“A life changing experience. What a privilege to be part of such a wonderful group of people. Thank you for making it all possible.”

Thank you for your interest in joining this trip.
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Rebuilding Hope 2024
Autumn 2024: TBC

The Booking Process
Please follow these steps to book your place:

• Fully complete and submit the trip booking form
• Each and every participant needs to complete a form
• You will be asked to confirm that you have read and understood this Essential Information document when completing your form.

Once you have submitted your booking form, you will receive an email from us confirming we have your information. This email will include two links which you will need to follow to complete the booking process:

• the first link will take you to a payment page for you to pay the deposit for the trip
• the second link will take you to a Code of Conduct form which every participant needs to accept.

Once we have received the details from your form, your deposit payment, and your acceptance of the Code of Conduct, you will receive confirmation of your place on the trip.

Please note that we only have 40 spaces available so please complete your form immediately to avoid disappointment. We may contact you for further clarification in response to the information you give on your booking form.
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1. Essential Information

How much does the trip cost?

• £1,700 per person. 
• We also ask each participant to fundraise a further £1,500 towards the cost of the rebuilding projects that we will be undertaking.

What is included in the price?

• Flights (on group flights booked by Amos Trust)
• Accommodation (based on sharing a twin or double room - see below re single rooms)
• All meals (Note: you may have to pay for one or two lunches during free-time in the itinerary)
• Group transport in Palestine/Israel
• Local tour guides, entrance fees and donations to organisations we visit
• Tips to accommodation, guides and drivers
• Bottled water during the build projects

What is not included in the price?

• Travel to/from the UK airport
• Personal travel insurance (please see below)
• Alcoholic and soft drinks
• Bottled water

Can I have a single room?

• Yes, at an additional cost of £250 to cover the charges made by the accommodation provider for single rooms.
  

What are the group flight details?
(All times are local).

• Depart: Sunday 14th April 2024
  Virgin Atlantic VS 457
  Leaves London Heathrow Terminal 3 at 08:50
  Arrives at Tel Aviv at 15:45
  
  
• Return: Saturday 27th April 2024
  Virgin Atlantic VS 458
  Departs Tel Aviv at 17:35
  Arrives Heathrow Terminal 3 at 21:10

Each passenger can bring one item of hold luggage weighing no more than 23kg plus one item of hand luggage.

Can I arrange my own flights to arrive early, stay later or travel from/to a different airport? 
Yes. If you choose to do this:

• You need to confirm this on the booking form
• The cost of joining the trip without joining the group flights will be £1,200 per person
• We will confirm a date, time and location for you to meet the group
• We will put you in touch with our local partner Holy Land Trust who can help you make any arrangements outside of the group itinerary. You will be responsible for all of your costs prior to joining and/or after leaving the group and for paying Holy Land Trust directly for their services.

Does Amos Trust provide travel insurance?
No, you will need to arrange your own travel insurance for this trip. We will ask you for the details of your policy before departure. We would recommend obtaining your policy as soon as possible after your place on the trip has been confirmed to make sure that you are covered for any non-refundable costs should you need to cancel your place.

Normally we advise that off-the-shelf packages offered by your bank or, for example, the Post Office are fine. Make sure to check that the cover includes the Occupied Palestinian Territories. You will not be travelling outside of the main tourist destinations.

Do I need any inoculations?

• Visitors from the UK do not currently need and inoculations to enter Israel
• If you do not have a UK passport, you will need to check the health entry requirements between passport holders of your nationality and Israel.

Do I need a visa?

• Visitors from the UK do not currently need a visa or to complete any forms to enter Israel.
• If you do not have a UK passport, you will need to check the visa and entry arrangements between passport holders of your nationality and Israel.
• UK passports must have at least 6 months validity to enter Israel.

Will it be safe?

• The safety and wellbeing of our groups is always Amos Trust’s number one priority
• Amos has been taking groups to the Holy Land for more than 20 years and we have deep friendships and high levels of trust with our local guides and partners
• We will offer training at the start of the trip in how to respond in the unlikely event of a confrontational situation arising. Whilst the trip is a non-violent action designed to confront injustice, we do not intend for any participants to be arrested or placed in dangerous situations
• We will be welcomed with incredible hospitality which is both a beautiful cultural norm and a response to how we choose to locate and shape our visits.

Who will be leading the trip?

• The trip will be hosted by our local partners Holy Land Trust and HIRN
• The UK trip participants will be led by a small team of experienced volunteers from Amos Trust’s previous rebuilding projects alongside at least one Amos Trust staff member

Building skills and experience
You do not need any building skills or experience. All the skilled work will be led by the local Palestinian building teams. The trip participants will be labouring and helping out where we can.

Fitness
A reasonable level of fitness is required as we will be working 6-8 hours per day at some points of the trip. However, there will be a variety of tasks to do, some much more physically demanding than others. Our previous building teams have consisted of volunteers aged 18 to 80 and everyone has found plenty to do within their physical capabilities.

Choosing the home to be rebuilt and the other projects to be undertaken
Holy Land Trust and HIRN are experienced and highly respected organisations who are trusted by the local communities they serve. They will work alongside these communities to select the projects we will be undertaking.

What will the accommodation be like?

• We will stay in a comfortable tourist hotel in Bethlehem
• All rooms are en-suite and towels are provided by the accommodation
• There may be an opportunity to go swimming, so please bring your swimwear.

And the food?

• Is plentiful and delicious!
• Vegetarians are well catered for
• Breakfast each morning will be at the hotels
• Lunch will be fitted into the daily itinerary and work schedules
• Some evening meals will be at the hotel and some will be out
• Please make sure you tell us about any specific dietary needs on the booking form.

Can I drink the water?

