 Herod the Great sat in one of these seats. by Grazina | Tips and photos of Israel tourist attractions and tourist traps, posted by real travelers and Israel locals. Map |
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This is a very pretty garden that is touted as the "real" Golgotha. The tour guides are very happy to tell you that "of course, no one knows where it really was" with a wink and a nod, then go on to tell you that this is truely the most blessed spot for any person to come, and that there have been "many conversions to the true faith" here. Then they take you through a "gift shop" where you really can't leave until you make a purchase. (Go through the bath room area, and there's a back door leading to the street. No one will bother you if that's the way you decide to exit.) Your "receipt" is your exit pass. This garden is right next to a horribly smelly gas station, the exhaust fumes from tour buses wafts directly up the hill to the garden area.
Turn your pockets inside out, or leave your money somewhere else. Walk the gardens without a tour guide. Take a gas mask for the exhaust fumes.
Go to any other garden spot in the city. Try the Garden of gethsemane, the gardens at the university, Yad Veshem , or any one of a thousand places. Leave a Comment
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Visiting Israel?
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If you are thinking in travel to Israel the first thing to bear in mind is to have a valid passport. Also is important to check with the Israeli Embassy whether a visa is required.
The period of stay with a normal tourist visa is three months and transit visas are issued for five-day stopovers in Israel.
If you have some Arabic stamps in your passport, prepare to be questioned... They will check everything and everyone.
Israel has a limited number of entry points.
By air: Ben-Gurion International Airport
Sea-ports: Haifa, Ashdod, Eilat and Tel Aviv.
Land borders:
- Allenby Bridge, tel (02) 994-2626: private cars are permitted but not taxis and hire cars and visitors who require visas for Israel must obtain these before crossing the border.
- Arava, tel (07) 336812: Private cars are permitted and also buses runing from the Jordania side to Petra. You may have to wait for two hours to cross the border.
- Jordan River, tel (06) 658-6442
- Rafiah, tel (07) 673-4274
-Taba, tel (07) 597-6115: Open 24 hours. Buses run from Eliat.
Exit fees are payable at the land border crossings, as are entry fees into Jordan and Egypt.
Also anyone entering Israel from the Gaza Strip is required to clear Isreal immigration at one of four checkpoints.
BEAR IN MIND that most borders are closed on Yom Kippur and on certain Muslim holidays. Leave a Comment
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In case you'll decide go shop in some of the stores in Tel-Aviv's Central Station ( especially the ones on the 6th and the 4th floor ) , you would probably come across a unique and somehow unpleasant fact :
In plenty of those stores the salesmen do not show up the prices for their goods . In case you'll show some interest in those goods , the seller would give you a cheesy grin and would tell something like : "Don't worry , just try it , and I'll sell you this for an excellent price !" .
Trust me , I can tell you from experience : the so-called "excellent" price is definately going to be excellently ... high ! As soon as you'll hear the number of shekels you'll have to give away , all your good mood would fade away , and this so-necessary thing you just wanted to buy would look like the most useless thing in the world !
I can remember that time when I wanted to buy a pair of sandals in one of those stores at the Central Station . The sandals have obviously been made of cheap , low-quality fake leather , and I haven't imagined they would cost more than 70 shekels . And guess what - the salesman had the nerve to ask ... 300 shekels ! So here ...
In case you still strongly desire to buy the thing , try to bargain :-) Some of those salesmen are eager to sell their goods , so they can give up on a few dozens of shekels :-)
Simply avoid shopping in this kind of stores . If the salesman does not give you the necessary information immideately - feel free to turn your back and go to other store , where you would get more decent service :-) Leave a Comment
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 Dead Sea by Carmela71
We both had roaming from our respective countries, so we though there was not going to be any problem.
At the begining was fine, as we were only phoning to a mobile phone of the same company as the one we were on roaming there (orange). But once we tried to phone another telephone from another company, they did not recognise the number, so we had to change continuosly of company anytime we had to phone someone .... a nightmare lol... Leave a Comment
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 Herod the Great sat in one of
these seats. by Grazina
Just go with the flow, remember this is the Holy Land and every Tom, Dick, and Harry will be here with you or not.
When I was there, yes there was plenty of people, but you can alway venture off and be by your self to take in all the beauty. But then you'll be missing out on some of the theatric that some of the tour guides do for their visitor. Leave a Comment
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Visiting Israel?
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No vaccinations are required to enter Israel except yellow fever if aariving from an infected area. Leave a Comment
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The unit of currency in Israel is the New Israeli shekel (NIS).
However, you cna bring an unlimited amount of cash or travellerīs cheques into the country.
Some shops accept foreign currency, although change will be in shekels.
Most credit cards are accepted and money can be changed in hotels as well.
In my experience, was not really a problem.
The fist day I have changed some Euro into Shekels and later, I was able to take money (shekels) from cashier machines without no problem at all.
I have also pay by credit card in some shops as convenience. Leave a Comment
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There are Israel Tourist Offices in many cities around the world, but you can also find them in Israel in the major towns as:
- Jerusalem: Jaffa Gate - tel (02) 628-0382
- Eilat: Arava Hoghway Corner - tel (07) 637-2111
- Haifa: 48 Ben Gurion Boulevard - tel (04) 851-2208
and at Ben Gurion International Airport - tel (03) 971-1145
You can also check the information that the Tourist offices offer you and contrast with the local people in the cities you are visiting. This will bring you further information about the things that are going on at the moment you are visiting the country.
You can also check: www.infotour.co.il Leave a Comment
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 by sandravdp
Don't buy too expensive mineral water, learn some Hebrew and Arabian numbers -locals pay less!-
Don't visit Tiberias at the the Lake of Galilea when there is a festival (in august). It is very touristic and too expensive at that time! Visit another time and book your stay in a guesthouse or hostel. The hotels are very expensive! I had to pay up 150 dollars for a one night stay, because at festival time you could only get rooms at expensive hotels, all guesthouses and hostels were full. Leave a Comment
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No lie, it's a rip off. Also, they harrass you to death. Go around to the Jewish Quarter, where the atmosphere is calm, peaceful and the shopkeepers do not bully you at all--plus you can sit and eat in peace, and walk to the kotel (western wall).
Do not be bullied. Do not get pickpocketed by the hordes of children. The shopkeepers will ploy you until you give in--walk away without explaining because no explanation will be good enough. This is business.
Take the 38 bus from anywhere along King George street and arrive at the Jewish Quarter.
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