The first thing worth saying plainly: there is no single price for a Pesach program, and any site that gives you one number is guessing. What there is, is a range you can plan against, and a short list of things that move a quote by thousands of dollars.
The range
Across the programs we list, adult rates land roughly between $6,000 and $20,000 for the full eight days. That is a wide band, and where a program falls inside it is driven by four things, in roughly this order of impact:
- Where it is. Israel and drive-to US programs are the most affordable end. Privatized resorts in Greece, Italy, the Caribbean and the Far East occupy the top.
- Whether the hotel is privatized. A program that takes over an entire property controls every kitchen and every public space — and pays for the privilege. A program occupying part of a hotel shares the cost and charges less.
- The standard of the property itself. A five-star resort with a spa and a private beach was expensive before anyone kashered it.
- Room category. This is the one people underestimate. The gap between a standard room and a family suite on the same program is frequently larger than the gap between two different programs.
Per-night hotel stays outside yom tov work differently and are far cheaper — typically $250 to $650 a night for a comparable kosher property.
What the price normally includes
The convention across the industry is close to all-inclusive, and it usually covers:
- All meals for all eight days, both Sedarim included
- The tea room, which on most programs runs almost continuously
- Minyanim, shiurim and a scholar-in-residence programme
- Children's clubs and, on larger programs, a separate teen programme
- Evening entertainment
- Use of hotel facilities — pool, gym, and often the spa's basic access
That is genuinely a lot, and it is the reason a headline number that looks alarming next to a normal holiday is not comparing like with like. You are buying eight days of full board for the whole family, not a room.
Where the extras hide
The costs that surprise people are consistent, and all of them are askable about before you pay a deposit:
- Flights. Essentially never included, and at their annual peak.
- Chol Hamoed excursions. Some programs include them, many charge per trip per person. Over four days with a large family this becomes a real number.
- Spa treatments and speciality dining, where a resort has them.
- Transfers from the airport, which are sometimes bundled and sometimes not.
- Tips. Many programs add a service charge or suggest a per-person gratuity for staff. Ask whether it is compulsory and what it comes to.
- Room category upgrades, including connecting rooms, which on family programs are the first thing to sell out and often carry a premium.
How children are really priced
Children usually sit at 40 to 60 percent of the adult rate, scaled by age, with infants under two often free or close to it. For a family of six this percentage matters far more than the headline adult rate — a program that looks $1,000 more expensive per adult can easily come out cheaper overall if its child pricing is more generous.
Ask for a full quote with each child's actual age. Two programs are only comparable once you have both totals for your family.
What actually moves the number
If your budget is fixed and you want the most program for it, these are the levers that work, roughly in order:
- Book early. Most organizers publish pre-brochure rates before their marketing goes out. This is the single largest saving available and it costs you nothing but deciding sooner.
- Be flexible on room category. A standard room on an excellent program usually beats a suite on a mediocre one.
- Consider Israel or a drive-to destination. Removing four expensive Pesach-season flights from the equation changes the arithmetic completely.
- Ask about the second week. Some programs price the two halves of yom tov separately, and the back half is often quieter and cheaper.
Before you compare two quotes
Put both on the same basis first. For each program, get: the total for your exact party, whether excursions and tips are inside or outside that figure, the room category it assumes, and the deposit and cancellation terms. Only then are the two numbers actually comparable.
Every listing on this site shows a price band up front for exactly this reason — you should be able to rule a program in or out before you spend an afternoon on the phone. Using the site, the quiz and the quote service is completely free.
