He starts from home with a week in India (a Golden Triangle) and eight days on Ko Phangan — then the tricky bit: the group's Arkia flight out of Tel Aviv is full, so he can't ride it up with them. He makes his own way from Thailand and lands in Hanoi right as they do on 6 October, then flies home with them on the 20th.
He's in no rush and flying from home, so the trip opens with a 7-day Golden Triangle in India — it sits almost exactly on the Tel Aviv → South-East-Asia line, so it's a stop on the way, not a detour. Then down to Ko Phangan for eight days before the Hanoi hop on 6 Oct.
Air India flies Tel Aviv → Delhi nonstop — about 6¼ hours, no Gulf connection, roughly daily so the date flexes a day either way. El Al doesn't serve Delhi at all, and every other routing is a ~9-hour one-stop through the Gulf, so this single hop is the clear pick for him. Economy ~$1,050; business Flex found at $1,824 (nonstop, refundable/changeable) — a genuinely good price if he wants to fly flat, and Air India booked direct still earns 5X Membership Rewards on the Platinum. For a 6-hour daytime flight economy is perfectly comfortable too, so it's a comfort call, not a necessity.
| Date | Where |
|---|---|
| Thu 17 Sep | Land Delhi 19:40, overnight |
| Fri 18 – Sat 19 Sep | 2 flex days — rest & acclimatise in Delhi, or a Udaipur / Pushkar add-on (deciding) |
| Sun 20 Sep | Delhi — Old + New Delhi (Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb) |
| Mon 21 Sep | Drive to Agra (~4h), afternoon Agra Fort |
| Tue 22 Sep | Taj Mahal at sunrise, relaxed afternoon |
| Wed 23 Sep | Agra → Fatehpur Sikri → Chand Baori stepwell → Jaipur |
| Thu 24 Sep | Jaipur — Amber Fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal |
| Fri 25 Sep | Drive back to Delhi (~5h) |
| Sat 26 Sep | Delhi at leisure → evening flight to Thailand |
Two nights in each city — the relaxed pace, not the brisk 5-day dash: mornings out, afternoons to rest in the September heat. Best done as a private car + driver + guide (cheap in India, ~$1,000–1,400 for the week incl. mid-range hotels and Taj entry) rather than a group bus. One heads-up: the obvious active add-on, a Ranthambore tiger safari, is closed for monsoon until ~1 Oct — not this window.
An overnight through Bangkok — sleep on the Thai Airways leg, land Ko Samui 08:15 Sunday, short ferry across to Ko Phangan by midday. Economy ~$340; business ~$920. From here it's eight days on Ko Phangan (~27 Sep – 4 Oct) before the run up to Hanoi.
On an Israeli passport he needs an e-Visa for India (Israelis are eligible). Online, ~$25–40, 30-day tourist, applied 4–30 days before travel. Same drill as the Vietnam one further down — two separate e-visas to line up.
Outbound Tel Aviv → Hanoi
IZ 595Return Hanoi → Tel Aviv
IZ 596This is the group's itinerary — landing Hanoi 14:05 on Tue 6 Oct, home the evening of the 20th. The outbound is full, so dad flies himself up to Hanoi and simply meets them at arrivals. He rides the return with them — pending the flight-number check flagged further down.
A civilised 08:45 flight off Samui, one stop in Bangkok, landing 13:55 — ten minutes before the group's 14:05. He's through the airport and they arrive together. Book the two legs as one ticket (sold as a single Bangkok Airways + Vietnam Airlines fare) so any Samui delay is protected onto the next Hanoi flight.
Live check, 18 Jul: 9 seats showing at $269.60 all-in — refundable, one checked bag included.
Book on Kiwi →Exactly the same onward flight and the same 13:55 arrival — just an earlier Samui hop, leaving a 4½-hour cushion in Bangkok. Worth it if he'd rather not stake the whole day on one tight connection; the only cost is a 6am alarm, and he's overnighting on Samui anyway.
If VN610 (the 13:55) has no seats, the next realistic pairing is PG106 08:45 → VJ902 → Hanoi 15:50 (~$262) — he'd land just under two hours behind them, fine if the group can wait at the hotel, less good if the tour moves straight off. An earlier VZ930 connection can also put him in at 13:10 (~$260), slightly ahead of them.
First Thong Sala → Samui ferries only run about 08:00 — too late to feed a morning flight the same day. So if he's still with you on Ko Phangan, he crosses on Sun 5 Oct and sleeps on Samui, then flies out fresh on the 6th. Relaxed afternoon ferry the day before, no dawn scramble.
