Israel Private Tour Guides: Best Of Israel

Touring Israel with a private tour guide

So, you’re thinking about a trip to Israel? Fantastic! You’re about to set off on a once-in-a-lifetime journey through some of the world’s greatest historical, archaeological, religious, cultural, natural, and culinary treasures! From Jerusalem’s Old City to the museums, beaches, and nightlife of Tel Aviv; from biblical landmarks around the Sea of Galilee to breathtaking geological formations in the Negev desert; from border lookouts in the north to agricultural breakthroughs in the sandy Arava; this tiny little country is jam-packed with places to go and things to see! Trust us: you’re going to want a highly qualified Israel tour guide to help you get the most out of your tour.

Only the best guides for our guests

Dekel Tours works with some of the best tour guides in Israel, and they are passionate about sharing the country’s rich history and vibrant culture with visitors like you. Having Dekel Tours in your corner and a private Israel tour guide at your side, you can expect personalized attention, flexibility in planning your itinerary, and the freedom to explore at your own pace. Before you get lost in the mass of tourist blogs and online travel guides trying to piece together your list of must-sees in Israel, we want to share our winning formula for creating the best private Israel tour:

Custom-designed itinerary + Best tour guide in Israel = Unforgettable trip

Why travel with a private tour guide?

Simply put, Israel is one of those places with so many fascinating and complicated stories to tell that having an expert tour guide to put what you see into a larger context will help you get the most out of your experience. A private tour guide can weave together your entire Israel journey and help you truly understand where you are. They bring your travel itinerary to life with stories, humor, insight, and background that you can’t get from just showing up at a site and reading plaques and signs.

Leisure Days vs. Touring Days

When we’re custom-designing a private Israel trip, our starting point is the basic understanding that every traveler comes with a different set of needs, wants, and preferences, including how much time they want to spend exploring on their own or simply relaxing. We build that leisure time into every trip with the hope that our guests will enjoy getting to know Israel in a way that makes sense for them. While a large urban setting like Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a good place for spending leisure time or exploring Israeli culture and society on your own, there are plenty of places around the country where having a private tour guide will make all the difference.

A bridge to local culture

When you’re visiting parts of the country that have long or complicated histories, rich and diverse cultural traditions, religious or biblical significance, or are just out of the way or hard to get to, a private tour guide is a wealth of information, insight, stories, and context. Your guide will be the difference between simply crossing a place off your bucket list and walking away from a place enlightened, inspired, moved, or even transformed by your experience there.

Taking your trip personally

While we’re custom-building your private Israel tour, we’re also getting to know you as individuals: your tastes, your interests, your travel style and preferences, etc. In much the same way that we carefully design your travel itinerary around these characteristics, we take the time and care to match you personally with the private tour guide who’ll be bringing your itinerary to life.

Looking for a private tour guide who can keep everyone engaged and intrigued? An expert on the geopolitics of the region? An amateur photographer? Avid bike rider? Historian and author? Hiker and teller of dad jokes? We’ve got you covered.

Experienced and professional

Courteous and customer service oriented

Open-minded and tolerant toward all

Approachable and friendly

Keep their personal beliefs to themselves

Fluent understandable English

Our Israel Tour Guide Must-Haves

Every tour guide in Israel must be licensed by the Ministry of Tourism, and the process to become certified involves years of education and examinations. Dekel Tours only hires licensed tour guides (every guide we work with can be found on the Ministry of Tourism Israel Tour Guides list). But we also know that a license by itself doesn’t make someone the kind of tour guide we trust to help us create your once-in-a-lifetime Israel experience. That’s why we spend so much time and effort getting to know the guides we work with. Also, they’re fun to hang out with.

Beyond these must-haves, every guide adds their own special blend of personality, experience, expertise, and style.

Schedule your free consultation now

Get ready to create an unforgettable trip to Israel

With an effortless, uncomplicated experience and our quality travel services, we’re dedicated to making this your trip of a lifetime!

See what our guests are saying

Great guide = great trip! Great trip = Dekel Tours!

Anya H

6/27/2023

June 2023 Truly a magical experience where no stone was left unturned. Wonderful communication, bespoke planning, extreme professionalism. I can't say enough about our trip. Leann and Dan (our guide) were perfection!

Michelle J

9/04/2023

Private Tour with DEKEL tours Just came back from a 13 day trip to Israel. Mark at DEKEL Tours helped us plan a 7 day private tour. He was very attentive to our wants and needs and kept in touch with us throughout the full year of planning. They did everything from book our hotels to our activities. Mark also matched us with a great tour guide Ronen. Overall we had a great vacation and looking forward to travelling to Israel in the future. I would highly recommend using DEKEL tours.

Caroletg916

7/09/2023

Sensational, tour group If you plan to take a trip to Israel then this is the company is for you. Dekel tours is exceptional in every way.They are so professional, helpful,and just all around wonderful .I had knee replacement surgery & it was hard for me to walk. So David came up with a wonderful idea . He texted me & said how about renting a scooter . It was the BEST idea , after that I was able to join in most of the activities.When I come back to Israel and looking for a tour Dekel Tours is who I’m using . I will recommend them to all my friends who plan on going to Israel.

stacesq

11/28/2022

A completely custom and perfect experience My husband and I (along with our 8-month old baby) just spent two weeks in Israel and a couple days in Jordan visiting Petra and had an absolutely incredible trip. We used Dekel tours for our airport transfers, all of our accommodations, a tour guide in Jerusalem, VIP border crossing into Jordan and back and all accommodations and tours in Jordan.The experience with Dekel tour was completely custom for us (which is often not the case when using similar services) as well as seamless and incredible.Every detail was carefully curated based on our parameters and we could not have been happier.I highly recommend using Dekel Tours whether you just need help with a few small details - or in planning every detail of your trip!

