Apartment in Jerusalem as a Base for Day Trips
 

Hi, we have found an apartment in Jerusalem for our 8 day visit. Would it be a good central location for day tripping, or would we be better off spending a few days in several different cities and going the hotel route?

We plan on visiting Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, and obviously Jerusalem.

Thanks in advance for the input.

Bethlehem is a suburb of Jerusalem. The Dead Sea is an hour away and you can either go by public transport or take a tour (e.g. the Abraham Hostel tours). Tel-Aviv is an hour away by bus. You can also take day tours up to the Galilee (e.g. Egged Tours) So if these are your only destinations then the apartment is a good idea.

However if you want to rent a car and drive around the Galilee then you should have another base in the Galilee. If you want more than one day in Tel-Aviv or are thinking of taking the train from Tel-Aviv to Akko and Haifa, then split your time between J'm and Tel-Aviv.

If this is most of what you want to visit in 8 days and don't have much of an interest in the North (Haifa, Tzfat, the Galilee, the Golan, etc.), staying the entire time in Jerusalem would be a great plan. You can visit pretty much everywhere in the country except Eilat if you use J'lem as a base. But if you intend to spend more time in the north than you've stated, then I think you're better off splitting your time between J'lem and some other base; it'll be inefficient to keep trekking back to J'lem every day doing day trips. E.g., TLV is an easy journey from J'lem, but you'd waste a lot of time on buses if you keep making day trips to the north from J'lem.

Lastly, if you're looking to "experience TLV" (this applies to more of a younger, non-family type of traveler), then you're going to have much more fun staying in TLV rather than J'lem.

Where is the apartment located? Will you be renting a car?
If you're near the light rail or any of the BRT lines, it's quite easy to get to the Central Bus Station, and then you have the 480 to Arlozorov in Tel Aviv.
For Bethlehem, I'm not sure what they have in terms of tours/transportation. It's not far at all from Jerusalem though.
For the Dead Sea, this is where the car rental comes most in handy. On the flip side, depending on where you're staying, parking may not be the easiest.

Thank you all for the great input. The apartment is located in Rechavia and has parking, so we plan on renting a car for at least a few days. I also understand it is near the light rail.

We will look into spending a couple of nights in Haifa (or the general area with any suggestions), and can explore Tel Aviv the day we arrive and depart.

If its in Rehavia its not near the light rail. The closest station would be by Kikar Zion or City Hall either Id say a 15-20 min walk depending where in Rehavia it may be a slightly less or more

Alternatively you can take a bus from Rechavia to the LIght Rail. It is a free transfer.

You will have luggage the days you arrive and depart. Where do you plan to leave it while exploring Tel-Aviv ? What time do your flights arrive and depart ? You have to assume at least 1.5 hrs from the time of arrival to get to the center of Tel-Aviv and 2 hrs from the center of Tel Aviv to your apartment in Jerusalem. You have to arrive at the terminal 3 hrs before departure. Again you have to assume 2 hrs from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and 30 minutes to the airport. So that doesn't leave much time for exploring - and all of this with luggage.

Based on the great input we will stay in a hotel in TLV the day we arrive and the day prior to departing. Good to know we need 3 hours to clear security at TLV.

You do not need 3 hours to clear security. I frequently arrive 90 minutes before departure which allows enough time to check luggage, clear security and passport control, purchase duty free, and spend some time in the "lounge."

It is totally irresponsible to tell a tourist that they can arrive 90 minutes before a flight. You go through the airport frequently and are familiar with the procedures. They are tourists. You know nothing about them and have no idea to what extent they will be questioned and their luggage will be checked. You don't know the time of their flight - it may be at an hour when the airport is very busy or they may be driving to the airport at rush hour. Horrible advice that should be ignored. Will you take responsibility if they miss their flight ??

I suggest that you spend two days in Tel-Aviv at the start of your vacation then go to the airport from Jerusalem when you leave. The airport is located between the two cities so it is not necessary to go back to Tel-Aviv.

However, 3 hours is overkill. My first time flying, we were told we needed to arrive at least 3.5 hours in advance. And that gave us just enough time to spend 2 hours waiting.

For a tourist who's never flown through TLV, 2 hours is plenty

So now it's two hours ? Make up your mind. Everyone recommends 3 hours for good reasons. I'm happy that you have been lucky enough to get through so quickly every time but occasionally it has taken me longer than 90 minutes because the lines were longer than normal. And I am never questioned at length nor is my luggage ever x-rayed. Add potential traffic problems (eg. the current construction on hwy 1, accidents or rush hour slowdowns) and you have a recipe for potential disaster. Will you refund the money to him if he misses his flight and has to buy a new ticket ? I didn't think so.

Anyway, what could he possibly do in that one hour ? Better to go to the airport without pressure, buy a coffee and a magazine and relax near the fountain in the departure lounge. We go on vacation to relax and get away from our daily pressures and problems so why create unnecessary ones ???

Great - so you're recommending 3 hours and I'm recommending not. OP is then free to choose whether he/she prefers to spend more time in airport with less stress of missing flight (your words) and not rush to the airport to spend a while there unnecessarily (my words).

My mind is pretty made up, and I've got a strong track record on FT of recommending 2 hours to newbies to TLV unless they are people that may take longer at security. Those 2 hours have been enough to many people I know who were interviewed, had their bags and opened and inspected, as well as having foreign passports in the middle of the day (the longest lines). If the flight is at night (or early in the morning such as LX/LH), wait times at security and passport control are even shorter.

No, you recommended 90 minutes, and only upped it to 2 hrs after I responded. You also didn't add a proviso about "people that may take longer at security" and you didn't ask him for any relevant details. How is he supposed to know if he falls into that category ??

The bottom line is that there is no benefit to a tourist if he comes 2 hours in advance instead of three. What is he going to do in that extra hour ? Hang around his hotel or shop for souvenirs ? He can do the same in the airport and not worry about traffic jams, highway closures, long lines or additional questioning.