Israel will open to tourists on May 23. Tour groups first. Individual travelers at a later date. Be ready to jump through hoops with their requirements.
Vaccinated only with Israel approved vaccinations. (Russian and Chinese vaccines not approved.) PCR test prior to getting on the plane. Another PCR test AND an antibody test upon arrival.
We are looking at Spring 2022 to go on a Gate 1 tour of Israel and Jordan. Should we do it in March, before Easter or May?
How much do you like the heat? My last visit at the end of May and the daily temperatures were in the 90's. It gets hotter the further you get from the Mediterranean.
Both Easter and Passover are in mid April in 2022. Avoid those times.
It's a start. No hotter than Texas in June.
Israel is wise to test for antibodies: just because one has been vaccinated doesn't mean antibodies occur.
We are looking at a tour of Israel and Jordan in Spring 2022. Israel looks to be open, how about Jordan?
Good news for us, I guess. The economy sure needs a boost. Especially the Christian sights, all of which have been closed since last March. Since so many of us are vaccinated, restaurants and bars are reopening and getting up to speed.
The testing sounds rigorous, one before flight and two on arrival. If they'd been that careful with all the Israelis re-entering the country, we would surely have had a helluva lot less virus spread and less lockdown.
Geo We are looking at Spring 2022 to go on a Gate 1 tour of Israel and Jordan. Should we do it in March, before Easter or May?
March !! Sunday, April 17, 2022 is the middle of Passover week when schools are closed and at least half the locals are on vacation, it's Catholic Easter Sunday and Orthodox Palm Sunday. This is traditionally the busiest tourist season of year. You definitely want to be out of Israel between April 14 and April 25 (Easter Monday for the Orthodox which is the huge majority of Christians here).
March weather is generally mild with little rain and lots of sun. Days are getting longer (we're scheduled to go on DST March 28 next year). Expect high temps on the coast and Sea of Galilee from mid 50s to low 70s. Jerusalem tends to be slightly cooler becuse of the altitude (~1500'). Jordan is similar. Late April into May there's almost zero chance of rain, but likely that over a 2-week period you may have a few days of extreme heat - the Arabs call it khamsin.
If there are issues with traveling to Jordan, a company as good as Gate 1 will have alternate arrangements so I wouldn't worry about that.
