Travel Review: Luxury Israel Vacation, Jerusalem, Masada, Eilat, Tel Aviv, Petra, Jordan Day Trip, History, Culture, Art, Cuisine

As far as the itinerary goes, I would not change anything.  I think we got a great overview of the country and did not miss any of the must-see destinations.  The only piece of constructive criticism I provided to our agency was that our driver/guide had very strong political views, which he pushed very strongly.  Understanding the unique political context in Israel was definitely a big attraction for me in choosing this destination, so I welcomed strong political opinions.  The problem, for me at least, was that they were often very one-sided.  It would have been even more interesting to have been given a better understanding of what the alternative points of view were.  We did get some of that from our Palestinian guide in Bethlehem and our Jordanian guide in Petra, but it would have been nice if our Israeli guide -- with whom we spent the large majority of our time -- had been able to provide a more balanced perspective to us.