10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO ISRAEL

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This list of tips for traveling to Israel It will help you plan your trip to one of the most fascinating places in the world.
Considered as one of the most historic places in the world, where the ancient Jerusalem stands out, founded in 1004 B.C. For King David and one of the most magical cities you can know, you can also visit Bethlehem, Nazareth and Galilee, biblical cities in addition to the impressive fortress of Masada, the fascinating Dead Sea and the Roman Caesarean, in addition to other places that we are safe , as a whole, will make this an unforgettable trip.

Based on the experience of our trip to Israel and Palestine for free, we want to leave you what we believe, are the 10 best tips to travel to Israel essential.

1. What is the best time?

Although as in many destinations you could say that any time is good for a trip to Israel, taking into account the weather and especially the places you want to visit, it is important to consider certain considerations.

High season (July and August): Despite being the most frequented by tourists, due to the heat and high prices, we believe it is the worst time to plan this trip.
Mid season (October and November and from March to May): According to our experience, this is the best time since the weather is mild, there are not so many people (except Easter days) and it is still a perfect time to visit Tiberias , Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.
Low season (from December to February): Although in some areas of the country the weather is cold, there are not many people and also the prices are usually quite adjusted, except for the key dates of Christmas and New Year.

Remember that if you are going to travel in high season it is advisable to book in advance the flights, accommodation and rental car, to find good prices and more options to choose from.

2. Security

The first thing to keep in mind is that in most of the country due to its geographical location and especially in Jerusalem, as a more tourist and symbolic place, religion is something that involves virtually anything, so this is a sensitive issue and it is best to stay out of any circumstances you may see, even if it does not fall within your standards or customs.
This would also apply to the political issue. We understand that there are situations that can be even provocative, but the best thing, if you are going to travel to Israel is to focus on its tourist places, culture, archaeological sites and landscapes, leaving as far as possible the other aspects aside .
Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends avoiding Israel's border with Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and the Gaza Strip, being sure to visit the rest of the country, so at this time traveling to Israel is safe.
In addition to this and as anywhere else in the world, it is important to travel with common sense, avoiding areas that you do not know at night and bringing many valuables in sight.

What you are likely to find is with more comprehensive baggage checks at the airport than in other parts of the world and that in case of renting a car, at some point the police can stop you to check it and ask for the documentation.
It happened to us a couple of times but at no time was it an unpleasant situation, but quite the opposite.

Jerusalem

3. Requirements for entering the country

If you are a Spanish citizen, to enter Israel for tourism and a maximum period of 90 days, it is necessary that you carry your passport with a minimum validity of 6 months. It is important to keep in mind that even if you have all the documentation in order, the authorities may deny you entry if they believe you are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause or believe that you are traveling for political reasons. Keep that in mind since they will probably ask you both personal and social questions in addition to the occasional, in-depth checks of luggage or electronic devices.
In any case, do not worry, always answer the truth and try to facilitate the procedures to prevent them from becoming a problem.

Another point to highlight is the issue of the stamp of Israel in your passport and what this may entail to travel to other countries. Currently, Israel does not stamp the stamp in the passports, provided you arrive by air, giving you a card with your personal information, which you must keep until you leave the country and that can be requested at the time of renting the car or going through any military control.

Masada

4. Vaccines and travel insurance

As we always say, one of the most important tips for traveling to Israel, or to any other country in the world, is to go to your nearest vaccination center so that they are the ones who, depending on your medical history, type of trip and places that you are going to visit, determine which vaccines are necessary.
In general, we can tell you that there is no mandatory vaccine to make a trip to Israel although tetanus-diphtheria, triple viral, hepatitis A and B and rabies are recommended.

In addition to visiting the doctor, it is very important to have the best travel insurance, so that if you need it, you can have the best care in the best centers.
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have during the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

5. How to start the trip

Another of the most important tips for traveling to Israel is to initially consider what are the essential places to see in Israel that you want to see so that based on this, you can determine how many days you need for your trip.
In our experience, with about 10-12 days you can make a very attractive route through the country, including the most tourist places in addition to spending a day in the Dead Sea.

The first thing you should look for is a flight to Tel Aviv, the capital and the place where trips to Israel usually begin to from there rent a car and start the route.
Once you have it defined and especially if you travel in high season, it is highly recommended to book accommodation in Israel in time, to avoid high prices and also have more options to choose from.

In case you do not want to make the trip for free or do not want to drive, a highly recommended option would be to make this 5-day tour of Israel or base in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem and from there go on doing some of the excursions and tours in Israel more recommended.

Views of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

6. Money exchange

The currency of Israel is the new sequel and currently the equivalence is 1 euros = 3.93 new Israeli sequel. Although today there are still many people who recommend changing at the exchange agencies of the airport or the city or even making the currency exchange at the bank of your home country, we after the experience both when traveling to Israel As in other countries, we believe that the best way to save commissions is to pay as much as possible with a card and in case of need of cash, take out directly from the cashier.

In this case we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

Remember that in case of renting a car in Israel, it is necessary to have a credit card and in addition to these, of course it is necessary to carry cash to be able to make payments in shops that do not accept cards or for tips.

Meet Haifa, one of the tips for traveling to Israel

7. Travel to Israel by free or with agency

Valuing our experience, we can only recommend travel to Israel and Palestine for free, either by public transport or by rental car, the latter option being the best, since it offers the most freedom of schedules and movements.
As we have commented previously in the security section, there is currently no problem when traveling to the country and moving by car or public transport, nor is it in any case unsafe.

