Fly: Helis & Private Planes

Israel: Helicopter Tours

Although Israel is a small country, if you’re looking to base yourself in the centre, and tour either the North or the desert region, in just one day, helicopters are the way forward!  For a day tour of the North, we would typically take off from the centre of the country, land around the Sea of Galilee, and then take off again towards the Golan region where we would land for an off-road jeep tour and winery lunch, before flying back to the centre stopping once again at the UNESCO world heritage site of the Old City of Acre.  Without a helicopter such a tour would take at least two days.

For a helicopter day tour of the desert regions, we might suggest that you take off from the centre of the country and stop in the Judean Desert for a tour of Masada and a dip in the Dead Sea.  We would then take off again and fly further South into the Negev where you might enjoy a private wilderness lunch before taking a jeep ride through the Ramon Crater or visiting the UNESCO world heritage sites of Avdat and Shivta.  Your helicopter awaiting, we fly you back to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem in time for an evening out on the town.

We also love helicopter tours for those looking for that extra excitement!  It’s quite a thrill to see iconic sites such as the Dome of the Rock or the Masada fortress from the aerial view.  And if you’re looking to take the thrill to another level, ask us about getting your hands on the controls – we can arrange helicopter flying lessons with IAF pilots!

Egypt: Private Planes

Egypt is a huge country and although there are plentiful domestic flights connecting many relevant destinations, surprisingly some of the country’s most desirable spots are not connected to Cairo, meaning for example you could end up taking two internal flights to arrive at the unmissable Abu Simbel.  Additionally whilst most domestic flights are about an hour and therefore perfectly manageable in time, they do tend to end up sucking more of your day than you would have thought by the time you arrive at the airport, stand in line for not just one but two security X-ray machine checks, and experience the not-infrequent delays.  None of this is terrible, but if you have the budget to fly private then we cannot recommend it strongly enough, in Egypt this is not simply a matter of exclusivity but of making the most of your precious time in a country packed full of fascinating sites to see and people to meet.  Additionally keep in mind that if you fly private you can dictate the time at which you arrive at a site – meaning outside of the times coaches and regular flights tend to deposit people causing crowds.

The helicopter was fantastic. The pilot was fantastic.

Glenn F, New York