have access to Wifi on the bus (but this is not always great) and in the Lobby of both hotels Roaming: Contact your cell phone carrier before leaving to confirm that you are on voice and text roaming. Switch your data roaming OFF before leaving you country of origin Data roaming can cost up to $20 USD per meg Purchasing a SIM card: For those that want to purchase a SIM card we will be able to help you do this. It will cost about $20 for 3gig of data that can be used while in country. You generally won t need to do this because of having Wifi access. 9 Electricity Electrical output is 220 volt the same as South Africa NOT the same as the USA Hotels have very basic hairdryers, so you may choose to bring your own. If you are coming from the USA, you will need to bring a converter for your hairdryer. Plug socket in Israel looks like this should you want to bring a phone/camera charger 10 Medical Bring along any medication needed for the trip we will not have opportunity to visit a pharmacy. 11 Travel arrangements from the airport in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and directions: For those arriving on your own and needing to arrange transport to Knights Palace (our first hotel accommodation in Jerusalem): As you leave the main terminal of the airport, go to the RIGHT. You will see the Nesher taxis (Pics 1, 2 & 3) A Nesher taxi is a +/- 11 seater taxi that leaves for Jerusalem once it is totally full. Tell them you want to go to Jaffa Gate in the Old City. This will cost you about $20 (USD) Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Nesher
At Jaffa Gate (Pic 4) go through the gate into the old City (they might drop you off a little away from the gate make sure they point out where it is). Pic 4 Jaffa Gate Once in the old city go straight keeping the shops on your left and the castle wall with moat on your right. In 35m (35ish yards) take the first road/alleyway LEFT (there is a money changer/exchanger on the corner opposite you). Walk up the road and past the Gloria Hotel (it is on your right (Pic 5) Pic 5 Gloria Hotel Walk for about 600 meters (the road is windy and will veer to the right and left) until you get to Knights Palace on your left (Pic 6) Tell the person at reception that you are from the J-Life Africa Group You would be able to check into your rooms after 2pm Pic 6 Entrance to Knights Palace
12 Reading reminder Please remember to keep doing lots of reading beforehand! Reading through the 60 day study, the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings and using the izi.travel app will all help you follow the tour more effectively. You may want to download the app Bible.is or the YouVersion they both have the audio Bible should you spend a great deal of time in your car and can listen to it. We look forward to sharing this amazing journey with you! Please email or whatsapp us at ANY TIME with ANY QUESTIONS. Please keep referring to the BLOG for all info. God bless John and Lorna