This tour exceeded our expectations!!! Ahmad our driver picked us up from the hotel in Tel Aviv, he explained some details along the way, he also dropped us off on the way back to our Tel Aviv hotel. Ahmad was great, he asked us if we were hungry, since we were planning to eat back in Tel Aviv, he made us try a falafel at a local restaurant,the next thing you know we told Ahmad to please find us a table, it was the best falafels and hummus we have tried, all four of us for 60 shekels!! You can't find that price in Tel Aviv! Dia our tour guide was the best! He was great in explaining details and he waited with us in line inside the Church of Nativity. I wish all our guides in our previous tours with another company was like Dia. The souvenir shop was a blessing as we got good prices and they give you a discount plus free items to take with us. What a great tour to end our holiday vacation.

Excellent trip to Bethlehem. Our tour guide Johnnie was so friendly, knowledgeable and professional. Lots of time to see everything and ask questions. Air conditioned mini bus with professional driver. Ended up at a lovely gift shop for coffee and pastry and no pressure to buy but lots of beautiful gifts. Learnt a lot about the Palestine situation and how it impacts people, Highly recommended.

We went on the half day private tour of Bethlehem with Johnny ($250 USD total for my husband and I plus tips). Everything was easy to arrange with Elijah Tours online or through WhatsApp and the pickup and drop off all went smoothly. We requested a 9:30 am pickup at our hotel in Jerusalem. Our very nice driver was right outside waiting for us. He told us to bring our passports but when we got to the border crossing our car was just waved right through. We never even had to pull out passports out. When we got to Bethlehem our guide, Johnny, was there waiting for us. It's super important to have an experienced guide who knows how to get you in and out of each site on a schedule so you don't get stuck waiting an hour when they close the church at noon, or waiting when a procession is coming through. He was able to get us right in to the underground cave beneath the Church of the Nativity where it is believed that Jesus was born. If we had not been on this private tour the line would have been at least 2 hours. The sites we visited were Shepherds Field, Church of the Nativity, St Catherine's, St Jerome's Cave and the Milk Grotto. We also stopped at a Banksy mural on the side of an auto repair shop along the road. Johnny shared an incredible amount of knowledge about every site and he delivered it in a moving and thoughtful way. After the tour we ended at a souvenir shop and bought a few olive wood carved hearts and crosses, etc. There's really no pressure to buy anything if you don't want to since your ride back to your hotel is already there waiting for you. We were back at our hotel by around 1:30. We were so glad we went ahead and took this tour. Elijah made it easy and it was a wonderful experience. Johnny is the best!

It was a short but great and fruitful tour especially because of our tour guide Johnny! He explained things well and was very patient with our group. The churches included in our tour were very serene and full of meaning. The people we met in the souvenir shop, Zuluf, are really kind and generous! I was happy we went to Bethlehem with Elijah Tours and Travel! Highly recommended!

It was a very informative nd enlightening trip from our very friendly and intelligent guide. He has many insights and has shared many things during the trip.

Magnificently organized trip to Bethlehem accompanied by a super guide, who professionally led us to all of the essential sights!!!!

Hi George just got back from tour . It was beyond amazing . Our guide was the best ever . We were a group of 14 British women and can’t recommend you guys enough … All guides are not made the same and ours was so knowledgable / funny / so helpful . Emma

Our tour was well run with clear communication for both booking and on the day of the tour. We booked to be picked up in Jerusalem at a hotel near the train station (VERT hotel) and used the high speed rail to come from Tel Aviv that morning. The high speed rail is very cost effective and avoids any traffic. Our driver was in communication before the pickup time and ensured we knew where to find him. The driver took us to Bethlehem to meet our guide. The journey was smooth and the driver informative. In Bethlehem, we met our guide Johnny. Johnny had a great personality with good humor. He adjusted things accordingly based on our wishes for time at each location and gladly assisted with photos. Johnny also timed things perfectly to avoid larger bus groups at key times and ensure a smooth flow through the Church of the Nativity. He was full of knowledge and made our half day private tour very pleasant. At the Sheperd's Field, take some time to appreciate both the history of the old byzantine church and the nearby cave while also admiring the architectural choices of the more modern church. Make sure Johnny, or your guide, takes the special "star" photo of you in the cave. As you can expect, the highlight of the tour is the Church of the Nativity. It will be crowded but there is plenty to ponder as you pass through this incredible history. We definitely enjoyed the stop at the olive wood factory at the end of the tour and this is where we did most of our shopping for gifts. The team at the olive wood factory was very cordial and did not pressure in the least. They offered beverages and kind hospitality throughout our shopping experience. After we were finished shopping, our driver was waiting to take us bake to Jerusalem. If you are also doing a Jerusalem tour, I would recommend doing this tour the second day. For Jerusalem, you need a full day and this is fine in half a day. More so, if like us, you stay in Tel Aviv, you can take time to wander Jerusalem more after the morning in Bethlehem. You will have a good understanding of the area after the first day tour. Otherwise, you can have plenty of time to do other things back in Tel Aviv, such as enjoy the sun or the Old Jaffa Port.

My wife and I spent a great day doing a private tour to Bethlehem and the Dead Sea (from Jerusalem) through Elija Tours. Booking and organizing the trip was seamless. They were very flexible in tailoring the day to meet our needs and more than happy to eliminate any side trips that did not interest us. Most importantly, the tour guides and drivers were all very professional, prompt, friendly and dedicated to making sure we had a fantastic experience. Dia, (Saint) George, and Rocky all took very good care of the two of us and made sure we felt safe and comfortable the entire trip. All were super friendly, charming, and knowledgeable. It was especially helpful to be able to circumvent the crowds and skip the lines when needed at the historic sites. I cannot think of a better way to tour the West Bank, Bethlehem, and the Dead Sea and cannot recommend Elijah Tours and their team enough.

