You have been. This time, you decide.

Who this is for

People who went to Israel once on an organised group programme — often years ago, often for free, often at high speed — and have wanted to come back properly ever since. Also anyone who has aged out of those free trips and assumed that was the end of it.

What changes the second time

You already know the highlights. The interesting version of a return trip is usually slower, narrower, and more specific: fewer places, more time in each, and rooms you choose rather than rooms you are assigned.

Almost everyone who comes back wants to slow down. Tel Aviv, a day back in Jerusalem, Haifa — and crucially, room to breathe between them. Not a packed schedule. The first trip was somebody else moving you through a list; this one does not have to be.

Travelling with friends

Usually one person in the group organises, and we work with them. Before anything is fixed we get everyone on a call, so we actually know what each person is hoping for and can make sure the trip has a piece of it.

Costs can go either way. The organiser can collect from everyone and send one payment, or each person can pay their own — whichever causes fewer arguments.

Bringing a partner or family who have never been

The trick is not to choose between them. You go to the classic places, but you go differently. In Jerusalem, instead of walking the Old City the way everyone walks it, you go through the tunnels underneath it. The first-timer gets the place they came for. The returning traveller gets something they have not done.

Common questions

Do I need to have been to Israel before?

No, and it makes no difference to how we plan. First-time travellers and people coming back for their third visit want different trips, so the itinerary is built around which of those you are — but neither is a prerequisite.

Is there an age limit on your trips?

No. We plan trips for every age, and often for several ages at once. A single itinerary regularly covers grandparents, parents, and young children, with the days built so people can split off and rejoin rather than everyone doing everything.

How far in advance should we start planning?

Whenever suits you. We have planned trips two years ahead and we have planned them a month out. One practical thing worth knowing: airline tickets usually only go on sale about ten months before the travel date, so if flights matter to your budget, that is the point at which you can actually book them.

What does a trip to Israel with MY Travel cost?

There is no list price, because no two of our trips are the same. What a trip costs comes down to how many of you are travelling, how long you stay, the standard of hotel you want, how many of the days need a private guide and coach, and which sites you want to go inside rather than drive past. So rather than publish a range that turns out not to apply to you, we quote each trip properly: tell us the group, roughly when, and the sort of trip you have in mind, and we come back with a full costed proposal. Flights sit outside that number and you book them yourself, which keeps the largest and most variable cost of the whole trip under your control.

All frequently asked questions