As the Jewish holiday season approaches, here are some ideas local and overseas travelers might want to consider. Celebrating honey Israeli beekeepers are inviting the public to the Fifth Honey Celebration across the country. Honey is the sweet symbol of the Jewish New Year, and opening the doors of beehives to the public at large has become an annual tradition. The festival, celebrated at 13 locations from north to the south, includes guided tours, short films on the industry, and workshops on the collection and production of honey. The festival began on August 20 and concludes on September 20. All beehives charge reasonable entrance fees, from NIS 10 to NIS 38, and the full list with more details can be found on the Honey Council's Web site: www.honey.org.il Mapa wine tours Here is some welcome news for lovers of good wines and vines. The Mapa Web site, which specializes in vacation spots and recreational activities, has launched a new section run by wine expert Hilik Gurfinkel. He publishes a weekly review of affordable Israeli wines. The site contains a list of over 100 Israeli wineries and wine shops across the country as well as the most recommended wines, all of which were reviewed by Mapa reporters and wine experts. The wineries are ranked by Mapa editorial members and by registered surfers of the Web site. Currently, the leading wineries in the country are the Galil Mountain Winery, the Golan Heights Winery, Tzora Vineyards, Dalton Winery, Saslove Winery, Vitkin Winery and Chateau Golan. The new Web site supplies contact details for all wineries to visitors who want to organize their own tours, as well as pointers for wine choosing ahead of the holiday period. Membership for Mapa Web site costs NIS 17 a month with free two weeks trial period. For more information go to: www.mapa.co.il Joining the harvest Want to take part in a grape harvest, combined with an upscale Galilee vacation? The boutique hotel, Vila Galilee in Safed, and the Saslove Winery in Moshav Tzuriel, have joined forces to offer wine lovers a unique experience. The package deal includes two nights at the Vila Galilee, picking grapes at dawn in Saslove's Kerem Ben-Zimra vineyard, hands-on wine production in the winery, and a sampling of the local wines at lunch. (The cost is NIS 850). Organizers say registration in advance is required for this month's harvests on specific dates. For reservations and more information, call 04-6999563 or go to: www.villa-galilee.com Bonanza vacation Vered Hagalil has a two-day "bonanza package deal" that includes horseback riding in the mountains of Galilee and the Golan as well as other "Wild West" activities. You spend a night sleeping outside at Lake Kinneret, and eating around a bonfire, "cowboy style." The next morning, you ride back to Vered Hagalil, to be welcomed by a Galilee breakfast at the moshav's restaurant. Organizers say the trips can accommodate experienced and inexperienced riders in groups of between five and 15. (Prices range between NIS 1,190 to 1,250 per person.) More details can be found at: www.veredhagalil.co.il or call (04) 693-5785 Back to our roots Travel in the footsteps of our ancestors has become a popular pastime among Israeli tourists. Sources in the industry say some 100,000 Israelis travel every year to the countries in which their parents or grandparents were raised. Aladdin Travel offers custom-made trips to those who want to experience the places in which their ancestors were born, educated, married, lived and sometimes died. An especially popular destination is Poland, to which Aladdin has guided tours. The trips include visits by bus and led by tour guides to Warsaw, Cracow and Auschwitz-Birkenau. (Each tour costs about NIS 200) Travelers whose roots are in Morocco can join a half-day tour to Marrakesh (the cost is NIS 75), or a more expensive, private tour to Casablanca (about NIS 600). Tours are also offered to Bucharest and Moscow, and the company offers fine hotel reservations at affordable prices. For more information go to: www.aladdintravel.co.il or call 03-9414349. Tours to China "For many years, China was seen by the Israeli tourist as a difficult place to travel to, and therefore most Israeli tourism to China was conducted in the framework of organized tours," says Dori Shushan, marketing director for Israir. "This trend has changed now due to an increased interest in China, and more Israelis are now planning independent trips there, with the help of travel agencies, tour operators and the Internet." The favorite destinations among independent Israeli tourists to China are the exotic southern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan as well as the Macau Peninsula near Hong Kong - the Chinese version of Las Vegas. Natour Top, a subsidiary of Israir, offers a package deal for travelers to China that includes transportation, two nights in a hotel room in Beijing, and a tour of the city for $389 per person. For more information and ideas, go to: www.natour.co.il