Did a half day private Bethlehem tour with Elijah Tours. After a slight mix up on which hotel, which Elijah sorted immediately, our driver took us into the West Bank. It felt like quite the adventure but we felt very safe. We meet our guide, Samuel, who was outstanding. We saw so much in such a short time and he explained everything really well. My Catholic friend was in tears of joy to be visiting such holy sights. So glad we went.

Our tour guide Daniel and driver George were excellent. They were able to provide us with a wonderful experience of the Shepherds Field and the Church of the Nativity. It was also an insight into life in Bethlehem and the West Bank. Bad Sam our driver from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv was courteous and also provided narratives along the route.

Glad we booked this as a last minute alternative for a half day tour! Elias made this half day trip a memorable one. Very informative and kind and we felt so welcomed.

This trip was, in a word: wonderful! It started with a mistake by me - I miscalculated the date we would arrive in Israel, and mistakenly booked this trip during a time we would still be on a jet coming to Israel. I did not figure this out until I was at the airport in Indiana. I messaged the tour company, and they were happy to re-book my reservation for the next day. On the way to Bethlehem, we had a traffic jam (due to a car catching fire), and our driver kept a positive attitude the entire time. He was knowledgeable about various questions we had, helpful to my father who has some mobility issues, and an all-around great guy. He was right on time as well, and kept good communication with me about our pick up, etc. Next, the tour guide at Bethlehem was amazing. Not only was he very well-versed about the sites we visited, but he had "connections" that allowed us to skip lines, park in areas that other cars were prohibited from entering, etc. The Church of the Nativity was just amazing, and we did not wait in a single line. We also visited the Milk Grotto Chapel (I was unaware of this prior to our trip) and the Shepherds Fields - all with great explanation from our tour guide and ample time to explore. Lastly, we visited an olive wood factory and attached store. This was owned by the family of our tour guide. The employees were extremely gracious to us and not at all "pushy" about buying anything. They gave us food and drink without expecting anything in return. I did buy something to have shipped home. After several weeks at home and no receipt of the item, I began to worry. I communicated with the tour company on WhatsApp. Quite frankly, I did not expect any response - as I was back in the US and thought he would not care very much about whether I received a package or not. I was happily mistaken. The tour operator took the time to get pictures of the package, provide me with a routing number and explanation that customs was taking longer than anticipated, and checked in with me regularly. I received the item today, and truly appreciate his efforts at checking into the shipment for me. Overall, this tour was considerably more than I bargained for, and I am grateful for all who were involved in making this tour possible. I wish I could rate this even higher than the perfect rating I provided!

All my family loved this tour. Our driver, Bassam, arrived in perfect time at our hotel (we had requested midday pickup which was great) and he could not have been more friendly, knowledgeable and helpful as we drove along. He was more than happy to tailor our visit to Bethlehem to do the exact things I was keen to see, and then between him and our lovely guide from Bethlehem, Dia, we had a combination of driving or walking to the things we wanted. It was amazing that I was able to see all the Banksy murals I had in mind, as well as the Walled Off Hotel, and amazing also to be able to see and touch so easily the place of Jesus’ birth and the place where the manger lay. Getting down to the grotto and adjoining cave was easily done with Dia and he was so interesting. We also loved the chapel of the angels/shepherds and were able to jump the queue in the gift shop we asked Dia to take us into. We wanted this to be a fairly short tour and Dia and Bassam could not have been more courteous and attentive to our needs. It was so resssuring that we could book this through Trip Advisor. Everything ran super smoothly and this private half-day tour with Elijah Tours exceeded our expectations. Thank you!❤️

This trip was a good experience for us. Our guide, Dia, did a wonderful job of maneuvering us through a very crowded site. He also explained the Bethlehem story to us in ways we had not heard of before.

We thoroughly enjoyed our half day trip to Bethlehem. It was booked with Elijah Tours who has a great system of navigating the challenges of Bethlehem. Our drive, Rocky, gave us a detailed, unbiased background of the local politics and culture. There are additional tour guides to cover the various sites based on what local regulations require. We were able to see all of the sites we hoped for and had time for some shopping at a local olive wood store. Rocky also provided the opportunity to try local snacks--fresh bread and falafel. Highly recommend!

Truly a great experience! We traveled from Tel Aviv and had a driver who shared a huge amount of knowledge about the area and history, then we’re met by an experienced guide in Bethlehem who showed us the many wonderful and blessed places in town. Personable and knowledgeable guides are so important and this trip exceeded our expectations!

The entire visit was fantastic! Our host was extremely knowledgeable and articulate. He was able to clearly answer all of our questions and it was a great experience!

Our tour guides in Bethlehem were very kind and could not do enough for us. And, seeing the West Bank, it’s current political state and it’s religious history, was an important part of our trip to Israel.

Excellent well organised tour. Picked up on time in a nice clean air conditioned mini bus. Johnny our tour guide was great and knew everything. We went straight to the church of the nativity to avoid the crowds. Only had to wait 10 minutes due to a mass/service taking place. Then visited the milk groto and shepherd’s fields. Everything was explained in great detail and with good humour. Felt safe all the time. Visited the wood carving workshop. Vast array of goods to buy. Also had a quick bite to eat which was extra. Really tasty food,very cheap. If your visiting Bethlehem or other areas in the West Bank stick with these your guides. Their knowledge is second to none We thoroughly enjoyed the tour.