Is there a cheap way for a family of 7 to visit Israel?

amother

Aster

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 12:30 am

amother OP wrote:

For my kids to go to camps in the summer, I pay around 6,000. (No kid goes for more than 4-5 weeks, and only 2 are sleepaway camp age.)

I'm wondering if there's a way, if moshiach is chas veshalom not here soon, tor me to go with my family for a week or two or three (depending on time of year is the amount. A week random time, or two weeks pesach/sukkos, or maybe even 3 in bein hazmanim summer) for very cheap. Not this summer, as we already have kids signed up for camp.

Has anyone done that?

Lets say I get crazy cheap tickets like 900*7 that's already 6300. Are there cheaper tickets?
... And then I need a place to stay (can be a 2 bedroom). Would want to be in yerushalayim...

Like rent a bachur dirah?
Switch apartments with someone coming to the States?

Once in Israel we'd have to pay for food which would be regular budget like living in States, we'd have extra transportation fees but would try to mostly take buses, we wouldn't do major touristy things. I'd want to take the kids to the kosel, kever rochel, show them our seminary and yeshiva neighborhoods, meet a gadol, maybe go to rebbetzin kolodetzky... Don't need to go too tzfat, meron, teveria, ashdod, etc.
Yerushalayim will be fun enough

Has anyone done that?

Didn't read all the responses but would you fly from Newark or JFK? Because plenty of people here would switch a 2-3 bedroom for a minivan in the States (especially if you fly bein hazmanim when many American kollel families fly back)

Also, stopovers can be nice! Take a cheap flight with a 10 hour stopover in Europe (Paris, Vienna, and Amsterdam all have train stations in the airport) and you can go to the Jewish quarter or tour tourist sites.

amother

Jean ↓

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 2:54 am

The only reliable airline right now is el al. United and other airlines have been cancelling flights on and off since October 7th. I know plenty of people who had booked on other airlines who ended up cancelling their trips because they could not rebook on el al at the last minute. Either no flights were available or the cost was prohibitive. If you are looking to book now for the summer, the price of tickets will be very, very expensive. Anyone claiming to have cheap tickets must have booked them months ago.

amother

Honey

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 2:55 am

OP, we went one year for Sukkos, rented a 2 bedroom for 9 of us and the owners put in extra mattresses. We got very cheap tickets. Direct flight but not ideal dates. I took along alot of food. Was a great experience.

Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 3:21 am

Someone mentioned c/card points which is the only way to make tickets cheaper.
OP, the words Israel and cheap don't really go together in the same sentence.
Especially not for Peach Succot and summer ben hazmanim which area peak season and only el-al as the only reliable carrier so far.
Sorry

notshanarishona

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 3:37 am

Food is only affordable if you have a fully furnished apartment with pots and pans, dishes. Otherwise you end up spending a lot on disposables.
We did this maybe 6 years ago when we needed to finish sell our apartment. Rented a dumpy fully furnished apartment, in a not central location, took only buses , sent my daughter to a camp in someone’s house geared towards Israeli’s.
Still cost a lot but not insane amounts.

amother

Calendula

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 3:44 am

For places to stay the only thing affordable is a switch or to rent something more simple from someone who is away at the same time. E.g. I have a small unrenovated two bed apartment in Jerusalem and would rent for 400 shekels per night not including bills. But it's not luxurious Wink

amother

↑ Jean

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 3:59 am

amother Honey wrote:

You can't even compare the situation from years ago to what the situation is now. Aside from the airline tickets, the price of rentals, especially for Sukkos is beyond sky high. People know that they can charge anything...and they will get it!

amother

Lavender

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 4:13 am

Tickets are cheaper right after Chanuka time. The weather is beautiful then.

amother

DarkGreen

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 4:14 am

My friend came for the summer with 5 kids. They bought tickets months earlier that were cheap. They ended up doing some kind of apt. or car swap for a tiny not-renovated two bedroom that they stuffed themselves into.
She did something smart and signed up her younger kids for local day camps. This worked because she stayed in an American area where there were English speaking camps. Day camp in Israel is much cheaper than in America and then she was able to take her two teenagers on more mature trips, or even just shopping in Geulah and things the little kids would not enjoy.
They did not rent a car and took busses everywhere. They did a few longer trips with the whole family but only free trips - the separate beach, big parks in Ashdod and Modiin etc.

