Is it possible - practicaly everything is including this but it is a crazy day. The drive alone will take about 4 hours in each direction leaving you 4 hours for Massada and the Dead Sea - actually realisticaly you will probably want to leave 5 hours for the trip back as you do not want to miss your ship so really 3 hours on site.

If you do do this then I suggest that you do it with a private guide or taxi rather than driving yourself as the drive will be very long and difficult and you do not want to waste time and energy finding your way.

What with the mileage concerned a private guide with all the transport for upto 8 passengers will probably cost you something in the region of 900 USD not including the entrance fees to the Massada site - the Dead Sea is free.

Adam

Thank you Adam

I totally agree with Adam, but I'll be a bit more adamant about it - I wouldn't do it !!

If this is your first time in Israel (and even if not), there are many interesting places to visit within 1-1.5 hours drive from Haifa, and there is Haifa itself. You don't say how many people you are, and what your interests are - that also makes a difference to what makes sense to see in 1 day.

It is also worth checking out what the cruise offers as on-shore excursions. Often they are at least as worthwhile as what you can do yourself. If you have a couple of itineraries offered by the cruise line, post them here, and we'll let you know what we think of them.

Okay, so here's the full deal. Our first day in port is Ashdod. The second is Haifa. Our family would love to do Jerusalem on one day and Masada/Dead Sea the other. Should we do Masada/Dead Sea from the Ashdod port and Jerusalem from Haifa. Or should we just scrap Masada/Dead Sea and stay closer to Haifa? I've been to Israel before but not the rest of the family.

Your input is greatly appreciated.

I must agree that driving from Haifa to the Dead Sea/Masada is too much. Since you are going to be in Jerusaelm the day before, have you considered spending the night off ship--in Jerusalem, or near Masada and then you would only have to drive one way to Haifa to meet the ship.

Masada from Ashdod is more feasible, but jerusalem from Haifa is very hectic. I would leave Masada for another trip.

Good idea staying in Jerusalem over night - just to expand on it:

Leave ship in Ashdod - drive to the Dead Sea nd Massada via Beer Sheva and Arad (this will take about 2 hours). Spend most of the day in the Dead Sea region and then head upto Jerusalem (about 1 hour from the Ein Gedi beach) arriving in Jerusalem in the early evening.

Spend the night in Jerusalem and the following day touring Jerusalem and then head to the Haifa port (about 1.5 hours drive) to meet your ship.

Again I'd still opt for the private guide and van option so as to make the most of this lightning trip.

Thank you all very much for your time and input!

Adam-- your buidling a suggested itinerary on my suggestion was great. I would modify only one thing and leave 2.5-3 hours, not 1.5 hours to get back to Haifa and the ship. I spend part of the year in Netanya. Only by driving very fast and it not being rush hour can I do it in 1.5 hours. ( or late at night--assuming there is no construction) In fact, I would suggest they bus or taxi to the Tel Aviv train station and take the train the rest of the way. The train doesn't get stuck in traffic.