Your Holy Land tour is booked and paid for. Or at least you have the money set aside and payment dates set. You’ve either signed up for a tour with your church or school, or you’ve planned something on your own. Now what?
Here are 12 tips on how to prepare for a holy land tour. We’re going to discuss
- The paperwork
- Preparing for your flight.
- What to pack.
- Non-clothing gear.
- Determining your gadget requirements.
- Stay connected.
- Hydration.
- A picture plan.
- Make a commitment to have fun.
- Jewish Holidays.
- A money plan.
- A souvenir plan.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, so feel free to add or modify it to your liking.
All links are direct links.
The Paperwork.
The most important piece of paperwork for any overseas trip is your passport. You can’t get on the plane without it, and you can’t leave the airport at your destination. Your passport is your best friend until you get home.
Your tour leader should have already talked to you about your passport. When traveling overseas, it’s a good rule of thumb to have an expiration date that is more than 6 months past the end of your trip.
I’ve never seen anything bad happen where someone had to stay overseas for 6 months, but you never know. Although Israel doesn’t require it, some European countries require you to have 3 or 6 months between the end of your trip and the expiration of your passport.
A passport is good for 10 years. The website USA.gov recommends starting the renewal application 9 months before your passport expires.
As you pack your belongings make a photocopy of your passport. And take a picture of it with your smartphone.
Do the same thing with your driver’s license.
Print off a copy of your flight itinerary, tour itinerary, and tour group contacts. You should also have digital copies of these. A Word DOC or PDF is fine.
Take all the photocopies and printouts and put them in a document envelope. Place that in your carryon.
Attach all the digital photos and documents to an email and send it to yourself and someone who is not going with you on your trip.
You are doing this in case you are separated from your group or you lose your passport. You can produce proof that you did have it at some point.
Next, you want to confirm that your flights have been booked and paid for.
Preparing for your flight.
By now you should have your luggage and carry-on in your possession. If you don’t, check out my post on amenities for information on how to select luggage.
I’m the kind of guy that packs the night before I depart. There are some people that pack a week before.
Pack your bag when you are ready. But create a list. Even if you never create a list, this is a trip you want to do it for. And don’t forget to break the list down by checked and carry bag.
For deployment I know how much I can fit into a bag. And the list usually stays the same with a few changes here and there.
Traveling as a civilian is different though, in that the purpose is different. So, I have different gear needs and requirements. As a civilian, I need to create a different list for each trip. Because of this I practice packing my bag. I make sure I can fit everything in and that the weight is under 50 pounds.
You may need to do a couple of practice packings.
If you are traveling with a spouse or family member, considered spreading each person’s stuff across all the luggage. For example, put half your shirts in your bag and the other half in your spouse’s bag. And vice versa. This way, if one of your bags gets lost, you will both still have clothing.
Also, leave room for souvenirs and gifts.
If you have a layover, research the airport. Find the airport’s website and look for the map. You don’t need to spend a lot of time on this. Get an idea for what to expect during that layover.
What to pack.
Ideally, you want to limit yourself to 1 checked bag and 1 carry-on. Because you will constantly be on the move during a Holy Land tour, you want to minimize what you lug around.
You’ll need an appropriate wardrobe that takes into account the weather and religious rules.
For information on what to wear, check out this post on the topic.
You will need a durable pair of shoes for walking the sites. Feel free to pack some leisure shoes, but put them to the side until you know you can fit them in.
You never know if you’ll have laundry facilities available. So, make sure to bring a clothesline and some detergent pods.
Because of the nomadic nature of a Holy Land tour, it’s a good idea to use packing cubes. Whether you’ve used them before or not, I highly recommend them. Packing cubes allow you to “unpack” your bag but still be “packed.”
Packing cubes reduce the stress of sifting through your bag for the shirt that goes with those shorts. Before you know it, you’ve completely unpacked. As you rush to repack in the morning you might forget something in your room.
I always save 1 small packing cube for my carry-on bag. I put 1 set of underwear and socks, a t-shirt, and my travel pillow in it. I also throw in all my power cords for my tablet and smartphone as well.
Although it’s easier for guys, I recommend packing repeat or like items. For example, don’t pack a shirt that only goes with a certain pair of shorts. Pack a bunch of shirts that go with anything. And vice versa. Pack only one, maybe two, colors and styles of socks.
Non-clothing gear.
Non-clothing gear is stuff like a travel wallet, travel pillow, hat, and toiletry bag. Or anything else you want to bring.
