Israel

>Is a week enough time for a rough itinerary of Tel Aviv -> Jerusalem -> Jericho -> Dead Sea and back?
I would say barely. Along the Mediterranean coast there is an awesome railroad that makes travelling very easy, but Jerusalem and Dead Sea are deep inland, compared to the country's size. Also you can get fucked if you forget about shabbat because all transport stops. Yes all transport. You might be able to find and pay through the nose for a taxi, but the rule of thumb is, from Friday night to Saturday night you stay where it caught you.
>Any particular museums, cultural and nature hotspots you would recommend in those areas or nearby?
Tel Aviv is a very young city, there is a nightlife scene that I personally am not familiar with, again, keep in mind that Western Friday night in Israel happens on Thursday, and the equivalent of Saturday night is on Friday. Youth in Tel Aviv don't give a fuck about abiding by the religious constraints and get turnt on Friday nights.
My favorite museum in Tel Aviv is Independence Hall, it's small and they tell you the story of the country, its origins in its modern state and the events leading up to and resulting in their declaration of independence in 1947.
Other museums didn't strike me as impressive.
A must-visit is Jaffa, the city's old southern part. It's being destroyed by highrise buildings being built nearby, so see it before it's too late. There are historic points, like where Napoleon attacked the harbor, and the old lighthouse, and barely visible ruins of the old harbor in the sea.
Also Yaffo/Jaffa has the best flea market in Israel called Shuk Ha'Pishpeshim, you can easily spend half a day there looking at all the old and new stuff.
In Jerusalem Yad-Vashem is an absolute necessity. Tourists might overlook it because of all the pressure to see the religious parts of the city, but I urge you to make some time in your schedule for it. (1/2)

>>1192464
>>1192471
(2/2)
Of course you should see the Old City, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I would also recommend the catholic Church of All Nations on the Mount of Olives.
Be careful when going to the Old City/Church of the Holy Sepulchre and check the dates of Easter for all different Christian branches because being there during a mass pilgrimage sucks.
My favorite places in the country are out of the way you mrention. On Taglit, my favorite part of the trip was going to a bedouin camp in the desert near Masada for a dinner and half a night of sleep. The night sky in the desert, if you walk away from the camp a bit, is so full of stars.
Before sunrise, we were taken by bus to Masada to start going up so that we could see the sun rise from the top of the mountain. That view is breathtaking, and the fortress is cool too. No idea if it's available to individual tourists, just advising you to look into it. After that we went to the Dead Sea.
Another good one is Caesarea, it's up north from Tel Aviv and it's hard to get there. But there are ruins of Roman hippodrome and Herod's palace, and a working amphitheater. The now ruined city changed many hands in thousands of years.
>What was your experience of the climate in April?
It's the best time to travel around and not go mad from the heat, but stay hydrated anyway. All tap water is drinkable unless stated otherwise, even if it's not very tasty. The Mediterranean is generally too cold to swim in though. The Dead Sea is probably fine.
>What was your experience of entering/exiting Ben Gurion?
There is a train station attached to the airport. If you arrive on shabbat you're fucked and need to take a taxi.
If you mean passport control, it takes a long time, especially when leaving the country. They will look through all your cabin luggage (in your presence) and most likely open your suitcase to check it (without you), esp. if you look vaguely Arabic. Get there at least 3 hours before the flight, better 4make it 4.

>>1192464
>Is a week enough time for a rough itinerary of Tel Aviv -> Jerusalem -> Jericho -> Dead Sea and back?
Generally yes. That doesn't mean you'll get to see everything though, you can easily spend over a week in Jerusalem itself.
>What was your experience of entering/exiting Ben Gurion, and crossing between Israel/the West Bank?
Both without any problems. Ben Gurion I got asked a couple questions (purpose of visit, how long, etc), the West Bank nobody gave a shit. At all. IIRC at the Hebron checkpoint they didn't even bother with the passport, a pale face was enough.

>>1192471
>>1192478
>>1192528
Both great responses - thank you both so much. My itinerary is only a rough outline at the minute so I'll see what I can incorporate from your suggestions. Israel seems deceptively compact in the sense that it's small but so dense with worthy attractions that I'll try and bag a few more days than a week. Planning to fly out on a Wednesday so I think it should be fine as long as I make it to Jerusalem before shabbat.

Also lurking as I recently booked tickets to go there in January. However earlier this year I went to Lebanon with some friends and therefore i have the stamp in my passport. I've read about it from different sources and as I am solo traveling I'm expecting to be questioned during migration. Has anyone experience with this? Can I do anything to facilitate the process and appear less suspicious?

