Most visitors from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Australia, and European Union member states do not need a visa sticker for
tourism or short business stays of up to 90 days. Since 1 January 2025 they do
need an approved ETA-IL (Electronic Travel Authorization) before they board a
flight or ship. Apply only on the official Population and Immigration
Authority site, whose address ends in gov.il (israel-entry.piba.gov.il).
Third-party sites charge extra and cannot issue the authorization.
The fee
is 25 shekels (about 7 US dollars) and is not refunded if the application is
refused. Most approvals arrive by email within minutes, though some take up to
72 hours. Apply at least a few days ahead, and earlier if your name, passport,
or travel history is complicated. The authorization is valid for up to two
years, or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. A new passport,
or a change of name, gender, or citizenship, requires a new application. It
covers tourism, business meetings, short study, and transit. It does not cover
paid work or medical treatment. Dual Israeli citizens, holders of a valid
Israeli visa, diplomats, and crew on the airline manifest are exempt.
Carry
the approval on your phone and as a printout. Airlines check it at the gate,
and border control can ask for it again. The official minimum is a passport
valid for at least three months (90 days) from the day you enter, with a blank
page. Many airlines still apply a six-month rule, so six months beyond entry
is the safer standard. Officers may ask for a return or onward ticket, a hotel
booking or a host invitation letter, and proof of funds. Answer briefly and
directly. Do not volunteer political opinions.
Israel does not stamp
passports by default if you ask for a separate entry card. That card is the
proof of legal stay, so keep it until you leave. A clean passport matters if
you later travel to countries that restrict entry after an Israeli stamp,
including Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Ben Gurion security interviews are routine
on arrival and departure. Expect questions about where you are staying, who
you are meeting, and what is in your bags.
Duty-free allowances for adults
18 and over are 1 liter of spirits and 2 liters of wine. Tobacco is capped at
250 grams, and cigarettes at 200 (one carton), not 250. Perfume is limited to
250 ml. Other gifts and personal goods are exempt up to about 200 US dollars
per traveler aged 2 and over. Food inside that allowance may total 3 kg, with
no more than 1 kg of any one type. If a single item is worth more than 200
dollars, tax is charged on the full value, not the excess. Declare cash,
checks, and payment instruments of 50,000 shekels or more at airports, and
12,000 shekels or more at land borders with Egypt and Jordan (Allenby, Taba,
Rabin, Jordan River, Nitzana). Failure to declare can bring a fine.
Buy
travel insurance that explicitly covers Israel, including medical evacuation
and trip interruption. Many standard policies have excluded or limited cover
since late 2023. Confirm the wording before you pay, and carry the policy
number offline.
The US State Department rated Israel Level 3 (Reconsider
Travel) in its 26 August 2026 reissue, citing terrorism and unrest. It advises
against travel north of the Route 85–90–87 corridor, within about 7 miles
(11.3 km) of the Gaza Strip, and within about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the
Israel–Egypt border except the Taba (Menachem Begin) crossing. Gaza itself is
Level 4 (Do Not Travel) and is not a tourist destination. The West Bank has
its own Level 3 advisory. Checkpoints can close with little notice. The US
Embassy in Jerusalem noted West Bank checkpoint closures on 5 and 7 October
2026. Street crime against tourists is relatively low in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem,
and Haifa. The risk that changes a trip is regional conflict, rocket alerts,
and sudden road closures, not pickpocketing.
Download the Home Front
Command app (Pikud HaOref) before you land, and enable location alerts.
Hotels, malls, and public buildings have shelters, marked with a shelter sign.
If a siren sounds, follow locals: move to the nearest shelter or protected
stairwell and stay until the all-clear, usually about 10 minutes. Enroll in
your embassy’s traveler registration system (STEP for US citizens) so the
consulate can reach you if flights or borders close.
Spring (March through May) and autumn (late September through November) are
the most comfortable seasons for a trip to Israel. Daytime temperatures are
warm without being harsh, evenings cool enough for a light jacket, and long
walks through the Old City of Jerusalem or the paths at Masada stay pleasant.
