Israel Off the Beaten Path: 6 Day Plan
Six days based in Jerusalem, adding a slower, dedicated Ein Gedi day onto the Dead Sea, Masada, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv, and Jericho days already covered in the 5 day itinerary . This is the version for travelers who want the desert twice, once fast on a group tour, once at their own pace.
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Jerusalem |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, an Old City taste, settle in | None, city-based |
| 2 | The Dead Sea and Masada | About 1.5 hours each way |
| 3 | Bethlehem | About 30-40 minutes each way, including the crossing |
| 4 | Tel Aviv | About 35-40 minutes each way by fast train |
| 5 | Jericho | About 1 hour each way, tour only |
| 6 | Ein Gedi, slower this time | About 1.5 hours each way |
Book these before you go
- Book a Masada and Dead Sea small group tour on GetYourGuide , entry fees included
- Book a Bethlehem half-day tour on GetYourGuide
- Book a West Bank day tour covering Jericho on GetYourGuide
- Compare Jerusalem hotel rates on Booking.com
Day 1: Arrival and an Old City taste
Settle in near the Old City or the German Colony and keep the afternoon light rather than packed. Walk Jaffa Gate to the Western Wall plaza, free and open 24 hours, and back through the Jewish Quarter, roughly 20 minutes each way. Confirm your passport and ETA-IL confirmation ahead of the week’s two West Bank crossings.
Day 2: The Dead Sea and Masada
Tours leave by 6:30-7am, about 1.5 hours through the Judean Desert. Take the cable car up Masada (combined with entry, roughly NIS 59-77) or the offbeat Snake Path before dawn for the sunrise crowd’s view. Float in the Dead Sea, the shore is salt-crusted rather than sandy, and most tours add a short Ein Gedi stop on the way back. Details at Masada National Park .
Day 3: Bethlehem
Bus 231 or a permitted taxi crosses Checkpoint 300 into the West Bank, passport and ETA-IL record required to re-enter. See the Church of the Nativity, then the Milk Grotto and Shepherds’ Field just outside town.
Day 4: Tel Aviv
The A1 fast train runs direct and hourly, roughly 35-40 minutes each way, fares from about 31 ILS. It doesn’t run Friday afternoon through Saturday evening, so keep this day off a Saturday. Spend part of the day in Jaffa, the four-thousand-year-old port town most beach-only visitors skip. Check current schedules on Israel Railways .
Day 5: Jericho
Jericho’s Tel es-Sultan excavation is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited sites, reached almost entirely by organized day tour given shifting access rules for independent travelers, roughly an hour each way.
Day 6: Ein Gedi, slower this time
Most Masada tours give Ein Gedi Nature Reserve ten rushed minutes on the way back to Jerusalem, just long enough for the short David Stream trail and a look at the waterfall. Come back on a dedicated day instead and hike Nahal Arugot, the reserve’s longer, quieter canyon, with pools most day-trippers never reach because their tour bus is already headed home. Finish with a second, unhurried float at the Dead Sea shore rather than the rushed version from Day 2. Current trail conditions and hours are at Ein Gedi Nature Reserve .
Do you need a rental car across these six days? No. Public transit, the fast train, and organized tours cover every day here, and a car only complicates re-entry from the two West Bank crossings. Rent one only if the trip continues north beyond Jerusalem’s day-trip range.
Six days covers the gateway list in full; add the 7 day itinerary next for a flexible wind-down day before flying home.