Making an Israel Trip Meaningful for Teens

April 2nd 2013

When your Israel trip includes teens, you’re going to want to plan ahead to keep the teens engaged. The number one most important tip for making a trip to Israel meaningful for teens is to work with a tour company with lots of experience guiding families with teens. Some activities go a long way towards creating an experience that resonates for a lifetime. Here are some ideas to discuss with your tour agents when planning your trip to Israel.

Plan Active Activities
When there’s a choice to be made between active and passive activities, chose active, for at least part of each day, to get young adults feeling Israel to their bones. Go rock climbing on Har Carmel. Hike through a wadi. Sleep in a group Bedouin tent in the middle of the Judean desert. Go mountain biking on the Adulam Hills near Beit Shemesh. Spend an early morning on a beach, before the locals and the tourists fill it up.

Explore New Foods
Belly up to one of the many falafel and schawarma stands throughout Israel. Walk through the Machane Yehuda shuk and try to find five new foods your teens have never seen before. See if you can get them to taste something brand new. Consider peppering the itinerary with fun factory tours like the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in Beer Tuvia in southern Israel, the Coca Cola factory in Beni Brak or the Bamba factory in Holon.

Get Teens Involved
Have your teens make a video of their trip. Prepare questions in advance for which they will discover the answers during that day’s activities. Volunteer for a day picking or packing food for poor families, packing kits for soldiers or delivering toys to sick children in hospitals.

Pick Museums Wisely
Arrange a tour of at least one of the cutting edge, experiential museums in Israel such as the Israel National Museum of Science, Technology, and Space, the Herzl or Begin Museums in Jerusalem or the Blind and Deaf Museums in Holon.

Get Wet
Take on the challenging Yehudiya Water Hikes. Sail on the Kinneret. Float in the Dead Sea. Visit the Underwater Observatory Marine Park and follow it up with shopping for kitschy gifts on the Boardwalk in Eliat. Visit David’s Village and trek through Hezekiah’s Tunnel in spring water that comes up to your knees.