That said, but if you want to know the country in a more comfortable way, without driving and above all, by the hand of a guide in Spanish, you can opt for this 5-day Circuit for Israel or another highly recommended option would be to make different excursions or tours from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, where you can make base, moving from the airport with private transfer, and with which you can see the most tourist of the country.

Excursions from Jerusalem:

More excursions and tours in Jerusalem here

Excursions from Tel Aviv:

More excursions and tours in Tel Aviv here

Tel Aviv

8. How to have internet in Israel?

If you want to have internet in Israel, something very necessary today, especially considering the amount of applications we use in our trips and the need to be in contact with our family and friends, you can choose several options:

Buy a SIM card at the airport or at a phone shop in the city.
Buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in Israel much more comfortable, fast and easy.
In this case, with the Holafly SIM you will have several Gb to surf the Internet (depending on the option you choose), they will send it to you for free at home, you will keep your WhatsApp number and you will have assistance service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.

More information on the Holafly post, the best prepaid SIM card for travel

9. Route through Israel and Palestine

After our experience during our trip to Israel, we recommend you take a flight to Tel Aviv and from there, rent a car with which to start travel through Israel.
The first stop would be Cesárea and Haifa, two places that serve as a perfect introduction to the country and where you can see Roman ruins, Byzantine ruins and the crusades and in Haifa, the famous Bahaí Gardens, a World Heritage Site as well as touring the city.
The next day of the trip to Israel will take you to visit Acre, Safed, the Sea of Galilee and Nazareth, spending the night in the latter for the next day to visit the city and go from Nazareth to the Dead Sea, another of the most incredible places in Israel and the world.
Although we only made a stop here, in case of having an extra day, it can be highly recommended to spend a couple of days in the area, as a relax for later, start what we believe, is the most incredible stage of the trip, which You can start sleeping in the Ein Gedi kibbutz to visit Masada, another of the essentials of the country and then continue to Jerusalem, which is one of the most magical and incredible cities in the world.

Dead Sea

In Jerusalem we recommend you spend a minimum of 4-5 days whenever possible to enjoy all the places to see in Jerusalem, among which the Dome of the Rock of Jerusalem stands on the esplanade of the mosques, the Mount of Olives , travel the Via Dolorosa to the Holy Sepulcher and visit the Western Wall.
In addition to these visits it is highly recommended to take your time to visit the Muslim Quarter, the gates and wall of the Old City, the Cenacle and Tomb of David, the Jewish Quarter and the Garden Tomb.

Remember that if you want to know these places in a comfortable way and with a guide in Spanish, it is highly recommended to hire this full guided tour of Jerusalem or this free tour in Jerusalem, with which you can get to know this impressive city in the best way.

Another day that you are in the city, it is highly recommended to visit Bethlehem and Hebron from Jerusalem, which although we know they are very hard visits for what they entail, we believe they are part of the experience of the trip to Israel and Palestine that in addition, they will allow you to know in a closer way what is currently happening.

To end the trip, you can take a bus to go from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, where we advise you to spend one or two days during which you can complete this list of places to see in Tel Aviv and put the icing on the cake on a trip that We are sure, it will not leave you indifferent.

10. Gastronomy in Israel

Another of the best tips for traveling to Israel that we can give you is not to miss its exquisite cuisine. Although we know that there are hundreds of options, we want to leave you a list of those that were for us the best dishes we tried and those we hope, enjoy as much as we do.

Falafel: kind of chickpea croquettes that are fried and usually served with yogurt sauce.
Hummus: chickpea cream, lemon juice, tahini and olive oil, served with mincemeat and paprika. One of our favorite dishes!
Shawarma: meat that is cooked in a kind of circular skewer and then served with pita bread and different ingredients such as vegetables or sauces.
Sabih: our classic sandwich but with pita bread and stuffed with different ingredients, predominantly vegetables.
Halva: sweet dough, made from sesame paste, which is similar to nougat. Exquisite!

Try Israeli cuisine

More tips for traveling to Israel

Some extra tips for a trip to Israel would be:

Do not forget that there are direct flights from Spain to Israel, about 4 hours long, which sometimes although they are usually a little more expensive, it is worth taking them into account to save time.
As we said on several occasions, it is very normal for strict controls to be made at the airport. Don't panic, it's normal.
During your stay in Jerusalem, try to coincide with the evening of Friday and Saturday to live on Saturday, the seventh day of the week, which is the sacred day of the Jewish week.
Although it may seem otherwise, the standard of living in Israel It is very similar to Spain, so the prices are more or less equal or in some cases, even a little higher.
Regarding Wi-Fi you will not have problems since all hotels have a good network and also restaurants and bars.
If you rent a car, remember that GPS does not normally include Palestinian Territory, so for example to tour the famoushighway 90 the GPS will mark you turn around. In these cases, mark an intermediate point or several, to force the GPS to take the road you want.
In Israel the voltage is 230V, the frequency 50Hz and the plugs are of type H.

Do you want to organize this trip to Israel and Palestine for free?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to Israel here
The best hotels at the best prices in Israel here
The best hotels at the best prices in Palestine here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book the best tours and excursions in Tel Aviv in Spanish here
Book the best tours and excursions in Jerusalem in Spanish here
Rent your car in Israel at the best price here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here