Every year after the summer we always try to have a winter break in a “hot” country, living in London and without going far away from Europe is not very easy to find some warm weather. In October 2018 we had a total of 10 days off and I managed to combine an amazing trip with a mix of beaches, city sightseeing and adventures. We landed in Cyprus with a direct flight from London and we had 3 fantastic days relaxing on the fabulous beaches of Ayia Napa on the east side of the Island, this island is perfect for a winter break.
From Cyprus we flew to Israel, in Tel Aviv with a 55 mins flight. Tel Aviv “Is a city that never sleeps”, there are few places we travelled to and say to our self, “Wow, we could live in this city.” Tel Aviv is the coolest city in the Mediterranean, there is an amazing feeling all day long, you could go out at 10pm and find people playing beach volley, is an amazing 24 hour city of culture, events, nightlife and beaches, a city with great food, a great atmosphere, and great experiences.

We spent 2 nights here (we would have loved to spend more days, we will definitely go back), it’s a city extremely attractive and full of young international population, with an incredibly relaxed vibe and a great variety of outstanding restaurants, the food is really delicious wherever you go.
Most of the city can be easily explored on foot, you can reach the beaches from the city centre in 20-30 minutes, and the neighbourhood of Neve Tzedek is just 20 minutes by foot. There’s something special about a big metropolis on the sea with gorgeous beaches, Tel Aviv has 16 beaches from the Marina to Jaffa, the main ones are Frishman Beach, Banana Beach, and Metsitsim Beach.
With a beautiful 35 mins walk along the coast (if you prefer you can get a taxi) you will arrive in Jaffa, I really recommend walking because the scenery is stunning. Jaffa, the Old City, is not to be missed. While Tel Aviv is a relatively new city, the over 3000 year old Jaffa district is its historic heartland. Here you’ll find white stone buildings with art galleries, fashion boutiques and cafes with a nice view .

In Jaffa we had the best hummus of our life, a friend of mine recommend this place to us, Hummus Abu Hassan is the best. Back to Tel Aviv centre, if you have some extra time you can check out the cool and charming district of Neve Tzedek, with narrow and cosy streets of jewellery and clothing stores, galleries, museums and buzzing bistros.
Our next stop was Jerusalem, we took the train from Tel Aviv, very well connected and cheap, the journey was around 45 mins. We stayed in a very cool hostel named ‘The Post Hostel’ was fantastic and completely new, right in the centre of the city, the room was huge (we got a double room for us), fantastic vibe and the breakfast was delicious.
Getting lost in the Old City is definitely one of the things you must do in Jerusalem. Anyway, the best way to explore and to know all the important information about Jerusalem is by joining one of the many tours organised by the hotels or the accommodation you are staying, our American guide was really good and cool. The Old City of Jerusalem is home to the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque – The Temple Mount. To go inside the gate of the Temple you will have to be respectful of the sacred place and be well covered and for women is advise to have legs and shoulders covered.
For a breathtaking view of the city, take a trip through the New Gate to the “Notre Dame Rooftop Cheese & Wine”, now a hotel, and there, make your way to the public accessible roof and enjoy the view.

Once explored all the historical sites of the Old City, you can explore the Nachalat Shiva neighbourhood where you have many bars, cafes, and galleries and the Machane Yehuda Market or shuk, is the largest market in Jerusalem with over 250 vendors selling everything from fruit and vegetables to speciality foods. The market is the main traditional marketplace of Jerusalem and is an experience that must be part of any visit to Jerusalem, filled with fascinating sounds and smells. In the area surrounding the market there are plenty of options for dinner, there are really nice restaurants, our favourite was Ishtabach, a Kurdish restaurant located on a street corner in Mahane Yehuda Market. 
Jerusalem is also a great base to explore the surrounding areas. You can take a break from the sites and the noise of city life, and take a tour to Masada (an ancient stone fortress in Israel, located high above the Dead Sea on a tall, rocky mesa.), and the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth. You can arrive here by hiring a car, by bus or joining a tour. It is a unique place, the salty waters mean that you just float and can’t swim, the famous pictures of people floating in the waters are true, it’s amazing! the mud is actually bottled and sold around the world as a beauty product – at the Dead Sea it’s free, so people cover themselves in it!
If you have some extra days you can explore more area of Israel such as the Negev Desert, a large desert that covers most of the south of the country, a beautiful landscape of golden-brown hills and rocky mountains with little vegetation or wildlife. Other options in the North of Israel are Haifa, Nazareth and Galilee.

We planned a 2 days trip in Jordan to discover the magic of Petra, we joined a Petra & Wadi Rum 2 Day Tour from Jerusalem with “Tourist Israel”, they picked up us in our hotel very early in the morning around 3am and we came back the night after around midnight, so two full days of fantastic experience between Israel and Jordan.
It begins with a stunning drive through the Negev Desert to the Jordanian Border of Eilat, from here 2 more hours of driving and you are in Petra. One of the most stunning things I’ve ever seen, it was a dream come true!
This is one of the most magical places on Earth, make sure you have enough time because the site is huge, the best is to stay 2 days, we only stayed 1 day because we didn’t have enough time. It is a site full of history, and crazy great views. The red colour of the mountains is just amazing, around 80 per cent of the tourists stops at the first sight (the Treasury, where the movie “Indiana Jones” was shot), but keep going! Remember to protect yourself from the sun and the eyes from the sun, and bring a lot of water!

After Petra we continued to the Wadi Rum Desert and checked in into the Bedouin Campsite in the middle of the desert. Enjoy the sunset in the evening and the fabulous sky full of stars in the night, if you can, try to get up early in the morning to enjoy the sunrise, you won’t regret it. The next morning we did a Jeep Safari tour (was included in the package) with a local Bedouin, they took us in the deep desert, the landscape was fantastic, they took us in some hidden spot, was really magic. The movie The Martian was filmed here, as apparently the scenery is similar to Mars. 
From Wadi Rum, we headed back and passed through the border to Eilat, here we enjoyed few hours of sun by the sea (really nice water), from here in the range of more or less forty kilometres there are other three Countries (Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia), after that we headed back to Jerusalem and back home.