Coastal humidity is moderate, desert dust is less frequent than in high
summer, and hotel and flight prices sit between the winter low and the summer
peak.
Summer (June through August) is hot. On the Mediterranean coast, Tel
Aviv and Haifa often reach 30–35°C with high humidity; the Dead Sea and the
Negev regularly climb above 40°C, and midday hiking at Masada, Ein Gedi, or in
the Ramon Crater is unsafe without an early start and several litres of water.
Air conditioning is standard in hotels, buses, and malls, but outdoor sites
offer little shade. Beach time is the main compensation.
Winter is mild on
the coast, often 15–20°C and rainy in bursts, and colder and wetter in
Jerusalem, where nights can fall near freezing. Snow is rare but possible on
higher ground, including the city itself and the Golan Heights. The Dead Sea
and Eilat stay warm enough for swimming. Winter is a good season for desert
sites and for lower room rates, with the caveat of shorter days and occasional
road closures in the north after heavy rain.
Plan the itinerary around the
Jewish calendar rather than against it. Shabbat begins shortly before sunset
on Friday and ends at nightfall on Saturday, roughly 25 hours. In Jerusalem
most shops, restaurants, museums, and public transport close; the Old City
feels quiet, and taxis are scarce and expensive. Tel Aviv remains far more
open: cafes, the beach promenade, and many restaurants operate, and some local
buses run a reduced service. Haifa is more secular still. National trains
generally stop for the whole period. Buy food, water, and cash before Friday
afternoon, and confirm Friday closing times for any site you need that day.
Kosher restaurants that stay open may switch to a preset Shabbat menu.
Yom
Kippur, usually in September or October, is the quietest day of the year. Ben
Gurion Airport handles no commercial flights, roads are almost empty, and most
of the country fasts from sundown to sundown. Passover (spring) and Sukkot
(autumn) bring large domestic crowds, school holidays, full hotels, and higher
prices, especially in Jerusalem and at popular nature reserves. Both holidays,
like the rest of the Jewish year, move with the lunar calendar, so the exact
dates change every year and should be checked for the season you travel. Rosh
Hashanah and Shavuot create shorter but similar slowdowns.
Sunday is an
ordinary working day. The Israeli weekend is Friday–Saturday, not
Saturday–Sunday, so museums, offices, and many shops reopen on Sunday morning
while Christian sites may still be marking their own day of rest.
Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), in Lod roughly halfway between Tel
Aviv and Jerusalem, is Israel’s main gateway and the airport almost every
visitor uses. Terminal 3 handles nearly all international flights. Terminal 1
is used mainly for some low-cost and domestic services, so check the terminal
on your booking before you leave for the airport.
Departure security is
longer and more personal than at most European or North American hubs.
Screening starts at the vehicle checkpoint on the access road, then moves to a
face-to-face interview in the departures hall before check-in. Officers ask
where you stayed, who you met, what you did, and why you came. Answers should
be short, calm, and consistent with your bookings. Electronics may be swabbed,
and bags can be opened. The whole process often adds 20 to 40 minutes, and
queues grow during the morning banks of flights to Europe and North America.
Arrive at least three hours before an international departure. Four hours is
safer on a Friday afternoon, before a Jewish holiday, or if you are traveling
with a group and heavy luggage. Keep hotel receipts and onward tickets easy to
show.
On arrival, passport control issues an entry slip rather than
stamping most passports. Keep that slip until you leave. Baggage claim and
customs are usually straightforward once you are through immigration. Free
Wi-Fi, ATMs, currency exchange, and SIM counters are in the arrivals hall. The
shekel is the currency. Cards are widely accepted, but a small cash float
helps for taxis and small shops.
The airport rail station sits under
Terminal 3. Follow the train signs after baggage claim. When Israel Railways
is running, the ride to Tel Aviv HaHagana, HaShalom, or Savidor Center takes
about 15 to 25 minutes. The fast electric line reaches Jerusalem–Yitzhak
Navon, beside the central bus station, in roughly 25 to 35 minutes and avoids
Highway 1 traffic. Trains are frequent on weekdays and into the evening,
thinner late at night, and do not run on Shabbat or most Jewish holidays,
typically from Friday afternoon until Saturday after nightfall. Buy a ticket
at a machine or counter, or tap a Rav-Kav card or a contactless bank card.
