◆ Country guide · Western Asia

Israel, coast to crater

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A Mediterranean beach city, a walled Old City an hour inland, the lowest shore on earth and a coral reef at the bottom of the map. Israel is small enough to cross in a day and runs on a weekly clock most visitors underestimate.

Israel at a glance

Best months

Mar · Apr · Oct

Ideal length

8–12 days

Budget / day

$120–220

Language

Hebrew & Arabic

Getting around

Trains on the coast

When to visit Israel

Two comfortable seasons, one difficult one, and a holiday calendar that moves every year.

Full month guide →

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Best: March to May and late October, warm days, cool nights and a green north Peak: August at the coast, and the Jewish holidays in April, September and early October Good: February, June and November, the quiet shoulders either side of the heat Hardest: July and August, humid on the coast and extreme in the Negev and at the Dead Sea

Quick answer · where to go in Israel

Two bases cover a first trip. Tel Aviv is the coast: a city-length beach, the 1930s White City and the old port at Jaffa. Jerusalem, an hour inland, holds the walled Old City, the Israel Museum, Yad Vashem and Mahane Yehuda. Then drive north to Caesarea, Akko, Nazareth and Tiberias, or south to the Dead Sea, Masada and the crater at Mitzpe Ramon, with the reef at Eilat four hours further. A week does Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and one direction. Ten days does both.

1 Israel city guide

The country layer comes first here. City guides follow it.

Tiberias

Asia · 10 picks

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

A makhtesh is a landform found only in the Negev and the Sinai, and Makhtesh Ramon is the largest: roughly 40 kilometres long and about 500 metres deep. It is neither an impact crater nor a volcano. Water hollowed out a hill over some 200 million years, then breached one end.

Stereotypes, sorted out

The clichés you have heard, what is actually true, and how to behave once you land.

"It is a small country, so a few days covers it."

The realityThe distances are short and the switching is not. Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is under an hour, from a beach city to a walled Old City with a different rhythm and dress code. South, the ground drops below sea level, climbs into hyper-arid desert and ends at a coral reef. A week covers two properly.

"Everything shuts on Saturday, so the weekend is a write-off."

The realityHalf of it shuts. Trains and most buses stop from Friday afternoon to Saturday nightfall, and Jerusalem goes quiet. Tel Aviv keeps its beaches and restaurants, Haifa runs some buses, and Nazareth, Akko and Jaffa keep ordinary hours, so spend Saturday there. Sunday is a working day.

"It is a religious-sites trip."

The realityThe pilgrimage route is one layer of several. The same country holds the largest collection of 1930s International Style buildings anywhere, a Red Sea reef off the beach, an erosion crater with very dark skies, Galilee wine country and a flyway for migrating birds.

"The Middle East is cheap, so this will be too."

The realityIt is one of the most expensive countries in the OECD, roughly a third above the member average and food higher still. Hotels, restaurants and car hire price close to Western Europe. The good value is street food, which is excellent, the national parks pass and cheap public transport.

Opinions before you askHummus as a mealThe queue is a suggestionStrangers who walk you thereEmpty roads on Friday afternoonMore salads than anyone ordered

Israeli etiquette, briefly

The week runs Sunday to Thursday. Friday is a half day, Saturday is the day off, and offices, banks and government services follow that calendar.
Bag checks at the entrance to malls, stations and bus terminals are routine. Open the bag, say hello, keep moving.
Cover shoulders and knees at the Western Wall, in churches and in mosques. Men are handed a paper kippah at the Wall; women should have a scarf in the bag for the churches.
Ask before photographing people at prayer. In the Old City quarters and in the ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, photography on Shabbat is unwelcome and taking it anyway will be said out loud.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day and on the memorial day for fallen soldiers, a siren stops the country for two minutes. People get out of their cars and stand still. Do the same.
Directness is not rudeness. Conversation here is blunt by design, questions are personal early, and a flat no is simply a normal answer.
Learn toda and shukran. Which one lands depends on which town you are in, and using the right one is noticed.

Famous Israeli faces

The names behind Israeli writing, science, music, screen and sport. Pick a field.

Natalie Portman

Jerusalem-born Oscar winner for Black Swan, who directed A Tale of Love and Darkness.

Gal Gadot

From Petah Tikva via Miss Israel to Wonder Woman, the best-known Israeli actor working.

Shmuel Yosef Agnon

The only Hebrew-language Nobel laureate in Literature, in 1966. His house is a museum.

Amos Oz

Among Israel’s most translated writers, author of the memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness.

