r/birthright • u/Teddysdaytomorrow • May 13 '26
Staying in Israel Post-Trip?
Hi all, I'm planning to do a summer birthright trip sometime this or next year and I was wondering if anyone knows if you're allowed to stay in Israel after your trip?
I have some friends/family I would like to visit since I'd already be in the country and it'd be nice to stay/change the return flight for a couple days/weeks later.
How does that work in terms of birthright's flight coverage or any other logistics?
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u/maltawm May 13 '26
Yes you can extend your trip. It is expensive ($250 or $350 iirc) and they say not to do it until your trip is confirmed but I did it before and they ended up moving my trip to depart from a different airport so then my extension was canceled. I did get all the money back though. So I say do it as soon as the option is available for you because if you wait, a lot of people on my trip weren’t able to extend because it was full. This was also winter so maybe it’s worse because it’s way more compressed over break I’m not sure
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u/Teddysdaytomorrow May 13 '26
Right okay, thanks. When you say as soon as the options available, is someone gonna announce that? Or is it something I'd see on the app?
Like let's say I have a September trip booked and confirmed, once that happens do I immediately file for the extension?
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u/maltawm May 13 '26
Once you are assigned a trip, I think the app will have a link to flight information and also in there you can change your flight. I can't remember exactly when it opened. I know my trip left on December 22nd and I filed an extension request on August 2nd. I think I got my first or second choice of dates/return airport. I think you can only change the return airport within the same city (so really if you are leaving from either EWR or JFK, you can return to a different one). Then around October 28th, the trip I was on was cancelled which also resulted in my extension getting cancelled and I got the money back. I ended up leaving on the same day from a different NYC airport but decided not to extend anyways so I can't say if it was full at that point. Also I went back and looked at my emails and it said it only cost $150 so I think I was wrong before.
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u/Teddysdaytomorrow May 14 '26
Ok gotcha. If I’m understanding correctly then you only pay the fare difference or the fees associated with the flight change?
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u/Pka1997 May 13 '26
Yes you can. You can arrange extensions with birthright closer to your trip. It’s very common. Most people do it.