Flying to Israel in 4 days, need few last tips

You can't take a rental car from Israel into Palestinian controlled parts of the West Bank.

BUT the road to Ein Gedi is controlled by Israel, not the Palestinian Authority so you can drive to Ein Gedi. There are no check points on this road and you may not even realise you are driving through the West Bank.

Actually there are two checkpoints on the road from Jerusalem to Ein Gedi, and lately sometines three. One when you leave Jerusalem, an one just a little north of Ein Gedi. There is also often a 'flying checkpoint' just before you reach the Dead Sea. Just keep in mind that you will be driving through Occupied Territory, albeit thru the section under Israeli control, known as 'Area C'.

An interesting side trip on this route is to drive through the large (pop 35,000) settlement of Ma'ale Adumim just a few kilometers east of Jerusalem in the middle of the West Bank. It will add no more than 20-30 minutes to the trip.

Edited by: TourGuideFred

firstly, 4 days is WAY too short for what you want to do. i have been to israel proper and the west bank on two different trips, most recently in March. you can enter the occupied territories with a EU passport; well, let me clarify that, you can enter the west bank, but not gaza. you can enter from israel proper; i always entered the west bank from east jerusalem, but there are other entry points. i cannot be 100% certain whether they will allow you to drive a rental car in there. if you rent a car in israel proper, it will have yellow israeli license plates. with those license plates, you may only be able to drive on "bypass roads" in the west bank, i'm not 100% certain. but why do you want to rent a car? public transport is so good in israel proper, and even in the west bank, it is sufficient.
if i only had four days in israel, my #1 destination would be Jerusalem, with at least one FULL day in the Old City, but preferably two days; there is MUCH to see in the Old City. i think the west bank is interesting because it's a contrast to israel proper. however, your time is limited and the checkpoints in the west bank can take time to cross, especially if for some reason, israel closes one. are you a spiritual pilgrim? if so, i would probably take one day for bethlehem and hebron; go to bethlehem in the morning and hebron in the afternoon. take public transport from outside damascus gate of the old city in the west bank; may be easier than driving a rental car in. bethlehem and hebron are close; but do not go on Shabbat (Saturday) or you will get stuck trying to get back to jerusalem. if i were you, i would sleep in jerusalem all nights. israel is small enough to do this. i usually based myself in jerusalem and made day trips to different places in the west bank (bethlehem, hebron, jericho, ramallah, nablus, ni'lin, jenin, leaving early in the morning no later than 8am or so). from jerusalem a very nice day trip is masada and the dead sea. i would recommend this over the cesarea ruins. the sea of galilee area is nice for it's biblical history. go alone, taking a bus, or drive to Tiberias, then visit the Sea and churches, etc., from Tiberias, or take a one-day tour from Jerusalem as i did in 2004. use United Tours, i think it is $70 US Dollars or so for one day; it is informative and they go to many sites; pick you up in jerusalem, or can leave from tel aviv.
four days is not much, my dear. but jerusalem is a MUST!!!!!! DO NOT MISS JERUSALEM, ESPECIALLY THE OLD CITY!!!!! besides jerusalem, you will have to decide maybe one day in West Bank and maybe one day in Sea of Galilee region. Akka is okay, but can be missed if you only have 4 days. if i were you, 2 days in Jerusalem, one day in Bethlehem and Hebron (in Hebron, visit the Old City and the Tomb of Abraham). the other day, either Dead Sea and Masada or take a day-trip tour on "United tours" to the sea of galilee region. don't rent a car, it's a waste of money and u may not be able to drive it into the west bank.
IM me for more details if u want.
- julie

Hi Julie and all,

thank you so much for all the info. One point I forgot to mention - of course I am not missing Jerusalem :) - I am in country for 9 full days. 3 are reserved for Jerusalem, 1 for Tel Aviv/Jaffa, and 5 for different day trips:

• s: Masada, Ein Gedi, Dead Sea
• nw: Cesarea+Akko
• n: TiberiasTabghaCapernaum
• e: Betlehem+Nazareth
• ?

I now just need to somehow squeeze in Tabor and Carmel. Not interested in Haifa really.

#4
>Not interested in Haifa really.

=======================
OK. There isn't much to see in Haifa.....except the Baha'i gardens. Definitely worth half a day. Best to stay over in Haifa the night before, get an early start and, after the Baha'i gardens, continue to the Galilee (Tiberias etc.). Make a (free) reservation for their tours (mornings only). Google the Baha'i (Haifa) site for details.

oh thank goodness, 9 days. sorry i misunderstand. if i were you, skip Nazareth. one of my least fav. places in israel. if only 9 days, skip it. instead, after bethlehem, go to Hebron only a half hour away. in hebron, go to old city and tomb of abraham; only look at how the palestinians live in the old city under the domination and threat of a few hundred very radical jewish settlers, protected by oh so many IDF soldiers.

the Baha'i temple and gardens on Mt. Carmel in Haifa are GREAT!!! main reason to go to Haifa. but need a reservation to visit temple and gardens. i did it in 2004, but i forgot how i got my reservation. maybe online? but if you are not Baha'i, you cannot go inside the temple, but the gardens are fabulous.

one day in Tel Aviv and Jaffa is plenty.
skip Nazareth. one day in and around Sea of Galilee and Tiberias, either do it by bus to Tiberias, then taxi to churches, or take the day tour i talked about; can book it online at "United Tours." just google them.
you asked if your daily trip with rental Jerusalem-Cesarea (possible Carmel monastery)-Akko-Jerusalem is feasible as a one day trip or should you stay in Akko and then head east to See of Galilee. if you have a car, yes, Cesarea and Akko are feasible as one day trip from Jerusalem. if you take the bus or a sherut, it is not feasible, i would not recommend it. a half day in Akko is enough, in the Old City. also, Akko and Haifa are close enough that if you had a car, and maybe even if you didn't have a car and started early enough, you could go half day to Haifa for Baha'i temple and Mt. Carmel and half day in Old City in Akko. if you do this, do it from Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem. Sea of Galilee area is roughly equidistant from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. but if you take the United Tour, they go thru Tel Aviv, so it is shorter from Tel Aviv. but Akko and Haifa are definitely closer from Tel Aviv, by at least an hour. also, the train runs up the coast thru Haifa and Akko. sorry, don't know of place to stay in Akko, but there are guesthouses. i went as a day trip from Tel Aviv, bus up and train back down. skip Nazareth, not worth it.
let me know if you have other questions.
- Julie

P.S. don't worry about squeezing in Mt. Tabor, it is no big deal. you will probably pass it on your way to the Sea of Galilee, but it is not a huge, big deal, destination in and of itself. don't worry about it much. there is a church on top of Mt. Tabor, but no big deal. do not worry about it, especially if you only have 9 days. re: Carmel monastery, don't know, never been.
- julie

I agree with jstirn that you should skip Nazareth and Mount Tabor - if you are not into Christian holy sites. Even if you are, do only Nazareth. Mount Tabor has a church and a nice view, but that's about it. Not worth the detour. You will pass Mount Tabor on your way only if you go via Afula on your way to/from the coast or Jerusalem. If going Haifa/Akko <-> Galilee or Jerusalem <-> Galilee (through the Jordan Valley - Route 90) then you don't pass it.

Nazareth is so much more than holy sites. There is a vibrant renaissance of Arab/Christian culture going on there. If you are interested in the contemporary cultural aspects of life here then check out Nazareth.