This video is the best travel guide to Israel you will ever see. If you’re thinking about flying
to Israel or starting to plan your first trip to Israel then you are definitely in the right place.
I will be talking about all the important factors to consider – how to plan your trip, the sites,
money, transportation and some very useful tips that will make your trip to Israel so much better.
Let’s start with the things you need to know when planning your trip to Israel. Israel is
safe. I know that lots of people think about safety issues before coming to Israel. But
you will be safe and feel safe. Talk to Americans that visit Israel and they will
tell you that in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, they felt safer than in big cities in the U.S.
The biggest problem you will have in Israel is not safety but how expensive things are.
And in a minute I will be giving you some great tips to help you travel more cheaply.
The currency we use is called the shekel, and the letters that represent it are ILS
or NIS (Israeli shekel or New Israeli shekel). The bills are nice and colorful
with portraits of famous Israeli poets. One dollar, or one euro is about 3.5 shekels.
We use cash, credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) and you can also use Apple Pay and Google Pay.
We don’t use debit cards. If you plan on renting a car, you basically need a credit card.
The electricity socket looks like this – it has 3 holes, but most of the plugs look
like this – with two pins. And it is 220V. The internet is also something I get asked
about a lot. The internet is great! It was invented by the Americans in the 90’s and
we’re grateful to them for it :) All hotels, hostels and a lot of other places have wi-fi,
including of course the airport. But you will need an internet package. Check out your own
network provider in your country, but it’s usually cheaper to buy an Israeli SIM card.
Especially if you will stay for more than a week. You won’t have any problem finding an
Israeli provider and you can have the card sent to you. There are different companies offering
different services and you can click on the link below to see some of my recommendations.
The best time to travel to Israel is in the spring, from March to April. In summer it’s
very hot. You can expect 30 to 35°C every day. If you like the beach and visiting inside spaces like
churches or museums, then it will be fine for you, but in summer it’s too hot for long hikes.
Things cool down in October, but you can walk around in a T-shirt on most autumn days. Winter
is from December till February. When it rains, it rains hard, but usually for two to three days
and then the skies clear up again. In January there are also days when you can enjoy the sun.
I think that Israel is a great winter destination, especially if you want to travel in the desert.
Another thing to consider before you book your flight is the Jewish calendar.
In Israel we use two calendars: the Gregorian calendar (the one that you know starting in
January) and the Jewish calendar. How do we use both? Well, we are very smart!
Just kidding – it is easy once you get used to it. You need to know this because public holidays in
Israel mostly correspond to the Jewish calendar. Now it’s great being here on a public holiday,
whether it’s Sukkot, Pesach or Hanukkah, but be warned that no public transportation runs
on those days, and the prices of flights and hotels will be higher. I’ve previously written
a long post about the Jewish holidays: what they are about, when they are, and what you can expect.
Now let’s start planning! Israel is tiny. Israel is the size of New Jersey; Wisconsin
is nine times bigger than Israel. For comparison, Israel is the size of Wales if you come from the
U.K. and the size of Hessen if you come from Germany. If you come from any other country,
I will just say that you can drive from the north of Israel to the south in 6 hours and
from east to west in less than an hour and a half. I like summarizing the planning process in three
words: the heart, the line, the land. The heart is Jerusalem. If you only have 24 hours in Israel,
then you have to visit Jerusalem. The line is road number 1, which connects Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and
the Dead Sea. So if you have 3 to 4 days, you can see Jerusalem, then Masada and the Dead Sea,
and Tel Aviv. The land is all the rest. So for example, if you’re visiting Israel for a
week or two then you can travel up north to the Galilee or to the south, to the desert.
One of my next videos will be about exactly that: Galilee vs. the Negev. So please subscribe and
hit the bell so that you will be notified when I upload it. In short, 95% of tourists choose
to go up north. In the Galilee you have a lot of sites that are connected to Jewish history
and Christianity. The Galilee is greener and less hot in summer, which is when most tourists visit.
If you have already had your fill of religious sites in Jerusalem,
or if it’s your second trip, and especially if you come in winter, then a desert vacation
in Israel could be perfect for you! 50% of Israel is desert and it is really beautiful.
When planning your trip, try to make sure that on weekends, so on Fridays and Saturdays,
you are in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem and from Sunday to Thursday you are in the desert or Galilee. That
way you will be able to enjoy the sites when they are not so crowded. Israel is a crowded country.
10 million people living together in a small space. And in any case, on the weekends there
are more events in the cities for you to enjoy. You will probably start your trip to Israel at Ben
Gurion Airport. I have already made two videos about the airport, so check them out because
you’ll find they’re full of useful information. The important thing to know is that the airport
is located right in the middle of the country. So if you land on a Sunday or a Monday, you can
rent a car and drive straight to the Galilee or the desert – it’s about a two-hour drive. And if
you land on a Thursday or a Friday, you can take a taxi or a train to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. I don’t
recommend having a car in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv you can’t find anywhere to park and
in Jerusalem they drive like crazy people. Now let’s go over the main sites in Israel.
