In your final preparation for our trip to Israel, you might find this checklist helpful.

Clothing:

• You’ll wear one outfit on the plane ride over.
• Carry one complete outfit in your carry-on bag(s).
• Pack other clothing as needed for the remainder of your tour. Laundry options may be available at our Sea of Galilee stop and in Jerusalem. At other stops, you can wash out a few things by hand if they are designed to dry quickly. Clean shirts are more important than clean pants.
• Hat, cap or visor
• Swim suit
• Shoes for walking/hiking
• Optional: Shoes for more casual wear in the evening
• Hiking socks
• Optional: Hair dryer
• Optional: Small container of laundry detergent
• Something clean to sleep in.

 

Personal supplies:

• Passport (required)
• Sunscreen (required)
• Sunglasses (required)
• A small Bible (required … don’t leave home without it!)
• Your scripture verses. You can carry them in your head, in note cards or in your Bible.
• Daily prescription medicines
• Small amount of cash and a credit card. Obviously, this is up to each individual traveler. You can do this trip without spending an extra dime.
• Pens or highlighters for taking notes. If you journal, take a notebook
• Daily bag or backpack you’ll carry with you on the bus and while we visit sites. If you want to leave some items on the bus, they’ll be safe.
• Washcloths if you want them. If you take old ones, you can leave them behind. The places we stay don’t provide them.
• One thin beach towel for when we swim at the Dead Sea and/or En Gedi. These two events take place on our first two days of touring. You can use a towel to help protect against breakage. You do not have to take a towel. The sun will dry you off pretty quickly. Or you can leave it with you.
• Optional: Snacks like granola bars, trail mix … things that won’t melt.
• Fiber pills, Imodium D, Ibuprofen, Tylenol … you know your body and what you might need on a trip like this.
• Electrical adapter designed for international travel
• Camera
• Tissue paper (Sometimes a bathroom might not have any tissue. Sometimes, we might not even have a bathroom!)

 

Helpful advice

• Take snacks/heavy snacks for the flight over. If your flight arrives past the evening meal, we may not get our first meal until the next morning. Plan wisely! You can pick up new snacks for the flight home at the airport. The airline serves meals on the flight over, but if you’re asleep when the meal comes, you’ll miss it.
• We’ll be in our first place of lodging only one night and we’ll arrive late. Arrange your luggage so your next change of clothes is easily accessible. No need to completely unpack simply to pack again!
• Carry your swimsuit with you on our first day of touring. Don’t wear it … just have it with you on the bus, along with a towel if you need one.
• If you have something that will guarantee your sleep on the flight over or for the first two nights, take it!
• Drink lots of water on this trip. It’ll be warm, hot, and very hot. It’s also dry, and it’s easy to think you’re not all that thirsty. Not drinking enough water is a good way to wind up in an Israeli hospital!
• You’ll have access to a great little study guide once we arrive. It’s a good investment ($20) for understanding some of the things we’ll see.
• If you plan on picking up rocks or broken pottery, take a few plastic bags and a marker so you’ll remember which souvenir came from where.
• If you’re not planning on putting sunscreen on in the morning, take something that will help alleviate the pain of your sunburn that night.