Shalom Israel !
8-day itinerary around Israel
1 Day
8.00 – Ryanair flight from Modlin to Eilat Ramon – 3h40
From the airport, you can take bus no. 30 to Taba and bus no. 50 to the center of Eilat – NIS 4.20 / person.
We rent a Toyota Yaris car from the “Budget” rental company – about 150 euros for 8 days. Gasoline in Israel – 1 l 95 for NIS 5.95 (in Eilat as a duty free zone, 1l of 95 gasoline for NIS 5.10).
We go to Eilat and then to the so-called Red Canyon – take the main road No. 12 off and drive about 1 km on a gravel road to the parking lot. Entrance to the canyon is free, from the parking lot you follow the blue trail – the whole takes about 2 hours. There are narrow passages and ladders in places (easy route, also for children), the canyon itself is about 300 m – you go back up the mountain overlooking the canyon crevice.
We return to Eilat – parking in the street for NIS 5 for 1 hour. We eat lunch at the “Shawarma Pilpel” bar near the bus station – falafels with hummus, fries, pita bread and additions to choose from (vegetables, pickles) – 1 portion for NIS 35, schnitzel with fries and toppings (45 NIS), mango drink (8 NIS).
We shop at the “Rami Levy” store in Eilat – Israeli red wine “Efrat” (NIS 18.20), a pack of water 6 bottles of 1.5 l (NIS 9.30), breakfast cereals (17 NIS), yoghurts (1x 3 , 90 NIS), humus (5 NIS), pomegranate juice (18 NIS), chocolate (5 NIS), tonic 4 cans (12 NIS).
We take road no. 90 to Neve Zohar on the Dead Sea – on the way there is a potassium factory in Sodom illuminated by lamps.
Overnight in the apartment “Neve Zohar Dead Sea” in Neve Zohar – 315 NIS – large apartment with kitchen and bathroom.
2 Day
In the morning we make breakfast ourselves – cereals, hummus, bread, yoghurts. We go to Ein Bokek – a resort on the Dead Sea with a promenade and a beach (showers and swimming pool for free). Parking is payable at the machine – 1 hour for NIS 6.
We take road no. 90 and behind Ein Gedi there is a police station and a sign that you are entering the so-called West Bank (no one checks the documents upon entry). We are going to Qasr Al Yahud in Palestine, that is the place of Jesus’ baptism on the Jordan – before the entrance, barrier and control (free entry) – church and the possibility of bathing in the Jordan River – view of a similar place on the Jordanian side. Lots of pilgrims (mostly Russians) dipping in white robes in Jordan.
We are going to Jericho (within Palestine, zone A administered by the Palestinians) – when exiting road 90 and entering Jericho, there is no control. We visit the Hisham Palace (entry 10 NIS / adult and 5 NIS / child) – a small museum and the ruins of the Palace with rosettes and columns (the mosaic “Tree of Life” is being restored and is not available). There are no tourists of any kind in Jericho.
We return to road no. 90 and at the exit from the so-called The West Bank is the Mehola Checkpoint (passports must be shown). We go to the Gan Garoo animal park – entrance 59 NIS / person – mainly famous for animals brought from Australia – you can enter the kangaroo enclosure or the parrot hall (you can feed them yourself – food for 1 NIS).
We go to Bet She’an to the restaurant “Shipudei Hakikar” – falafels (40 NIS), chicken shashlik (78 NIS), a glass of wine (15 NIS), tea with mint (11 NIS), coffee (11 NIS) – for everyone 18 starters, i.e. mezze (hummus, eggplant, carrot, tahina, beetroot, etc.) and bread – we got dessert (ice cream) for free – food very tasty.
We take road no. 90 to Tiberias and spend the night in the apartment “1 Bdrm Apt with panoramic view of sea and mountains” – 270 NIS – large and clean apartment with a kitchen.
We go on foot to the center of Tiberias – a promenade on Lake Tiberias with restaurants serving the so-called St. Peter’s fish, the tomb of the sage (rabbi) Maimonides and the tomb of Johanan ben Zakkai (many Jews praying).
3 Day
We go along road no. 90 along the Sea of Galilee to the Mount of the Beatitudes – on the Mount, the octagonal-shaped Church of the Beatitudes was built in 1937 – from the terrace and gardens a view of the lake.