• Though the water in the West Bank and Israel is generally safe, we would recommend that you stick to bottled water to avoid ‘traveller’s tummy’
• It would be wise to bring some anti-bacterial hand wash for use before and after meals.

What will the weather be like?

• Spring in Palestine variable. There may be hot days but it also may be cooler and possibly wet
• Make sure you bring a hat, plenty of high factor sunscreen and drink plenty of water. But also bring along warmer clothes and wet weather gear.

What currency do I need to bring? And how much?

• The currency used in the West Bank is the Israeli Shekel
• Some places also accept US dollars
• It is best to purchase your Shekels before the trip as time is limited once the trip starts
• You will need enough money to cover one or two lunches (approx. £15 per lunch) during the trip and your own beverages, alcohol and bottled water plus any souvenirs you wish to purchase
• There are cash machines available but be aware of conversion charges
• You will also be able to use debit/credit cards in some shops, particularly if purchasing larger souvenirs. You will visit a number of different shops — glass, olive wood/oil, herbs and spice shops for example. Your visit can be an important source of income but there will never be any pressure from us or our guides to purchase anything.

Will there be Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi will probably be available in the hotel.

Mobile phone usage

• Please check the costs of calls, texts and data usage in Israel with your mobile phone provider before the trip. Coverage from Israeli providers is available across almost all of the West Bank
• Ensure you know how to avoid unwanted roaming charges by adjusting your phone settings.

Are there any cultural norms or expectations I should be aware of?

• We will be staying in a fairly conservative Arab society so you should generally dress modestly
• Women should avoid strappy or low-cut tops and short skirts/shorts; men should stick to long trousers or shorts that come down well past the knees
• We will be visiting local families and groups as well as churches, mosques and synagogues
• Some of the religious places will insist on shoulders and knees being covered
• If it is required for heads to be covered, suitable coverings are normally offered by the places of worship concerned
• Alcohol is available in the hotel’s in Bethlehem and Nazareth and in many restaurants and cafes
• Whilst it is fine to drink in these environments, it is not acceptable to drink outside of the places serving alcohol or to excess.

Shall I bring gifts?
Please do not bring gifts. If as part of the itinerary we are having meals with families, we will suggest some items you could bring i.e. shortbread, colouring pencils, herbs/spices etc. Our hosts Holy land Trust ask that you do not bring anything other than these items as they do not want people to start to assume that visitors will always come with presents.
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2. Payments

The payment arrangements for the trip are as follows:

• Deposit
  A deposit of £500 per-person is due on receipt of an email confirming your place (your confirmation will include a link to make this payment).
• Balance:
  We will send you an invoice for the balance due, including a single supplement if you have selected that option. All balances must be paid by February 28th 2024.

Your invoice will include a link to make online payments using a credit or debit card or your PayPal account if you have one. The invoice will also have our bank details if you prefer to make a bank payment directly from your account.

You can also pay by cheque (payable to ‘Amos Trust’) and posted to: Amos Trust, Room 11, St Margaret's House, 15 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PJ

You can also phone the office on 0203 7253493 during working hours to make a payment over the phone with a credit or debit card.
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3. Cancellation

Cancellation by Amos Trust
If Amos Trust cancels the trip we will issue a full refund of all monies paid by all participants.

Cancellation by participant
If you need to cancel your place on the trip after your participation has been confirmed, please let us know as soon as possible.

Refunds
We purchase flights as early as possible to ensure availability and value. Your deposit payment is calculated to cover the average cost of a return flight to Israel at the time of booking plus our administration costs and is not refundable.

If you have paid your deposit plus one or more of the scheduled payments prior to cancelling your place, you will be refunded the amount you have paid up to that date less the cost of your deposit, plus any other non-refundable expenditure Amos Trust has incurred.

We will supply evidence of any non-refundable expenditure but would stress our recommendation that you obtain travel insurance as early as possible.
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4. Consent for photography/filming

Amos Trust is a creative organisation and we love telling stories. One of the ways we do this is through photography and film. There may be a designated Amos photographer and/or filmmaker on your trip to help us ‘tell the story’, so that we can share it with other Amos supporters and new audiences across Amos’ print and digital media, including print publications, websites, e-marketing, posters, banners, advertising, film, and social media channels.

By confirming that you have read and understood the Essential Information for this trip, you:

• consent to Amos Trust using photographs and/or video recordings, including images of you, to promote our work
• understand that images on websites can be viewed throughout the world and not just in the United Kingdom and that some overseas countries may not provide the same level of protection to the rights of individuals as EU/UK legislation provides
• understand that some images or recordings may be kept permanently once they are published and be kept as an archive of Amos Trust
• consent to follow the Code of Conduct as to when it is inappropriate to take photographs.

Your rights
If you feel uncomfortable being photographed or filmed while on your trip, please inform the photographer and/or filmmaker and they will happily stop photographing/filming you. If you prefer, simply ask your trip leader to ask the photographer and/or filmmaker on your behalf.

You can ask Amos Trust to stop using any images that you appear in at any time, in which case they will not be used in future publications but may continue to appear in publications already in circulation.
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5. Offsetting Emissions

Amos Trust is very conscious of the environmental impact of flying. We believe that the importance of our travel programme in promoting Palestinian rights warrants these flights, and we seek to ensure that we make the best possible use of them.

We offset the carbon burnt on our trips through a tree-planting programme with our Nicaraguan partners CEPAD, and offer all participants the chance to do the same. You can read our full carbon emissions policy here.

A return flight from London Heathrow to Ben Guirion Tel Aviv emits approximately 1.2 tonnes of CO2. We calculate the full carbon compensation cost for this is £30. You will be sent details of how you can make a donation to cover this in your booking acknowledgement email.