to Eilat by road
 

It's been ages since I drove down to Eilat (with good reason).

Arrived here last night, after driving down on route 6, then via Mitzpe Ramon. It wasn't too much fun - I cannot remember if the road via Dimona is more pleasant or not, a wondering whether to try that on the return (night drive as well).

Any opinions gratefully received...

D.

So, let me answer my own question :-)

Drove down to Eilat via Mitzpe Ramon at night, back via Dimona (Arava rd) during the day (morning).

In retrospect, the other way around is better.

The Mitzpe route has nice scenery, but a lot of sharp turns and and narrowish winding roads. The Arava road, on the other hand, is a ong stretch of fairly straight road with short sections of gently winding uphill and downhill stretches. It's thought to be more dangerous - as more truck drivers use it, and it's easier to fall asleep on a long, straight road.

I preferred the Arava road myself - easier driving.

Both routes took 5 1/2 hours each, with about an hour of stops included.

I eventually found some info on this, but in Hebrew - so thought I'd post here in English for future reference. If any....

The Arava has more police so you have to go slower.
I think the mitzpe Ramon route is beautiful.
I hate getting stuck behind trucks near Dimona.


I would vote for mitzpe Ramon!

I like the Route 90 route myself, obviously the "northern" section
up my Masada is more interesting. I also like to stop at the Ahava
factory.

I want to mention the rest stop on 90 that features what couldeasily be a stop in Mexico. The animals wandering around were a cool touch.

The western route used to be my favorite, driving up from Eilat, but it is very close to the border, and well............


I confess to one irregularity that I always do, because I can. If you take Route 1 down from Jerusalem and turn right onto Route 90, there is a gas station on the corner. I love being able to fill up my tank while drinking down an ice cold Corona. Ask the guy behind the counter to dig you out the coldest one he has. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

!היי דרומה, היי דרומה, היי דרומה לאילת

For the moderators:

Hey Daroma,hey Daroma, Hey Daroma l' Eilat!

Words to a hebrew song:

Hey Southward, Hey Southward, Hey Southward to Eilat!

The song is actually called On The Road to Eilat (בדרך לאילת). It was written by Haim Hefer in 1949, right after the IDF opened the road to Eilat during the Israeli War of Independence.

FT moderators do check foreign language posts to make sure they adhere to the rules. That was the purpose of my post.

Thank you though for the background.

I do love the stop along the way on the road. It's really cool