Ruchel

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 4:17 am

amother Olive wrote:

Can you try to do an apartment swap with an Israeli family for your home/aparmtent?

This or hostel.
But basically, no unless you do this.

ora_43 ↓

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 5:04 am

Cheap, no. But cheap-er, maybe.

The main thing is time of year. Summer and chagim are popular times to visit, so prices are higher. The more off-season you're willing to go, the better, the father in advance you book, the better. Willingness to fly at weird times of day also helps.

Airplane tickets are going to be by far your biggest expense. It sounds like you're willing to do an extreme budget vacation - tiny apartment, no tourist sites, nothing outside Jerusalem. I really can't say strongly enough that I would NOT do that!! If you're going to pay 7,000 dollars in airfare, take the time to save another 2,000 dollars and make it a quality vacation!

A rental in Jerusalem could be around $1,800 for the week, if you're willing to take a less-nice part of downtown that's still very central. Make sure it's a place with a fridge and hot water; if you buy yourself a hot plate you can make breakfast and snacks in the apartment.

Transportation will be maximum $12 per person per day for the entire country. Really, do not save there. Come, get combined bus/train passes, and see the country.

Museums and tourist attractions are pricier but still worth it. I mean, I'd do as many free activities as possible - tour the Knesset, tour the shuk, visit the Kotel, go to Tel Aviv and visit the beach - but I'd also budget for (1) at least 3 visits to museums/attractions, (2) food!!!! Jerusalem is the best place for kosher food in the world IMHO. Try kosher 'bacon cheeseburger,' try Kurdish food, taste random stuff at the shuk.

↑ ora_43

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 5:10 am

Basically I'd do one of two things.

1. Book for off-season. Weather will be variable (some cold, rainy days, especially in Jerusalem) but you can still do and see lots of fun stuff. Come for 7-10 days, stay in Jerusalem, do day trips to other parts of the country.

2. Do a trip to Israel instead of camp. Come for 3-4 weeks. Weather will be variable (some horribly hot days, even in Jerusalem) but you can still do and see lots of fun stuff. Book tickets months in advance; ditto for a reasonably cheap air bnb or a short-term rental. (Make sure to check ratings + if you can, have someone you trust here check it for you - you don't want to be stuck somewhere terrible for a month). You could spend part of the time outside Jerusalem.

#2 would be more expensive, but if it's instead of camp, it's like you have an extra $6,000. That should cover the additional expenses (another 3 weeks of cheap lodgings, more travel + activities money, higher airfare).

amother

↑ Magenta ↓

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 5:25 am

Do not listen to everyone's "only elal" claims

What is true is that AMERICAN Airlines ( Americvan airlines, delta, united) have been incredibly unreliable. The European airlines have been much more reliable - just make sure to book a refundable trip. We flew ITA the week of the Iranian attacks - the day the airport opened they where back. Our whole flight ended up being united cancellations.

The explanation I had is that the US is so far the pilots need to sleep overnight in Israel and they are not wiilling too - vs eruopean airlines where its a qucik trip and they go back to europe the same day.

I found this flight for the summer for $932
Both ways is a long stopover in rome which is an AMAZING place to see - we just did this - and the way in its not overnight so u wont have an additional hotel/airbnb cost
https://www.skyscanner.com/tra.....tops=!twoPlusStops

If you are willing to swap your car for an apartment there will be tons of takers - I know lots of people in my area who look for these kind of things. Usually they would pay for insurance and you would pay for utilities when doing such a swap.

Question is - what would you guys do for work on such a long trip?
Can you go remote?

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 6:06 am

So many great thoughts and ideas!!!

Keep them coming!!!

Busybee5 ↓

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 6:14 am

amother OP wrote:

I have this dream that our one bedroom apt we lived in 15 years ago will be available... LOL cuz it's good memories but our current family wouldn't fit in it!!!

Hey friend, I was in Israel around 15 years ago as well!