The group's paperwork says IZ596 on 20/10 — but that flight shows zero seats in public inventory that day, in economy and business. It sells fine on the Tuesdays either side (6, 13, 27 Oct). Meanwhile IZ590 on the 20th is wide open. Two readings, opposite conclusions:
One question to the operator — flight number and departure time off the group's ticket — settles it.
| Flight | Runs in Oct | Hanoi → Tel Aviv | On 20/10 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IZ596 | Tue 6, 13, 27 | 17:25 → 01:55+1 | Sold out | — |
| IZ590 | 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28 | 19:00 → 03:40+1 | Available | $1,062 |
IZ590 business is $2,361. Note IZ590 runs an unusual every-four-days cycle in October rather than a fixed weekday — probably why it didn't look like a real scheduled option. From 29 Oct Arkia moves the 590 number to a new Ho Chi Minh City route, so searching by number may surface confusing Saigon results. That doesn't affect the 20th.
Arkia's direct flight blocks 12h 40m for a route that's barely 9 hours in a straight line — Israeli carriers detour around Iranian, Iraqi and Saudi airspace. That long way round is exactly why a well-placed stop (a Gulf hub) lands him in Tel Aviv no later, sometimes sooner. Book any of these two legs as one ticket for connection protection.
Leaves Hanoi the same evening as the group, one civilised ~2¼h stop (same airline both legs, protected), total 12h 30m — ten minutes shorter than the Arkia nonstop, $106 cheaper, on a far better aircraft. Lands Tel Aviv 05:10, about 90 min behind where the Arkia would. For an Israeli passport, transiting Abu Dhabi is a non-issue post-Abraham-Accords; Etihad flies straight into TLV.
See on Kiwi →| Option | Via | Hanoi → Tel Aviv | Total | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etihad | Abu Dhabi | 20:40 → 05:10+1 | 12h30 | $956 | check direct* |
| Arkia IZ590 (open Arkia — not the group's 596) | nonstop | 19:00 → 03:40+1 | 12h40 | $1,062 | $2,364 |
| Emirates | Dubai | 01:30 → 09:40 | 12h10‡ | ~$952 | $3,272 |
| El Al | Bangkok | 11:10 → 22:55 | 15h45 | $1,194 | $5,983§ |
Economy: Etihad wins — faster and cheaper than the nonstop. Business: the tables turn — the Arkia nonstop at $2,364 is the cheapest lie-flat on the whole route and needs no connection; every 1-stop business fare is $900+ more. So if he wants to fly flat, the group's own plane is the deal.
*Etihad business didn't return a fare on Kiwi for the 20th — check etihad.com directly. ‡Emirates business (01:30 dep, arrives 09:40 same day) is the fastest option overall but the departure is brutal. §Business via Bangkok is Thai Airways, not El Al. Fares checked 18 Jul 2026; economy figures reflect the cheapest same-routing fare that day.
He is not forced onto a full or overpriced Arkia seat. The one operator question (real flight number + time) still matters for travelling with the group — but if that falls through, Etihad in economy gets him home no slower for less, and Arkia's own nonstop is the best value in business. Either way, the return is solved.
On an Israeli passport he needs one. Because he arrives independently — different flight, from Thailand rather than Tel Aviv — any visa letter or on-arrival arrangement the operator made for the group very likely won't cover him. The e-visa is online, about $25, and takes a few working days. Worth confirming with the operator rather than assuming he's included.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Thu 17 Sep | Tel Aviv → Delhi (Air India nonstop), then a 7-day Golden Triangle — Delhi · Agra (Taj Mahal) · Jaipur (+2 flex days: Udaipur/Pushkar TBD) |
| Sat 26 Sep | Delhi → Bangkok → Samui (overnight) → ferry to Ko Phangan |
| 27 Sep → 5 Oct | ~8 days on Ko Phangan, with you |
| Sun 5 Oct | Afternoon ferry to Samui → overnight on Samui, ready for the morning flight |
| Mon 6 Oct | Fly Samui 08:45 → Bangkok → Hanoi, lands 13:55. Group lands 14:05 on IZ595 — they arrive together. Tour starts. |
| 6 → 20 Oct | Group tour |
| Tue 20 Oct | Flies home with the group, Hanoi evening → Tel Aviv early on the 21st (pending flight-number confirmation) |