Build your Israel story. Setting Goals Together - Why am I going? What am I expecting? Why are we making this trip now? What do we want participants  to come away with? Recruit your educational staff for the journey  (rabbis, counselors, guide, etc.) Is there a thematic red thread that clearly runs throughout and is reinforced day by day? Is there variety and balance of activity types?
	Give participants ownership of the program. Plan by committee. Meet several times before the trip for information, learning, and getting to knoweach other. Prepare with the group a newsletter that goes out several times before the trip. Do participants have active leadership roles? Share the preparations with the larger community.
	Choose a provider who can be a partner. Does the provider have an educational staff? Interview candidates for guides. Hold planning meetings with the committee and the provider.
	Identify peak moments. Celebrate holidays and life cycle events. Mark personal and group achievements. Relate to significant historical anniversaries. Keep a group travel log in words and pictures.
	Go off the beaten track. Challenge participants to do things out of the ordinary' Provide experiences in small groups. Interact w/Israelis in a thoughtful,planned way.
	Too much family? Activities aimed at family bonding. Activities aimed at specific age groups. Activities that people prepare for each other.
	Make space for wrap ups, round ups, and down time. People need to rest. People need to discuss their  experiences. People need to be updated about itinerary and logistics.
	No trip is an island. Have a plan for post-Israel follow through . . . Learning together . . . Celebrating together . . . Sharing with the rest of thecommunity .
	Turn meal time into real time. Eat at places that are not available at home. Give opportunities for people to eat as families with families. Provide an opportunity to cook together.
	Sense of place is not just something that people know and feel. It is something that people do.   Albert Camus