From Tel Aviv to Eilat, slowly
Oct 10, 2015, 2:15 am
#1
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From Tel Aviv to Eilat, slowly
My flight lands at Ben Gurion on a winter Sunday, 3:05PM. My bus leaves to Petra from Eilat on Friday (ungodly) early morning, I have a nice two day trip in Petra then take the bus to Amman and fly home from Amman on Sunday. I need to work that week but I can work from anywhere where wifi and power is provided 
So... how would you go down and see as much as possible? I've been to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and Masada and Eilat before. The raw idea is to change hotels every night, work some, take a bus somewhere, see, work more in the evening. Tel Megiddo, Beersheba, Tel Beer Sheba, Avdat and optionally Makhtesh Ramon comes to mind but somehow the whole thing doesn't want to solidify into a route plan as I do not really know what buses exist, how big really the distances are and especially what hotels are possible. I do not drive and if possible I'd not taxi too much but if Tel Megiddo or Avdat requires one, so be it. Help
Sunday: sleep in Gadot.
Monday: see Tel Hazor, sleep somewhere close to Megiddo (Need a car from Gadot to Tel Hazor and back to the Hatsor ha-Glilit Terminal. I hope Gadot can help.)
Tuesday: see Tel Megiddo, sleep in Beer Sheba. (What would one do with the luggage, though? ask the museum to store it? Would they do that in Israel?)
Wednesday: see Avdat, sleep in Makhtesh Ramon (Drop luggage in Makhtesh Ramon, Avdat seems close? Possibly see Tel Beer Sheba too? How big is Avdat, after all? Just interested in the ruins.)
Thursday: just get to Eilat.
Is this doable ... ?
So... how would you go down and see as much as possible? I've been to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and Masada and Eilat before. The raw idea is to change hotels every night, work some, take a bus somewhere, see, work more in the evening. Tel Megiddo, Beersheba, Tel Beer Sheba, Avdat and optionally Makhtesh Ramon comes to mind but somehow the whole thing doesn't want to solidify into a route plan as I do not really know what buses exist, how big really the distances are and especially what hotels are possible. I do not drive and if possible I'd not taxi too much but if Tel Megiddo or Avdat requires one, so be it. Help Sunday: sleep in Gadot.
Monday: see Tel Hazor, sleep somewhere close to Megiddo (Need a car from Gadot to Tel Hazor and back to the Hatsor ha-Glilit Terminal. I hope Gadot can help.)
Tuesday: see Tel Megiddo, sleep in Beer Sheba. (What would one do with the luggage, though? ask the museum to store it? Would they do that in Israel?)
Wednesday: see Avdat, sleep in Makhtesh Ramon (Drop luggage in Makhtesh Ramon, Avdat seems close? Possibly see Tel Beer Sheba too? How big is Avdat, after all? Just interested in the ruins.)
Thursday: just get to Eilat.
Is this doable ... ?
Last edited by chx1975; Oct 10, 2015 at 4:21 am
Oct 10, 2015, 8:20 pm
#2
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Oct 10, 2015, 11:54 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 377
I suggest that you rent a car at the airport, then return it in Eilat. This will simplify your trip tremendously and allow to to see much more. Bus service to the locations you have listed is infrequent and inconvenient (I doubt whether you can get to Gadot the same day by public transport if you leave the airport after 4 PM - look at www.bus.co.il ). If you check the web sites of the major car rental companies you will see that they have only a few locations in the Galilee, none of which are convenient for you.
On the way south you can visit: the Stalactite Cave near Bet Shemesh, a winery in the Elah Valley, Bet Guvrin National Park, the Air Force Museum in Beersheva, Avdat and Ein Avdat (two separate sites), Mamshit National Park, Shivta National Park,Sde Boker, Mitspe Ramon (take a jeep tour in the crater - you can't do it with a rented car), Yotvata Hai-Bar and Timna.
Look at the National Parks website:
http://tinyurl.com/mnevevl
On the way south you can visit: the Stalactite Cave near Bet Shemesh, a winery in the Elah Valley, Bet Guvrin National Park, the Air Force Museum in Beersheva, Avdat and Ein Avdat (two separate sites), Mamshit National Park, Shivta National Park,Sde Boker, Mitspe Ramon (take a jeep tour in the crater - you can't do it with a rented car), Yotvata Hai-Bar and Timna.
Look at the National Parks website:
http://tinyurl.com/mnevevl
Last edited by mbgg; Oct 11, 2015 at 12:01 am
Oct 11, 2015, 1:17 am
#4
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
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I suggest that you rent a car at the airport, then return it in Eilat. This will simplify your trip tremendously and allow to to see much more. Bus service to the locations you have listed is infrequent and inconvenient (I doubt whether you can get to Gadot the same day by public transport if you leave the airport after 4 PM - look at www.bus.co.il ). If you check the web sites of the major car rental companies you will see that they have only a few locations in the Galilee, none of which are convenient for you.
Oct 23, 2015, 3:32 pm
#7
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I would look into hiring a tour guide with a vehicle... might not be cheap but i think its the only logical way to get what you want. The public transportation in that part of the country is not the greatest.
Jan 7, 2016, 9:01 pm
#8
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Been there, done that:
Day 0: fly to Tel Aviv, buy SIM card at Ben Gurion, train to Haifa, bus 500 to Sde Eliezer where I had an apartment reserved. Food is available at the Yesud Hamala junction where you get off the bus. Nowhere else, though, neither in Sde Eliezer, nor in Tel Hazor.