>1192635
Also how is Israel in general in January? Is the dead sea too cold and what about places like the gardens in Haifa? Does it look bad considering the season?

>>1192635
You will almost certainly be interrogated for hours. The best is to have your itinerary, hotel/hostel bookings, and everything like that printed out. If you know someone in Israel, have his/her name and phone number ready.

>>1192630
Glad I could help you. If you're open to suggestions, I would also recommend visiting Haifa. There's a group on Facebook where guides regularly post announcements for tours through the gardens and the German city center. I had an interesting and concise tour with a very cool dude, can't look him up right now but probably will today or tomorrow.

>>1192635
You'll probably have a shitty time at the airport. Lebanon is one of the MENA stamps you don't want to have.
>>1192656
Regarding the itinerary suggestion, I wouldn't put anything that's in Palestine on it.

I'm leaving on Monday and will be Israel till the 10th of January. The advice given already has been good but do you guys have any more suggestions on what to do in Tel Aviv? I'll probably have two free days in that area and want to stay busy.

>>1192464
This might actually be the best and most informative Israeli thread we've ever had.

Normally it's just /pol/ shitting on the Jews. I'm not a big fan of the current Zionist political situation but to be honest there's just too much there to miss out on over that bs.

>>1192656
>>1192707
Yes I'm pretty prepared for this. Hopefully they'll let me through anyway. One of my dads friends weren't allowed in last year but he had stamps from all over middle east (did business in Saudi etc. ) so I can understand why.
But do you suggest I get a new passport made instead? Maybe it's worth not going through the hassle.

>>1192792
It's a shame you're going in the winter, Tel Aviv beach is amazing.
There's an observation deck on skyscrapers in the Azrieli center. The view ain't Paris but still alright.
Old Yaffo is full of pretentious art galleries, wine shops, hipsters and bohemians, if that's your thing.
There's Ramat Gan safari park not far from Tel Aviv. Not worth it if you're only there for specifically history and culture, but a mini safari for <$20 otherwise.

>>1192630
>>1192667
Found it, the group is called Хaйфa Haifa חיפה, the dude regularly advertises free English language walking tours, just search the group for 'free walking tour'. The schedule is not too regular, you (or anyone else inspired) can msg him for approximate schedule in the future and/or reservation. I don't know if he does this every time but when I was at this tour he walked us through the whole Ba'hai gardens, top to bottom, when official walking excursions don't allow that, either top to middle terrace and temple or bottom to middle.

The west bank was wonderful. Walked around in by myself for 4 days no problems.i am a white male American. Food was wonderful. Jerusalem was nice. Loved the dead sea. Tel avi was like new York city.

>>1192667
I live in Haifa and though there are interesting attractions i'd say a first time visitor should maybe stick to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. If you want I can tell you about Haifa.

>>1193064
Id like to know some more about it. How is the Bahai garden in the during this time of the year? I'm European and gardens is really unenjoyable when it's this cold but maybe it looks the same all year around?
Also what else is there to do there?

>>1193064
Eh, you're probably right. I'm biased because I love Haifa and have family there.

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>>1193073
The Bahai Gardens are really pretty, all time of the year. On rainy days the gates might be closed because they don't want people to slip. The terraces are beatiful and most days of the weeks you could probably easily find a tour there. Should be noted that if you want to enter the temple itself you should be there early because it closes down for visitors around 12am.
After walking down the stairs you reach the German Colony.

The German Colony (A neighberhood that was originally built by templars and nowadays mostly Israeli arabs live there). it's a pretty place too and has a lot of resturants (most resturants in this place are actually ran by arabs, but they are also aimed at tourists so they might be pricey).

From there you could grab a bus to Downtown Haifa, plenty of pubs and resturants which are likely a better choice for lunch.
Downtown Haifa is really lively in the weekends with different clubs and pubs. It's a great opproutinity to visit Haifa's Port which is a nice sight. On Saturdays there's a large flea market and you could eat some decent Hummus there.
There are also museums you could visit but I personally never visit museums when I'm travelling.

From Downtown Haifa you either take the Carmelit, a cablecar that goes through the mountain and can bring you to Carmel Center (where the Behaim temples are), or you could take a bus to Haifa's beaches which are really great in the summer.

Carmel's Center also has a lot of resturants, fast food places and pubs so it might also be fun to visit but there's nothing to really see here besides the gardens.

