After asking virtually every employee at our East Jerusalem hotel about guided trips into the West Bank and being told there were none (this even from Palestinians who were native to Nablus!), we spied a Green Olive Tours brochure next to the elevator. One of the advertised tours, an all day excursion to Nablus and environs, including a stop at the Samaritan Museum, looked like it was exactly what we wanted. My girlfriend and I took the tour along with an Australian couple on June 2, 2010. The day exceeded our fondest expectations and was clearly one of the best events of our three and a half week trip to Israel/Palestine. We found Fred Schlomka a knowledgeable and engaging guide who not only provided a fantastically interesting and meaningful encounter with the people and landscape of the West Bank, but was extremely accommodating to our particular interests. For example, he helped me score a Samaritan Torah, the priest's own worn copy, in the Samaritan museum (something I wanted for years--I teach Torah, Ancient Hebrew, and history of religions). Our Palestinian guide to whom we were handed off in Nablus was equally articulate, very well informed, charming and good-humored, and the hours spent observing and talking to ordinary Palestinians in places of business like candy and soap factories was precisely the kind of cultural experience that we were hoping for. We came away enriched academically, culturally, and with a much better understanding of the difficult, contemporary political situation.

I lived in Israel for a year and Fred Schlomka's Green Olive Tours are amazing and worth every cent! We went to Oktoberfest in Taybeh which was amazing fun and a charming town in the W. Bank. Stopping at the brewery is a must! He escorted me and a friend on 3 tours in April. The Bedouin tour was unforgettable. It's not a phony, staged Bedouin tour...it's the real deal. Bethlehem was beautiful and interesting. It think my favorite tour. Not only do you see Bethlehem but the refugee settlements. It will really open your eyes to the reality of what the people go through. Yet they are warm, open and friendly. Nablus is a bustling city with great food and people ready to talk to you and Fred knows just where to take you. Fred's extensive knowledge about the region gives you the full picture and history of the area. His tours are eye openers and a must see for those traveling to Israel. Put yourself in his hands and you will learn and experience the reality of life in The West Bank. I highly recommend these tours. You will never forget it.

Meridith Baranja and Linda McManus

I went on a Green Olive 'Alternative tour' to Hebron, Bethlehem, settlements, refugee camps in the Lower West Bank and could not recommend it enough. Samer, our guide was hugely knowledgeable and the tour took us many places that would have been very difficult to get to independently. Heartbreaking, shocking and also hugely inspirational, it remains the strongest memory of my trip to the Holy Land. If you want to have an informed Holy Land experience, then this is definitely for you.

I went on the one day Bethlehem/Hebron trip with my brother and boyfriend just before Christmas 2010. I had been to the West Bank before, but we decided to take a guide to get more information about the places we visited. Unfortunately, I felt like the trip was overpriced and less than informative. Indeed, this is truly a cultural trip. We "hung out" and had coffee with a store keepers son for over an hour. We then had lunch at his house for another "hour." I would much rather have used this time to tour a historical location or learn more about the historical places we visited (which were all w/o a tour guide, despite what the website said). I recommend doing this trip on your own, saving $50+, and avoiding all the sitting around we did on this trip.