Visiting the Holy Land

[dune]

I'm going to Israel next year but have made no plans yet other than sorting out flights, has anyone been? What are the best sites/cities? Is public transport (trains) good between tel aviv and other cities? Has anyone hired a car instead of using public transport?

[ericofarabia]

Thought this was going to be about us expats returning home for a game or even just a visit

[dubai_phil]

Just a minor point of pedantry...

 

Just do googling before you go on what "must visit" sites you absolutely totally really must see...

 

As quite a few Holy Sites (but not a lot) are actually next door in Jordan and commuting so to speak isn't the best use of a day of holiday

[Gemmel]

I went last year and one of the most amazing / bizarre trips I have ever done and would recommend it 100%

 

If you havent booked your flights yet, fly from Luton on Easy Jet and save over 500 quid.

 

Don't be alarmed at the questioning or on being detained on the way in, these guys are paranoid, but once you have done the tours or spoken to the locals, you get to understand why. They have been attacked by so many different fractions over the years, that everyone is a suspect. Still not sure what my passport triggered off, but was hauled away and asked to list every country i had visted in the last 5 years (I travel a lot for work and have a shocking memory) but produced a list and they came back demanding to know why I had left out Canada and what was I doing there..... Canada...WTF??? Oh and if anyone knows how they knew that, I would be very grateful. A 50 min ordeal that had me owrried, but they thanked me and let me in.

 

I wouldnt hire a car, the City itself is very accessible and for trips to Jerusalem etc, then there is a direct train (If the concrete has set yet) or plenty of coach trips.... GET A GUIDE, if you do nothing else, just get a guide. There is a story and reason behind everything they do or see and the history is complex. A one on one guide will cost you about 300 quid for the day, but there are plenty of group trips that will make it cheaper .

 

Make sure you new the new and old cities of jerusalem.

 

A truly amazing trip, that will throw up more questions than it answers and a real insight into country torn apart by war, but bonded by religion. My guide explained how the peace treaty / agreement with the pallistinians was 95% agreed and infact walls and divdes have started to be built, but will never be finished, the last 5% agreement will never happen and is ultimatley the most significant part of the whole deal..... all this in a Muslim state!

 

The only down side to the whole trip was the flight back. Exactly the same issues as the way in, followed by my laptop testing positive for explosives(It was a complete set up) lots of alarms and screamming security people and well, I will leave the rest to your imagination. My lap top and I didnt fly home together and later found out this is actually quite common, so if it happens to you stay calm, even when you are in the little room with just your boxers on :)

 

Enjoy, it will be an amazing trip

[dune]

I went last year and one of the most amazing / bizarre trips I have ever done and would recommend it 100%

 

If you havent booked your flights yet, fly from Luton on Easy Jet and save over 500 quid.

 

Don't be alarmed at the questioning or on being detained on the way in, these guys are paranoid, but once you have done the tours or spoken to the locals, you get to understand why. They have been attacked by so many different fractions over the years, that everyone is a suspect. Still not sure what my passport triggered off, but was hauled away and asked to list every country i had visted in the last 5 years (I travel a lot for work and have a shocking memory) but produced a list and they came back demanding to know why I had left out Canada and what was I doing there..... Canada...WTF??? Oh and if anyone knows how they knew that, I would be very grateful. A 50 min ordeal that had me owrried, but they thanked me and let me in.

 

I wouldnt hire a car, the City itself is very accessible and for trips to Jerusalem etc, then there is a direct train (If the concrete has set yet) or plenty of coach trips.... GET A GUIDE, if you do nothing else, just get a guide. There is a story and reason behind everything they do or see and the history is complex. A one on one guide will cost you about 300 quid for the day, but there are plenty of group trips that will make it cheaper .

 

Make sure you new the new and old cities of jerusalem.

