Birthright trip to Israel! Any tips?

firstsip

Don't occupy a Palestinian while your there!

ohnuts14

Yup! I've been. Since you're going in the winter... take long sleeve shirts and sweaters! It doesn't get FREEZING cold but it can get pretty chilly. I needed a sweater the whole time. But it's good to have tank tops and T-shirts because you're going to be travelling across Israel, and some areas will be warmer than others. ALSO, you need really good hiking shoes! I'm not sure which group you signed up for, but I signed up for the adventurers.. something. I don't remember exactly. But anyway, we did A LOT of hiking, and good hiking shoes are important. I had bought a pair for the trip, but they were a drop too loose. I figured, eh, whatever. But when we were doing the actually hiking, going downhill in slightly loose hiking boots... was extremely painful, because my toes were like RAMMING into the fronts of my shoes and there was nothing I could do to keep that from happening.

TAKE PAIN KILLERS WITH YOU! Haha. I don't know what kind of shape you're in, but when I went, I was in horrible shape, and my entire body... just... felt broken. BROKEN I TELL YOU! I wanted to cry lol, it was pretty bad. So having some pain killers, like tylenol or something, could definitely be helpful.

Also, you should bring snack bars or energy bars with you, lots of them. While I was there, I barely ate. They have continental breakfasts and dinners at the hotels you'll be staying at, but personally... I have a sensitive stomach, so I was afraid to eat in the mornings, especially since you'll be out all day and get limited bathroom trips. And eggs REALLY upset my stomach in the morning, and they LOVE their eggs. Everything is eggs. And when you're hiking a mountain... I mean you could just go like nature intended, but infront of 40 something people, you probably won't want to lol. You may not get many chances to eat either, and if you're really hungry and need to keep your energy up, it's just good to have.

Make sure you have a good amount of shekels with you. At night, you can go out and do what you want, and generally that means hitting up the clubs and bars. The group tour guide will actually coordinate that for you, at least ours did. She set it up, made sure we all got cabs back and everything, we all went back as a group. But you definitely want to have money so that you can enjoy yourself. They do have ATM's, and you can use your regular debit card on their ATM machines and it'll give you shekels, it works the same as it does here, so it's not a big deal. You just don't know when you'll come across an ATM machine. I was good with 300 shekels, you might want a little more. I did have change though. And split it up, don't carry all of it with you all at once. Just for safety purposes, you never know what might happen.

At the end of the trip, you'll have an option to extend your trip indefinitely. You can schedule your return flight for whenever you want. It's $100 extra, and they'll take it right out of your deposit fee. My advice... if you can do it, DO IT. Because believe me, you'll want to. I was sick and I missed home so I really didn't want to stay, but on that last day, heading back, I regretted it SO much! I really wished I had extended my trip. If you don't have family to stay with, the soldiers are extremely friendly, and if you become friendly with them and express interest in extending your trip, they'll probably invite you to stay with them. That's what happened on my trip. Incase you didn't know, on the second or third day, about 8 Israeli soldiers join you guys. They get leave from the military so that they can experience the birthright trip. They were really cool, and a lot of fun.

That's all I can think of right now, but if I can think of more, I'll let you know. Have a great time!!!!!!! It really is life changing! It's what inspired me to start taking my health and weight loss seriously. I never did before, but being there just dragged me out of my comfort zone, in every aspect, which really changes you, for the best!

victorianesque

Wow, guys, this is extremely helpful! Did you guys find that debit cards were accepted at a lot of places, or how many shekels should I have on me? The trip guides say that you're not going to spend over $250, even on a lot of souvenirs...but..I mean...I feel like I want to buy lots of souvenirs. Also, we're attending two shabbat services, any advice on what to wear? Should it be a long skirt (to the floor) and a long sleeved blouse?

FitBeto

Found this by using "google"....... it's a wonderful invention.


Taglit-Birthright Israel (also Birthright Israel or Birthright) is a not-for-profit educational organization that sponsors free 10-day heritage trips to Israel for Jewish young adults. Its goals are to diminish the division between Israel and Jewish communities around the world and to strengthen participants' personal Jewish identity and connection to Jewish history and culture.

Since trips began in the winter of 1999, nearly 300,000 young people from 59 different countries have participated in the program. About 80% of participants are from the United States and Canada.[1]

Can you sum it up? There are too many 6-8 letter words in there.

ohnuts14

For shabbat, any long skirt and long shirt, it doesn't have to be fancy or anything. I wore a faux-velvet skirt and shirt I bought from an orthodox store before I went and I felt really overdressed. As for money, like I said, 300 shekels was plenty for me. But if you feel like taking out a little more, take out a little more! Can't hurt. Most places will not have ATM's and will not take credit cards or debit cards, so you definitely need shekels on you at all times.

IntoTheSky

I did use Google and it came up with a bunch of travel sites that said NOTHING about what a birthright trip actually was. And for the record I wasn't the only one who was wondering what it was.

Whoa there, Nelly. I wasn't just talking to you. Did not even quote it to imply that I was. Unbunch the panties before they choke you.

Chagama

My son was there this summer and was able to use his debit/ATM card to get cash with no problems. There were fees since it wasn't part of our bank and for international transactions, but he had no difficulty getting cash from ATM machines.

kuntry_navy

Wow, guys, this is extremely helpful! Did you guys find that debit cards were accepted at a lot of places, or how many shekels should I have on me? The trip guides say that you're not going to spend over $250, even on a lot of souvenirs...but..I mean...I feel like I want to buy lots of souvenirs. Also, we're attending two shabbat services, any advice on what to wear? Should it be a long skirt (to the floor) and a long sleeved blouse?

I used my ATM/debit card for everything but cabs. So, I always carried at least 80shekels. The one problem I did encouter about my card, was I tried using my bank card and it wasn't accepted(at first). I had to call my bank, and found out that my bank didn't recognize Israel. But, as soon as I called I could use it pretty much everywhere. After that trip, I would call my bank before I left and tell them the timeframe I'd be there. Saved the hassle and expensive roaming phone call.