Israel Travel Guide
Israel has been a tourism destination for over two thousand years. Whether it's their first journey, or a return trip to a land that has become a second home, travelers continue to come, although visitor numbers are way down from what they were during the years of the Peace Process in the 1990s. What does this mean for potential visitors? There are advantages and disadvantages.
On the plus side, in response to the wave of tourists that descended on Israel for the turn of the millennium, many new hotels were built, and many older hotels were extensively renovated and expanded. Tourism in 2003 is back to its 1980s levels, but there's now an enlarged hotel and country guest-house infrastructure with spanking new rooms that are going for a pittance.
Israel used to be a relatively expensive country where it was hard to find good value for your money. All that has changed. Now more than ever, the Eleventh Commandment is, in effect, "Thou Shalt Not Pay Full Price for Hotel Rooms!" Check out the travel agencies advertising special rates in the on-line daily Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com). The deals you can get from packagers or by booking independently are exceptional, but you have to plan ahead for the very best deals. On the other hand, for the first time in years, it's easy to freewheel when you visit Israel -- rooms are available everywhere, and rental cars can be arranged on the spot. Travelers to Israel (myself included) report receiving lots of personal attention at hotels, restaurants, museums and historical sites.
Actual (as opposed to published) hotel prices are constantly changing and subject to bargaining, but at the moment, travelers on moderate budgets can upgrade to previously unattainable luxury hotels like Jerusalem's King David for the a fairly reasonable price. Jerusalem's newest luxury hotel, the David Citadel, built in 1998 as a rival to the nearby King David, is now officially offering double rooms with breakfast included for $180, and bargaining or a good travel package might even bring that price down.
Throughout the country, facilities at museums, national parks, nature reserves and holy sites were all been renovated and upgraded to accommodate the deluge of millennium visitors (naturally, most of these projects were not completed until the millennium crowds had come and gone). As you tour biblical and archeological sites throughout the Israel, you'll be among the first to enjoy the many new, inventive, state-of-the-art visitors centers that help you to understand and connect with these places in a personal way. You'll also find these sites are free of the usual hordes of tourists
You'll find that security is good inside Israel, and daily life continues as usual. While the rest of the world is adapting to new standards of vigilance against terrorism, the security drill is second nature for Israelis. Israelis used to say, "Where else in the world do you have your bags checked before you are allowed to enter a supermarket, department store, theater or café?" The answer to that question is now an increasingly long list of places. Security checks are likely to be the most you'll see of the Middle East's political problems when you visit Israel (or even Jordan and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula).
Security Updates
For the latest updates on travel to Israel from the U.S. State Department, go to: travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html. For advisories geared towards citizens from the U.K. and Commonwealth countries, check out www.fco.gov.uk.
The U.S. State Department (and many European foreign ministries) advise travelers to avoid municipal buses in Israel during the morning and evening rush hours; avoid visiting shopping malls and crowded places like the Mahane Yehuda vegetable market in Jerusalem -- especially on Thursdays when it is crowded with pre-Shabbat shoppers; and avoid the Old City of Jerusalem on Fridays, the Islamic day of prayer.
The Old City of Jerusalem has so far been quiet, but the sacred Islamic Temple Mount/Harem Es Sharif complex in Jerusalem's Old City, site of the magnificent Dome of the Rock and the El Aksa Mosque, has been closed to non-Muslims until further notice. For now, visitors will have to be content to view these two landmarks from vantage points elsewhere inside the Old City. Again, both Palestinian and Israeli merchants in the Old City bazaars are desperate for business and are being incredibly nice to travelers. Bargains abound!
Sadly, the West Bank/Palestinian Authority area continues to be in turmoil, which means its ancient towns of Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and Jericho are totally off limits until conditions improve. If you were planning to spend much of your time visiting those places, this is not the time to come.
