“A life changing experience. What a privilege to be part of such a wonderful group of people. Thank you for making it all possible.”

Thank you for booking onto our Walk the West Bank 2022 trip.

1. Essential Information

How much does the trip cost?

• £1,650 per person
• £1,200 per person (cost exclu group flights) 

What is included in the price?

• Flights (on group flights booked by Amos Trust)
• Accommodation (based on shared rooms)
• All meals
• Group transport in Palestine/Israel
• Walking & local tour guides
• Entrance fees and donations to the organisations we visit
• Tips to accommodation, guides and drivers

What is not included in the price?

• Travel to/from the UK airport
• Personal travel insurance (please see below)
• Hot drinks (apart from with breakfast at the accommodation), all alcoholic and soft drinks
• Bottled water

Can I have a single room?

• Single rooms are not available during this trip once starting the walking trail
• There may be some single room availability at the beginning and end of the trip. This will incur an additional charge. Please indicate on the booking form if you would like a single room if and when available.

What are the group flight details?
(All times are local).

• Depart: Monday 31 October 2022
  Exact flight details TBC but most likely to be a morning flight from London Heathrow
  
  
• Return: Friday 11th November 2022
  Exact flight details TBC but most likely to depart from Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion in afternoon and arrive back at London Heathrow mid-late evening

Each passenger can bring one item of hold luggage weighing no more than 23kg plus one item of hand luggage.

Can I arrange my own flights to arrive early, stay later or travel from/to a different airport? 
Yes. If you choose to do this:

• You need to confirm this on the booking form
• The cost of joining the trip without joining the group flights will be £1,200 per person
• We will confirm a date, time and location for you to meet the group
• We will put you in touch with our local partner Holy Land Trust who can help you make any arrangements outside of the group itinerary. You will be responsible for all of your costs prior to joining and/or after leaving the group and for paying Holy Land Trust directly for their services.

Does Amos Trust provide travel insurance?
No, you will need to arrange your own travel insurance for this trip. We will ask you for the details of your policy before departure. We would recommend obtaining your policy as soon as possible after your place on the trip has been confirmed to make sure that you are covered for any non-refundable costs should you need to cancel your place. Normally we advise that off-the-shelf packages offered by your bank or, for example, the Post Office are fine. Make sure to check that the cover includes the Occupied Palestinian Territories and hiking. You will not be travelling outside of the main tourist destinations.

When will I know the full daily itinerary for the trip?
We will send you a daily itinerary for the trip as soon as we are able to — this should be no later than the end of September 2022. It will include full details of the accommodation we will be staying in.

A bit more about the Walk

Following the success of our original Just Walk To Jerusalem trip back in 2017, we walked the northern half of the Masar Ibrahim trail (now renamed as the Palestine Heritage Trail) the following year. Now we are looking to conclude the journey from Jericho down to Beit Mirsim. (Note: For those of you booking onto Walk the West Bank Group 2, you will be walking in the opposite direction from Group 1, starting from Beit Mirsim and walking to Jericho)

We will start by walking down the Wadi Qelt to Jericho which is a truly breathtaking walk. Then, over the next two days, we will walk up through the wilderness to Bethlehem via Mar Sabar Monastery. We will stay with our partners at Alrowwad in Aida Camp and of course, visit Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel before leaving Bethlehem to head south to the prophet Amos’ birthplace at Tuqu.

From here we head out into the desert and stay at a Bedouin camp from where we can walk down and look out over the Dead Sea. We will stay in Bani Na’im before walking into Hebron, where we will meet partners and spend time in the Old City.
We will then head south and spend the next few days walking through the South Hebron Hills through rolling countryside while finding out more about the pressures these communities face before finishing in Beit Mirsim.

As part of this trip, we will not only meet local families and hear their stories but also spend time catching up with our partners Holy Land Trust, Wi’am and Alrowwad in Bethlehem, and HIRN in Hebron/the South Hebron Hills. We will also visit at least one of the home rebuilding projects that Amos has undertaken in recent years.

To find out more about the trail, and daily distances, visit https://phtrail.org

What will the accommodation be like?

• We will be staying in guest houses, home stays, small villages, Bedouin camps and hotels.

And the food?

• There will be loads of great food and amazing hospitality.
• Vegetarians are well catered for.
• We would recommend you bring some cereal bars or similar to keep your energy up when you are walking.
• Please make sure you tell us about any specific dietary needs on the booking form.