We go to Tabgha to the Basilica of the Multiplication of Bread with its famous Byzantine mosaics, including the most famous one with 4 loaves and 2 fish, and to the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter with the rock (Mensa Christi) on which the meal was eaten by the resurrected Jesus. The Church of the Primacy is nicely located directly on Lake Tiberias.
Then we go to Capernaum (entrance 5 NIS per person, children too) – the ruins of the White Synagogue, where Jesus taught and the House of St. Peter with a modern church suspended above the ruins.
We go along road no. 92 from the side of the Golan Heights to Bet She’an to the Bet She’an National Park (entrance NIS 28 / adult and NIS 14 / child) – the ruins of the Roman city of Scythopolis with a preserved street with columns, a theater for 7.000 people, an amphitheater, baths and a synagogue.
For dinner we go to the “Shipudei Hakikar” restaurant in Bet She’an – falafels and mezze chicken skewers – good food and large portions.
We take road no. 71 and no. 60 to Nazareth – narrow and crowded streets in the city – Nazareth is the “Arab capital of Israel” – we park for free on the street. We visit the huge Basilica of the Annunciation built in the 1960s (for free) – in the cloisters there are mosaics depicting the Mother of God from various Christian countries of the world, the upper and lower church with the Annunciation Grotto. We go to the church of St. Joseph with a crypt and the Old Town with narrow, winding streets with shops. In Mahroum Sweets – 8 pieces of baklava and half of kunafa (cheese stuffed dough, 8 NIS), tea – 50 NIS in total. In the store, coffee with cardamom – 1 kg for 50 NIS.
We drive along road no. 75 to Haifa and overnight in the apartment “Road to the beach Apartment by Domik” in Haifa.
Shopping in the “Shufersal Deal” store (one of the cheaper chains) in Haifa – Israeli wine (20 NIS), white cheese (9 NIS), small yoghurt (3.50 NIS), oranges or grapefruits for 2.90 NIS per 1 kg , milk (NIS 5.50), humus (NIS 8), small tomatoes (NIS 17.90), pomegranate juice (NIS 18).
4 Day
We take road no. 4 to Akko – park on the street (NIS 5 for 1 hour). We go to the Citadel and buy combined ticket for NIS 82/adult and NIS 70/child (it includes 4 places in Akko: Crusader Castle, Okashi Museum, Templar Tunnel and Museum “The Treasures in the Walls” and additionally Rosh Ha-Nikra caves). We visit the former Crusader Castle (the most interesting Column Hall, a lot of multimedia presentations), and then the Templar Tunnel – 2 underground tunnels, from which you exit at the seaside near the lighthouse (due to the fact that they are not very interesting – we give up visiting the next 2 museums). We walk around the Old Town – the al-Jazzar mosque, the souk (market), merchant caravanserais and defensive walls by the sea. Akko has preserved the atmosphere of the old Arab city. At the bar – 2 coffees, 2 teas and 4 bagels with sesame – 60 NIS.
We go to the Rosh ha-Nikra caves (included in the ticket price) – you go down by cable car and you can enter the caves carved in the rocks, there is also a railway tunnel on the currently closed border with Lebanon.
We go back to Akko and have lunch in an Arabian restaurant in the Old Town – shawarma with fries (NIS 40), falafels (40 NIS), coffee (10 NIS), humus with hot oil (30 NIS).
We take road no. 4 through the Carmel toll tunnel (2 x 10 NIS toll) and then the coastal highway no. 2 (toll free) to Caesarea. We walk around the ruins of Caesarea (free admission after 4 p.m.) – theater for 4,000 people, citadel, harbor.
We go to Zichron Ja’akov – a village surrounded by vineyards – the main street with stone houses and wineries. We go to the “Tishbi Winery” wine bar – a bottle of wine from the regional vineyard (35 NIS), lemonade (10 NIS). A very atmospheric place in the evening – illuminated by lamps.
We go back on Highway 2 to Haifa and on the way to our apartment we stop in Haifa in the parking lot overlooking the gardens of the main Baha’i temple.
