S T O R I E S F R O M O U R C L I E N T S
Trusted by families from around the world
Daniella Karfunkel
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We have had the opportunity to travel to Israel many times but have never really booked a proper tour guide figuring that it would never work out because of the ages of our kids. We decided to book Daniel for our last trip to Israel after a friend so highly recommended him. We are only sorry we've never used him before!
Daniel brings Jewish history to life. He connects the tour to whatever the children are learning in school- no matter their age. He does the high action activities with the older kids all while ensuring that the younger ones are safe and have what to do. My husband and I enjoy knowing that our kids are having fun and learning...and we are too! Before leaving, we booked Daniel for our next trip to Israel! |
Jane Liebschutz
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We had two days with Daniel as our guide. Daniel couldn't have been more gracious, helpful, knowledgeable and willing to encounter any question! He planned trips that went in depth
but also provided a broad context. He was able to gear his focus to everyone in the group, and made sure that we were physically comfortable (food, bathroom, water, etc.) throughout the experience. He was also willing to make a detour in plans to sites that might be of special interest to us. He was willing to discuss history, Judaism, politics, culture, etc. Most of all, he shared himself with us- genuine, open, honest person. It really made the trip worthwhile and was fantastic addition to our own exploration. Highly recommend! |
Yanky Statman
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My family had an incredible trip with Daniel! He is knowledgeable, patient,
and was so entertaining that my children didn’t even realize that they were also learning the entire time. Highly recommended!! |
Michael Z.
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My family visited Israel in July 2019; it was the first time for myself and my 15-year old son, and my wife last visited in the ’80’s. Friends in our congregation strongly recommended Daniel Sokol. We found him easy to work with, very knowledgeable and engaging.
He took us on a tour of, and underneath, Jerusalem’s Old City; on another day, he brought us to Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea. We especially appreciated the time he took interacting with our son. Like a good teacher, he brought out [our son]’s knowledge we didn’t realize he had, and connected that to Israel’s history, landmarks, and Judaism. Being first time travelers, he also helped us with our stay in Jerusalem: how to get around, places to see, where was the nearest laundromat; he also recommended someone to take us to the airport. He truly enhanced our vacation, and we would definitely use his services again. |
Kyle Kazan
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Daniel is an outstanding tour guide. He came up with a custom tour of all of the “can’t miss” sites in Israel and also added some fun ones for our 18 and 5 year old so that everyone could enjoy.
Daniel is knowledgeable, thoughtful and fun. 5 stars and 2 thumbs up! |
Wendy Winawer
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Our second trip with you as our tour guide and once again you did not disappoint. Having been to Israel numerous times we were so amazed at all the new and fascinating things you showed us.
Your ability to keep all of us, young and old, engaged and interested every moment is a true talent. There is never a dull moment. What is truly special for our family is that we have come to think of you as a friend. We look forward to our next trip to Israel so we can once again take advantage of your knowledge and talent for bringing the past so alive. |
Jay Ashberg
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Our family spent 10 days with Daniel. We had an amazing time. Daniel is extremely knowledgeable about pretty much everything in Israel: from the historical facts to the political issues that are going on, and have been going on, for years. We couldn't wait to get back together with him every morning to learn more about Israel.
A fantastic guide and a fantastic person. Daniel was recommended by my cousins and I would highly recommend him for touring in Israel. Can't go wrong with "Daniel my brother." |
Ellen Mandel
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We could not have had a more perfect guide than Daniel during the 2 weeks my husband and I recently spent in Israel. Everything came to life under Daniel’s guidance. He quickly learned “our style” and adapted his guidance to us.
Each day was different, fun, and interesting as we learned about Israel's history and current situation. Daniel had meticulously planned our itinerary, which enabled us to see and experience so many things without ever feeling rushed. We were truly sad to say goodbye to him. Daniel is smart, friendly, easy going, and simply a pleasure to be with. I don’t think it’s possible not to love being with Daniel. |
Ruchie Rosner
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We recently spent 9 days with Daniel Sokol as our tour guide and we highly recommend him.
