Bethlehem Tour From Jerusalem

Kamal was a very precise and welcoming guide. He explained many things in an engaging way, always attentive to our interests and curiosities. It was an experience that will remain in my memory vividly.

The tour guy was a local one and very acknowledge of all and very informative, Is another way to see this city from historical view, I did 4 different and this one be came my favorite, thank you for the great customer services and for sharing all the beautiful acknowledge.

Ashraf was our guide. Fantastic day, Ashraf was very professional, very knowledgeable and proactive. The tour took us through star street which we felt was important introduction and created specific atmosphere. We felt Ashraf is pasionated about the history and shared interesting details with us. Thanks to Ashraf proactive management we avoided long waiting time and crowed at the church. Make sure Ashraf is your guide in Betlehem and you will not be disappointed!

The Tour planning was great to get us to the Church of The Nativity early, before the crowds really started lining up. On the walk thru the Old City, our guide told us about the more recent history of Bethlehem, architecture, etc. Bethlehem now is quite a large city. As we waited in the sanctuary, we were able to take photos while he explained the history of the Church, and what to expect when we entered the area of Christ's Birth. We also visited the Church of the Milk Grotto, where Joseph hid the Holy Family before departing on the Flight To Egypt. An interesting legend here, as well. Very humbling to be in such a holy place.

I booked on the 23rd and canceled after a fe hours of feeling unwell. I tried to get some refund but the feedback was Im not entitled to any refund as the cancellation was less than 48 hours (ironically the booking was 30 odd hours before the tour. This speaks to greed and and an uncaring attitude. Much like the taxi drivers */10 times don't turn on their meters (the 2/10 merely after stern insistence), in order to charge excessive fees, The fact that the latter is endemic means that the authorities are complicit and willingly turns a blind eye. These two experiences leave a bad taste, after an otherwise phenomenal time in the Holy Land.

The entire tour was much better than I expected. The professionalism and skills of the guide, Ashraf Shaheen were incredible. He smoothened out the entry process everywhere and he answered all our questions very patiently. Couldn’t have been better.

Great guide, very honest super happy to share experiences. Tour was also fantastic. We didn’t know if we should go to the Banksy museum but it ended up being a major highlight. Thank you for an amazing experience!

I gave an excellent rating even though we were delayed 3 hours coming home because the parking lot that our bus was in was WALLED OFF by other vehicles in the lot. This was no fault of Abraham Tours, but the parking lot attendant. Our tour guide handled it very well, gave us free coffee and a warm place to stay. I know he was angry, but he didn't let us see that. It was a cold rainy day but I felt well cared for. The Shepherds Field and Church of Nativity and seeing the Scouts parade on Christmas Eve Day was so meaningful. The meal at the restaurant across from Shepherds Field was scrumptious.

A terrific tour, no mucking about; Ashraf knows his stuff and ensures you get into the right places to get through lines quickly. Other tour guides defer to Ashraf; you’ll see what I mean when you visit the church if the nativity. Best value for money.

Abraham Tours met us at their Jerusalem hostel with a comfortable minibus. The first stop was the River Jordan where Jesus was baptised, then we drove through the stunning mountains to Ramallah where we had a coffee break. We had our passports checked several times, then it was on to Yasser Arafat’s tomb, which was great to see with its armed guards. We had a very good lunch at a pre arranged cafe, then it was on to Bethlehem. It was very strange to reach the Church of the Nativity via an escalator in a shopping mall. Didn’t seem quite right somehow. However, the church was stunning as were the views from Bethlehem. Our last visit of the day was to The Walled Off Hotel instigated by Banksy. Alongside the hotel runs the wall separating the Palestinians. All along the wall is artwork, not all by Banksy, but all bearing a message. Inside the hotel are more examples of Banksy’s art. Certainly makes you think. All day we had glimpses of the wall running for miles and miles. It made me very glad for my own freedom. Thanks to Abraham Tours for a brilliant day, which I would thoroughly recommend.

Guide was knowledgable and practical with navigating queues and timings Helped achieve our extra wishes Would fully recommend

Absolutely best tour we’ve ever taken. Tour guide Ashraf was outstanding. We were all so impressed by his knowledge, ability to tell history and stories with clarity and confidence. He is clearly a professional and we felt we had learned a lot from him. We felt 100% safe in the West Bank.