Haifa takes pride in it's cultural diversity, there are a lot of Christians, Arabs and Jews living here and it creats an interesting mash up in parts of the town. Especially in December where we celebrate Hanukka, Christmas and Eid al-Fitr.That being said, there isn't that much to see so you could probably be done with it after couple of days. There's churches and temples you could visit

1/X

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>>1193084
From the Carmel Center you could keep walking on Moriya Boulevard, but like I said there isn't really anything interesting to see here that you can't see anywhere else.
If you can help it, visit during summer times so you could visit the beaches.

For food you'll find non-Kosher food pretty easliy in Haifa as opposed to say Jerusalem since people here don't give a fuck.

As for general advice, first of all transportation can be tricky like you've probably heard so get an app called Moovit to help you navigate and know schedules.

If you have any more questions hit me up.

>>1193082
Yeah, I love Haifa too but it's hard to get into the mind of someone travelling to Israel. Most tourists come for the reiligious sites. The culture is very Western and nature trips are good but it's not the go-to place for people looking for tracks.

2/2

>>1192794
Let's hope it stays that way. And to be fair, it's not just /pol/ shitting these threads, but the... "other side" as well. Normally stories about being interrogated for hours by the border guards get angry copypasta as reaction.

>>1193085
Thanks a bunch! I'll definitely add Haifa to my itinerary

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>>1192792
Tel Aviv also has the biggest number of preserved Bauhaus buildings in the world. Big chunks of the city were built in the 1930s, and despite it being a unesco heritage site, people still live in them, which makes them that much more charming.
These historic parts of the city are called White City. There are walking tours offered by Bauhaus Center, or you can use an audio guide they give you, or even just set off by yourself. The main Bauhaus street is Dizengoff.

>>1192892
Thank you very much kind anon, you've been a great help.

>>1192921
This is also very reassuring to know as I'd love to visit the West Bank

>>1192888
Well I'll be going to Taba, Egypt to enjoy the beach and I live three blocks from the ocean in California so the Tel Aviv beach isn't that important to me. I'll definitely check out the observation deck and Old Yaffo. Thanks for the suggestions.

>>1193099
I've seen AirBnB listings for Bauhaus apartments, I wasn't aware it was a big thing but I'll try and check it out.

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>>1193104
Go to Dahab instead. Or Sharm, it's the safest and most luxurious.

>pic related, Eilat-Taba border crossing

>>1193143
I already booked multiple days at the Sofitel in Taba. I'll be coming back soon so I'll check out Dahab or Sharm next time.

I was in Jordan/Jerusalem/Palestine a month ago, it was really great. Heard that the Ben Gurion can be hell, like others said but I flew in to Amman, and went over the border from there, if you dont have any previous ME stamps and just tell them you're going to Jerusalem you should get through painlessly. What you should see depends on your interests I guess, but you really should wander the Old City and see the holiest sites. Im not Christian but I saw all the Jesus places and I liked it a lot. Also, I entered the Dome of the rock, you can to but you have to be muslim or lie about being one and recite the creed. Fairly easy to learn and it's very beautiful inside.

>>1192471
>>1192478
Very nice advice. OP, to tell you the "norm" (christian) religious tours are typically 10 days, and with the careful planned coordination of buses, guides, appointments at sights, and all the plans of breakneck speed rushing from place to place, with scheduled premade buffet meals, they only do the basic "major" biblical and holocaust sights. So...

For 7 days, not 10, and doing it on your own, sitting down in restaurants, coordinating your transportation, negotiating opening hours, and last but not least, seeing more local cultural sights that interest you and not only religious places will cost your time and so you'll simply have to just decide to enjoy yourself but that you won't see it ALL on this first trip. You'll be back after going once, and everyone feels that way.

>>1193325
Very useful comparison - thank you kind Anon. For the sake of time I think I'm going to rule out the likes of Haifa, Eliat, Galilee and the Golan and stick just to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the West Bank.

For those who have been - what was your budget for a week? Trying to keep things as budget as possible (dorms, eating at markets) but I am fully aware that Israel is a first world economy and spending should be anticipated as such.

>>1193530
Haifa anon here. Resturants you should typically expect to pay around 60 NIS which is something like 10 bucks. You could find street food for around 20 NIS.

I can't really tell you about hostel prices myself though. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have plenty of choice, as usual just stay away from big hotels.

