Israel -- A Skeptic Discovers The Pluses Of An Organized Tour Group

It was my parents' idea to take a tour of Israel. A trip planned by someone else and including so many strangers wasn't my style. I have always preferred to travel independently, rather than on a group schedule.

But I was wrong.

I learned that a tour can be the best way to go when you're traveling with a family of 11, including three boys under 10. We were part of a much larger group - 20 multi-generational families. Within a few days, the younger boys on our bus were fast friends, congregating in the back seat. And the Bar and Bat Mitzvah teens grew close because of their shared celebration.

Israel Discovery Tours of Skokie, Ill., arranges 12 such tours a year. We were awoken each morning and told what time to be at the bus. Then they whooshed us from here to there.

Our guide Ami Segal, a third-generation sabra (native Israeli) seemed to know everything about the history beneath our feet. And he told stories of the first Jews and their descendants with humor and passion - so much better than traveling with a one-dimensional guidebook.

Other family members shared my surprise at how well the tour worked out.

"There was no arguing among family members about where we should all go, how long we should stay and when and where we should eat," said my sister-in-law, Millie.

Good planning was essential. The trip was designed for all ages and included everything from water slides to glorious Roman mosaics; from Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial displaying raw, brutal photos of dead Jews and other victims; to riding camels at a touristy, but fun, Bedouin camp.

At the camp we shared tea with local residents and then hopped on camels and donkeys for a ride.

One or more tours are scheduled for March, May, June, August and December. The 15-day tours include 13 nights in Israel - five in Jerusalem, one in the Dead Sea resort area, two in Eilat, two in Tiberias and three in Tel Aviv. Dress is casual, even for dinner.

The Israel Discovery tours cost about $2,900 a person, including air fare from the U.S., with prices varying depending on departure location. The land portion of the tour is free for one Bar or Bat Mitzvah child per family.

Check with your travel agent for names of other groups offering similar tours. If taking a tour isn't your style, a travel agent can plan a comparable itinerary and arrange for a local rabbi to perform the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony. But individual trips can cost much more and lack the warmth of a group experience.

On such a trip, the weather varies - from one end of Israel to another, and from season to season.

Jerusalem evenings can be crisp and cool, but by the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, the weather can be brutally hot and humid. That's because of dramatic differences in terrain. As we drove from mountains to desert valleys, we saw vast changes; from orchards and forests created in the arid earth to the barren sands of the Negev desert.

One morning we awoke at dawn to celebrate the Bar/Bat Mitzvahs atop Masada; by mid-day we were climbing through a dusty, old cave that covered us with a floury powder; later we were floating in the Dead Sea - all before dinner.

There's usually time to shop at local markets at the end of each day after the formal tour - or to jump in a hotel pool.

In Jerusalem, one can bargain endlessly in the Old City of Jerusalem. In Tiberias, there's a local diamond factory. In Eilat, we watched workers make jewelry using the Eilat stone, the local version of malachite found in nearby copper mines.

We sailed into the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aquaba) and headed into Egyptian waters. At one point, we could easily see Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Such close neighbors; so much hatred.

And we saw what hatred leads to.

Jeeps took us up dusty hills of the Golan Heights, which borders Syria, where remnants of war were everywhere. A destroyed house here, signs warning of mines there, frightening Syrian bunkers all around.

How very close the bunkers were to the kibbutzim below; you could see the farmers in the fields. Shooting from these bunkers continued until the area was captured by the Jews to stop the attacks.

In the buses, I cuddled with my niece and nephews, something I don't get to do often because we're separated by so many miles. My brothers' families live in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Chicago, where my parents live and I was raised.

My nephews and niece made many friends on the trip. On the last night, they all brought their address books to dinner and exchanged addresses and memories. Even the grown-ups - who eyed each other so closely the first few days - realized that while bonding with the land and our families, we also were getting to know each other.

My parents were right about the tour. And they were right about us rediscovering our roots in Israel. Could this mean they've been right other times in their lives? --------------------------------------------------------------- MORE INFORMATION

-- For information on Israel Discovery Tours, call Ilene Wallerstein at 1-800-362-8882, or write Israel Discovery Tours at 230 Monroe Street, Skokie, IL 60077.

-- For general information about visiting Israel, contact the Israel Government Tourist Office, 6380 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. Phone 1-213-658-7462.