This was a once in a lifetime tour with Ashraf — who lives in Bethlehem. Ashraf was perfect for our group because he has a lot of local connections that other guides don’t have and could get us to the important sites efficiently....which is critically important in a place like Bethlehem. Ashraf is extremely knowledgeable and was very engaging. He taught me a lot about Bethlehem, some of the foundation myths surrounding Christ’s birth, as well as the local situation in Palestine, etc. He brought us to a shop with reasonable prices and where they let you shop with shop staff only on hand to answer questions. The stop for lunch was likewise terrific. Very good grilled meats and hummus. If you want to visit Bethlehem, definitely recommend Abraham Tours and Ashraf!

Very good experience with Abraham tour. Special thanks to Shimon for the Holy City tour and for how he managed the difficult situation due to the events occurred that day on Gaza strip and same to Eliyahu for the Hebron Dual Narrative. This last one is highly recommended, it’s an experience that you should live once in your life. The Bethlehem tour is a bit quick but very intense, you cant missed it. I strongly recommend Abraham Tours Jerusalem and when I’ll be back to Isarael I’ll use them again. Thank you.

Actually, the Abraham Activity is a new day tour of the Westbank covering Nazereth Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramalah. Luckily our Jerusalem hotel was in walking distance to the Abraham Tour pickup centre. The Abraham desk hosts were very friendly and helpful. We choose the west bank tour to see some special cities with an escort rather than doing it alone. Actually, we received better incite into the cities from the our guide Ashraf.

My husband and I booked this tour along with another couple. Our two groups booked this tour with a pickup at our hotel (the Notre Dame Guest House, next to the New Gate). When booking, the website asked for a pick up location, which we entered as our hotel. We were in the lobby at 8am waiting for our 8.15am pick up. At 8.20am, I called the tour company, to see if there had been a delay. At this point we were informed that there was only one pick up point and it was not our hotel. I argued this point saying that the website offered a hotel pick up point and that we had booked this. The woman on the phone further informed me that they could not pick us up and that we had missed the tour and if we wanted our money back we had to deal directly with Trip Advisor. She was quite rude and unhelpful. Trip Advisor have told us that they will investigate. I have not yet received an email confirming this. This happened two days ago. At this stage we are out of pocket by $160 AUD per couple. We hope to get our money back. Overall this was a very disappointing experience and one that we are keen to avoid in the future. We currently have other tours booked with this operator via Trip Advisor and are considering cancelling as we can’t trust that we will be picked up.

I met Ashraf the previous day on the tour to Mount Gerazim (Samaritans), Jacob's Well, Nablus and Jenin. The tour possibly changed my life. I went places I only read of and to be there and hear the knowledge was a life enhancing experience. g

This was a fantastic tour. We had Ashraf shaheen as our guide! He was extremely knowledgeable and educational about Israel and about Bethlehem. If I ever get to Israel again, I will see as much as possible with this guide. Very attentive and professional, learned so much from Ashraf. Went accompanied by my 36 yr old son. We both have strong interest in Bible. If your a Christian, this guide is one of the best!!

My daughter and I did this tour in January 2019 and it has to be the by far the worst tour we did in 3 weeks in Israel where the standard of tours is high. The tour guide did not give any more information than a cursory 3 minute read of your guidebook would provide and the tour itself was rushed with the majority of time spent queuing in the stifling stairway of the Church of the Nativity for a photo opportunity at the silver star where Jesus was born. Exceptionally disappointing - I would rather have caught the bus and explored Bethlehem independently...a waste of a half a day.

The tour meets up in the Abraham Hostel just off Davidka square (which was named after a home-made mortar used in the 1948 independence war, you can see one of the actual weapons mounted on a pedestal). The bus left on time and we picked up our guide soon after crossing the border into the PA-controlled West Bank. The tour guide was knowledgeable, funny and engaging. Best of all, he was apparently possessed of the ability to drastically reduce our time lining up at the manger square/church of the nativity area. Lunch consisting of salad, dips and chicken and beef kebabs was quite generous but was just ok.

Pick up was at the Abraham Hostel, which actually looked really cool. Anyway, the drive to Bethlehem was interesting. It was basically a van and a driver. No discussions or anything. The Driver was actually on the phone the whole time. However, when we entered Bethlehem and picked up our tour guide, everything changed. He was fantastic. It is a very tight schedule due to all of the lines, but he made sure we were taken care of. There would be a huge line, probably over an hour, to see some of the sites. He would walk up to the front, chat with his friends, come back and say "follow me." It was like having a fast pass. He was very organized and was very informative. Highly recommend.

