Tel Aviv/Jerusalem holiday info please

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I’ve searched previous posts, but can’t find any recent threads about Israel, although there are lots of positive posts through the years.

Can anyone who has visited recently/lives there share their thoughts on Tel Aviv as a holiday destination, with a few nights in Jerusalem.

I'd do it - great beaches, loads of museums/art/history if that's what you're into, very easy to walk/cycle/bus it, and easy to get to Jerusalem. Hotels ruinously expensive, though, mainly due to exchange rate. I'd AirBnB it if you can, or try to get a bargain.

Its a few years since we went, we went all over the place with an excellent licence tour guide, worth every penny, its a fantastic country
This man was our guide
info.goisrael.com/en/zissman-mordi-84561

Thanks both!
How long do you recommend going for? I was originally thinking 16-17days to give time to explore
Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, plus one other place to stay, and then some days just relaxing at the beach. Would this be too long?

I went ages ago before the present Intifada we stayed 2-3 days in Northern Negev Desert visited Bethlehem and Jericho ( it is almost impossible to get to Jericho now) then we spent about 4 days in Galilee lovely and relaxing about 4-5 days in Jerusalem going to Dead Sea and Masada from there, then 2 days in Tel Aviv could have easily spent longer there
the Negev is a small desert but contains some lovely hiking and wild life you may see Oryx also it is not that touristy
There is loads of historical stuff obviously some is religious but a lot is just History Roman etc, there are also Kibbutz vineyards plenty of Spa hotels both by Dead sea and Galilee the Galilean hills are beautiful
we had a biblical tour that included some things that are rare on short tours like Samaria, Shiloh, went upto Hebron hills near Lebanese border and some other old testament places they were virtually deserted unlike the stations of cross route in Jerusalem the other part of tour was more historic Roman city of Caesarea Maritima ( near Tel Aviv) and a town built of Basalt whose name escapes me
like above poster a good guide is a tremendous asset they will know when crowds arrive and how to avoid them a lot of tours do things in a certain order like going to sites in morning then afternoon in museum but lots of sites even the most popular are empty by 3pm so going in reverse order helps
this applies all over the place from Rome to Pompeii

Excellent overview, giving me lots of great starting points for research!
Did you drive between destinations, or use public/organised transport?
We’ve driven abroad in other foreign countries, but DH is reluctant to drive here.

Transport was organised but driving in Israel is fine no where near as bad as Naples or Istanbul the roads are in good condition just don't go wandering into west bank

Driving is fine but a lot of hire cars don’t have sat nav as everyone uses Waze...so make sure you have a sensible data plan (NOT o2)

Tel Aviv is amazing, it’s a really modern city with a European vibe. Beaches and beach bars are amazing, restaurants are world class and it’s full of history. Jaffa is fabulous for galleries and great restaurants, the port in tel Aviv has been revitalised and is great. It’s very modern and secular, good museums, big cafe culture. Big LGBT scene Brilliant city. Very secular and Jews and Arabs mix freely, much more integrated than the news would have you believe.

Jerusalem is about an hour away. Frequent buses or little mini buses called Sheruts. Much more Middle Eastern. Old city is incredible and I would advise a guide so you get a real feel for it and see it properly. It’s a much more religious place Christian, Jewish and Muslim and feels less integrated but v safe. The new part of Jerusalem also v nice but not as fashionable and urban as TA. Lots of museums, markets, restaurants etc

All areas in Israel totally safe for women

We did Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Bethlehem and it was amazing! My husband used to live in Jericho years ago though I'm yet to visit. It's a magical country. 15 days is a good enough time to explore.

We went for four days far too short. Plan it well as loads to see and do, or just sit on the beach

Hi OP we did this last year, four days first in Jerusalem, then a two day trip to Masada, some waterfalls that I can’t remeber the name of then the Dead Sea, then went to Tel Aviv for a week.

It was magical as we were expecting and so glad we went, I have always wanted to visit being half Jewish.

Tips would be:

• Look up the festivals/ non- working days! As there’s three major religions there almost every day seems to be a holiday or at least it was when we went in September. Doesn’t matter half as much in Tel Aviv but literally nothing will be open and no transport in Jerusalem, it’s like a ghost town.

• Jerusalem you do need to dress appropriately so full length skirt and long sleeves (much more relaxed for men)

• Tel Aviv is so bloody expensive and has a serious tip culture - we got told off for rounding our tip down by about 3 shekels so we didn’t have to break a big note! We picked a great hotel that had an amazing breakfast, ‘happy hour’ with free food and wine, free bike hire and free beach towels and stuff which really helped

Tel Aviv really is amazing though - so young and vibrant and amazing beaches and seas. Fantastic shops and restaurants but stick to the amazing pitta/ falafel/ kebab places for the best value 🤤 also cycle along the beach to Jaffa!

Have a great time OP

We drove there and it was fine. You can't drive in Palestine though.

What time of year are you thinking going?

I've been a couple of times. You've had loads of good tips here so I'll just add some food recommendations - I suggest eating at Dok (very cool, serves local Israeli food and wine) and Sabich which is a hole in the wall and absolutely delicious. Aubergine, potato and egg in a wrap. Habasta is also great. I love the food in Tel Aviv!

Masada and the Dead Sea was my favourite day trip, and the baptism site at the River Jordan is interesting. Bethlehem is worth a stop and there's a cool Banksy hotel there. Jerusalem is an absolute must as well. Such an incredible place. If you climb/drive up the Mount of Olives (via the Garden of Gethsemane) you will get an awesome view of the city. Jaffa is interesting for a couple of hours or so.

- Tel Aviv is so bloody expensive sad and has a serious tip culture

Ridiculously expensive but never noticed a tip culture, just 10% as here. Try old man and the sea in Jaffa port. Insanely busy restaurant in Jaffa port. Reasonably priced and a real must if only for the sheer amount of (good) food they literally ply you with. Always has huge queues

Oh and driving is fine, excellent roads, all signposts are in English Hebrew and Arabic. English spoken by almost everyone, you’d be hard pushed to find anyone under 60 who doesn’t have a reasonable level and most young people are pretty much fluent.

All public transport is good, reasonable, frequent and air conditioned with phone chargers!

I visited many years ago and stayed in a variety of Kibbutz Guest Houses which were amazing and good value. I'm guessing that these still exist? We had two weeks travelling around and the only disappointment was Eilat which was very much a holiday resort. My best memory is looking over the hills in Bethlehem and watching a bit herding goats...it could have been a scene from biblical times. It was as though time stood still.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to answer! Has anyone stayed in the desert, or near Masada? The landscape looks amazing, and would love to spend a couple of days in of those settings.
Have now been convinced to drive thanks to replies

I stayed at Ein Gedi Kibbutz Hotel which was near Masada and we visited the Dead Sea too while we were there. Masses was amazing...as was the Dead Sea. If you Google Ein Gedi, there's a website for it and it's on Booking.com too. I stayed there 30 years ago, hopefully it's still as good!

The Ramon crater in the S is great, and you should definitely visit if you can. Superb views, and very little light pollution, so loads of meteorites visible if you go at the right time....

Thanks, Sam. Did you stay in the area? I had been looking at spending a couple nights in the desert.

Yes, Quite a long time ago. Other possibilities are Yotvata, A kibbutz with a dairy farm in the middle of the desert, and Beersheba, Which is a big city, but from where you can take an overnight tours into the desert and sleep under the stars.

Hike up Masada before dawn and watch the sun rise - its beautiful.