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 6:20 am

amother Lavender wrote:

Tickets are cheaper right after Chanuka time. The weather is beautiful then.

It's winter time. You cant know if it will be beautiful or not.

Iymnok

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 6:22 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

It's winter time. You cant know if it will be beautiful or not.

Hey, gishmei bracha is beautiful! 🌧️

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 6:26 am

Iymnok wrote:

Hey, gishmei bracha is beautiful! 🌧️

What about winter storms which may come with gishmei bracha?

↑ Elfrida

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 6:38 am

I'd want to take the kids to the kosel, kever rochel, show them our seminary and yeshiva neighborhoods, meet a gadol, maybe go to rebbetzin kolodetzky... Don't need to go too tzfat, meron, teveria, ashdod, etc.
Yerushalayim will be fun enough

Reading your OP again,I'm really wondering if traipsing around Yerushalayim for a couple of weeks really will be enough to entertain your children.

The Kotel - an hour. Add in the Old City and you could spend a day there.
Kever Rachel - a morning
Seminary/Yeshiva neighborhoods - maybe another morning
Meet a Gadol - an hour or so

What are you going to do the rest of the time? Yerushalayim has history and museums and parks, and you know what ages your children are and what will entertain them, but you need to plan a bit more. Older children will probably want to get out and explore a bit more. The chances are they will want to visit Sfat and the Kinneret and other tourist sites.

A recreation of your seminary experience is not going to do it.

amother

Stone

Sun, Jun 16 2024, 6:59 am

We did this last summer (family of 8). Thoughts we'd break pretty even due to ridiculous prices of camps but I'm just warning you OP it will cost you a lot more than what you cheshbon on paper.

Doable? Yes. For the exact cost of camp? No. There are things that you can do to make the dream happen though.

First of all you want to look into cc points programs. We didn't pay a penny for our tickets (which is by far going to be the biggest expense).

Second, if you start your search early you may be able to find someone willing to swap house or car with you. (We didn't plan early enough and paid $4,000 to rent a three bedroom apartment for 3 weeks). Keep in mind that you really can't rent a teeny tiny dira for 7 people unless you plan on being out of it 99% of the time and coming in just for sleeping. If you plan on using your dira just for sleeping then you are going to wind up spending a lot of money on your activities outside of the house. If you want to minimize those expenditures you're going to have to rent a place where your kids feel comfortable hanging out without going stir crazy and feeling claustrophobic. (We aren't fancy people at all, and don't live in a giant house, but to my American kids an apartment still felt cramped.)

Third, food! After airfare food was the biggest expense by far. I was shocked by what we spent on food. I thought, ok I have to provide food at home anyways, what's the difference? Somehow though our food bill was huge. We wound up eating out a lot more than intended because when we would come home after an outing hot and tired and falling off our feet I wasn't usually up to defrosting chicken and frying schnitzel, so it was easier to run down the block and pick up falafel. Could we have planned better and spent less on food? Probably. But it's just something to be aware of, that the food will be more than you anticipate.
Practical ways to save on food: we brought sandwiches whenever we were going to be out for a whole day. We refilled water bottles with sink water (our apartment had a filter so my kids were fine with the water) and froze them the night before. Bought some frozen pizza and that type of stuff so the kids would have what to grab when we were home instead of buying food from takeout places every time they got hungry.

Fourth, save. We saved. I made a budget for how much money we need to live each week (here) and took out that amount of cash at the beginning of each week. At the end of the week whatever extra cash I had left over went into an envelope that was earmarked for "extra expenses" (ie, an upcoming yt, an extra car repair, etc etc). By the time we left, whatever was left in that envelope was our "Israel money" and we had quite a significant sum. (And mind you we didn't decide to even try this until pesach last year, so we didn't have a lot of time to save. If you have a whole year you can really save a ton of money.)

To sum up, is the trip doable? Yes. Will it cost the same as camp? No. But there are ways to cut back and for us it was massive dream come true. I literally kept saying if Hashem managed to work out that our family (who does not have money by any stretch) was able to do this trip then I truly believe in nissim! So even if you have to put some of the extra expenses on cc it might be worth it to you. I might spend the next thirty years paying back this trip and it will be worth every penny.