The summer holidays are indeed a “holiday” for  students, but with the beginning of summer for most of us the itch begins to get out of our routine and experience an adventure. And fortunately, our small country is full of activities for all ages, beautiful hiking trails with a low degree of difficulty and guided tours to hidden and fascinating corners of the country.

We decided to gather some interesting options for activities suitable for seniors and also together with all family members. We tried to find ones that would combine the hottest item in the summer – the air conditioner! but not only.

Hope you enjoy the recommendations

“Dialogue in the Dark”

A tour that takes place in the Israel Children’s Museum, for adults and children over the age of 9. The tour is done in total darkness under the guidance of blind guides.

You are guaranteed an unforgettable experience where you don’t actually see anything, but discover a whole world, about ourselves and the other.

The guides are all blind and they are the ones who lead the visitors through the different spaces in total darkness, and actively remind those present to keep their eyes open throughout the visit to “show” us that their world is not poor but just different.

The exhibition exposes us to a rich sensory world centered on an important lesson on turning disability into strength and an “eye-level” encounter with blind and short sighted people.

A fascinating and exciting experience is guaranteed, one that will go with you in thoughts and enlightenment later on as well.

Another exhibition from the creator of “Dialogue in the Dark” is – “An Invitation to Silence”. A communicative journey of silence guided by the deaf and mute, to discover another language with the help of an alternative communication channel. In this exhibition, we talk non-stop, but we hear with our eyes and talk with our hands. During the visit, visitors will discover the alternative communication skills we all have and their form of expression in the absence of sound and hearing.

Free!

The “traveller in Israel” website was launched with the global “free” trend  – guided tours with professional guides, free of charge in advance! What does that mean? At the end of the tour, the decision is yours whether to leave a tip or not, and what amount.

The variety of tours is very large, in all kinds of regions in the country and requires registration in advance.

One of the tours that caught our eye is – a singing trip to the Yemenite area and the Carmel market.

The Kerem Hatiman neighborhood in Tel Aviv is a quiet neighborhood, despite its central location, next to the Carmel market. The neighborhood is characterized by low buildings, inner courtyards and a unique atmosphere. The guide will accompany the tour by telling the story of the neighborhood’s history, the stories of the singers and bands that grew out of it such as Ahuva Ozari, Daklon, Boaz Sharabi and more. All the sightseers will receive songbooks and will be able to join in the singing and get carried away to the special vibes that exist in the neighborhood.

The itinerary is easy and flat and ends at the Carmel market, but we recommend taking advantage of the opportunity and traveling independently in the market, which has changed in recent years and many small places with different and special culinary specialties have grown in it while preserving the authentic nature of the market.

Mekorot – Eshkol Visitor Center

Near the highway intersection is one of the most important sites on the route of the national highway – the Eshkol site. At the site, the water pumped from the Sea of Galilee is treated to improve its quality before it is sent through a closed pipe system to the entire country, through the “national carrier”.

The visitor site created a fascinating multi-sensory experience that begins with a spectacular display of water, lights, colors and sounds, and continues with illustrative videos, models, a trivia game on a huge map of the Land of Israel, combined with a fascinating explanation of the sources of water in Israel and the ways of treating them.

During the tour, you enter the mountain to see the three huge pumping units that have been operating since 1964. After visiting the site, you can go visit the Chara birdhouse, which overlooks a beautiful view of Nahal Amud. There you can see the gihon (U-shaped pipes) that “Mekorot” placed on the walls of the Wadi, and you will understand how the water crosses the steep stream channel at a depth of about 150 meters and rises to the other bank according to the law of interlocking vessels.

The visits are by appointment and are free of charge. The visit is guided and intended for groups only. The duration of the tour is about an hour and a half and if you really don’t feel like leaving the air conditioner even for a moment, Mekorot’s visitor center allows a digital tour (free of charge) via Zoom.

Hasamba, Hasamba, Hasamba!

While browsing the web, we came across the site and fell in love with it big time! Bigtime 60+ is the leading social-cultural club in Israel for those aged 60 and over. On the site you will find unique meetings on various topics, concept events, trips and tours in Israel and around the world, workshops, courses, singing and dancing nights and a variety of other unique activities at special prices for club members.

One of the pearls that immediately caught our eye is – following Hasmaba.

Who didn’t know the group that became a symbol of the generation – Yaron Zahavi, Tamar the beautiful, Ehud Hashem, Menashe the Yemenite, Moshe Yerahmiel and Uzi Herza, the characters in Yigal Musinzon’s books, some of which were inspired by familiar figures in our lives such as Yaron London and Danny Bloch.

The trip following Hasamba combines reading excerpts that have become rare, a visit to some of the sites of the events and getting to know Tel Aviv of the 1950s and 1960s, which was the setting for the book. The tour goes through several points and interesting places in the city related to the plots of the books, the life of the author and the lives of the characters. The itinerary is circular, with an urban walk with an easy degree of difficulty, the duration of the trip is about 3 hours.

We hope it will be an interesting and pleasant summer!

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