Israel Bar Mitzvah Tours Reviews 

I have never left the country and was an apprehensive traveler for sure. IBMT took such good care of us I was able to relax and enjoy everything. Gadi is an amazing guide and I will never forget this trip. It was my once in a lifetime.

What a trip. Well organized and clean. Everything was as promised with an excellent guide to keep my 3 teenage boys, my wife and I engaged for the entire 2 week adventure.

This was our second time doing the Israel Bar Mitzvah Tour with IBMT. And once again it was a fabulous itinerary with many new additions from four years ago that only added to the our enjoyment. A wonderful mix of religious/historical sites and fun/relaxing excursions that provide a great balance to jam packed days. The ceremony on Masada is truly special and the party at Abraham's Tent with camel rides, drums and dancing is a really great way to celebrate. Walking tours through all the different food markets and getting to sample the local foods was a great addition. Thank you IBMT for another memorable experience for my family.

The hotels were truly 5 star. All additional facilities were 5 star as well. The bus was comfortable with an excellent driver and even had on board at every seat USB charger outlets. The selection of places to visit were excellent. But by far, the best feature was Gadi, our guide. How he could have improved his service on the tour is impossible to comprehend . He was the the perfect guide for the kids as well as the adults. There was no service he couldn't provide and his knowledge was truly hard to believe it fit into one mind. Shame I don't have any younger grandkids to take on this same tour.

Very professional and satisfied all our needs for bar mitzvah and touring Israel was complete and excellent

IBMT organized such a wonderful bat mitzvah experience for my niece that I had to do my daughters through them as well. Thankfully, the tours changed enough for both to be fantastic. I recommend them highly.

Our son’s Bar Mitzvah Tour through IBMT was perfect!!! The tour guide was incredible, the itinerary was everything we could have hoped for and the Bar Mitzvah was magical. Ornan was a pleasure to work with.

Dear Ornan, I have been planning to write to you for a long time. I took my grandson Gabriel Bowren, on the summer IBMT tour summer of 2017, with Natalie. It was great and life-changing. Natalie was perfect. I am now planning to bring my other grandson in the summer of 2019, and I am thinking about some input I would like to give. As a child psychologist, your tour does a few things that are very developmentally appropriate and a few things that are maybe not. First of all, kids these age care a lot about socializing/connecting with other kids. The very best parts of the trip were when the kids were thrown together without the adults. Shabbat dinner when they sat on their own, the jeep ride when they sat together, the bonfire etc., etc. Also kids this age love emotional intensity, and experiences, and you did a great job with that. However, they found it the most magical and powerful when they were out after dark. The bonfire, walking back from Shabbat dinner, Abrahams tent. I think you could improve your trip from great to extraordinary by adding more magical late night events. Such as, the light show in the old city, the flute music in the hills at Ein Gedi, visiting some of the tombs at night where people go to pray, etc. Getting up early was not really good for these kids, but staying up late is special and mysterious and a great way to connect with the emotion of Israel. Also we needed more Israeli music and dancing. Maybe a whole event devoted to that. The belly dancing at Abrahams tent was great. But the guitarist at the bonfire only sang American songs--disappointing, because that would have been a great opportunity to get everyone singing and dancing in the Israeli style. Also an opportunity to hear from the teenage soldiers. also i personally would have liked more spirituality, such as a singing dancing synagogue visit, or more prayers or meditation or something. Thanks for listening! and for a great experience! Sheri Saxe

Fun tour. Excellent guides. Great highlight of the country and history with a good mix of kid- friendly activities (kids really bonded by the end of the trip). Would value having a welcome gathering for everyone (not just bar mitzvah kids) on the tour. Would be best to do one at the start of the tour (morning/ day after arrival). With 2 buses and approx. 60 people on the tour, it is a shame we didn't meet many of the others until the last day of the trip. Would be great also to have a list of other group members before the tour even started so connections could have been made earlier. The food was delicious and accommodations good. Having live Israeli music at some part of the trip would be a wonderful addition, plus would like dinners to be less rushed (not so mass market feeling). Also think each family on tour-- or at least bar mitzvah kids --should be provided (no fee) with a bag of mud at the dead sea. All in all a strong 4- star trip, with some more attention to detail/ tweaking could be even better!

It was the best our family ever took. Every detail was carefully thought out. Our guide Natalie was superb. Our hotels were excellent.
I can’t say enough about our fabulous experience.

IBMT was by far the most amazing experience and trip I have ever been on. Most importantly, my two children who were both celebrating their Bar-Mitzvah (13) and Bat-Mitzvah (15) said the same thing! My son, who was complaining about going on the trip, doesn't like touring, gave it a 10 at the end of the trip. That in itself speaks volumes!

From the day I reached out inquiring about the tour all the way to the end was nothing short of amazing! I chose this company over others because whenever I called, it was Ornan who I spoke with. He was always kind, would answer any questions I had (even if i asked multiple times), and was honest. I felt that when we talked and the proof was that the trip was what he said it would be.

Natalie, our tour guide, was phenomenal! She was fun, energetic, extremely knowledgeable and the kids loved her - she has great patience :) as well as the adults. She ensured every single person, young, middle or old was happy and having a great time!

We still cannot stop talking about our experience which will be two years in July, 2018.

Thank you for making our experience beyond anything we could have imagined!

All My Best,

Holley