5 Days of Jerusalem Day Trips: Do It Right
Five days from Jerusalem covers the Dead Sea/Masada, Bethlehem, and Tel Aviv, then gives you an honest choice on Day 5: Jericho if ancient archaeology genuinely interests you, or a slower Jerusalem day if it doesn’t. This builds on the 4 day plan ; go longer with the 6 day version if you want a full Shabbat day built in too.
Book these before you go:
- Masada sunrise, Ein Gedi and Dead Sea tour
- Bethlehem half-day tour from Jerusalem
- Jerusalem hotel rates on Booking.com
| Day trip | Travel time from Jerusalem | Covered here? |
|---|---|---|
| Dead Sea + Masada | ~90 min | Yes, Day 2 |
| Bethlehem | ~30 min | Yes, Day 3 |
| Tel Aviv | ~30 min (train) | Yes, Day 4 |
| Jericho (or a rest day) | ~45 min (tour) | Yes, Day 5, optional |
Day 1: Land, settle in, taste the Old City
Land at Ben Gurion, take the train or a metered taxi/Gett into Jerusalem, and settle into a hotel near Jaffa Gate or the German Colony. Spend the afternoon at the free, 24 hour Western Wall plaza and the Old City’s alleys; the full Jerusalem guide covers the depth you’re skipping for now. Dinner at Mahane Yehuda Market.
Day 2: The Dead Sea and Masada, all day
A combined tour covers Masada (cable car, or the pre-dawn Snake Path for sunrise), Ein Gedi, and a Dead Sea float, typically 07:00-17:00. Pricing detail is on the Dead Sea and Masada place page . Water shoes are worth the suitcase space; the shoreline is sharp, salt-crusted rock.
Day 3: Bethlehem, then back to Jerusalem
Bus 231 from Damascus Gate or a permitted taxi through Checkpoint 300 takes about 30 minutes into the West Bank; bring your passport and ETA-IL record for re-entry. The Church of the Nativity, Manger Square, and the Milk Grotto fill a half-day comfortably.
Day 4: Tel Aviv, the beach-city contrast
The direct train from Jerusalem-Yitzhak Navon to Tel Aviv HaHagana takes about 30 minutes, roughly hourly; check current times on Israel Railways . Don’t book this for a Saturday, since the train doesn’t run on Shabbat. Beach, Jaffa’s old port, and Bauhaus downtown fill the day easily.
Day 5: Jericho, or a Jerusalem breather
Here’s the honest fork. Jericho is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites on earth, but the tourist infrastructure is thin, so it’s a niche pick for travelers specifically chasing ancient archaeology, best reached on an organized tour rather than independently. If that’s not you, use the day instead for whatever you skipped on Day 1: the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book, Yad Vashem, or a slower second pass through the Old City’s Christian and Armenian Quarters.
Do you need a full day for Jericho?
A half to full day depending on the tour, since it’s usually combined with other West Bank stops rather than visited alone. Given the thin tourist infrastructure compared to Bethlehem, most travelers get more value treating Day 5 as a flexible Jerusalem day instead, unless ancient archaeological sites are specifically why you’re visiting Israel.
How many day trips can you actually fit into 5 days?
Three solid ones (Dead Sea/Masada, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv) plus one flexible day. Trying to force a fourth hard day trip onto Day 5 usually means arriving back exhausted for what should be a lighter day before the back half of a longer stay or your flight home.
Use Day 5 as your pressure valve: if the first four days ran long or the heat wore you down, this is the day built to absorb that instead of a rigid site.