Visit Palestine - Travel and tour company advice

The Britain - Palestine Twinning Network - "promoting twinning and friendship links"

Visit Palestine - 2008

One of the Twinning Group's objectives is to get people to visit Palestine. Once you have seen the Wall, the refugee camps and above all lived with and spoken to the Palestinians themselves, you know the truth about the situation. Visiting with a group is much safer and easier. Its fair to say its quite a traumatic experience, as well as being life changing.

We organise regular visits to places of interest (both religious and political). Our last tours in April and October 2006, and in April 2007 were a great success. In general we organise a three or four day education tour, participation in a conference or workshop, and the opportunity to visit your twinned community.

If you have already been on a tour and are keen to spend time with your community, it is possible for a small charge to join the tour on certain days.

The next tour will be in October 2008. This was the itinerary for the March tour.

2008 tour Costs - budget £200 - £400 for a flight. The four day tour (all inclusive) costs about £375 per person (sharing a room).

A deposit of £100 is needed as soon as possible to secure a place, and the full amount to be paid by the end of February 2008. Cheques to made out to the Britain Palestine Twinning Network and sent to Twinning Network, P.O. Box 34265 London NW5 2PD.

We will need to know; Your name and full contact details - address, phone, email.

For more information, please contact us.

The twinning network in Palestine can organise visits to potential partner towns/ villages for new groups

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival: Meet in Jerusalem – Travel to Beit Sahour Welcome talk by host and introduction to the programme followed by Dinner.

PART 1
Visit the West Bank and take part in structured visits to learn about the situation.

Day 2 - Tour Bethlehem: Church of Nativity, see how the wall is strangling Bethlehem and meet the organisations that campaigning against it confiscation.

Day 3 - Visit Jerusalem: Visit the Wailing Wall, Al Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the afternoon meet Jeff Helper or another member from the Israeli Committee against house Demolishes ICAHD. Together with ICAHD, we will visit west and East Jerusalem, observing demolished houses and the Israeli settlement expansion around Jerusalem.

Day 4 - Visit Hebron: We will tour the old city of Hebron, meet with members of the CPT (Christian Peace makers Team), visit the Ibrahimi Mosque and see the settlement expansion around Hebron.

Day 5 - Visit Ramallah, which will include visits to Human Rights NGO's.

PART 2
Visit twinning partners

Day 6,7 and 8 - Independent arrangements – The twinning network in Palestine will help to arrange for people to stay with their respective twinning partners.

Day 9 - Travel back to the UK

The visit will also include time for a de-brief and planning session before people return to the UK. The full programme will be developed around the interests of the delegation closer to the time. Some people may wish to spend longer with their twinning partners, which can be arranged by the network if needed.

You will need to organise your own flight and pay for the costs of travel to join the party. Flights range from approx £200-350 the earlier you book the better the deal.

The cost for travel, tours etc within Palestine will be approximately £375 for the nine days.

The price includes;
Accommodation for 5 nights in a Hostel in Beit Sahour with Breakfast and Evening Meal every Day All Transportation & Guide during Touring Days
Entrance fees for sites Donation to your partner town/village

This price does not include
Flights – cost between £200 and £350 to be booked independently by traveller
Transportation to twinning Towns on day 6 Accommodation after Day 5 if you stay in a hotel
Lunch Tips for drivers or guides
Are you part of an established twinning group and if yes which group and who is your twinning partner and will you make your own arrangements to stay with them from day 7.
If not, are you looking for a twinning partner for your area? Do you have a preference for a partner or are you happy to be paired with one? These details will allow us to contact you and discuss how the twinning network can help your area and how to ensure you get the most from the visit.
For more information including the proposed dates for the visit please email Caroline at caz_johnson at hotmail.com or call 07855 645199.

Twinning with Palestine