David Grossman

Novelist, the first Israeli to win the International Booker Prize, in 2017.

Ada Yonath

Weizmann crystallographer who mapped the ribosome, the first Israeli woman Nobel laureate.

Daniel Kahneman

Tel Aviv-born psychologist, 2002 Nobel in economics for founding behavioural economics.

Aaron Ciechanover

Technion biologist, 2004 Nobel in Chemistry for how cells tag and destroy proteins.

Ofra Haza

Carried Yemenite-Jewish song into pop. Im Nin’alu was a European hit in the late 1980s.

Idan Raichel

Pianist whose Project put Ethiopian, Arabic and Hebrew singers on the same records.

Netta Barzilai

Won Eurovision in 2018 with Toy, bringing the contest to Tel Aviv the next year.

Shira Haas

Star of Unorthodox, the first Israeli actor Emmy-nominated in a lead category.

Lior Raz

Co-creator and star of Fauda, which turned Israeli television into an export business.

Linoy Ashram

Rhythmic gymnastics all-around gold at Tokyo in 2021, ending two decades of Russian wins.

Artem Dolgopyat

Floor gold at Tokyo, Israel’s first Olympic gold in artistic gymnastics.

Golda Meir

Born in Kyiv, raised in Milwaukee, prime minister from 1969 to 1974, still the only woman.

Shimon Peres

Twice prime minister, president from 2007 to 2014, and 1994 Nobel Peace laureate.

Must-try Israeli food

Chickpeas, aubergine, tahini and whatever came out of the oven overnight. Pick a category.

Hummus

Eaten warm as a meal, topped with chickpeas, ful or lamb. Hummusias sell out by afternoon.

St Peter’s fish

Sea of Galilee tilapia, split and grilled whole, eaten by the lake at Tiberias.

Falafel

Chickpea balls fried to order, in pita with salad, pickles, tahini and chilli.

Bourekas

Flaky pastry of cheese, potato or spinach, sold by the tray. The shape tells the filling.

Shakshuka

Eggs poached in spiced tomato and pepper, served in the pan. A North African import.

Israeli breakfast

The kibbutz spread: eggs, chopped salads, cheeses, olives, herring, bread and coffee.

Knafeh

Shredded pastry on stretchy cheese, soaked in syrup. Best hot in Akko, Jaffa and Nazareth.

Limonana

Lemonade blended with mint and ice into a slush. On every menu from June.

Meorav Yerushalmi

Jerusalem mixed grill of chicken hearts, livers and lamb, from Agrippas Street.

Sabich

Iraqi-Jewish pita of fried aubergine, egg, potato, tahini and amba, made famous in Jaffa.

Jachnun

Yemenite-Jewish dough baked overnight, eaten on Saturday with grated tomato and skhug.

Malabi

Soft milk pudding with rose syrup, coconut and crushed peanuts, sold in a plastic cup.

Halva

Tahini and sugar in a dense slab, cut by the kilo at the Mahane Yehuda and Carmel markets.

Arak

Aniseed spirit drunk long with water and ice, when it turns cloudy white.

Israeli wine

Mostly from the upper Galilee and Judean Hills, with tastings an hour from the big cities.

Know before you go

The essentials for planning an Israel trip, entry paperwork first.

Entry

ETA-IL before you fly

Visa-exempt travellers need an approved ETA-IL, applied for online at least 72 hours before you fly. Without one you are turned away at the gate. It lasts two years and covers stays of up to 90 days.

Advisories

Read the current advice before you book

Advice for this region is written area by area, and it moves. Your foreign ministry lists the zones and crossings it advises against, and insurers follow it. Check when you book and the week you fly.

Currency

New Israeli shekel (ILS)

Cards work almost everywhere, markets and small cafés included. Keep some cash anyway: restaurant tips are expected in notes, and a shared taxi will not take plastic.

Language

Hebrew, with Arabic in special status

The 2018 Basic Law made Hebrew the state language and gave Arabic a special status. Both appear on road signs with English, which is widely spoken in cities and thinner in small towns.

Power

230V, 50Hz, type H sockets

Type H is used almost nowhere else on earth. The good news is that a standard European type C plug fits the same socket, so a Europe adapter usually works and a British or American one will not.

Emergency

Police 100 · Ambulance 101 · Fire 102

101 reaches Magen David Adom, the national ambulance service. 112 also connects.

Shabbat

Friday afternoon to Saturday nightfall

Trains and most buses stop from Friday sundown to Saturday evening. Jerusalem shuts almost entirely, Tel Aviv keeps its restaurants and beaches, and Nazareth, Akko and Jaffa run normally.

