traveling israel

Be your own guide! (With my booklets.)

Israel is a fascinating country. Seeing as you’re here, you probably know that already.

The booklets are only sold outside Israel, so order now and come prepared! 

Order my 3 booklets – Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Masada – from me directly for 21€ right now and get the PDF and EPUB version for free! Or buy the PDF or EPUB for 12.90€. 

The problem is that many of the sites are not impressive in themselves.

The Wailing Wall is just a wall, and in Europe there are a thousand churches that are more impressive than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Without understanding what you’re looking at, you will get a lot less out of your trip.

If you want to enjoy Israel you need to know its history.

As a professional Israeli tour guide who has been to these places hundreds of times, I keep on testing new routes, trying out different sites and improving my guiding, based on the feedback of travelers.
I have written about three of the most popular day trips you can take in Israel:
# Jerusalem
# Tel Aviv
# The Judaean Desert (Masada and the Dead Sea).

Each booklet will lead you step by step through the most interesting sites with in-depth explanations, maps, photos and graphics, which will allow you to understand and enjoy the stories Israel has to offer.

So whether you’re an independent traveler planning a trip to Israel or just someone who wants to know more about the historical sites of Israel, then my booklets are perfect for you.

More in-depth information:

Jerusalem booklet

In the Jerusalem booklet, the motto is less is more.

Tel Aviv – Jaffa booklet

Tel Aviv doesn’t boast sites having world significance like Jerusalem does (no other city does) but Tel Aviv has its own fascinating history to offer.

The booklet will lead you through the following sites:

  • Summit Garden in Jaffa – a site that overlooks Tel Aviv, a city that emerged out of the sand a hundred years ago to become a major city.
  • St. Peter’s Church – although Jaffa doesn’t have the importance of Jerusalem or Nazareth, its church commemorates the beginning of the separation of Christianity from Judaism.
  • The port of Jaffa – although not particularly impressive, the port was the gateway to Israel. For generations of pilgrims and pioneers, it was their first glimpse of the country, and the point at which their dreams of the Holy Land met reality.
  • The police building (now a boutique hotel) – Adolf Eichmann was held here after being brought to Israel for a trial that shook Israeli society.
  • The American colony – three narrow streets that tell the story of the groups of Americans who attempted to settle in Jaffa. All of them failed miserably, but three of America’s most prominent writers – Herman Melville (Moby Dick), Mark Twain and John Steinbeck – had some connection to these settlements.
  • Neve Tzedek – the first Jewish neighborhood to lie outside the old city walls of Jaffa.
  • Rabin Square – the main city square.
  • Sarona – the newly renovated German colony.

Judaean Desert booklet

The Judaean Desert booklet takes you to the three most-visited sites in the Judaean Desert: Masada, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea.

Masada is the scene of two dramatic stories: that of King Herod, a persecuted persecutor king who built himself a palace in the middle of the desert, and that of the rebels, who 70 years later used the palace as their last fortress.

Another story that my booklet reveals has nothing to do with ancient history, but rather with the story we tell ourselves. Masada is not just an archeological site; it was also built as a national symbol that has its own story.
For competent hikers, I’ve included a description of an unknown trail that surrounds Masada. It can be combined, in its entirety or not, with a visit to the top of Masada.
Ein Gedi offers a variety of walking routes, and you can visit the main sites included in the booklet: the ancient synagogue with its mosaic floor, on which it is written that cursed will be the man who tells the town secret; the Chalcolithic Temple, and the flora and fauna of Ein Gedi.

I really want to change and improve the way travelers experience Israel, to build something I myself would appreciate if I were to come to Israel as a foreign traveler.
I think it’s starting to happen, but there is still a long way to go. There is so much more information I want to share about the sites, history and culture of Israel. By purchasing my booklets, you will be allowing me to do just that.

Thanks!

47 Responses

  1. Thank you for sharing this site. We are hoping to come to Israel perhaps spring of 2020. Good information! Was hoping to buy your day guides, but the price was more than double on Amazon. I’ll keep exploring your site.

    1. Hey. Thanks! The price you see is not mine, somebody else is selling them. All the booklets were sold and in a couple of days a new shipment will arrive to Amazon and you could buy it for the regular price.

  2. Hello Oren,

    I plan 8 days visit to Israel this coming summer, your information are very useful. Can you get from Old city to Betlehem or you need make this as a separate travel arrangement.

  3. I just spent half a day scrolling through this informational site! Thanks a lot! We’re currently planning our trip (either late this year or early next year) and this was very motivating. Amazon shipping is quite complicated in our country, so I’m hoping you you can also publish an e-book version of your guides!

