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Kids who camp together stay together.

That's the philosophy of the regional Reform movement, which for the first time will send a busload of Camp Swig campers to Israel this summer.

Many Bay Area Jewish teens have spent previous summers forming friendships at the Saratoga-based camp. But they didn't have the option of taking a summer trip to Israel as a group.

Now, however, they'll have that opportunity. "We are offering it from the camp perspective so kids who have camp friends they've made through the years are able to travel together," said Tobi Sniderman, director of youth programs for the Central Western region for Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

The campers will join the L'Dor V'Dor trip sponsored each summer by the North American Federation of Temple Youth. Participants in that trip spend three days in Prague, take a three-day cruise revisiting the route of the ill-fated Exodus, and end up in Israel for five weeks of touring and educational programming.

The new camp option, officially called the Camp Swig L'Dor V'Dor NFTY Israel Trip, will target teens entering the 11th grade. Other Reform camps around the country already send campers to Israel together.

In addition to cementing friendships, it is hoped this summer's trip will strengthen local participants' connection to the camp. "Their incredible experience in Israel is something camp wants to be a part of," Sniderman said.

The trip from July 5 to Aug. 14 costs $4,690, plus a registration fee of $350. Other local teen trips to Israel include the S.F-based Bureau of Jewish Education's five-week trip, which costs $3,500, and the four-week Koret Israel Teen Trip, which costs $2,700.

The Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay sponsors a summer trip. It lasts almost six weeks and costs $4,300.