Day 1: the owner's son drove me to Tel Hazor. Coming back, a busload of students just left and I asked them to drive me off the hill so I saw the museum. Apparently you need to call ahead to get the museum opened and I am not sure they'll do it for a single guy. Now came a problem: I left my shekels at the apartment, so I walked back. This would've been okay except Google Maps directed me to a less used road. Luckily someone picked me up and told the route suggested by Google Maps is not usable, dropped me at a trail which after about 100m of mud suddenly became a surprisingly good quality road and so I could walk back. Then I rested a bit and took the bus 542 to Afula and 56 to Midrakh Oz where I had another apartment. One more problem: there's no food in Midrakh Oz. Solution: nice landlady had something to do in Yokne'am, there's a mall and drove me there. If you do this, make sure you are fed and have sandwiches with you before getting on the 56 / 156 either in Yoknea'am or Afula.
Day 2: take bus 56 to Tel Megiddo. Problem: the driver didn't stop (perhaps I should've signalled? Do these Superbuses have signals? Still don't know. Egged buses do but I only learned that later. Previous buses stopped simply because I told the driver when I get up where to stop.) and took me to the junction. There are very few buses daily on this strip of the road so people were hitchhiking from the bus stop. Me too! First time I hitchhiked. At Tel Megiddo, I left my luggage (Ebags Mother Lode Convertible, Red Oxx XS Aviator, had a Bach Itsy Bitsy for daypack) in the shop. Unlike in Tel Hazor, there's serious infrastructure here, including a shop and a restaurant. Hitchiked back to the junction. At least for this very short distance hitchhiking worked really well. Then I took the bus to Beer Sheva direct. Food and accomodation trivial, I stayed at a hotel.
Day 3: now this is routine, take the bus to Avdat, drop stuff at the shop, climb up, see Avdat, climb down, take bus to Mitzpe Ramon. I stayed at the HI Hostel in a private room, it was OK. There's a restaurant next to the visitor center with an excellent lookout to the maktesh and the gas station will provide you with food around the clock. There's nothing else here.
Day 4: long bus ride through the Negev to Eilat. The rock formations of the Negev are very interesting. The bus visits tons of military bases too, that also breaks the monotony. Warning: no toilet on the bus (or so I think! ask the driver perhaps). Another apartment in Eilat. Food is trivial.
Day 5: I am writing this in Eilat and preparing for my organized trip to Petra.
Day 0: fly to Tel Aviv, buy SIM card at Ben Gurion, train to Haifa, bus 500 to Sde Eliezer where I had an apartment reserved. Food is available at the Yesud Hamala junction where you get off the bus. Nowhere else, though, neither in Sde Eliezer, nor in Tel Hazor.
Day 1: the owner's son drove me to Tel Hazor. Coming back, a busload of students just left and I asked them to drive me off the hill so I saw the museum. Apparently you need to call ahead to get the museum opened and I am not sure they'll do it for a single guy. Now came a problem: I left my shekels at the apartment, so I walked back. This would've been okay except Google Maps directed me to a less used road. Luckily someone picked me up and told the route suggested by Google Maps is not usable, dropped me at a trail which after about 100m of mud suddenly became a surprisingly good quality road and so I could walk back. Then I rested a bit and took the bus 542 to Afula and 56 to Midrakh Oz where I had another apartment. One more problem: there's no food in Midrakh Oz. Solution: nice landlady had something to do in Yokne'am, there's a mall and drove me there. If you do this, make sure you are fed and have sandwiches with you before getting on the 56 / 156 either in Yoknea'am or Afula.
Day 2: take bus 56 to Tel Megiddo. Problem: the driver didn't stop (perhaps I should've signalled? Do these Superbuses have signals? Still don't know. Egged buses do but I only learned that later. Previous buses stopped simply because I told the driver when I get up where to stop.) and took me to the junction. There are very few buses daily on this strip of the road so people were hitchhiking from the bus stop. Me too! First time I hitchhiked. At Tel Megiddo, I left my luggage (Ebags Mother Lode Convertible, Red Oxx XS Aviator, had a Bach Itsy Bitsy for daypack) in the shop. Unlike in Tel Hazor, there's serious infrastructure here, including a shop and a restaurant. Hitchiked back to the junction. At least for this very short distance hitchhiking worked really well. Then I took the bus to Beer Sheva direct. Food and accomodation trivial, I stayed at a hotel.
Day 3: now this is routine, take the bus to Avdat, drop stuff at the shop, climb up, see Avdat, climb down, take bus to Mitzpe Ramon. I stayed at the HI Hostel in a private room, it was OK. There's a restaurant next to the visitor center with an excellent lookout to the maktesh and the gas station will provide you with food around the clock. There's nothing else here.
Day 4: long bus ride through the Negev to Eilat. The rock formations of the Negev are very interesting. The bus visits tons of military bases too, that also breaks the monotony. Warning: no toilet on the bus (or so I think! ask the driver perhaps). Another apartment in Eilat. Food is trivial.
Day 5: I am writing this in Eilat and preparing for my organized trip to Petra.
Last edited by chx1975; Jul 30, 2016 at 3:57 pm
Feb 25, 2016, 7:39 pm
#9
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Boston Suburbrs
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Posts: 1,205
It's a little late for OP, but I believe there is a big flea market in Beer Sheva on Thursdays. I also believe it may no longer be full of local culture but might be more like ... a flea market.