 

A truly amazing trip, that will throw up more questions than it answers and a real insight into country torn apart by war, but bonded by religion. My guide explained how the peace treaty / agreement with the pallistinians was 95% agreed and infact walls and divdes have started to be built, but will never be finished, the last 5% agreement will never happen and is ultimatley the most significant part of the whole deal..... all this in a Muslim state!

 

The only down side to the whole trip was the flight back. Exactly the same issues as the way in, followed by my laptop testing positive for explosives(It was a complete set up) lots of alarms and screamming security people and well, I will leave the rest to your imagination. My lap top and I didnt fly home together and later found out this is actually quite common, so if it happens to you stay calm, even when you are in the little room with just your boxers on :)

 

Enjoy, it will be an amazing trip

 

Am flying from Luton and it works out at 250 each (including hold bags).

 

I don't fancy day trips from Tel Aviv - was thinking more of a touring holiday and so far only have Jerusalem pencilled in for a few nights. I know Acre was a big crusader port and that appeals, but with it being right up north might be too much driving.

 

Car hire is cheap at around 300 quid for 18 days.

 

Hotels are very expensive though so will have to put some effort into finding the best deals and may even book direct into guest houses some of which get good reviews.

Edited 22 November, 2011 by dune

[Saint_Jonny]

Wouldn't have had you down as the religious type, Dune. Surprising. (if indeed you are)

Edited 22 November, 2011 by Saint_Jonny

[dune]

Wouldn't have had you down as the religious type, Dune. Surprising.

 

I'm not.

[Dog]

Went to Israel in 1986, visited Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethlehem Etc.

Very strange country, everyone was carrying guns, bazookas and anti aircraft weapons on the beach, in the pubs, clubs and restaurants.

Food was outstanding though, and the beef was excellent. Loads of aircraft flying over constantly and check points everywhere.

The day we hired a car and went to Jerusalem and ended up in a residential area to be confronted by 100+ scarfed up & tooled up Palestine youth was one of the worst experiences in my life, personally I don't know how we got out there alive, as they ran at us from 300yds away and I am convinced to this day they were going to kill us.

Worth a visit, but would never go back again.

Women are beautiful and the Dead sea stinks of farts, and you will sink if you stand up outside the bathing area.

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

Wouldn't consider going in the current political climate but out of interest is it difficult moving to/from the Occupied Territories?

[FloridaMarlin]

I've got rellies over there. Last visited three years ago for a nephew's Bar-Mitzvah.

 

It really is an incredible country and it would take you a month of touring to do it justice.

 

Jewish people are the friendliest people on earth, Israelis are the rudest.

 

Over 60 years of surviving every threat to the country's existence so far has left Sabras (the name for native-born Israelis) with a take-no-crap-from-anyone attitude.

 

Queues are just a concept and fully expect to be barged out of the way or crowded out.

 

To be honest, I would think twice about hiring a car. Israelis are ill-mannered lunatics behind the wheel. Most of them learned by driving jeeps in the army and certainly in Tel-Aviv, drive as though they are still behind the wheel of one. Tel-Aviv has the worst record for traffic accidents in the world after Tehran.

 

Where to go?

 

Where to start?

 

You will, of course want to visit Jerusalem, and why not. Even if you are not religious, you cannot fail to be moved by the significance of the place.

 

You can catch a train to Jerusalem from Tel-Aviv, it's a great journey on a line built by the Ottoman Empire.

 

It may not suit your sensitivities but you can also travel from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem by Sherut, a shared taxi or mini-van.

 

On the main highway look out for the red painted armoured vehicles, left there as a reminder of the battle in 1948 to include Jerusalem in the new state.

 

In Jerusalem, you will want to go to the main sights; the Western Wall, the church of the Holy Sepulchre and the musuem housing the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

The best view of Jerusalem is from the graveyard on the Mount of Olives.

 

But make sure you visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial. You will leave it with any preconceptions you might have had about the Nazi attempts to destroy European Jewry completely banished, and you will also understand why Israeli soldiers are taken there to swear their oath of allegiance, and why Israelis have fought so hard to make sure there will always be a country for Jews.