5 Day
We go to Jerusalem by road No. 70, and then by highway No. 6 (toll, no gates and license plate scanning). We leave the car in the free parking lot near Ammunition Hill (there is p&r parking next to it) and from the Giv’at HaTahmoshet stop by tram no. 1 we go to the center of Jerusalem to Damascus Gate (NIS 5.90 / person, tickets from the machine).
We go through the Damascus Gate to the Old Town to the so-called Temple Mount (entry after security only in the morning from 7.30 to 10.00 and then from 12.30 to 1.30, closed on Fridays and Saturdays) – we can see from the outside (no entry) Al-Aqsa Mosque and the octagonal Dome of the Rock from the 7th century.
We eat lunch in an Arabian restaurant in the Old Town – shawarma with chips (70 NIS) and falafels with chips (50 NIS), including additions (bread, pickles, hummus, salads). At a bar in the Old Town – tea with mint (10 NIS), Arabic coffee (10 NIS) and pomegranate juice (10 NIS).
We go through the Lions’ Gate. We visit the Orthodox Church of the Tomb of the Virgin Mary with a crypt – the tomb of the Virgin Mary, the garden of Gethsemane with olive trees and the Church of the Nations (one of the prettier). Then we go to the Dominus Flevit church (in the shape of a tear), to the Jewish cemetery (graves with stones instead of flowers) and to the Pater Noster church (entrance 10 NIS, children free) – boards with the prayer “Our Father” in various languages from all over the world. We go back to the Old Town and go to St. Anne’s Basilica (entrance 10 NIS, children for free) with the grotto of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Betesda pond and Via Dolorosa (Stations of the Cross – stations 1 to 4).
We return by tram no. 1 to the parking lot, where we left the car and go to the area of Ben Yehuda Street – park the car on the street for free (around Ha-Ma’alot Street 1). Overnight in the apartment “Jerusalem Center Boutique” – 2 nights – 340 NIS for 1 night – good conditions, clean, close to everything on foot.
In the evening we go on foot to the Machane Yehuda bazaar – lots of stalls with various things, bars – lots of people having fun and dancing. We buy bagels with sesame (10 NIS) and a packet of humus (14 NIS) in the shop.
6 Day
Coffee at “Cofix” for 5 NIS (Israeli chain with cheap coffee and snacks). We go on foot to the Old Town to the Citadel – Tower of David – now it is the Museum of the History of Jerusalem (40 NIS/adult and 18 NIS/child) with a multimedia exhibition, view of the entire city from the walls.
We visit the Jewish quarter of the Old Town with the renovated old Roman road Cardo and then to Mount Zion to the Room of Last Supper and the Tomb of King David (many praying Jews).
We visit the Dormition Abbey with mosaics on the walls and a crypt. We go through the Armenian district with the chapel of St. Mark with khachkaras (stone crosses) to the Wailing Wall – a separate section for men (much larger, with a synagogue) and for women.
At the bar – granite juice (10 NIS), cheese pies (10 NIS). We go Via Dolorosa or the Way of the Cross (stations 5 to 9) through the Ethiopian monastery to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – there are many pilgrims inside, chapels of various Christian denominations – you have to wait about 2 hours to enter the Tomb – all this makes it is difficult to feel the atmosphere of this place.
From the bus station near the Damascus Gate, we take bus no. 231 to Bethlehem (about 1h, 7 NIS per person) – it goes through the checkpoint to Palestine but you don’t get off and nobody controls anything. The bus goes to the vicinity of Beit Jala street – from there a taxi for 20 NIS to the Merger Square. We visit the Basilica of the Nativity with the Nativity Grotto with a silver star at the birthplace (there is a queue to the Grotto – about 1 hour of waiting), as well as the nearby church of St. Catherine.
We eat lunch at the “Afteem” restaurant – humus (15 NIS), mutabal (15 NIS), shawarma in bread (17 NIS), a glass of wine (15 NIS), falafels (8 pieces for 10 NIS), tea with mint (5 NIS) ), bread and vegetables for free.
We take a taxi for NIS 35 to checkpoint 300 (otherwise the checkpoint near Rachel’s Tomb) – on the way Banksy’s work depicting a pigeon in a bulletproof vest with an olive branch. Only passports are checked at the checkpoint. From the checkpoint bus no. 234 – 5 NIS/person to the bus station at the Damascus Gate. We go on foot to the apartment through the Mea She’arim district inhabited by Orthodox Jews (Hasidim) – on Friday evening it is worth coming there to watch Jews running to the synagogue or walking with their whole families.