  4. Dear Oren,
    Came across you on the net and have read everything possible you have written , except your three guide books, which I have tried to purchase but in vein. My name is Linda and my husbands name is Thomas, we are in our late sixties, live in Australia and want to visit Israel year 2020 for my husbands 70th birthday. Your site has given us such enthusiasm and to go totally independent as we always have on all our previous travels. I thank you for all your information. please could you tell me when your books are available for me to purchase, as I have starting researching, planning and organizing our trip. Thank you so very much for your informative , practical information and especially your videos. Cheers Linda

  5. Hi Oren, have purchased the ebooks. We will arrive 2/6 however would really like the hard copy to have with us. Any idea when we may be able to get them?
    Thanks, Yasna

  6. I love your books – I ordered them online in PDF version
    Would highly recommend then to anyone going to Israel
    wish you would be in Jerusalem in November – maybe next trip
    Love all your you tube videos

  7. Hi Oren,

    Love your work – Does your Jerusalem book include information on the inside of the St. James Cathedral in the Armenian Quarter?

    Thank you.

  8. Hi Oren,
    Your web site is amazing. You have put a lot of work into this and have anticipated many helpful posting.
    Thank you for such a broad perspective of all the things to consider as we plan our trip to Israel.

  9. Hi Oren,
    your youtube Israel Travel segments are great. I went to purchase your Israel Travel Guides from Amazon & they said they could ship here to Australia. Then it came back saying that it was unavaliable to Post to Australia. Any ideas ?

    1. First of all, Thanks!
      I have no idea why it can’t be shipped. It is open to international sale and someone from New Zealand just wrote me he got the booklets.

  10. Hello Oren,
    I have enjoyed all of your videos and wanted to know how to contact you directly. I’m planning a trip and want to know if you still do tours?
    Thanks so much,
    Suzy

  11. Hi Oren,
    I just ordered your pamphlets directly from you, in the hopes of getting the get the PDF and EPUB version for free right now. I think I did not click on the correct link to get the PDF and EPUB versions added to my cart when I ordered. I thought that would be automatic. After I ordered, I saw that I had to add them to my cart, but when I did after the order was placed, the cart showed 9.50€ for the booklets. I’m afraid the hard copies will be too late for our trip (in two weeks). I was hoping to use the PDFs to plan and the pamphlets for the trip (if they are here, or they will be mementos when we get back).

    Is it possible to send us the PDFs based on the order I just made?

    Thanks so much!

  12. Hi Oren,

    I like to purchase the booklets from your website but they do not ship to Singapore.

    If I were to purchase them from Amazon, will I still be able to get the PDF and EPUB version for free?

    Thank you.

  13. Thanks!

    I have completed the order on 12 Jan 2020, please kindly advise when the booklets will be shipped.

    It has been a week but I have not receive any shipping notification yet.

  14. I ordered booklets for shipment to the United States, I suppose before your red text warnings that you cannot ship to the U.S. Are mine on the way, or are you holding the order until restrictions ease? Or, should we cancel the order and let me try again on Amazon?

    1. Hey, First of all, Thanks for purchasing. The booklets that are not being sent to the U.S are send back to me (And then I of course refund and write a mail). If you won’t get the booklets in the next 2 weeks, write me a mail and I will refund your order. Sorry for the inconvenience, nowhere did the post wrote that they don’t send to the U.S because of the corona virus and suddenly I started getting my booklets back. In the last few days I didn’t get any booklets back, so I hope they are being send.

  15. Hi. I have watched many of your videos and find them helpful and informative. I have been living in Jerusalem for several years and I wondered whether there is a place I can get your booklets near the centre of Jerusalem. I will be visiting the UK fairly soon (I hope) so for another option I checked Amazon UK but they are out of stock at the moment. Will they be getting some more stock soon?
    Thanks.

    1. Shalom, first of all thanks! Because of corona I had some problems with the shipments of the booklets but from August I will be able to send to Israel.

  16. Kol hakavod on your Middle East facts video. Really excellent.

    Would like to order the timeline poster. How can I get that? I’m a local in the Jerusalem area…

  17. Just read this last comment.
    (Just completed a long note to you!)
    Sorry to hear you do not tour any longer
    Do you have recommendations in each of the areas I have mentioned in my E Mail?

  18. Greetings to you Owen,

    I want to thank you for your efforts at introducing your wonderful country to the rest of the world. I traveled to Israel in early 2019 and had a wonderful time visiting. I miss the country so much, and long to come back. Your youtube productions have been a tremendous encouragement to me, and I want you to know that. I knew quite a lot about Israel’s history, having studied it for nearly 50 years, though even with a lot of background information, I feel as if I have just begun to learn. I so much look forward to returning to Israel when travel can be restored.

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