Yom Kippur

The one day the country stops

For about 25 hours in September or October, Ben Gurion airport closes, broadcasting and public transport stop, and the roads empty. Nothing opens. Be somewhere you are happy to stay on foot.

Getting around

Rav-Kav card, trains and buses

One Rav-Kav card covers trains, intercity buses and the light rail in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Rail is fast along the coast and up to Jerusalem. The Galilee and the Negev need a car.

National parks

One pass covers the big sites

Masada, Caesarea, Ein Gedi, Beit She’an and most ruins belong to the Nature and Parks Authority, which sells two-week multi-site tickets. Two or three sites make one worth buying.

Tipping

10 to 12 percent, in cash

Service is rarely on the bill, and terminals often cannot pass a tip to staff, so leave notes on the table. Round up taxi fares.

Water

Tap water is safe to drink

Heavily desalinated and treated to a published health-ministry standard. Carry more than you think between May and September, and far more in the Negev and at the Dead Sea.

Consular help

Most embassies are in Tel Aviv

Jerusalem is the seat of government, but most embassies, and their consular help, are in Tel Aviv. Find yours before you travel.

Costs

Among the most expensive countries in the OECD

OECD comparisons put prices roughly a third above the member average, food higher still. Street food and national parks are good value. Hotels, restaurants and car hire are not.

Time zone

UTC+2, and UTC+3 on daylight time

The clocks change in spring and autumn on dates set locally, so for a few weeks a year the gap to Europe is not what you expect.

Israel travel FAQ

Do you need a visa for Israel?+

Most short-stay visitors from Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia do not need a visa, but they do need an ETA-IL. It has been mandatory since 1 January 2025 for every traveller from a visa-exempt country, it is applied for online through the Population and Immigration Authority for a small fee, and the authority asks for it at least 72 hours before you fly. An approval lasts two years or until your passport expires and covers stays of up to 90 days. Airlines check it at the gate, and it is permission to reach the border, not to cross it: an officer still decides on arrival.

Is it safe to travel, and what should you check?+

Advice for this region is written area by area and it changes, so no travel guide can hold it. Read your own foreign ministry's current page before you book and again in the week you fly, note which border zones and crossings it advises against, and confirm that your insurance covers what you have planned. Beyond that, ordinary travel sense applies: bags are checked at the entrance to malls, stations and bus terminals as routine, and the Home Front Command app carries the official alerts in English.

What actually closes for Shabbat?+

Trains and most buses stop on Friday afternoon and restart after nightfall on Saturday, and most Jewish-run shops and offices go with them. Jerusalem is the strictest and the quietest. Tel Aviv keeps its beaches, restaurants and bars going. Haifa is the one Jewish-majority city that has always run buses through Shabbat, and Arab-majority towns such as Nazareth, Akko and Jaffa keep normal hours, so Saturday is a good day to visit them. Shared taxis, called sherut, run when the buses do not, and hire cars are unaffected. Remember that Sunday is a working day here, so the week ends and starts a day earlier than you expect.

When is the best time to visit Israel?+

March to May and October, in that order. The country is green in spring, the desert is comfortable, and the nights are cool without being cold. July and August are humid on the coast and punishing in the Negev and at the Dead Sea, and August is also school holidays, so prices climb. Winter is mild at Eilat and the Dead Sea and wet in the north, with snow in Jerusalem some years. Check the Jewish calendar before you fix dates: Passover in spring and the September and October high holidays fill hotels and close things, and Yom Kippur shuts the country and the airport for a day.

How long do you need, and what is a sensible first trip?+

A week is enough for Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and one direction out of them. Ten days to a fortnight covers both directions properly. The route that works for most first trips is three or four nights in Tel Aviv with a day at Caesarea and Akko, three or four in Jerusalem, then either north to the Galilee around Tiberias and Nazareth, or south to the Dead Sea, Masada and the crater at Mitzpe Ramon. Eilat is worth adding only if you want the reef, since it is four hours beyond the crater.

Do you need Hebrew, and how do you pay?+

No. Hebrew is the state language and Arabic carries a special status, both appear on road signs alongside English, and English is widely spoken in the cities and in anything tourist-facing. Payment is by card almost everywhere, including markets and buses, but carry cash for restaurant tips, which are expected at 10 to 12 percent in notes. Public transport runs on the Rav-Kav smart card, sold at stations, and it covers trains, intercity buses and the light rail in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Planning an Israeli trip?

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