>>1193530
>>1193714
Taglit anon here just to say that I usually don't pay for shit staying with my mom, but 60 NIS is more like 15 bucks, and USD->NIS exchange course is about 1 to 4. Pound to shekel is about 1 to 5 (wow, pound really weakened since the last time I checked).
There are always fruits and vegetables that are under 10 shekels/kg at markets, they're just really dependent on the season, so for April... be ready to eat a lot of melons, I guess? Don't remember what else is cheap at that time of the year.

Isn't Israel about to be destroyed by fighter jets?

>>1193913
The whole world is going to blow up soon.
Might as well do your travel bucket lists, wherever they take you.

>You might be able to find and pay through the nose for a taxi, but the rule of thumb is, from Friday night to Saturday night you stay where it caught you.

Not entirely true
There are moniot shirut (service taxis) in the central area, mainly between rishon to netanya, that run on shabbat as well. They cost just slightly more than a regular bus, but not nearly as much as small taxis. You wouldn't believe how much they've saved my ass on weekends. There are also lines to Ashkelon and Beer Sheva but they're mainly for the central cities.

>>1193936
For
>>1192471

>>1193143
>sharm
>safe

You've lost your mind. Or you think it's funny to try and get someone killed

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>>1194028
The entire eastern road of Sinai is safe. I went from Taba to Sharm by land and saw some solo tourist stuff and people going to Dahab.

There are at least 4 army checkpoints on a 300km stretch. Sharm el-Sheikh is the most well fortified of them all. Sharm checkpoint has humvees, APCs and a higher soldier count than any other.

Afaik north sinai ISIS don't have MANPADs so even commercial airliners should be okay.

Resorts are as safe as you can get at this point. Don't meme yourself out of a cheap and warm holiday.

>>1194092
Heard the resorts there are fairly cheap too. People like to camp near the beaches and smoke all day though.

>>1192464
Are there ferries from Israel, through the red sea to Hurghada or anywhere elsr in Egypt?

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>>1192656
I'm blonde, not politically active and I have a Swedish name and passport, but I have some old stamps from tourist traps like Dubai and Sharm el Sheikh

Is it likely I will encounter any hassle with immigration?

I'm planning taking a weekend trip to Israel alone and go dancing at the gay bars :3

Picture semi related, she's mostly there to get people's attention

>>1195181
Are you a girl?
I think those countries should be fine because they've esablished relations with Israel. A lot of people travel to Sinai all the time from there so the Egypt one should be fine at least

>>1192464
Warning: Most of my information is somewhat dated, since I lived in Israel from '99 to 2000 and haven't been back since.

Like others have saidl, with more time it's nice and probably feasible to visit the north as well. Might be a good idea to get a rental car if you can afford it as that will save you from a lot of travel-related problems.

In the north: Haifa has already been talked about. A bit further north still is Akko with some very nice crusader-era leftovers.
Inland towards the Sea of Galilee visit Zefat, very nice city, lots of small art galleries etc.
Arond the Sea of Galilee is all the Christian stuff, but just beyond is is the Golan with some very spectacular national parks, if you're into hiking.
North again, the Hule valley and the Jordan springs are very beautiful.

You won't have time for all of that, and probably for none of it if you rely on public transport (though the Haifa-Akko connection is painless and quick), but I thought I'd mention it.

General travel advice: I found that if you look like a tourist, people tend to be more friendly.

A friend of mine went this autumn and learned the hebrew and arabic words for hello, thanks and a few other things beforehand. Apparently that left a very good impression.

>>1192635
Traveled to Israel with two Lebanese stamps. Gave me four hours at the border, most of it just waiting without any information whatsoever while they were going through my Facebook and whatnot (I'd assume). The actual interview is fairly short if you do it correctly.

>Delete Arab phone numbers on your phone
>Any and all references in social media and on your phone/compuer about visits to Hezbollah territory should be deleted
>Be honest and boring, but leave out anything that might be connected to Hezbollah
>Don't tell them you're going to the West Bank, just stick with the traditional tourist places in Israel proper.
>No, you don't have any friends in Lebanon, Israel or Palestine

Just be polite and smile. Their questions are boring and stupid ("did you meet any arabs???!"), just treat them as humans and answer politely. When asked whether I knew any Arabic, I answered "shwayy" ("a little" in Arabic), the guard chuckled. When asked why I wanted to learn Arabic, I asked if the guard had watched the news recently. A little humour goes a long way, and above all, don't get angry with them/flaunt pro-Palestinian political views, you'll be there all night.

You'll be fine, but prepare for a long wait.

>>1195203
>Are you a girl?
Lol no. Why?

>>1195181
They might harass you just because they are butthurt about Sweden recognizing Palestine.