Israel The Holy Land

The order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions or for operational purposes. Your local guide will inform you of any schedule changes as they are informed of them. Some road construction and/or weather conditions may lengthen the driving times. Our intention is to adhere to the day-to-day itinerary as printed; however, order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions.

If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of €324.50pp will need to be paid at the time of booking with the full amount payable at 12 weeks prior to departure. The deposit applies to adults and children. If you are within 12 weeks of travel then the full balance of the holiday will be payable.

To enter Israel, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 6 months after the date you arrive and at least one blank page.

A visa is not required for entry into Israel as a tourist. On entry, visitors are granted leave to enter for a period of up to 3 months. Visitors entering viaTel Aviv Ben Gurion airport are given an entry card instead of an entry stamp in their passport. You should keep your entry card with your passport until you leave. We recommend you check with your destination's tourist board or embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding visas and passport validity.

Please note that final flight details will be confirmed on your e-ticket and final documentation which will be sent to you approximately 21 days before departure. Weight restrictions will be finalized on your final documentation. Should you wish to take additional luggage you will need to pay extra at check-in. Check-in should be at least 3 hours before departure. If you wish to arrange Airport car parking or accommodation at preferential rates, we recommend you book this in advance with Holiday Extras on 0871 360 2000, quoting HX313.

IMPORTANT: A printed E-ticket is no longer required at check-in, all you need to do is present your passport to the staff at the desk and your boarding pass will be given to you. Please note that you should carry your invoice with flight details on it as you will need to show this at the airport.

We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are suitably insured as soon as you book your holiday. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your participation in whatever activities you may undertake at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras. To arrange your travel insurance with Holiday Extras, please call 0800 781 4237 and quote 'WK830' for preferential rates. Please ensure you provide us with the name of your insurer, policy number and their 24 hour emergency contact number as soon as possible. Mercury Holidays will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.

It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include; www.fco.gov.uk, http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/, www.hpa.org.uk, your General Practitioner or a specialist clinic.

This tour is accessible to most people with a good level of fitness and normal mobility. It involves climbing of steep stairs and getting on and off coaches and boats. This tour is not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties.

The currency in Israel is the Israel Shekel (ILS/NIS). The local currency, USD ($) or Euro (€) are accepted. ATMs and exchange facilities are available. We advise that you request bank notes in smaller denominations, as it can sometimes be hard to get change from large notes and smaller notes are handy for smaller purchases. Credit cards are widely accepted but debit cards are not.

As normal practice you may be asked for your credit card details on check-in at the hotel in order to cover any extras incurred during your stay. If you do not have a credit card, you may be asked for a cash deposit. MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in hotels as well as American Express.

You will need to take some extra money with you to cover any personal purchases, such as souvenirs, laundry and extra drinks and snacks. Approximately £200 - £300 per person will be sufficient for the duration of the tour.

Tipping Tipping is at your discretion however it is customary in Israel. For the guide we suggest approximately $8-$10 per person per day and for the driver we suggest approximately $4-$5 per person per day. For porters we suggest $1 per person and for waiters it is generally 10% - 12% of the bill. Tips are accepted in the local currency or USD ($), however it is asked that if you do not tip in the local currency that you only pay with notes, as coins cannot be exchanged.

The minimum number of travellers in your group will be 15, and the maximum will be 35. If in the unlikely event there are less than 15 people booked on your tour date, we will endeavour to reduce any disruption to your holiday and try to operate your tour with lower passenger numbers. If we are not able to operate your departure date then you may be asked to change to a different date and a full refund will be made available to you should this alternative not be suitable.

This is a fully escorted tour, meaning that you will be met on arrival by your national guide who will remain with you for the duration of your trip. You will also be joined by a local guide in each of the cities which you visit, ensuring that you have first-hand knowledge at all times.

For Private Tours or groups of 6 and lower, you will be accompanied by a qualified Driver/Guide.

Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character, and can range from business hotels to leisure hotels. Hotel accommodation is generally rated as local three to four-star standard, but please note there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences in facilities and quality do exist compared to what you might expect in the UK. All group tours hotels have private bathroom facilities and air-conditioning. Rest assured that all accommodation used by Mercury Holidays is regularly inspected by our staff and partners to ensure that standards meet your needs.

Breakfast is always western style and served in the hotel each morning. Lunch and Dinner (when included) will be taken in local restaurants or at the hotel. A variety of restaurants are visited giving you the chance to experience a range of dishes and flavours.

Vegetarian and Vegan options available, please request prior to departure. Please contact Customer Experience for questions about other dietary requirements or allergy information.

It is not recommended to drink the tap water, even in developed countries water may contain unfamiliar elements that can cause upset stomachs. In less developed countries water is not filtered in the same way.Bottled water will be available at shops and hotels.

Modest clothes are required while in Israel, this means covering of knees and no sleeveless shirts. A head covering is also required for visiting holy sites.

On your arrival in Tel Aviv, you will be met by a representative after passport control, but before baggage claim, holding a sign with “Mercury Holidays” on it. They will then escort you to the guide and driver outside the airport waiting for you.

If you need to contact Isram Israel during your stay the details are:

Isram Israel (Touring) Ltd: 40 Aliyat Hanoar St. Tel Aviv 67450 Israel Telephone: 00972 3 6947777 E-mail: info@isram.co.i

Emergency contact information: Please find below the emergency contact details for Isram Israel 24-hour mobile phone number: Telephone: 00972-52-588-8760