Can I drink the water?

• Though the water in the West Bank and Israel is generally safe, we would recommend that you stick to bottled water to avoid ‘traveller’s tummy’
• It would be wise to bring some anti-bacterial hand wash for use before and after meals.

What will the weather be like?

• November in Palestine is generally dry, warm and sunny with temperatures in the high teens to mid twenties celsius. It can get hot. There may be some days of rain.
• Make sure you bring a hat, plenty of high factor sunscreen and drink plenty of water.
• We will make sure that we build sufficient toilet breaks into the itinerary to allow everyone to drink enough to keep fully hydrated.
• The evenings can be cool so you will need to bring a jacket or jumper.

What currency do I need to bring? And how much?

• The currency used in the West Bank is the Israeli Shekel
• Some places also accept US dollars
• It is best to purchase your Shekels before the trip as time is limited once the trip starts
• You will need enough money to cover one or two lunches (approx. £15 per lunch) during the trip and your own beverages, alcohol and bottled water plus any souvenirs you wish to purchase
• There are cash machines available but be aware of conversion charges
• You will also be able to use debit/credit cards in some shops, particularly if purchasing larger souvenirs. You will visit a number of different shops — glass, olive wood/oil, herbs and spice shops for example. Your visit can be an important source of income but there will never be any pressure from us or our guides to purchase anything.

Will there be Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi will may be available in some of the accommodation.

Mobile phone usage

• Please check the costs of calls, texts and data usage in Israel with your mobile phone provider before the trip. Coverage from Israeli providers is available across almost all of the West Bank
• Ensure you know how to avoid unwanted roaming charges by adjusting your phone settings.

Will it be safe?

• The safety and wellbeing of our groups is always Amos Trust’s number one priority
• Amos has been taking groups to the Holy Land for more than 20 years and we have deep friendships and high levels of trust with our local guides and partners
• The trip will be hosted by our partner, Holy Land Trust
• The itinerary will be flexible to account for unexpected events or concerns arising during our visit
• We will be welcomed with incredible hospitality which is both a beautiful cultural norm and a response to how we choose to locate and shape our visits.

How fit do I need to be?

• Palestine is a hilly place and each day will involve walking 20-25km over stony and uneven tracks
• We suggest you call us on 020 7588 2638 if you have concerns over your physical fitness to join the trip.

Are there any cultural norms or expectations I should be aware of?

• We will be staying in a fairly conservative Arab society so you should generally dress modestly
• Women should avoid strappy or low-cut tops and short skirts/shorts; men should stick to long trousers or shorts that come down well past the knees
• We will be visiting local families and groups as well as churches, mosques and synagogues
• Some of the religious places will insist on shoulders and knees being covered
• If it is required for heads to be covered, suitable coverings are normally offered by the places of worship concerned
• Alcohol is available in the hotel’s in Bethlehem and Nazareth and in many restaurants and cafes
• Whilst it is fine to drink in these environments, it is not acceptable to drink outside of the places serving alcohol or to excess.

Shall I bring gifts?
Please do not bring gifts. If as part of the itinerary we are having meals with families we will suggest some items you could bring i.e. shortbread, colouring pencils, herbs/spices etc. Our hosts Holy land Trust ask that you do not bring anything other than these items as they do not want people to start to assume that visitors will always come with presents.
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2. Coronavirus & Travel Rules

We are planning this trip with the assumption that the world will have returned to some semblance of normality by the departure date. We are very aware, however, that the rules around international travel are highly unlikely to be the same as they were before Covid. Likewise we need to make the trip itinerary and the logistics as covid-secure as possible to ensure the safety of the trip participants and everyone we will be meeting.

With this in mind we have made the following contingency plans:

• If the travel rules in place between the UK and Israel/Palestine at the end of August 2022 are restrictive enough to make group travel unviable (i.e. extended periods of quarantine or advice not to travel), we will postpone the trip and offer all participants places on a rescheduled trip or a full refund.
  
  
• If our local partners advise us at the end of August 2022 that the situation in the areas of the West Bank and Israel that we will be visiting is such that the Covid related risks to the group and to the local people we will be meeting are too high, we will postpone the trip and offer all participants places on a rescheduled trip or a full refund.
  
  
• Assuming the trip goes ahead, we will have Amos staff in Palestine during the trip who will step in to support any group member who has to quarantine, including making arrangements for separate travel should that be necessary.
  
