Pesach programs exist on five continents, but the choice is narrower than it looks. Of the 88 Pesach programs listed here, 65 are in Israel. The rest are spread thinly: seven in the United States, six in Greece, three in South Africa, two in Italy, and one each in Thailand, Costa Rica, Spain, Scotland and the Bahamas. Where you go decides your flight cost, your food, and how far you are from help.
The destinations at a glance
Israel carries the great majority of the programs listed, the United States is the most expensive mainstream option, and southern Europe is where the published prices start lowest.
| Destination | Programs listed | Listed price, per adult | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | 65 | Mostly on request | Choice, family visits, short internal transfers |
| United States | 7 | $8,500–$21,999 | No long-haul flight from North America |
| Greece | 6 | $4,050–$11,000 | Short European flights, published prices |
| South Africa | 3 | $5,400–$7,900 | Autumn weather, safari add-ons |
| Italy | 2 | $6,350–$7,000 | Small programs, European touring |
| Spain | 1 | from $5,150 | The lowest listed entry price |
| Thailand | 1 | from $7,000 | Long-haul families wanting somewhere different |
| Costa Rica | 1 | from $11,500 | Nature-first holidays |
| Scotland | 1 | from $13,200 | Small, quiet, countryside |
| Bahamas | 1 | from $15,900 | Beach resort at the premium end |
Prices are the published starting rate per adult for the full eight days, excluding flights. Room category, dates and occupancy move them substantially.
Israel
Israel is not one destination but several — Jerusalem and Tel Aviv dominate on volume, with real clusters in Eilat, Herzliya, Haifa, Tiberias, the Kinneret and the Dead Sea, and most programs quote on request rather than publishing a rate.
Israel is not one destination, it is several. Jerusalem (16 programs) and Tel Aviv (16) dominate, with Eilat (7), Herzliya (5), Haifa (4), Tiberias (4), the Dead Sea (3) and Lake Kinneret (2) behind them.
The practical differences matter more than the marketing:
- Jerusalem puts you inside a city that is itself keeping Pesach, walking distance from the Old City. It is also the most crowded, and the hardest to move around on Chol Hamoed.
- Tel Aviv and Herzliya are beach-and-city programs, easier with small children, further from the sites most families want to visit.
- Eilat and the Dead Sea are resort holidays with reliable April weather, and a three-to-four-hour transfer from Ben Gurion.
- Tiberias and the Kinneret are the quietest of the Israeli options, with the north within reach for day trips.
The catch: only 5 of the 65 Israeli programs publish a price. Almost everything is quoted on request, which makes comparing them by brochure close to impossible — and is exactly the problem the free quote service exists to solve.
Flights are the other half. Pesach airfares to Tel Aviv peak harder than to most destinations, because program guests and families visiting relatives compete for the same seats. Price the flight before you commit to the hotel.
The United States
The American programs are the most expensive mainstream option, from $8,500 to about $22,000 per adult, and they are scattered across the country rather than clustered — but most families can drive or fly domestically to one.
Seven programs, and the most expensive mainstream option: $8,500 to about $22,000 per adult. They are scattered rather than clustered — Palm Beach and Tampa in Florida, Cambridge on the Chesapeake, Callicoon in the Catskills, San Pedro in California, Phoenix in Arizona and Vail in Colorado.
What you are buying is the absence of a long-haul flight. For a North American family of six, saving six intercontinental fares over Pesach closes much of the gap to a cheaper overseas program — and a domestic flight that goes wrong is a recoverable problem in a way a missed transatlantic connection before Yom Tov is not.
Southern Europe: Greece, Italy and Spain
Southern Europe is where the published prices are and where they start lowest, with Greece opening at $4,050 per adult — the trade is an international flight for the whole family.
This is where the published prices are, and where they start lowest. Greece has six programs from $4,050 to $11,000, mostly on islands and coastal resorts. Italy has two, $6,350 to $7,000. Spain has one, from $5,150 — the lowest listed entry price of any destination on the site.
For families flying from the UK or Europe these are three-to-four-hour flights at a fraction of long-haul Pesach fares. Programs tend to be smaller, which suits families who find the very large programs impersonal, and does not suit families who want a big children's programme with a real peer group. Ask how many families are actually booked, not how many the hotel sleeps.
South Africa
South Africa's three programs run $5,400 to $7,900, and it is the one destination where the season works in your favour, since April is a warm, dry southern-hemisphere autumn.
Three programs, $5,400 to $7,900, and the one destination where the season works in your favour: April is autumn in the southern hemisphere, warm and dry rather than hot. South Africa is also the only Pesach destination on the site where a kosher safari is a realistic extension of the same trip.
The constraint is distance and the flight schedule rather than kashrut — Johannesburg and Cape Town both have established kosher infrastructure behind the programs.
The single-property destinations
Thailand, Costa Rica, the Bahamas and Scotland each carry a single program, which makes the decision simple — you are choosing that property or nothing.
Thailand (from $7,000), Costa Rica (from $11,500), Scotland (from $13,200) and the Bahamas (from $15,900) each have exactly one program.
These are a different kind of decision. There is no second program to switch to if the first fills, no local kosher fallback if something goes wrong, and the program's own answers are the only answers. They genuinely suit families who want Pesach to be the trip of the year rather than eight days in a hotel — but ask the twelve questions harder here than anywhere else, because there is no plan B in the same country.
Choosing on kashrut rather than geography
If your family keeps non-gebrokts or non-kitniyot, that narrows the map before budget or geography does, so fix the standard first and choose the destination second.
If your family keeps non-gebrokts or non-kitniyot, that narrows the map before anything else does. Currently 15 of the 88 Pesach programs are non-gebrokts and 25 are non-kitniyot. Start from non-gebrokts programs or non-kitniyot programs and let the destination follow, rather than falling for a hotel you cannot eat at. The terms themselves are explained in plain English here.
A short way to decide
Fix the kashrut standard, price the flight before the hotel, then choose between what is left — in that order.
- Fix the kashrut standard first. It removes more options than budget does.
- Price the flight before the hotel. For long-haul families it is often the larger number, and it decides the destination.
- Decide whether you want choice or certainty. Israel gives you 65 options and mostly unpublished prices; Greece gives you six and a price list.
- Check the room, not the resort. Connecting rooms and family suites go first everywhere — see when to book.
- Compare two or three properly rather than enquiring one at a time.
Tell us once what you are looking for and matching programs come back to you directly. The quote service is completely free.