 

If you can get out further afield, go to the Dead Sea, and Masada, the mountain-top hill fort which held out against the Romans for so long before the defenders realised there was no way out and killed themselves.

 

As one of my rellies was a captain in the IDF, I was lucky enough to gain access to certain roads on the Golan Heights not open to the general public, but there's still a lot of the Golan you can see. Again, if you can get up there (and remember, Israel is not a big country west-to-east) you'll see why Israel does not want to give it up.

 

In Tel-Aviv, the best museum is the Museum of the Diaspora.

 

I could go on and bore the hell out of you. As you can gather, I love the place.

 

All I would ask is that you don't go there with any pre-conceived ideas of who has the moral high ground.

 

Talk to people, they'll be happy to give an opinion! And then form your own judgement.

[Gemmel]

Floridamarlin does it far more justice than I could and you can sense his passion for the place.

 

It is actually very hard to to articulate, what an incredible place it is and anyone who has the chance to go, should.

 

Don't worry about what religion you are or aren't, it will still have a profound affect on you.

 

 

Oh and dune, put a skullcap on and go upto the wailing wall.

[Crab Lungs]

I can feel an Israeli/Jewish girl thread coming on... they're curious-looking creatures, aren't they?

 

Seriously though, would love to go and visit myself.

[dune]

Thanks for the great replies. I won't be wearing a skull cap though as i'm English C of E!

 

They sound pretty mad drivers, but i'm a confident driver so not overly concerned. It just takes the hassle out of organising/catching public transport. Basically i'll dump the car at the hotel car parks anyway and only use it for traveling between hotels.

Edited 22 November, 2011 by dune

[pedg]

Remember Dune to wear this t-shirt

 

 

they love irony honest!

[um pahars]

Went Xmas?new Year 97 and didn't enjoy it one bit. Loved the landscape and the historical sites and relics but just struggled to reconcile that with those who currently inhabit the place.

 

I found it hard to get past the almost apartheid system I witnessed whereby those of "Arab" origin were treated appallingly and found the attitude of many who were only too happy to dish out such awful treatment to be depressing.

 

We had no problem getting in to the country, but were struggling to get out (a combination of a Cuban stamp in my passport, apparently "looking nervous" - when in reality we were hungover from NYE as flew out of Ovda on New Years Day and an El Al plane on the runway).

 

Had a much more pleasurable and interesting time travelling through Jordan a year later.

Edited 22 November, 2011 by um pahars

[alpine_saint]

I also want to "do" the Middle East before I shuffle off my mortal coil. Israel and Egypt are top of the list, followed by Jordan and Turkey.

 

I swore blind to my wife I am going to attend midnight mass at Bethlehem on Christmas Eve before I die.

[alpine_saint]

I've got rellies over there. Last visited three years ago for a nephew's Bar-Mitzvah.

 

It really is an incredible country and it would take you a month of touring to do it justice.

 

Jewish people are the friendliest people on earth, Israelis are the rudest.

 

Over 60 years of surviving every threat to the country's existence so far has left Sabras (the name for native-born Israelis) with a take-no-crap-from-anyone attitude.

 

Queues are just a concept and fully expect to be barged out of the way or crowded out.

 

To be honest, I would think twice about hiring a car. Israelis are ill-mannered lunatics behind the wheel. Most of them learned by driving jeeps in the army and certainly in Tel-Aviv, drive as though they are still behind the wheel of one. Tel-Aviv has the worst record for traffic accidents in the world after Tehran.

 

Where to go?

 

Where to start?

 

You will, of course want to visit Jerusalem, and why not. Even if you are not religious, you cannot fail to be moved by the significance of the place.

 

You can catch a train to Jerusalem from Tel-Aviv, it's a great journey on a line built by the Ottoman Empire.

 

It may not suit your sensitivities but you can also travel from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem by Sherut, a shared taxi or mini-van.