  
• We will take expert advice and initiate and follow sensible infection control processes during the trip.
  
  
• If international travel rules or advice changes after the end of January we will contact participants immediately to notify them of any change that we have had to make to the planned trip.

Do I need to have had Covid vaccinations?
Yes. You will need to confirm that you have been fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine before travelling. You will also need to comply with the mandated Covid testing requirements that are in force at the time of this trip. Please contact us on 020 7588 2638 if you would like to discuss this further.

Do I need any other inoculations?
No

Do I need a visa?

• We will keep up to date with the visa and entry requirements between the UK and Israel and advise you in good time if you need to make any applications before the departure date
• If you do not have a UK passport, you will need to check the visa and entry arrangements between passport holders of your nationality and Israel
• UK passports must have at least 6 months validity to enter Israel.

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3. Offsetting Emissions

Amos Trust is very conscious of the environmental impact of flying. We believe that the importance of our travel programme in promoting Palestinian rights warrants these flights, and we seek to ensure that we make the best possible use of them.

We offset the carbon burnt on our trips through a tree-planting programme with our Nicaraguan partners CEPAD, and offer all participants the chance to do the same. You can read our full carbon emissions policy here.

A return flight from London Heathrow to Ben Guirion Tel Aviv emits approximately 1.2 tonnes of CO2. We calculate the full carbon compensation cost for this is £30. You will be sent details of how you can make a donation to cover this in your booking acknowledgement email.
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4. Payments

We are able to offer participants the opportunity to pay for the trip in three instalments. The due dates for making payments for the trip are as follows:

• Deposit payment of £500 per person
  Due on booking. Please follow the link on the booking form submission confirmation email to make the payment or simply click here
  
  
• Instalment payment of £600 per person
  Please follow this link to make your payment
  Due by the 10th June 2022
  
  
• Balance payment of £550 per person
  Please follow this link to make your payment
  Due by 2nd September 2022
  
  
• Variable payment (if applicable)
  Please follow this link to make your payment
  (You will be able to input any amount, particularly for those on a no-flights package) 
  

Please make sure that your payments reach us on or before the due dates. We will send you email reminders beforehand with links to make payments online with a credit/debit card or PayPal.

You can also pay by cheque (payable to Amos Trust and posted to the address below), or by calling the office on 020 7588 2638 during working hours to make a payment over the phone with a credit or debit card.
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5. Consent for photography/filming

Amos Trust is a creative organisation and we love telling stories. One of the ways we do this is through photography and film. There may be a designated Amos photographer and/or filmmaker on your trip to help us ‘tell the story’, so that we can share it with other Amos supporters and new audiences across Amos’ print and digital media, including print publications, websites, e-marketing, posters, banners, advertising, film, and social media channels.

By confirming that you have read and understood the Essential Information for this trip, you:

• consent to Amos Trust using photographs and/or video recordings, including images of you, to promote our work
• understand that images on websites can be viewed throughout the world and not just in the United Kingdom and that some overseas countries may not provide the same level of protection to the rights of individuals as EU/UK legislation provides
• understand that some images or recordings may be kept permanently once they are published and be kept as an archive of Amos Trust
• consent to follow the Code of Conduct as to when it is inappropriate to take photographs.

Your rights
If you feel uncomfortable being photographed or filmed while on your trip, please inform the photographer and/or filmmaker and they will happily stop photographing/filming you. If you prefer, simply ask your trip leader to ask the photographer and/or filmmaker on your behalf.

You can ask Amos Trust to stop using any images that you appear in at any time, in which case they will not be used in future publications but may continue to appear in publications already in circulation.
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6. Cancellation

Cancellation by Amos Trust
If Amos Trust cancels the trip we will issue a full refund of all monies paid by all participants.

Cancellation by participant
If you need to cancel your place on the trip after your participation has been confirmed, please let us know as soon as possible.

Refunds
We purchase flights as early as possible to ensure availability and value. Your deposit payment is calculated to cover the average cost of a return flight to Israel at the time of booking plus our administration costs and is not refundable.

If you have paid your deposit plus one or more of the scheduled payments prior to cancelling your place, you will be refunded the amount you have paid up to that date less the cost of your deposit, plus any other non-refundable expenditure Amos Trust has incurred.

We will supply evidence of any non-refundable expenditure but would suggest that you obtain travel insurance as early as possible.