BCT Travel Blog

China Town, NYC

Our New York & Canada Bethel Classic tour takes you all over New York City visiting such sites as the South Street Seaport, China Town & Little Italy, the Empire State Building, Broadway and Times Square. And of course includes tours of the office complex, the Watchtower Educational Center in Patterson, NY and the Watchtower Farms in Wallkill, NY! Starting in 2010, this tour now includes a very special Bible tour at theMetropolitan Museum of Art! Fortunately, the fun doesn’t stop there! You’ll also get to take in the sites and sounds of the magnificent Niagara Falls from the Canadian side! First, all that you have seen spread out between the office complex and Wallkill Printery at the U.S. Bethels you will now see all together in one beautiful spot – The Canadian Bethel Branch, in Georgetown, Canada! All of the activities are well planned, safe and guided by well-qualified and loving tour guides who will keep you informed and always go out of their way to ensure that your visit to New York is a memorable one!

1. Worry free
Our loving tour guides are always ready to help and will always let you know what’s going to happen next. If you want to spend some time with friends at Bethel, our tour guides are glad to help!

2. Well planned and organized
BCT has been planning and guiding tours to Bethel since 1988. Over the years we’ve discovered practical methods for keeping our tours well planned and organized so you can get the most from your vacation!

3. Safe
You’ll always know where you are, how to get back to the bus and where you’ll be next. Our tour guides/drivers never go to areas that might be unsafe.

4. Affordable
BCT offers a wide variety of tours and itineraries to fit your budget. If none of our regularly scheduled tours seems to fit your needs, you can always create one yourself!

5. Memorable
You will remember most the attention you receive from the tour guides and the Bethel family. You will never forget all the smiles, waves, and hello’s that you personally experience. Like ripples in a pond, the blessings that come from a visit to Bethel will radiate out through you and touch those with whom you share those precious memories.

6. Encouraging
Seeing how happy everyone is at Bethel as they work hard for Jehovah and for others, allows visitors to personally see with their own eyes, and feel with their own heart what life in the truth can be like for all of us. It will encourage you to focus not only on your own congregation, but on what Jehovah is doing worldwide through his faithful earthly and heavenly organization.

7. Educational
Not only do you learn how our books, magazines and other literature are printed and assembled, but you learn more about Jehovah’s organization at work – through your own eyes! You can learn more about Jehovah’s wonderful qualities through the things you observe and hear.

8. Enjoyable
After a long day of laughing and touring with your fellow Brothers and Sisters (many of whom are now your new friends!) you return to your comfortable hotel room refreshed and eager to spend another day with them!

9. Inspiring
The tours the Bethel brothers arrange for visitors have the potential to change (for the better) your view of Jehovah, the organization, and your own congregation forever. Many who have visited Bethel have later applied to be a part of the Bethel family themselves. Any vacation that inspires you to do something as wonderful as serving at Bethel, is a vacation that is truly special.

10. All your Own
While Our travel itineraries are busy and fun-filled, you have many options to do and see what you like! Do you have friends at Bethel that you would like to have lunch with? No problem! Just let your Tour Guide know what you’d like to do and He or She will make it possible! Other options include, seeing a Broadway Matinee*, riding the Staten Island Ferry, shopping in China Town/Little Italy and many, many more.

* See your itinerary if such activities are already included. Seeing a Broadway show may not be included in your tour price.

Natural Disasters and Manmade Local and Worldwide Conditions

Any disruption in air travel affects the price of airfare whether that be
manmade like a union strike or war or whether it a natural disaster like a
volcano or earthquake to name just a few reasons. Of course the swings in
the economy also affects airfare prices domestically and internationally so
it’s little wonder then  what airfare prices are so up and down in these
uncertain times!

Computers Set Airfares

Like stocks, airfares are the sums of very complex equations. Computers
weigh the variables of those equations and adjust accordingly. Is Airline B
offering a fare so much lower on this route that it is stealing customers?
Adjustment. Are there too many empty seats on this plane to make the flight
profitable? Is it time to cut the losses and sell those seats at a reduced
rate? Adjustment again. What are fuel prices looking like at this hour? You
get the idea.

Most of us understand at least one thing about computers – we have a love
and hate relationship with them especially when they are the culprits in why
airfare is so tumultuous! Now more than ever!

The merger between Continental and United will really have an effect on air
prices and here is why:

Airlines closely monitor each other’s fares and are quick to react anytime
another airline introduces a low fare to poach on its “cash cow” routes. The
usual technique is to plop a low fare into the middle of a “cash cow” route
of the offending airline. Just recently Delta and United slugged it out on
the Honolulu routes out of Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit,
Miami, Minneapolis and St Louis. Sometimes it is an introductory fare, or a
fare intended to “test” a particular market. Generally speaking competition
is what drives airfare bargains but with the Continental and United merger
that will certainly change things for many flight segment airfares!