 

On the main highway look out for the red painted armoured vehicles, left there as a reminder of the battle in 1948 to include Jerusalem in the new state.

 

In Jerusalem, you will want to go to the main sights; the Western Wall, the church of the Holy Sepulchre and the musuem housing the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

The best view of Jerusalem is from the graveyard on the Mount of Olives.

 

But make sure you visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial. You will leave it with any preconceptions you might have had about the Nazi attempts to destroy European Jewry completely banished, and you will also understand why Israeli soldiers are taken there to swear their oath of allegiance, and why Israelis have fought so hard to make sure there will always be a country for Jews.

 

If you can get out further afield, go to the Dead Sea, and Masada, the mountain-top hill fort which held out against the Romans for so long before the defenders realised there was no way out and killed themselves.

 

As one of my rellies was a captain in the IDF, I was lucky enough to gain access to certain roads on the Golan Heights not open to the general public, but there's still a lot of the Golan you can see. Again, if you can get up there (and remember, Israel is not a big country west-to-east) you'll see why Israel does not want to give it up.

 

In Tel-Aviv, the best museum is the Museum of the Diaspora.

 

I could go on and bore the hell out of you. As you can gather, I love the place.

 

All I would ask is that you don't go there with any pre-conceived ideas of who has the moral high ground.

 

Talk to people, they'll be happy to give an opinion! And then form your own judgement.

 

You could go on and on, and I would be fascinated. Thankyou for sharing that stuff with us.

[dune]

Went Xmas?new Year 97 and didn't enjoy it one bit. Loved the landscape and the historical sites and relics but just struggled to reconcile that with those who currently inhabit the place.

 

I found it hard to get past the almost apartheid system I witnessed whereby those of "Arab" origin were treated appallingly and found the attitude of many who were only too happy to dish out such awful treatment to be depressing.

 

I'm sure i'll cope.

[View From The Top]

 

Jewish people are the friendliest people on earth, Israelis are the rudest.

 

 

Yep.

 

Haven't been myself since '92 and found it the most confusing place on earth but did find it hardened be the the cause of Palestine.

 

Would consider going back if I could combine it with a trip to Jordan.

[Jonnyboy]

Based on hanging out with Israelis in Bangkok, the girls are very fit, the food is delicious and yes they are very loud and rude but a laugh when p*ssed.

[dubai_phil]

I'm not.

 

Ditto, but having been to Jordan (and Syria) a number of times, going to those sites is a must for anyone who can. It puts the reality of the central point of Religion into stark contrast versus the "Big Business" of Religion ie giving people "comfort", and owning huge tracts of the planet and and and and....

[dubai_phil]

I also want to "do" the Middle East before I shuffle off my mortal coil. Israel and Egypt are top of the list, followed by Jordan and Turkey.

 

I swore blind to my wife I am going to attend midnight mass at Bethlehem on Christmas Eve before I die.

 

IF it settles back down then you have to include Syria in the list. Jordan can be done in 2 days, Syria 4 or 5. Cairo 2 days & Luxor etc another day with some time on the Red Sea.

 

Damascus, Alleppo, Palmyra, Homs, Crac Des Chavaliers... once the idiots settle down & the dinosaur leaves and praying it doesn't go nuts it is a wonderful place.

 

Unfortunately for us a trip into Israel ain't gonna happen (see Gemmel's post) our passports would tell them the wrong story

[Dog]

I also want to "do" the Middle East before I shuffle off my mortal coil. Israel and Egypt are top of the list, followed by Jordan and Turkey.

 

I swore blind to my wife I am going to attend midnight mass at Bethlehem on Christmas Eve before I die.

 

Why, do they give out free mince pies & bum you in their cellar?

[wokingsaints]

lucky boy, i am desperate to visit israel, but the better half is not keen.

 

my mate went recently, and upon arrival got the rubber glove and torch treatment

 

can't wait!