Karen Nathan

October 15th 2013

I just returned from a 2 week customized bar mitzvah tour for a family of 12, ranging in age from 9 to 75. I wholeheartedly agree with all of the previous glowing reviews on TripAdvisor, as my experience before, during, and after the trip was truly excellent. Shalom Stark managed to put together a fabulous trip itinerary, despite a wide range of ages and interests. Most importantly, he was there when we truly needed him. There were a few unplanned bumpy moments and Shalom went above and beyond our expectations to solve any issues, even though these were never any fault of his own. He made us feel relaxed and taken care of, so we could enjoy the wonderful itinerary. For example, my father in law needed help securing a different seat assignment with El Al on our return flight, due to a medical concern. We tried working with El Al on our own, without success. One phone call to Shalom, and he got us the seat assignment we needed. This is but one of several examples of Shalom going above and beyond to help our family.

When booking a bar mitzvah trip to Israel, one has an incredible variety of choices. I almost chose a USA based company for our tour, but in the end Shalom won me over with his professionalism, patience, warmth, and let’s not forget– a fair price. For those of you considering a USA based company: keep in mind how incredibly important it is to have an Israeli based contact, who can help you in real time as the need arises. Shalom has the perfect combination of an American orientation toward customer service mixed with the Israeli sense of urgency and a “get the job done” attitude. I especially appreciated that I was dealing directly with Shalom, and never had to play phone tag or work with an intermediary.

If my daughter decides she wants to have her bat mitzvah in Israel in 3 years I will definitely chose Shalom Israel Tours.