Fares into Tel Aviv or Jerusalem are usually only a few tens of shekels. There
is a quick bag scan before the platform. Confirm times in the Israel Railways
app, because engineering work and security events change the timetable.
Official taxis and pre-booked private transfers wait outside arrivals and run
around the clock, including Shabbat. Agree the fare or insist on the meter,
and expect roughly 45 to 70 minutes to central Jerusalem and less to Tel Aviv,
depending on traffic. Ride apps such as Gett and Yango are another fixed-price
option. Shared sherut vans were long the cheaper door-to-door choice, but the
old fixed airport services to Jerusalem and Haifa have been reduced or
dropped, so do not count on a van waiting. Intercity sheruts still run on some
routes inside the country and are worth asking about if you are not in a
hurry.
Inside Israel, the railway is the cleanest way to move between Tel
Aviv, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, and Jerusalem when it is operating. City buses are
frequent on weekdays. In Jerusalem the light rail is useful for the Old City
and the central belt, but it stops for Shabbat. Tel Aviv’s light rail and
buses follow the same weekend pause, with only limited night or “Shabbat bus”
cover in some areas. Rav-Kav is the reloadable national transit card. Buy it
at the airport station or a major stop, register it so the balance can be
recovered if it is lost, and use it for trains, buses, and light rail. Bus
drivers do not take cash. The Moovit app is the practical way to check routes
and live departures.
Rent a car only if you are leaving the cities for the
Galilee, the Negev, or the coast. Drivers are assertive, and parking in Tel
Aviv and Jerusalem is scarce and expensive. Many rental policies exclude
border zones and parts of the West Bank, and some companies will not let you
take the car into Palestinian Authority areas at all. Drive on the right.
Distances look small on a map and take longer than you expect because of
traffic, Friday afternoon rushes, and checkpoints. Highway 1 between Tel Aviv
and Jerusalem and the coastal road into Haifa clog easily on weekday mornings.
English is widely spoken in hotels, restaurants, tourist sites, and on the
railway. Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages. A few words of Hebrew
are appreciated: shalom for hello, toda for thank you, bevakasha for please or
you’re welcome, and ken and lo for yes and no. Road signs are usually in
Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Friday afternoons and Saturdays slow the country
down, so plan airport transfers and intercity moves around the Shabbat
shutdown rather than against it.
Israel uses the new Israeli shekel (ILS), also written NIS, with the symbol
₪. One shekel is divided into 100 agorot. Banknotes run from 20 to 200
shekels; coins cover 10 agorot up to 10 shekels. In cities, cards and
contactless payments work almost everywhere, including most restaurants,
hotels, museums, and larger shops. Keep some cash for open-air markets, small
independent taxis, religious sites that ask for a donation, and the occasional
kiosk that still prefers notes. ATMs are easy to find in towns and at Ben
Gurion Airport. Foreign cards usually work; decline dynamic currency
conversion and let the charge go through in shekels.
Tipping is expected.
In restaurants, leave about 10-15 percent if service is not already on the
bill; some places add it automatically for larger groups, so check before you
add more. Hotel porters usually get a few shekels per bag. For taxis, round
the fare up rather than calculating a percentage. Guides on organized day
trips often expect a small tip at the end of the day.
Tap water is treated
and safe to drink in cities and most towns. Bottled water is optional except
in very remote spots or if you simply prefer the taste. A local SIM or an eSIM
bought at the airport, from a carrier such as Partner, Cellcom, or Pelephone,
or through an app such as Airalo, is worth arranging on arrival. Coverage is
strong along the coast and in the main tourist corridors, and mobile data
makes maps, ride apps, and the official Home Front Command alert app
practical. Hotel and cafe Wi-Fi is generally reliable in cities.
