Can anyone give me a rough idea of the time needed to drive (December) from Eilat to Tiberias? I've never used Hwy 6 - is there any time advantage from the south, or should I go up the Jordan valley? Any advice welcome.

#6 I feel will take you out of your way. id go with the '90' Jordan Valley, its the Only way I go even when Im in JRS.

Just remember that after you make the left at the Northern end of teh road along the Dead Sea that a few mins later you have to make a right, otherwise you'll end up in JRS.

Time wise cant say, if it rains and bad there could be road closures all along the way from Eilat to the end of the Dead Sea due to Flooded Roads.

Ive driven to both Eilat and Tib but not bet the 2. It takes me alittle under 2 hrs to drive JRS to Tib, and the lasty time I drove to Eilat it took me just under 3 hrs from JRS, Id say it takes me 30 mins to the cut-off to the JV from JRS. needless to say the road has to be open and Im heavy on the pedal.

Agree with Craz - stick with the valley road. Otherwise it will take 3 1/2 hours just to get to the beginning of 6 in the South. In a few years, when 6 is extended on the Southern end, you'd be better off with it.

Israel Dwellers: What's that JRS-Tiberias road like these days? I haven't been on it in years.

My last trip on it was this summer. It is as beautiful as ever. For the past year or so there has been a herd of 30 to 50 camels on your left side right after you make the turn on to 90 from Route 1. The forst 10 K or so has been repaved. Not every day, but sometimes there are radar traps on the road.


Make sure when you see the sign for the turn off for Nablus that you look for the natural bridge cut into the sand by wind on your left, ala' Arches National Park.

They are currently building tax and shipping terminals towards area north of Sde Eliyahu.

Key advice:

1. buy gas either at the station before you turn onto 1 from 90 coming from the South. (by the way, they sell ice cold Coronas and you can have one while you pump the gas!) Also, while you are there, buy cold water!!

2. Do not stop to take pictures of the military areas.

3. Late afternoon puts the sun on your face and on the drivers side of the car

4. When you get to Tiberias, follow the speed limit as you get closer to town. You'lll knwo by the wild flowers on the side of the road.

5. Most parking lots in Israel are pay first at a central box. The ticket you earn will be chargedto your rental if you choose to ignore it.

Assuming you are driving on a rental car - hwy 6 is off limits for you as the electronic toll collection makes rental cars fine anyone who drive the road with a "processing fee" - something around 10 USD in addition to the toll.

The valley road (90) goes through some Palestinian Authority controlled areas like Jericho. I'm not sure how welcomed you will be there with Israeli license plates.

Hwy 6 currently runs between Re'em Junction (other known as Masmiah junction) in the south and Yiron junction in the north (just north of Hadera). If your planned route takes you via the Tel Aviv area (routes 4, 2 and Ayalon - 20), hwy 6 will save you about 60 minutes on regular traffic and about 120-180 minutes on rush hour. The problem with hwy 6 is that it's a 2 lane road and if there is some problem (accident, road work) there can be heavy traffic jams there, although, most of the times the avg speed there runs above 120 km/h (speed limit on hwy 6 is 110 - the highest in Israel). Beware of speed traps as the police is trying to enforce the speed a little more these days.
The toll is billed to the car owner - it is not possible to pay as you go. The toll is determined by the number of electronic toll stations you pass (one after every entrance/exit) with a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5. The current price of 5 stations (max price) is 20.84 NIS.

Apirchik,
The total cost cost being billed to my credit card in the US about 4 weeks after my Hertz rental this summer was $7.50 for using Hwy 6.

While true that Route 90 is not cut through Tel Aviv, I think it is a bit inaccurate to say it goes through Jericho. A simple look at a map will belie that. It runs along side it, yes, but not through it. (On a map you can see how the road actually curves way to the east to avoid it). There are a few tiny villages 90 cuts through, but the largest has a population of about 200 visible from the road.

So there you have it, 2 jews - 2 opinions- who'd guess.

Route 90 Does NOT go thru Yericho , thats why its called the ByPass Road, it goes around it and very close to it, but it doesnt go thru it. On old maps it shows it does thats before Israel gave Yericho to the PA.

As for Hway 6 Rental Car companys via on how much they charge the renter as a fee for using Hway 6 , thats besides what the Hway charges. The main problem is they charge you per month , so if you go on say 11/30 and return on 12/1 you have to pay the fee twice since you used H6 during 2 different months.

Related to Eilat, has anyone stayed at the Dan Eilat hotel recently and/or is there a better alternative option in the area?

I stayed at the Herod's Palace hotel (7000 *points/night). it was very nice, except the 'king' bed was two twins pushed together.

the Hilton Princess and the Herod's are considered the best in central eilat.

Last time I drove through the Jordan Valley was 12 years ago when I was in the army. Things might have changed since ...

In Eilat, the Dan and Isrotel's Royal Beach are the best hotels along the with the Herods. The Hilton Queen of Sheba is a nice hotel but not as good as the 3 above. in the Dan, all rooms have balconies and all are facing the red sea. In the Hilton, only every other floor has balconies and most balconies cannot fit 2 people standing (expcept for the corner suites that have huge balconies with hot tubs outside).

There might be a bypass road around Jericho but route 90 is not called a bypass road. Then again, next to my parents house there is a "buypass" road (that's what the sign says in english) so everything is possible ...

I'd give the Crowne Plaza a miss too. Spent a couple of days there this time last year and was not impressed. Staff not really interested and the facility was a bit tired.

Thanks for the hotel recommendations in Eilat.

(Now just need to figure out where it's possible to park Dan hotel stays for frequent flyer miles since their e-Dan club program won't be useful; otherwise, it'll have to be the Starwood Sheraton Herod's Palace and looking about landing an upgrade.)

I believe Dan go only with LY Matmid program as far as points and miles. The Herods is divided into 2 properties - one is a Sheraton and the other is a Luxury Collection (Herods Vitalis). Looking at SPG.com I see a 3rd property called "Herods Forum" - I have no idea if it's a new or old part of the Herods property.

As ozmerish wrote, stay away from IC hotels (CP and all HIs).

Other nice hotels in Eilat that do not belong to major networks (hence do not earn miles) are Isrotel's Agamim (lakes), the Le Meridian, the Club Med and the Princess (located outside the city close to the Egypt-Taba border).