Going to Israel

>>1209089
It's a small country so if you have one week you should also go outside of Tel Aviv. It's only one hour by bus to Jerusalem for example.

>>1209091
Of course! We wish to visit as many places as possible. Tel-Aviv is just a starting point ;)

>>1209092
Go check out the West Bank just because you can. It's easy to go there and back from Jerusalem. At least visit Ramallah and Bethlehem.

The Palestinian beer brand Taybeh is one of the best I've ever had. Especially the dark one. By all means try it. It's not easy to find inside Israel though but it's easy in WB.

>>1209093
All right, noted! Any particular places in Ramallah or Bethlehem? Besides the birthplace of Jesus of course

>>1209104
Wikitravel etc should give you the ideas of the usual. I only dropped by there briefly so I only saw the usual touristy stuff. In addition to Jesus stuff there's a few other historical things near Bethlehem. You can hire a taxi to drive you around for cheap.

I live in israel ask me anything.>>1209089

>>1209361
Fantastic! First of all - how long do you think we should stay in Jerusalem so we can see everything important? Is travelling throughout West Bank by hitchhiking safe? What are the best things to eat? And what are the cheapest?

>>1209685
Israel is small as fuck, you can do everything in Jerusalem in a day easy

Don't go to the West Bank, it's a crap shoot in terms of getting stabbed and hitchhiking is the best way to get kidnapped there
If you wanna go to more "Arab" places, go to Jaffa, Akko and Abu Gosh which are safe and pretty great since the locals are used to tourists, the food is fantastic and everyone is chill

Be sure to stop by Haifa and go to the Bahai Gardens (which are open in the morning so be ready for that because it's such a beautiful place and you don't wanna see the outer gardens and miss out on going inside)

>>1209685
Don't listen to this guy >>1209722 . He's not telling you the truth. He's Israeli so of course he will tell you to not go to West Bank and that it's dangerous.

The truth is that it's easy to visit WB and perfectly safe. Just avoid the settler areas, and even then, if you're clearly a foreigner nobody will harm you. Except maybe settlers who will think you're some kind of leftie activist.

Anyway, check out Ramallah and Bethlehem.

>>1209760
So you're telling the guy not to listen to a local who's been there and instead you're telling him to listen to another person who just popped in there for a little while?
Nothing happened to you so it's perfectly safe and everyone should go?

OP, listen to whomever you want
All I gotta say is that I've been over there for a long period of time and I'm not a right wing nut who's telling you that all Arabs are bad and stay away from them
All I want is that you go another country and have a good time, that's it
Just like if I lived in another country, I'd tell you to stay away from places that might be risky

>>1209767
Hmmm, I have to say I'm getting some mixed signals. I did a little research before coming here and it seems that West Bank is a rather safe place for European tourists. Moreover, according to wikitravel hitchhiking is really safe as long as you are travelling between Jewish cities. Anyone care to explain?

>>1209722

I went to the West Bank, and apart from getting some looks for being the only white person in Ramallah, nothing bad happened.

I stayed there for 3 nights in central Ramallah and travelled to Bethlehem from there by car.

>>1209772
They have a habit of throwing stones on moving vehicles there, a few times a week
You might go there and it's all gonna be fine but I feel better safe than sorry is the best option

Hitchhiking is safe between Jewish cities but hitchhiking isn't something you need to relay upon because public transport is more than enough and you don't see a lot of hitchhikers

As a former soldier who served in that place for 3 years, I worry about your safety
It's not about some race shit, I don't give a fuck about the conflict
I just want to minimize the danger you're in and I've seen enough of what's going on there on a daily basis

This doesn't happen all the time and some places are worst than others but don't think it's gonna be that way all the time for everyone

Just like if you were going to Brazil, I'd tell you to stay away from the Favelas

Like I said, there are a lot of people who did go to those places and were just fine
But I do want you to know the risks and I'm not your mother, you are free to do what you feel is right

>>1209767
>local who's been there
There's no such thing. Israelis are not allowed to go into West Bank.