Routine
vaccines should be current before you travel. Ordinary city and Dead Sea
itineraries carry no malaria risk. Health authorities have recorded rabies in
dogs, jackals, and other mammals, so do not approach or feed unfamiliar
animals, including street cats and dogs that look friendly. In rural and
desert fringe areas, sand flies can transmit leishmaniasis; long sleeves,
repellent, and a closed room at night reduce the chance of bites. The everyday
health issues are heat and fluid loss. Summers inland and around the Dead Sea
are extreme, and the dense saline air speeds dehydration. Drink more water
than feels necessary, limit midday walking, use shade and a hat, and remember
that the Dead Sea’s buoyancy does not replace fluids. Sunscreen matters even
on hazy days, and anyone with heart or blood-pressure conditions should take
the combination of heat and high mineral exposure seriously.
Dress rules change sharply from one part of the country to the next, and
they catch more visitors out than almost any other practical detail.
In Tel
Aviv, beachwear is ordinary street clothing. Shorts, sleeveless tops, and
sandals are normal on Rothschild Boulevard, in Florentin, and along the
promenade. Cover-ups are only expected inside synagogues and a few
restaurants.
Jerusalem is different. In the Old City, at the Western Wall,
on the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif, inside churches and mosques, and in
religious neighborhoods such as Mea Shearim and parts of the Jewish Quarter,
cover shoulders and knees. Loose trousers or a long skirt and a shirt with
sleeves past the shoulder are the safe default for both men and women. At the
Western Wall, staff often hand women a scarf to cover hair or shoulders if
needed. Men must wear a head covering; paper or cloth kippahs are usually
available in a basket at the entrance and should be returned on the way out.
The same modest standard applies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome
of the Rock approach, and most monasteries. In ultra-Orthodox streets, very
short clothing draws stares and, occasionally, comments.
Photography is
limited at some holy sites and at security checkpoints. Tripods and drones are
often banned. Ask before photographing soldiers, border police, or people at
prayer. Flash is unwelcome inside churches and at the Wall during services.
The Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif keeps its own hours, which shift with the
season and the security situation, and is closed to non-Muslims on Fridays and
during Muslim prayer times. Non-Muslim visitors enter only through the
Mughrabi Gate (the ramp above the Western Wall plaza), pass a security check,
and may not pray, bring religious books or symbols, or enter the Dome of the
Rock or Al-Aqsa Mosque. Lines form early. Check the current window the day
before, because closures for Jewish holidays or Muslim festivals are common.
Book ahead for the Western Wall Tunnels, the City of David, and Yad Vashem.
The tunnels run on timed entries and sell out. Yad Vashem deserves at least
half a day. It is closed on Shabbat and on Jewish holidays, and the Children’s
Memorial and Valley of the Communities reward a slow walk rather than a quick
circuit.
Bargaining is expected in markets such as the Old City souk and
Jaffa’s flea market, and it is out of place in supermarkets, pharmacies, and
chain stores. Start lower than the first price and walk away once if the gap
is large. For taxis, agree the fare or insist the meter is on before the door
closes. Sherut shared taxis on fixed routes are often cheaper between cities.
Unlicensed “guides” who approach visitors at holy sites are a routine
nuisance. Buy tickets only at official windows or online.
Food is one of
the real reasons to come. Hotel and cafe breakfasts are large: salads, eggs,
cheeses, olives, fresh bread, and strong coffee. Street food turns on falafel,
sabich (pita with eggplant, egg, and tahini), hummus, and shawarma. A Friday
lunch in a busy hummus shop, eaten standing or at a shared table before the
Sabbath begins, is a local habit worth copying. Kosher restaurants close
Friday afternoon and stay shut until after nightfall on Saturday. They do not
mix meat and dairy, so a cheeseburger is not on the menu. Seafood and pork are
easy to find in Tel Aviv and in Arab areas of Jerusalem, Haifa, and the north,
and rare in religious Jewish neighborhoods. In the Old City, the Christian and
Muslim quarters keep different hours from the Jewish Quarter on Friday and
Saturday, which is useful if one set of kitchens has already closed.
Give Jerusalem three to four days when the Old City is the reason for the
trip. Tel Aviv is the easier base for beaches, food, and day trips, and it is
the simpler city over Shabbat. The Dead Sea and Masada are a long day from
Jerusalem, or an overnight if you want the desert at a slower pace. Eilat is a
separate beach and diving trip at the southern tip. Do not plan tight
connections on Friday afternoon.