7 Day
We drive the car to the Damascus Gate and we park on the street for free. From the Arab bus station (Derekh Schem station) we take bus no. 218 for NIS 8/person to Ramallah (the actual capital of Palestine) through the Qalandia crossing – no control at the crossing, huge traffic jams on the Palestinian side – drive around 1h30.
From the bus station in Ramallah we go to Manarah Square with the cafe “Stars and Bucks” (fake “Starbucks”) – coffee for 15 NIS. At the bakery, patties with meat (1×4.50 NIS) and pomegranate juice (10 NIS). We go on foot to the Yassir Arafat Museum (entrance NIS 10 family ticket) with Arafat’s Tomb – a modern museum that shows the life of Arafat through photos and videos, in particular the period when he was under siege by Israel at his headquarters in Ramallah (recreated Arafat’s room).
From the museum, taxi for NIS 50 to Qalandia crossing. Next to the passage there is a wall separating Palestine from Israel. Passport control by Israel at the checkpoint. From checkpoint bus no. 219 for NIS 6 to the Arab bus station in Jerusalem – about 40 minutes.
Then we go by car on road no. 1 to Tel Aviv – parking on the street – 1 hour for 20 NIS. We walk along the seafront promenade starting at Gordon Beach. On the beach a lot of people playing makot (beach tennis) and exercising in gyms. We go by car to the “Hummus Habayit” bar – Yemeni cuisine – humus (20 NIS), lemonade (8 NIS), mint tea (6 NIS), shakshouka (42 NIS), malawach (25 NIS) – cake with tomato sauce and egg – an atmospheric place and good food.
We drive by car through the artistic district of Neve Tzedek to Jaffa – parking on the street for free. We walk around Jaffa – the clock tower, HaPisga’s garden, St. Peter’s church, narrow streets with art galleries. Jaffa is the most interesting part of Tel Aviv. We take highway 6 (for free) and then road no. 40 to Beer Sheva. Overnight in the “Exclusive Comfort” house in Beer Sheva – 229 NIS – 2 rooms with kitchen – good conditions.
8 Day
We take road no. 40 to Midreshet Ben Gurion – a park with the tomb of Israel’s first prime minister David Ben Gurion (he was born in Płock in Poland).
Then we go to Mitzpe Ramon to the Spice Route Quarter – a district with bars and hotels in pavilions and to the Ramon crater viewpoint (crater length 40 km, width 9 km, depth 300 m).
We go through the Negev desert on road no. 40 and no. 90 to Eilat. In Eilat, we refuel (the cheapest petrol in Israel) and buy tuna sandwiches (1×16 NIS) and coffee (8 NIS) at the gas station. We go to Ramon airport and return the car. You must be at the airport at least 2 hours before departure (detailed control, including a conversation about your stay in Israel). At the airport you can buy cheap souvenirs, e.g. a ceramic plate for NIS 26 or a cap (kippah) for NIS 18.
13.55 – “Ryanair” flight to Modlin – 4h.
Practical information
Transport
The best (cheapest) connections to Israel were offered from Poland, for example from Warsaw by “Wizzair” or from Modlin/Krakow by “Ryanair”. On site, you should rent a car through the website rentalcars.com, eg a Toyota Yaris car from the “Budget” rental company – about 150 euros for 8 days. Gasoline in Israel is expensive – 1l of 95 gasoline for NIS 5.95 (in Eilat as a duty free zone, 1l of 95 gasoline for NIS 5.10), in Palestine a similar price.
Accommodation
It is best to rent an apartment via booking.com – it is cheaper than hotels and you can make your own breakfast. The most expensive accommodation is in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Food
In general, food in restaurants is more expensive than in Poland – it is the cheapest in Palestine. Shopping should be done in the “Shufersal Deal” chain of stores – preferably in Eilat (duty free zone – cheaper, for example alcohol). It is worth looking for a cafe at “Cofix” chain – coffee and snacks at a fixed price (5 NIS).
Currency (as of February 2020)
$ 1 = NIS 3.42
1 Euro = NIS 3.75