Your Entry Visa To Israel

To all nationalities: Anyone entering Israel needs a passport valid at least six months from the intended date of entering Israel.

Please Note: Anyone traveling to Israel as a tourist must travel with a round-trip ticket.

Following is the list of countries (you will find the complete list on the website) whose citizens do not need to obtain a visa prior to traveling to Israel as long as they are traveling as a tourist and plan on staying in Israel for up to 3-month (the United States is on the list for those not needing a travel visa.)  Citizens of any country not listed below must apply for a visa (including Legal residents of the U.S. holding a valid American Re-Entry Permit or a Refugee travel document.

http://www.israelemb.org/consular_Visa.html

Your Entry Visa To Egypt

Most tourists and visitors to Egypt can obtain an entry visa at any of the major airports or ports of entry. All foreigners arriving in Egypt should have a valid passport (with at least 6 months left before expiry) to get an entry visa. The visa can also be obtained from Egyptian Diplomatic and Consular Missions abroad.

How to obtain your visa at the airport:
The visa is simply a stamp (like a mail or postage stamp) that you buy from the visa office, which you arrive at, just before the immigration booth; you can’t miss it! The visa will cost you around $15 and after buying it; you just stick in any empty page on your passport. Don’t worry; it’s so easy! Once you have bought your visa you then stand in line to get your passport stamped by the immigration officer.

http://www.ask-aladdin.com/visas_and_passports.htm

Your Entry Visa To Turkey

If you are a U.S. citizen, you may get a tourist visa at the entry port, upon arrival in Turkey. If you prefer to obtain your visa before your arrival, please contact Turkish Consulate or Embassy in your area.
The cost of tourist visa for U.S. citizens is 20 USD  for single entry visa. The visa is good for one year from the date of issue and allows you to stay in Turkey up to 90 days for each entry.

It is easy to get a tourist visa at the airport or point of entry.  It is simply a matter of preference as to how you want to get it (upon entry/beforehand).  If obtaining a visa upon arrival in Turkey, make sure you have 20$ US cash per person for the visa fee and original and valid US passports with you.

http://www.touringturkey.com/information/visa.htm#uscitizen

Now that the Watchtower Tour Desk is no longer organizing tours of the Stanley Theatre (Jersey City Assembly Hall) and the 117 Adams and Bethel Home tour has been discontinued time has permitted BCT to include a Bible Tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tour is conducted by Oasis Tour Group of NYC. BCT owners and management have personally taken the tour and are confident you will not only enjoy the tour and the Brothers who conduct the tour, but you will come away from the tour with a new appreciation for Bible history and Jehovah’s promise to restore what Adam lost!

Metropolitan Museum of Art provided through Oasis Group Tours of NY:

The Met Bible Tours (given at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 82nd Street and 5th Ave) started about three years ago and is organized by Oasis Group Tours owned and operated by a local NY brother. The tours take about three hours (there is a half-an-hour break about half way through the tour.) The tour is entitled: “The Woman and the Seed” (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia). The tour is becoming more and more popular and you will see why as you enjoy the tour. Very insightful and encouraging! The local Tour Guides assisting Oasis Group Tours do a very professional presentation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Dress is casual and please wear comfortable shoes!
• Photographs without flash are allowed.  Video or recording is not permitted in the museum.
• It is good to bring a pen & notebook, but a Bible is not necessary.
• The tour program will last about 3 hours (not including time for a break in the cafeteria).

Tips: All the guides are brothers (mostly pioneers) who are non-paid volunteers serving you.

The group really should tip the guide in view of his considerable time & expense to give the tour.

Your BCT Guide will assist you so that your appreciation can be handled in a dignified manner.

In short, yes it is!

One thing is for sure, the threat of terrorism can flare up at any time. However, it is very unlikely that you will ever experience an incident first-hand, especially if you keep to the main tourist spots and follow the advice of your tour company on where to and not to travel in Israel.

Security is very tight in Israel. From your departure from the airport going to Israel to your leaving to go back home, you will see first hand just how tight Israeli security really is. Security personnel will quiz you at the airport and despite being innocent there is something quite daunting about being quizzed repeatedly by security personnel. As a direct result of all this security, Israel is safe to visit and travel in.

So, summing it all up, your concerns regarding whether it is safe to visit Israel and if you can stay safe in Israel can really be applied anywhere in the world and not just to the Holy Land. Be careful, use your head, and listen to the locals if you are really concerned. No need to worry, you will have a safe and enjoyable trip to Israel!

Tours that visit this destination: Bible Lands Tours ~ November 1-12, 2010

Snowball Fight in Times Square

12/19/09 © Doug Kim