Pesach programs in northern Israel

We list 14, spread across four areas: the Kinneret and Tiberias, including Nof Ginosar and several Tiberias hotels; the Upper Galilee, including Mizpe Hayamim at Rosh Pinna; the Carmel and Haifa, including Nir Etzion and the Haifa hotels; and the Western Galilee at Hacienda Forest View. Each listing names its supervision and shows a price where the operator publishes one.

Generally yes, and sometimes by a wide margin — the northern programs where a price is published open around $7,000 per adult. Many Israeli programs quote on request rather than publishing a rate, so a like-for-like comparison usually takes a phone call. The larger saving is often indirect: northern hotels tend to have more space and more family room configurations at a given price point.

Late April in the north is close to ideal — roughly 18–27°C, the countryside still green from the winter rains, and comfortable for walking before the summer heat arrives. It is the best few weeks of the year in the Galilee, which is precisely why the Israeli domestic market fills these hotels.

Between an hour and a half and two and a half hours by road, depending on whether you are heading to the Carmel, the Kinneret or the Upper Galilee. That is worth planning around if you land close to yom tov — the drive is straightforward, but Pesach traffic out of the centre is real.

More than almost anywhere else in the country, and most of it outdoors: the Kinneret and its beaches, the Golan with its waterfalls, springs and jeep country, the Hula Valley for birdlife, Tzfat's old city, and the Banias and Tel Dan reserves. Distances are short, so a family can do something different every day without a long drive.

Most Israeli Pesach programs are, and the northern ones especially — many are single-hotel operations where the whole property runs the program. Confirm it for the specific program and year, along with whether the kitchen is kashered for Pesach or the hotel runs a separate Pesach kitchen.

It varies by hotel and by program, and every listing on this page publishes what the operator states. Ask for the rav hamachshir by name, whether he is on site throughout the eight days, and the policy on gebrokts and kitniyot — Israeli programs differ on all three, and being in Israel does not settle any of them.

It is a good choice for a family who wants the holiday to be a holiday. Jerusalem programs sell proximity to the Kotel and the intensity of Pesach in the city; northern programs sell countryside, a lake and space for children to run. If your family would rather be outdoors than in the Old City, the north is the better fit and usually the better value.