This is the itinerary most first-time visitors should follow: a week that captures Israel’s spiritual heart, its desert drama and its Mediterranean cool, without rushing. It assumes you fly into and out of Ben Gurion Airport and use a mix of trains and a couple of guided day trips. Prefer to focus on one city? See our 3 days in Jerusalem itinerary.
Day 1 — Arrive & Jerusalem’s Old City
Train from the airport to Jerusalem (about 30 minutes). Drop your bags and walk into the Old City: the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and a first lap of the four quarters. Dinner near Mamilla or the Mahane Yehuda market.
Day 2 — Jerusalem in depth
Go deeper: the Mount of Olives viewpoint at dawn, the City of David, and an afternoon at Yad Vashem. A guided Old City or tunnels tour pays off here.
Day 3 — Masada & the Dead Sea
A classic day trip: pre-dawn drive to Masada for sunrise, a walk in the Ein Gedi oasis, then float in the Dead Sea. Easiest as an organised tour from Jerusalem.
Day 4 — Transfer to Tel Aviv & Jaffa
Train to Tel Aviv (about 45 minutes). Spend the afternoon in ancient Jaffa and along the beach promenade, then dinner in Neve Tzedek or Florentin.
Day 5 — Tel Aviv: Bauhaus, markets & beach
The UNESCO White City Bauhaus walk, the Carmel Market, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and beach time. Tel Aviv is at its best in the evening.
Day 6 — North: Galilee or the coast
Choose your day trip from Tel Aviv. Either head to the Galilee and Nazareth for the Christian sites and the Sea of Galilee, or take the coastal route to Roman Caesarea, the Bahá’í Gardens in Haifa and Crusader Akko.
Day 7 — Last morning & departure
A final beach swim or a market breakfast, then the train back to Ben Gurion. Allow plenty of time for security at the airport.
Make it your own
Add three days for Eilat and a Petra day trip, or the Negev desert and the Makhtesh Ramon crater. Price it with our cost guide, and read the first-time guide before you go.