Our Bethlehem tour was very informative. Our guide did an excellent job of explaining the history of Bethlehem from the birth of Jesus to the current situation. The sites were well worth seeing, and he did a really good job of telling us about their significance. Thank you!

I had Tamer as a guide. He was great. Funny, knowledgeable, friendly. He showed us the side of Palestine I don't get here in the USA. The tour is very safe, the Palestinians are super friendly, and I think it's a must for anyone in Israel to experience. We had a great lunch at The Shepherd's Tower, but my highlight of the day was the last stop in Bethlehem. Seeing the separation wall, with all of the art and graffiti, the Walled Off Hotel, it was eye opening. I actually went back on my own the next day.

First of all, I have to say that it's not the tourguides fault. He was ok, it's the tour that's the problem. We had to get up crazy early, drive over to Bethlehem, then walk the Star Street to the Nativity Church and up to that point everything was fine. Prepare to stand in line inside the church for at least one and a half hours and to protect yourself and your place in the line from people trying to cut short in all unchristian manners. Inside the small chapel you have three minutes tops, then you are rushed out, have a quick run to the Milk Grotto and that's the whole trip. We found it a bit ridiculous and still pricey for that kind of experience.

This tour does not live up to Abraham Tour's typical standard. It's standard is so low that even the tour seller in the Abraham Hostel eventually told me he knows this tour is bad! Upside for some: Most efficient way to simply quickly pilgrimage into the church and back to Jerusalem. Waste of time if, instead, you want to genuinely experience a West-Bank city. Guide will tell you fairy tales of how Jesus touched a stone to change it into white stone (of which you could apparently now buy some), and he eventually drags the group into an expensive jewelry, where he explains details about the jewelry and claims that it would be good to buy something in this posh shop to support the locals!

I could not have asked for a better experience. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable. The tour was safe, packed with sites and information. I highly recommend this company, this tour and without a doubt, this experience. 10 stars!

took the half day tour of Bethlehem from Jerusalem it turned out to be a small group (only 7 of us) which proved to be an advantage after the short trip from Jerusalem, we transferred to another minivan driven by our tour guide Ashraf. He was very good, offering both historical & Biblical description of all the places. He also included a trip to the Milk Grotto which was not part of the original tour (perhaps because we were a small group, the tour was very manageable for him) and I was so glad for this because I would not have known this very important place if not for him (where Mary nursed Jesus before the family fled to Egypt) it was an awesome experience and worth every penny!

<p>This tour was really great. It didn't begin as most city tours because we had to pick up and drop off our guide after the checkpoint. Here are the hiccups the we encountered. They are mostly logistical issues that made this tour difficult for us to enjoy, but overall, the content was excellent. </p> <p>I called Viator in advance to ask about transportation to and from the site because we were traveling with our 7 month old daughter. We wanted to bring her stroller for the walk to the meeting point and her car seat for the bus ride to Bethlehem but did not want to use those items while on the tour. We were told by the agent at Viator that this would be completely acceptable as we would be traveling to and from Bethlehem on the same bus. Of course, when we got to our drop off point, we were told t bring all of our personal belongings because a different bus would be coming back for us. For anyone that has been to Bethlehem, it is PACKED! Packed, chaotic, frighteningly aggressive due to all the visitors. This is not conducive for a huge baby stroller that we did not want to bring in the first place. Our guide was great and helped us and the other family with a small child but we definitely felt that we were a burden to the group and our guide for having to maneuver a stroller around with us. Although this was just 1 hiccup, it made this tour much more difficult and troublesome than it should've been. </p> <p>Advice to families traveling with infants: Be prepared to lug all of your gear with you even if the Viator agent ENSURES that you will be able to leave your stroller and baby gear in the bus.</p>

Our tour guide, Ashraf, was excellent. He was a wealth of information and knowledge, friendly, humerous and made the whole tour fun. The tour bus picked up from the Abraham Hostel on time and was very organized throughout. We did tours with other companies while in Jerusalem and this one was the best and most "professional". I would recomment Abraham Tours to anyone. They did a great job.