Make sure to have enough toiletries for the entire trip. There are plenty of places you can pick up things you forget or lose. But don’t put a stop for toiletries in your plan. You may not get the opportunity.
Money can also be part of this category. I never exchange money prior to entering a country. You can play the exchange rate game to find the best rate, but I’ve never found that to be a fruitful use of time or energy. Bring a couple hundred dollars in $20 bills with you.
A good travel wallet is worth investing in. I’ve tried several different kinds. The necklace wallet, the waistline wallet, the belt wallet, and even just a regular wallet. They all have their pros and cons. I don’t like anything that hangs or dangles from a strap.
The best setup I’ve had was a regular wallet with well-zippered pockets. For a discussion on zippered pockets, check out my post right here.
Once you’ve determined what non-clothing gear you want or need, itemize them in your checked bag list or carry-on list.
Determining your gadget requirements.
If you’re anything like me, you like gadgets. Things that fall into this category are digital cameras, tripods, laptops, tablets, drones, electrical adapters, WiFi pucks, and so forth. The list is endless.
Your main goal here is to determine what you deem to be necessary for your tour. What do you plan to capture while you travel? Photos? A journal? A video journal? Are you a vlogger or blogger and need an internet connection? What support items do you need for these items?
I traditionally bring my DSLR camera, my smartphone, my tablet/laptop, a tripod, and all the accessories associated with keeping these items charged.
In the past, I’ve packed my DSLR camera and accessories in a Pelican case. A Pelican case is a ruggedized hard case. It takes up a lot of room and weight. On my last trip, I left the Pelican case behind and went with a padded camera bag. I surrounded it with the packing cubes that were filled with clothing. The camera was just fine, but I like the Pelican case.
Packing a tripod might be hard, but if you’re into photography, you won’t want to leave it behind. If it’s an issue, consider a monopod.
Once I have all my gadgets collected and all their accessories, I figure out how I will pack them.
Some items can go in my carry-on. Others, like my DSLR camera, need to go in my checked luggage.
If you decide to use packing cubes designate 1 small cube for your carry-on, as noted above. And 1 small cube for accessories in your checked luggage.
Some travelers require medical devices, such as a CPAP machine. I recommend carrying things like this on the plane.
Staying connected.
Most hotels you will stay at offer free WiFi. They understand that travelers want to stay connected and free WiFi attracts customers.
Some tour buses also have WiFi, but you can’t count on this.
Developing your connection plan is something you need to start early. Figure out what your phone company offers. Some have great data and text plans. Some don’t.
Getting an Israeli SIM card might be a good option. Or a WiFi puck.
When I go on a Holy Land trip I text my friends and family a lot to send pictures as stories. I also use MS OneNote to document interesting tidbits and photos of each site. But I have the sync set to WiFi-only so I’m not using up my data.
My go-to is to get a text and data plan with my phone company and use the hotel WiFi in the evening. Most of the day is taken up by walking sites, sleeping on the bus, or taking in the landscape. Everything else can wait.
For a discussion on phone plans and connectivity options, check out my post on the topic right here.
Hydration.
It goes without saying that you will need to stay hydrated on your tour. Even in the winter months. Hydration is vitally important while traveling.
There are many options out there for water bottles. The best one is the one that fits your individual setup.
Are you carrying a backpack with side pockets? Are the pockets large, medium, or small? Are you carrying a shoulder bag? Do you want a nozzle to sip from or a wide mouth opening? Vacuum sealed for insulation, or are you OK with just a plain plastic container?
One of the most annoying things I come across is the couple who share 1 bottle. And they usually have a small one. You need to stay hydrated all day. Everyone should have their own bottle. I’d say 20 ounces is the minimum if you can refill it frequently.
On my last trip, I tried out the 2-bottle plan. I had a 40-ounce vacuum-sealed bottle I kept on the bus. And a 12-ounce vacuum-sealed bottle I carried on site. I’m not sure if I liked it, but it worked. Feel free to try it out if you want.
Some people say you should drink your weight in ounces per day. Others, half your weight in ounces. My recommendation is that if your mouth is dry, you are way behind the power curve.
One thing that I do with all my water bottles is run one of my backpack cinching straps through the handle. You’d be amazed at what will fall out of a pocket when you least expect it.
A photo plan.
Yes, you need a plan for picture taking. This doesn’t mean you need to have your shots picked out. It’s generally a good idea to have an idea of what sites you want to get a lot of pictures at.