Ann E

5/21/2023

Wonderful 2 weeks in Israel We are wrapping a wonderful two week visit to Israel with a 1 day side trip to Petra Jordan. I have always wanted to go and my husband suggested it as a way for us to celebrate our 30th anniversary. From the very beginning of our contact, LeeAnn listened carefully to what was important to us for this trip and planned a perfect itinerary. From our arrival in Israel, throughout our trip everything went seamlessly. and she stayed in touch throughout our journey. Our tour guide, Yonatan was terrific. We have traveled to many places and have had guides in several of them and we count him as the best of the best. His personal knowledge of the country combined with his shared insights from his own travels really added a dimension to how we experienced each site. He was thoughtful, interesting, funny and considerate. I highly recommend Dekel for travel in Israel and also Yonatan as a guide. I am already thinking about when we can return.

David P

6/10/2023

Great experience, great service Our group of 3 couples had a great tour of Israel and Jordan arranged by Mark Coleman and the team at Dekel Tours. For most of us, this was our first trip to Israel. We had several planning meetings and emails so our experience could be tailored to our desires. Mark was available to help us throughout our trip to answer logistical questions and work with us on some minor changes in our travel schedule, to help make sure we were where we needed to be to make connections. I would highly recommend Mark and the team at Dekel Tours!

Todd M

8/14/2023

Incredible Israel experience Wow. it is hard to find the words to describe our trip to Israel, and the role that Dekel played. I had spent two months in Israel in 1994 on the High School in Israel program, and it was life changing for me. I wanted to share Israel with my children (aged 6 and 12), and contacted Dekel to help us. Marc was amazing. We spoke at length, and based of our conversations, he put together an itinerary that was the perfect balance of fun, educational, adventurous, and meaningful. The hotels were great, the airport service was extraordinary, and our guide, Muriel Sassoon was incomparable. I highly recommend Dekel. They are the best.

Richard S

12/30/2022

Great experience! David from Dekel organized a 7-day trip for the 5 of us through Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and points in between. David was extraordinarily patient through a planning process that took more than two years and with multiple hiccups relating to COVID, changing family lineups, and the rest. He ultimately designed a tour that struck a great balance between kid-friendly and adult-friendly activities.Our tour guide, Yehuda, was terrific. He's a scholar of archeology and Biblical history but he's equally adept discussing modern history, politics and culture. He was highly informative but also patient and low-key (very helpful in intimate private tours) and our kids loved him. Overall a fantastic experience!

Susan

7/11/2023

Israel 2022 with DEKEL Tours My sister and I took a trip to Israel that was postponed for two years due to oCOVID. A friend recommended DEKEL, specifically LeeAnn Langer. I e-mailed LeeAnn and she quickly replied. I was on the phone with her within a few days and she took her time asking me questions about what my sister and I wanted to do. She planned a private tour for 3 weeks for my sister and I which included an overnight in Petra. We were given a choice of hotels to choose from and we were able to make changes to the itinerary before we got there. LeeAnn set us up with the greatest guide. LeeAnn listened to what we wanted and the trip was outstanding. Her team was always available if we had questions. Everything was taken care of. Transport to everywhere, VIP treatment arriving and leaving at the airport, great hotels, reservations taken care of, and just being spoiled with the attention to detail. And when I mentioned wine tasting, we went to 5 wineries. Most important is the guide they got us, Shira Victor. Shira is the best. Three weeks was not enough time. For the next trip to Israel, I will be contacting DEKEL to help arrange the trip.

Ira1114

1/05/2023

Wonderful, Attentive Tour Operator LeeAnn at Dekel worked with our extended family for a long time to schedule a (long awaited) family trip to Israel. LeeAnn and the Dekel team were incredibly knowledgeable and responsive, both prior to the trip and on WhatsApp while we were in Israel. They made everything from the airport transfers to the well selected tours/sites go smoothly. We also really appreciated the personal touch of LeeAnn meeting us at the hotel the morning of our first day of touring. We could not have had a better experience with Dekel and the guide and driver they set us up with (big props to Beny Shlevich, amazing guide).Two bonus points worth noting as an indication of the planning and customer service from Dekel:A) One morning, we were up north and came down to find out our bus had a flat tire. Somehow, the Dekel team had an alternate bus to us promptly so that we could make our first tour destination without delay while the original bus was being fixed. Magic!B) A few days after we came home, we got an unexplained charge from one of the hotels. We WhatsApp'd LeeAnn and she chased it down in-country and resolved it for us ASAP (even though this is still in Dekel's busy season and they are crazy busy).Thanks LeeAnn and Dekel for the trip of a lifetime.

Custom tours are our specialty!

All of our custom-designed tours are created around your specific needs and preferences. We’ll build your trip package from the bottom up, so you can be sure your Israel experience is perfectly suited to you and be free to enjoy your mind-blowing tour.

Learn more

PRIVATE ISRAEL TOUR GUIDES