Jerusalem rewards time on foot. The Old
City is only about one square kilometer, yet the four quarters, the markets,
and the holy sites fill two full days if you are not rushing. A workable split
is one day for the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter, and the ramparts or the
Tower of David; a second day for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Via
Dolorosa, and the Christian and Muslim quarters. Temple Mount / Al-Haram
al-Sharif has its own entry windows and rules, which change by day and by
security conditions, so check the current notice before you go and dress
modestly. Shoulders and knees should be covered at the major holy sites, and
some entrances lend coverings if you arrive short. A third day fits the Mount
of Olives, the City of David, or a museum such as the Israel Museum or Yad
Vashem, which sits outside the walls and needs its own half day. Keep the
fourth day as a buffer for closures, long lines, or a neighborhood you want to
walk again. Mahane Yehuda Market is liveliest before Friday afternoon, then
winds down for Shabbat.
Tel Aviv works well as the other base. The beach
strip from Gordon and Frishman toward the Hilton, the Carmel Market, Jaffa’s
old port, and the White City Bauhaus blocks cover a relaxed day or two. Food
is the city’s real attraction: breakfast cafes, hummus stands, and late
dinners run more reliably here than in Jerusalem. Shabbat, from Friday sunset
to Saturday nightfall, barely slows Tel Aviv. Beaches, most restaurants, and
many shops stay open. In Jerusalem the same hours close a large share of shops
and almost all public transport.
The Dead Sea and Masada sit on the same
desert road and are best done together. From central Jerusalem, Route 1 east
and then Route 90 south reaches Masada in about an hour and a half and the Ein
Bokek hotel strip in closer to an hour and three quarters. A day trip can
cover the fortress and a float if you leave early. The cable car from the
eastern station takes about three minutes, and the plateau itself needs two to
four hours. Summer site hours generally run 8:00 to 17:00, shorter on Fridays
and in winter, and the cable car stops about an hour before closing. The Snake
Path is the steep walk up from the east and is safest at dawn, not in midday
heat. Ein Gedi, with its springs and ibex, sits on the way and is worth a stop
only if you are not trying to see everything in one afternoon. At the shore,
use a staffed beach such as Ein Bokek, do not dive or splash, and rinse the
salt off afterward. The water stings any cut. An overnight in Ein Bokek turns
the same route into a calmer two-day loop and leaves room for a sunrise at
Masada.
Eilat is not a side trip from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. It is a Red
Sea beach and dive base at the southern tip, about four to five hours by road
through the Negev, or roughly an hour by domestic flight. Coral Beach, the
underwater observatory, and boat dives are the draw. Treat it as its own short
stay, not a tag at the end of a Jerusalem week.
Friday afternoon is the
scheduling trap. Buses and trains largely stop from Friday afternoon until
Saturday evening across most of the country. In Jerusalem that shutdown is
strict. In Tel Aviv you can still eat and walk, but you cannot count on a
train to the airport or a bus to the Dead Sea. Book a private transfer or a
rental car if you must move on Friday evening or Saturday, and do not plan a
flight connection that depends on a last Friday bus.
Prices in 2026 for a
mid-range day in Jerusalem often land around 450–650 shekels per person before
hotels, and lower if you eat simply and use buses. That range usually covers
meals, local transit, a site ticket or two, and a coffee, not a guided tour.
Masada entry and the cable car are charged separately and can push a desert
day higher once you add the bus or a driver. Book hotels early around
Passover, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, and the Christmas–New Year period, when
Jerusalem and Eilat both fill.
The country is small, intense, and tightly
scheduled around religion and security. Distances look short on a map and
still take longer once you add checkpoints, Friday closures, and heat.
Visitors who respect dress codes, watch the Friday sunset, keep the Home Front
Command alert app on, and stay inside published advisory zones generally move
through the main sites without trouble. Conditions change quickly, so treat
any guide, including this one, as a starting point and confirm entry rules,
train times, and advisories in the week you travel.