Two Days for the Two Day Trips Nobody Skips This 2 day plan uses Jerusalem purely as a base: Day 1 is Masada and the Dead Sea by cable car, Day 2 is Bethlehem across Checkpoint 300. It nests inside the longer 4 , 6 and 7-day versions, and the day trips guide has the full cost breakdown behind these numbers. Book These Before You Go A Masada and Dead Sea day tour on Viator , worth comparing against the bus fare below before you decide.

Four Days of Day Trips, Priced Out Four days based in Jerusalem covers the region’s four genuine day trips without repacking: Masada and the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv, and a second desert day at Ein Gedi and Qumran. Self-guided it runs about 560 ILS ($180) in transport and entries across the four days, well under four booked tours. This plan expands the 2-day version and nests inside the 6 and 7-day ones; the day trips guide has the full cost math.

Six Days of Day Trips, and Where the Value Runs Out Six days based in Jerusalem stretches past the four core day trips into a Jericho tour day and a flex day, and this is where budget honesty matters: the first four days are strong value, days five and six are padding you should plan cheaply. Self-guided the core runs about 620 ILS ($200) in transport and entries, plus one optional Jericho tour from $90.

Seven Days of Day Trips, With the Last Day Kept Loose Seven days based in Jerusalem is the outer edge of what a single-base day-trip plan justifies: the four core trips, a Jericho tour, a flex day, and a deliberately loose seventh day to protect your onward travel. Self-guided the core runs about 640 ILS ($205) in transport and entries, plus one optional Jericho tour from $90. This plan builds on the 6-day version and expands the 4 and 2-day ones; the day trips guide has the full cost math.

Seeing the Dome of the Rock Costs Nothing, but the Window Is Short The Dome of the Rock sits on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, the walled platform above the Western Wall, and viewing it up close as a non-Muslim visitor is free. What isn’t free is flexible timing: access runs Sunday to Thursday only, in two short daily windows, esplanade only, with no entry to the Dome’s or Al-Aqsa Mosque’s interiors.

Jerusalem Is the Cheapest Base for Four Real Day Trips Every guidebook agrees Jerusalem makes a good base for seeing the rest of the country; few price out what that actually costs. From a Jerusalem hotel, the Dead Sea and Masada, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv and Jericho are all doable in a single day, and most of them are cheaper by public transit than by tour, sometimes by a lot. The exception is Masada, where the bus fare alone can rival a bundled tour price once the cable car gets added.

Two Days Is Enough for Jerusalem’s Free Highlights, Nothing More This 2 day plan covers the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Old City’s four quarters , a timed Temple Mount window and Mahane Yehuda, almost all of it free. Budget roughly 300 ILS ($95) a day for food and transit, plus one paid Old City tour if you add it. It nests inside our longer 3-day , 5-day , 6-day and 7-day itineraries, and the full Jerusalem budget guide has the free-versus-paid breakdown in more depth.

Three Days Adds the Paid Sights Actually Worth Your Shekels This plan extends the 2-day free-highlights version with one worth-paying day: Yad Vashem, the City of David and the Western Wall Tunnels. Expect roughly 350 ILS ($115) a day once that one paid day is factored in, against 250-300 ILS ($80-95) on the free days either side. It nests inside the 5-day , 6-day and 7-day versions if you have more time, and the Jerusalem budget guide covers the full free-versus-paid case in more depth.

Five Days Covers the Free Sights, the Paid Sights and a Shabbat Day Without Rushing This plan extends the 3-day version with a modern-Jerusalem day at the Israel Museum and a second, slower Old City day, still built around Shabbat rather than fighting it. Expect roughly 320 ILS ($105) a day averaged across the week, once one museum ticket and a couple of paid Old City sights are spread over five days.

Six Days Builds a Dedicated Shabbat Day In, Instead of Working Around One This plan extends the 5-day version with a full day built for Friday afternoon through Saturday evening, when light rail and buses stop citywide and most West Jerusalem shops close. Expect roughly 300 ILS ($95) a day on foot, since the Shabbat day itself costs almost nothing beyond a meal or two. It nests inside the 7-day version, and the shorter 2 , 3 and 5 day plans if your trip shrinks instead.

A Full Week Lets You Slow Down Without Ever Leaving the City This plan extends the 6-day version with a wrap-up day for souvenirs, a repeat visit to whichever free sight landed best, and enough slack to reroute around Shabbat wherever it falls in your week. Expect roughly 290 ILS ($95) a day averaged across the week, the lowest per-day figure in this family, since a full week spreads Day 3’s ticket costs furthest.

The Old City’s Two Biggest Draws Cost Nothing to Enter Under a square kilometre, walled since the 16th century, the Old City holds four quarters, the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and neither of those last two charges admission. Where a visit here actually costs money is the paid extras: the Ramparts Walk, the Western Wall Tunnels and a guided tour of the souks. Budget accordingly and you can cover the free half of this list on a single meal’s worth of spending.

Most of What Makes Jerusalem Worth Visiting Costs Nothing to See The Western Wall is free. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is free. Yad Vashem is free. The Old City’s four quarters cost nothing to wander. Build a trip around Jerusalem’s free sights plus one or two paid extras and a realistic budget runs roughly 250 to 350 ILS ($80 to 115) a day per person outside a hotel bill, more on the day you book the Western Wall Tunnels or the City of David.

Jerusalem’s Biggest Sights Are Also Its Free Ones The Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Yad Vashem, three of the most-visited sites in the city, charge nothing to enter. Add the Old City’s four quarters, walkable end to end, and a realistic daily budget for the sights alone runs close to zero. Where the money actually goes is food, transit and the two or three paid extras worth booking.