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I visited Israel in December with the Israeli Tourist Board, which gave me an excellent opportunity to see the best of what this little gem of a country has to offer.

A four and a half hour flight to Tel Aviv gives you the option of a fantastic city break, in either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem offering a journey back in time visiting the likes of Masada, Acre and Caesarea. You could even marvel at some of the natural delights of the Dead Sea and the Ramon Makhtesh (Crater).

Roughly about the size of Wales, it only takes around six hours to drive from north to south and just over an hour from west to east. This makes it really easy to self-drive, tour or take excursions from your preferred base.

Based in Jerusalem we took excursions up to the north to visit Tsvat, the home of Kaballah; this beautiful little town on top of the hill is very pretty and arty, with cobbled streets, art galleries, jewellery shops etc. We also visited Nazareth and the amazing Basilica of the Church of the annunciation; Galilee and the Church of the Beatitudes.

We naturally spent a day in Jerusalem and took a really interesting trip through the tunnels of the Wailing Wall, as well as visiting the old city itself which is fascinating. Conversely on the ‘opposite side of the road’ is the modern Jerusalem with all modern shops, bars, restaurants and great night life. With a large student population, Thursday nights are absolutely buzzing.

Days out to the south took us to a Bedouin camp to experience their hospitality and learn about their lifestyle; we followed in the footsteps of Peter O’Toole who starred in the Epic film of Masada, Bathed in mud in the Dead Sea (very good for the skin!) and had a jeep tour into the depths of the huge Ramon Crater!

The north east gave us the opportunity to do some wine tasting (with lunch), at the Tishbi Winery. (Chocolate and Wine Tasting was also soon to be made available - mmm must go back!!!). The Knights Templar Tunnel in Acre, built in the 12th century is an amazing feat of engineering and an eerie experience as you feel you are walking back in time!

Jaffa is considered to be one of the oldest cities in the World, lying just 12km south of Tel Aviv, you can actually walk down the sea front! It is wonderfully preserved and has an abundance of art galleries. In complete contrast to Jerusalem and Jaffa, Tel Aviv is very cosmopolitan and offers an abundance of shopping and nightlife.

This little country really has something for everybody - you can do so much in such a short space of time!