As a Christian not sure I can give the church anything other than 5 stars because of its significance. Whether you believe the history of the location or not, I was keen to visit, but of course so are thousands of other people and it is tour party mayhem. Streets blocked with tour buses, souvenir shops and long queues. I was with one of the early tours and the line for the Nativity Grotto was still over an hour. The church is nice with old mosaic wall coverings to look at whilst you wait. The visit to the grotto is very short, as you are not able to dwell there because of the constantly moving queue. If I was to go again, think I would try to do it independently (which is apparently possible), as we had no chance to wander just being marched to the bus & back, plus the guide did not really add anything that could not be found in a guidebook.

We visited in late November and there were queues to see the birthplace of Jesus. The site of the nativity is essentially a crypt of the Church of the Nativity. The problem is that large numbers are funnelled to a single stone staircase which is quite tricky to negotiate. There is also a lot of shoving so be prepared. When you get to the grotto there is a star representing where Jesus was born and you may be able to touch this before you are ushered out. This is the reason so many visit Bethlehem which is perhaps the most important Christian site. Five stars for spirituality - 3 stars for overall experience.

Half day tour to Bethlehem from Jerusalem was amazing. Church of the Nativity was an amazing experience and hard to actually put into words especially for Christians. A visit not to be missed. This is the oldest church in the world, that is actually still being used as a church.

The place is worth seeing since there is so much history involved. However I will say look out for those ruthless Palestinian tour guide. The one we encountered gave us very bad experience. He first posted as some Palestinian authority to have him as our tour guide, upon learning that its not mandatory, he tried everything to harass, coerce us into it. He first asked for 40 shekels for his fees, but after finishing he changed it to US$40. In addition, he sold us a trip to Herodian National Park and two other churches, asking price $140 total. After finishing the trip, he demanded $20 more claiming that he needs to compensate for exchange rate loss. We almost broke out in a fist fight, but had to avoid it since we were in Palestinian territory

I came here on a tour from Tel Aviv. The guide changed here to a Palestinian one. The church with its mosiacs and gold frescoes were good. It is shared by three christian denominations. I got to go down stairs to the see the birth place. It was all good.

Getting here is a bit sketchy...but seeing the actual grotto is impressive although, once again idiots taking selfies at a religious site...this time a huge group of Asians on tour. Since Bethlehem is in the West Bank you must have a Palestinian guide...our guide did a lot of wheeling & dealing to get us into the site while avoiding a never-ending mass of people. Fortunately he did not try to rip us off and he was true to his word.

The Church of Nativity is a place of worship for Christians, Judaism, and Islam. If one comes to Bethlehem, one has to visit this place. It is always crowded, so you have to be patient and wait for your turn it is worth the wait. The best advice is to have an early start in the morning.

Arriving early in the morning we were able to avoid large crowds and have a moment of contemplation in the historical church which sits over a place of huge spiritual significance for many. However expect to cue to get down to the grotto and cave where Jesus was born. Unfortunately people will push and there are some steep little stairs to go down so this is not a suitable endeavour if you have mobility issues. There is no personal space down in the cave and each person only gets a moment in front of the shrine before they are moved on. It is stuffy and the air close. Take a water proof wind breaker for this time of year- although Bethlehem is not cold there can be winds and rain.

Try to go during a less busy time. We were told that sometimes there is a four hour wait to get in. We visited in the late afternoon. Remember to have something to cover knees and shoulders as most churches require modesty. The steps are steep and without rails, but manageable for most. The experience is a must do for any "Holy Land" tour.

The PA and I visited here on a coach tour driven by the wonderful Makmood; who made sure the vehicle was driven and parked safely and correctly, he was so good in fact I enquired if he could give the PA some lessons given that he wrote off my car (luxury German) a few months back. When we arrived there was no queue whatsoever and we just waltzed straight in (did the PA call ahead?). A member of our tour asked if I had any water in my Louis Vuitton bag, I don’t know who they thought I am as they spoke to me like I was a bus driver (they sell water). Upon entering the cave my top hat hit the roof and fell off, the PA placed it back on my head back to front which resulted in me shouting obscenities at him; this was met with me being shushed! The chamber in the cave was rather small and claustrophobic and also poorly lit, this meant when the PA took my portrait the flash went off which resulted in further tutting. After being ushered out I was feeling low on energy and was surprised to find there was no cafe or even a Starbucks attached to this establishment, there was also no gift shop; I had been hoping to buy young Isambard a gift. Overall it was worth seeing the supposed birthplace of Isa ibn Maryam, however you’re rushed through without time to set up your tripod. I had also been expecting to find a meet and greet set up where you could get a photo with the messiah.