Daniel was fantastic in identifying what our kids of various ages already knew and getting them involved and interested in the places we were going. Simultaneously, he was able to engage the adults in the group and getting them excited. His vast knowledge enabled us to have an itinerary that maximized what we did and his experience allowed him to improvise as needed to ensure that we had enough time to do everything and see additional things. His extensive network of contacts ensured that we had the best possible service wherever we went and he was able to take care of any issues that popped up during the trip. We strongly recommend Daniel to anyone looking to have a fantastic and highly educational trip. |
Yikara Levari
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Our kids (ages 3-12) absolutely adore Daniel and our tours with him have definitely been some of the highlights of our Israel trips. He takes care of every single detail - small and big - and fills the day with exciting and educational activities.
He is very well versed in Tanach and Jewish History and had my kids asking and answering questions all day- we all left learning new things! I would definitely recommend him and can't wait for our next tour with him! |
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Abby Mendelson, Ph.D.,
Chatham University |
I recently took a dozen MFA writing students on a trip to Israel. Helping me plan everything, and acting as our in-country guide, was Daniel Sokol. After much pre-trip discussion, during which he proved himself to be a tireless partner and planner, we arrived at which I consider to be an absolutely perfect trip for this group -- none of them Jewish, by the way, none of them previously experienced in Israel.
Daniel Sokol was simply superb. From the moment he picked us up at the airport, until the moment he said goodbye some 10 days later, he was our constant guide, mentor, friend, and companion. From informing the students of history facts, to telling them which shwarma was the most tasty, he was a fountain of information, supports, and good cheer. What's more, as a truly great guide, he instinctively knew exactly how much to say and how much not to say, when to speak, and when to be silent. That in itself was invaluable. I would say that every single student not merely enjoyed the trip and learned from it, they also truly loved the country and the experience. Certainly, Israel is Israel, and is much beloved by many people, but a great deal of the credit goes to Daniel Sokol -- for his careful planning, his great attention to detail, and his wonderful energy and humor. If there's a perfect tour guide -- especially for graduate students -- then he is it. Five stars -- highest recommendation. |
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Nancy Schwartz
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Our experience was fantastic. The tour of Jerusalem was easy to set up from the USA. Daniel was able to show us what we wanted to see and make it come alive with stories & history. We originally thought there would be four of us, but more family joined in and we had 13 people! He didn’t mind the change
at all and was able to show us around and make it interesting for all of us (ages 8-65). We loved how he engaged our youngest to be sure he had their attention. We highly recommend Sokol Tours and plan to use them again when we return to Israel. |
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Bert Goldstein
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Daniel was a brilliant tour guide. Extremely knowledgeable and good humored. I discovered things about Jerusalem I never would have discovered and learned a lot about the classic sites in the Old City. He catered the experience to my interests but wasn’t afraid to make suggestions. He also indulged my desire to spend some time watching or seeing specific things. And he knows where to get great shawarma and arugula. We covered a lot of ground and I I was not disappointed. Well worth it!
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Willie & Marlene Miska
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Our family just came back from touring with Daniel and want to say that the tour was the best we have ever had. Aside from Daniel’s knowledge and patience, he was a pleasure to work with and a real mentsch.
We took our granddaughters, who are teenagers, and were never in Israel before - and it was an amazing educational, exciting and fun experience. Daniel knew exactly how to encourage each of our granddaughters to participate to their maximum capacity. Anyone looking for tour guide should make Daniel their first choice. |
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Sorah & Howard Birnbaum
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Daniel is our go-to guide. Whenever we are in Israel, we set aside a day to tour with him.
We have brought each grandson that reached Bar Mitzvah age and did The Grand Tour. They had the best time of their lives. The trips were filled with plenty of action to interest 13 year old boys and deepened their connection to the land. They rafted, atv'd and ate fresh mango off of the trees and fed it to wild donkeys. Daniel is learned and lots of fun. As the kids say, he is "chill". We highly recommend his services. |
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Toni Nayowitz
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My 12 yr. old grandson and I just returned from a 10 day trip to Israel. Of all the trips I have made, this was by far the most exciting, not only because I saw it through the eyes of my grandson, but because we had a guide who made the landscape come alive. At each location Daniel had information and anecdotes that helped my grandson really connect with what we were experiencing, and Daniel also has great ability to relate to children and adults equally well. He has endless energy and was not at all phased when my grandson announced that he wanted to climb Masada. Daniel jumped right in and the 2 made it up the mountain in just 30 minutes. That made the rest of the Masada "tiyul" more meaningful because they had bonded on the way up. There is no doubt that Daniel Sokol has the knowledge of Israel and the personality to make anyone's trip to Israel a special one.