Do you think you’ll need a tripod or not?
Capernaum is a good example. People mostly see pictures of Jerusalem and want to get an amazing shot from the Mount of Olives. But Capernaum is pretty cool too. So are the Cliffs of Arbel.
The reason you want to photo plan is so that you are ready with a charged camera battery. You know how to work your camera in a hurry. And you have plenty of space ready on your SD card.
Have a plan to download all your photos every evening to your laptop or tablet. Or the cloud. Don’t delete them off your smartphone or SD card though. Have extra cards available.
On a trip through Turkey, one of my SD cards failed and I lost all those pictures. I was down to 1 SD card so I had to go buy another one. When I was in Greece, I forgot to charge both my camera batteries and I couldn’t use my DSLR on a really cool site.
So, the moral of the story is that your picture plan should entail identifying a few sites you are interested in. Knowing your camera. Backing up your photos EVERY night. And keeping your batteries charged.
Make a commitment to have fun.
This may sound odd, but I think it’s necessary. Your trip won’t go perfectly. Something will go wrong. Hopefully, it’s not catastrophic.
If you are traveling with loved ones or with your church, talk through contingency plans for different things. Losing your bags. Losing some medication. Dropping your camera.
However things go, make a commitment to have fun. At the end of the day, you are going to the Holy Land to connect with God. So, focus on that. If you don’t get that awesome shot from the Mount of Olives, God doesn’t care. He wants you to experience Him in a new way.
Jewish Holidays.
Stuff closes down every Friday afternoon for Shabbat. Everything. Don’t count on landing at 2 pm because the flight was cheap and then using public transportation. You’ll get stuck with a taxi ride that will cost you the savings you got on the flight.
Some restaurants and shops stay open during Shabbat, but most close down. Jewish holidays are the same way.
For a great rundown on Jewish holidays, check out this post by Oren of travelingisrael.com. He’s a tour guide in Israel and has a website with some pretty good information.
A money plan.
Like I said above, don’t worry about exchanging money early. But do figure out how much American cash you want to bring with you.
I recommend using a credit card as much as possible. Most banks these days have options to notify them of any travel you have planned. If your card gets stolen you just report it. If there is a fraudulent charge, you can dispute it.
When you carry cash, if it gets stolen, that’s the end of the story. If you get hustled, you lose. Cash is good for buying souvenirs in the Old City, or a Coke at the café on a site. Not a tour of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (note: these are scams).
Sometimes your tour leader will have an “in” with a shop owner who gives a good rate on a money exchange. Take advantage of this. They’re usually good rates.
When you exchange money, only do small amounts at a time. Don’t exchange everything all at once. You might not spend it all. And when you leave, they may only take back bills or require a certain limit. Which will throw your exchange rate plan out the window.
Never leave with foreign currency in your pocket. It’s a hassle to get rid of. For about 3 years I carried around almost $400 spread across 9 different currencies. I couldn’t get rid of it. Most were bills, but I also had a lot of coins. Many currency exchanges want a minimum amount, and they won’t take coins.
There are bins at the Ben Gurion airport where you can donate loose change to non-profit organizations. Or you can buy a Starbucks.
A souvenir plan.
This is where you will lose your money. There are swindlers who will overcharge you. Or you will throw the item away in 6 months.
First, the swindlers. As Americans, we are used to fixed prices. Most non-western countries barter. Israel is generally more like America. But watch out.
This is a good reason to use a credit card. Most reputable establishments take credit cards and offer fixed prices.
Second, the trash souvenirs. Figure out who you want to get something for and what they might like. You don’t want to waste time “trying to find” something for your nephew when you have other things to see. Or getting him something he’s just going to throw away in a year.
Also, figure out what you might want to take home. The same problem applies here as did for your nephew.
Lastly, leave room in your luggage for souvenirs. The hotel doesn’t want your donated shirts in case future travelers lose their luggage. It’s going in the trash.
When I travel, I don’t get souvenirs for anyone. Not because I don’t care, but because they rarely do. I text pictures to people and send postcards to myself. It’s simple and cheap. And I don’t have to make room in my bag.
If I see a unique jewelry item that isn’t expensive, I get it for my mom. But that’s about it.
You are the one experiencing the Holy Land. It’s really hard for friends and family to get excited about a souvenir they have no context to. Those are my thoughts; your family could be different.
For a discussion on souvenirs, check out my post on the topic right here.
