DANCING PANDAS

Journaling The Journey

Israel Best North Coast Itinerary

Israel best North Coast Itinerary

Our itinerary explores the north coast of Israel which is north of Tel Aviv.  These destinations offer breathtaking beauty, pristine nature and some of the most stunning views.  It had been many years since I visited these parts.  Read on to find out how this coastline has changed and evolved.  

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Bethlehem – an Easy 5 hour day trip from Jerusalem

Bethlehem Palestine Banksy Separation Wall

We were excited to go on a short day trip to Bethlehem (which is actually in Palestine).  We started in Jerusalem and surprisingly  it was quite straight forward.  We caught bus #21 from the bus terminal across from the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. Since the bus is operated by a  Palestinian company there isn’t a […]

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Jerusalem – the city of gods – even if you don’t have 1

As our bus, from Jordan arrived at the Damascus Gate we were so excited to walk through the Old City.  With all of our exuberance we quickly realized that it would be best to drop our backpacks prior to venturing into the tight corners of the crowded cobble stoned Old Jerusalem.  Check in Jerusalem was […]

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Amman to Jerusalem Border Crossing – A Smooth 3 hours

Amman to Jerusalem border crossing

We decided to take the Amman to Jerusalem border crossing to get from Jordan into Israel.  It is relatively easy to do although pretty time consuming for such a small distance.   Flights were around $450  for the 45 mile distance.  There is also a service called www.amman2jerusalem.com that offered to take us from our hotel […]

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Wadi Rum – 24 hours of Amazement

Wadi Rum Jordan Valley of the Moon

Entering Wadi Rum was a slow motion experience of leaving earth and entering a totally different world.  The sand slowly starts to turn a deeper and darker hue of red and the surrounding dramatic sandstone and basalt mountains jut out of its sandy floor.  Camels walk about the desert with or without accompanying owners under the […]

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Petra, Magnificent Petra – Best Hikes in 1 Day

The Treasury Rose City

Petra is an iconic UNESCO world heritage site and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.  It is breathtakingly beautiful and full of treasures from ancient civilizations.  Most well known for it’s spectacular monuments carved into the red rocks, its intricate water channels and its stunning temples. Because of it’s rose colored buildings […]

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Amazing Jordan – Dana Biosphere and Shobak Castle

After 4 days at the Dead Sea we were ready to see more that Jordan has to offer.  Our next stop was the Dana Biosphere Natural Reserve, but we made a quick stop along the way at the Wadi Mujib Adventure Center.  At 410 meters below sea level, the Mujib Biosphere Reserve is the lowest […]

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Cairo Museum and Final Thoughts on Exciting Egypt

After 4 days in Hurghada we were ready to head back to Cairo to see the museum and to finish our 30 day stay in Egypt.  We arranged for a car through Emo Travel and unlike our first great experience with them had a horrible one this time around. Our pick up was supposed to […]

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