>>1209780
Once again, you're Israeli. You've been there as a soldier. Whatever you experienced there (as an invader) is absolutely nothing like what a tourist would experience.

That's why you're being told to shut up. Your advice is wrong and doesn't apply. Better listen to actual tourists who have been there.

>>1209772
You don't need to hitchhike. There are buses between major cities in WB and they're really cheap. Hitchhiking should be perfectly safe as well, but probably not that easy as not so many cars will be going to where you are.

>safe as long are you are travelling between Jewish cities

I wonder who could be behind this wiki post.

>>1209780

I think as long as they know you aren't an Israeli they are actually really nice to you in West Bank.

People came and chatted on the street, gave directions, walked me to hotels, complimented my tats. Service was top notch.

Don't get me wrong, speaking to Palestinians there they explicitly say that armed struggle is the only way they will get their land back and stop Israel oppressing them.

Think of it this way, if a Palestinian in WB touches a Western tourist, that shit will be in every paper across the world and destroy any credibility they have for supporting what they perceive as their perpetual struggle against Israel.

Saying that though, Dizengoff street got sprayed by a fag with an AK47 a few days after I left my apartment there.

>>1209786
It's common in new or understated countries that they want to show themselves to the world. West Bank is definitely one of them. I was being treated very nicely by everyone, people stopped to talk to me, wanted to know more about me, and so on. The general underlying message was "when you go back to your country, please tell everyone what you saw and how hard we are working for our country to become better and welcoming everyone".

>>1209089
Don't listen to the Israelis on this board when asking about Israel, they're naturally biased. I mean no offence, but 99% of the time you're gonna get shit advice, especially regarding the West Bank.

In regards to Jerusalem, the old city is nice, but honestly you can see it all in 2/3 days. I spent 4 and thought it was too much (though I'm not into Bible stuff at all, you could spend more if that's your thing). There's really no atmosphere either, politics has ruined it all. Everyone's grumpy all the time, nationalistic feelings from both sides run high, plus you have the occasional stabbing. Temple Mount is fucking nice though.

Tel Aviv is more for beaches and partying if you ask me. Architechture is kinda nice, but remember the city is just over 100 years old, founded as a suburb to Jaffa in 1909, so there's not many historical sites. Go north to Caesarea, Haifa and Nazareth for actual history not in museums. Consider hiking Mount Meron if you like nature stuff. Haven't been further south than Hebron, but I hear the Negev has some pretty solid sights, the Ramon crater for example. Eilat is shit.

In WB, Bethlehem and Ramallah are pretty nice, also Jericho has a legit claim to the title of oldest continously inhabited city on the planet, it's worth checking out. Hebron is only for witnessing the actual conflict, the atmosphere is pretty hostile there. Nablus, Jenin etc, I haven't been, I hear it's nothing spectacular. Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jericho are safe, and people will be happy to see tourists. I don't know about hitchhiking, most people mean no harm, but you never know if the guys picking you up are "most people". I personally wouldn't risk it, seeing as transport down there is dirt cheap in the first place.

in jerusalem i think about four days is enough to see all the historical stuff and museums
its pretty safe there is a lot of security there.
there is this one resturant in jerusalem in the market called "machneyehuda"(מחניהודה) and Its a really good resturant and in tel aviv there is the sarona market you can find there many things to eat. what food are you looking for?
you can find humus and falafel pretty much anywhere. falafel is pretty cheap (about 3$) >>1209685

I'd like to thank all of you guys, I really appreciate your help! Based on your suggestions my friend and I have planned our trip and we hope it will be amazing. We will definitely visit West Bank, as there are plenty places worth seeing. To those concerned about our safety - we will do everything to not get into trouble! And last but not least - for us hitchhiking is more than just saving money - it's an adventure :D