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David Sedelmeier
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We entered Israel through Jordan on the tail end of an around-the-world trip. Daniel met us at the border – he immediately impressed us by his easy manner and ability to adjust to our specific desires to see certain sites. We are from Pittsburgh too so it was an instant bond with his ability to make familiar home references we longed for. I have toured a fair amount and have learned to become a big advocate of getting experienced tour guides ---it is worth every penny - a great guide alters the impact of your experience.
I can’t say enough about Daniel – his depth of history of the region’s past as well as his knowledge of the current struggles of the middle east make the old & new Israel come alive in front of your eyes. Be prepared to have a reading list when you leave and an experience that will stay with you long after you have returned home. |
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Scott Univer & Karen Mesberg
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Karen and I want to express our appreciation for the excellent job you did as our tour guide on our recent trip to Israel. It was a much more meaningful and valuable experience because of your knowledge, resources and expertise. You were flexible and responsive in planning the trip, as well as in making spur-of-the-moment changes when circumstances dictated it. Your knowledge of the history, archeology and current politics helped us understand what we were seeing and put it all into context.
We would unhesitatingly recommend you to anyone else. |
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Rena Cohen Kozin
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Daniel Sokol is very knowledgeable about Jewish history and the relationship to the Israeli geography, as well as to the many conflicts Israel has endured. Daniel took us to sights and locations that are not included in most tours. He was very accommodating to our schedule, and is a very careful and courteous driver. He is well versed in both English and Hebrew – so communication with him was very easy.
We highly recommend Daniel. |
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The Swadron Family
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We are glad that we used Daniel as a tour guide for most of our family’s trip to Israel with our four children. We were all entertained for 12 hours or longer each day. The trips were tailor-made to our interests, yet altered throughout the day to accommodate the time spent at each site to our liking.
Daniel is informative and knowledgeable and is not going to sell myths and legends as fact. When history is subject to various opinions he didn’t tell us the standard book opinion as the only one. This is especially important as some interpretations are from the vantage point of those who don’t share my beliefs as an observant Jew. Daniel’s courteousness and honesty is notable. Although he runs a business, he somehow managed to make phone calls only when our family spent time together such as during lunch and dinner and not while he was driving or guiding us. |
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Donny Simkin
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I visited Israel with a college buddy who had never been to Israel. My friend and I wanted a mix of outdoor fun and activities of cultural and historical importance, and Daniel struck the perfect balance. Daniel was so adaptable and accommodating to our needs, for which I am sure he could do with any and all kinds of groups, small and large, slow and fast, young and old. We could not have been happier with our trip, in large part due to the excellent planning, insider’s knowledge, and vast store of interesting and entertaining information Daniel possesses and communicates with such warmth and personality.
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Silas Stafford
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I was somewhat skeptical about hiring a tour guide for our travels in Israel. Daniel proved to add incredible value to our trip. His knowledge base of both biblical and modern history was impressive, especially when presented in engaging stories and plot-lines. This history was intertwined with outdoor adventures in the stunning natural parks and historical sites of Israel. I particularly enjoyed mountain biking near Beit Shemesh to King David's Sha'araim fortress and the valley where he defeated Goliath. When our needs or external factors changed our plans, Daniel was able to improvise and was a very capable guide- I would recommend him to anyone visiting Israel.
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Josh & Laura Abramowitz
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Our family of four went to Israel for a wedding and touring of the country. Daniel Sokol had come highly recommended by my niece who lives in Israel. We were not disappointed. We toured Jerusalem, the desert including Masada, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea, we rode a camel and made our own pita, we went north to Safed. Daniel engaged us with questions, tidbits of history and geography. He knew where to eat and where to shop. He kept our 8 and 11 year old children interested and inquisitive throughout. His English is fluent as he is from the United States. We would recommend Daniel to any visitor to Israel needing a tour guide.
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CONTACT US TODAY
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050.818.3786
412.567.5932 (Israel time) |
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@Sokol Tours Israel
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