I will of course start with Jerusalem. Instead of listing the must-see sites, which is something you
can find in a hundred different travel blogs, I want to talk about something much more important.
When I shoot videos in Jerusalem, I talk to lots of different travelers. By the way, if
you see me and want to say hi, then do interrupt me filming. I love meeting you and talking to you.
Anyway, I meet too many people that walk around Jerusalem without a guide of any sort. They say
things like: “We like to experience the city ourselves and enjoy the atmosphere…”
Maybe in some small cities in Wisconsin it is enough to sit in a nice café and enjoy the
atmosphere, but not in Jerusalem. In my opinion, this mindset is almost disrespectful of Jerusalem.
You are visiting probably the most interesting, most complicated city in the world. Without any
kind of guide, you will understand very little and walk by sites of huge importance without realizing
it. Just take a look at some of my videos about sites in Jerusalem, about the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, the Western Wall, Temple Mount or Via Dolorosa. They are really basic videos but
just see how many new things they taught you. So imagine how much more you would get out of
a given site if you were there with a guide. If you don’t have the money for a private guide,
join a group tour. If you don’t like group tours, get my app with all my Jerusalem tours and tips.
If you don’t like my accent, get my booklets or any other guidebook. But do yourself a favor
and first do some sort of guided tour and then sit down to enjoy the atmosphere. In the post
on my website about planning your Israel trip, I mention some great guides and tours. Check it out.
The only thing you do need to think about when taking a guided tour in Jerusalem, and
this goes for all of Israel, is that unlike other cities with a lot of history, like Rome or Paris,
in Jerusalem the guide will say different things to different groups. Or at least they
will have a different emphasis. A Jewish tour of Jerusalem is very different from a Christian
tour. And a Catholic tour is different from a Protestant tour. It’s the same with the Galilee.
The Jewish Galilee and the Christian Galilee are two different places in the same place :). Lots of
people wanting to book a group tour in Israel join a tour offered by their local church. Now it can
of course be an amazing experience to be with your spiritual leader at these extremely emotional and
powerful sites. It might be the most meaningful trip of your life. But if you are traveling with
a church, with a religious community that you don’t know, you might be disappointed.
So we’ve covered Jerusalem. I would say that Masada and the Dead Sea, which are in the
Judaean desert, are the second and third most important sites. You can visit both in one day.
Tel Aviv would probably be my number four. In Tel Aviv there are no must-see sites. In many ways Tel
Aviv is like any other modern city and yet it is Israel’s first modern Jewish city and besides the
markets and the beaches there are many important and interesting museums and sites to visit.
The northern coast includes Caesarea, Haifa and Akko, which can be visited in a day or
two. The Jewish sites in the Galilee include Tzfat and Tiberias and numerous sites that
are connected to the Zionist movement like Tel Chai and Degania, the first kibbutz. The main
Christian sites are Nazareth and the churches around the Sea of Galilee. In the Galilee and
the Golan Heights there are a lot of nature reserves. Many sites with water. And battlefields.
If you are traveling south to the Negev and you have 2 to 3 days to spare,
you can stay in Mitzpe Ramon and join me for a day tour in the Zin Wadi area,
which is on the way to Mitzpe Ramon. If you have more time you could head out to Eilat,
the most southern city in Israel, and even cross the border to Egypt or Jordan.
Next topic: as I said, Israel is expensive. Tel Aviv was awarded the title of being the
most expensive city in the world. $250 dollars a night for a hotel room is the average amount you
will pay. And by the way, you are not getting ripped off because you are a tourist. In fact,
we Israelis pay 17% more for the same room. As a tourist, you don’t pay VAT, and we do.
In the five-star hotels you can expect to pay $600 to $800 a night. If you have the money,
great, go for it. If you are on a budget, I recommend taking a private room in a hostel.
I have talked about this a lot before. There are some great hostels in Israel. I would also
recommend saving money on accommodation in the cities, as there is so much to see and do outside,
but paying more for a nice hotel in the Galilee or the desert where you can relax.
Israeli food is great but restaurants are expensive and the price of alcohol is
ridiculous. You can easily pay $10 or euros for a beer. It might be less, but it might be more,
so always ask to see the menu before ordering. My tip for you here, if you want to save money,
is to avoid restaurants and eat more Israeli street food, which is amazing.
My Jerusalem app includes information on loads of different great places to eat.
If you have watched until now, then you are probably serious about planning a trip to Israel
(or you just really like to hear me talking) so be sure to check out my website. There,
it will be much easier for you to navigate between the different sections – planning your trip,
tours, accommodation, my app and travel booklets and – the thing people ask about the most:
Israeli society. People like to ask about other people and so I have written a few posts that
represent an introduction to Israeli society. Another thing is that sometimes I forget to say
something important in a video. In my last video - How to get from TLV Airport to Jerusalem - I
forgot to say that you need an Israeli SIM card in order to use the transportation apps. I can’t
change the video, but I can easily change the text on my website, so if you're serious about planning
your trip, be sure to check out my website. All the links will be below, give this video a
like, subscribe for more tips, see you in Israel. Yalla bye!