Travel Israel

First of all, the TLV airport is located between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem so you can go to either city in approximately the same time upon your arrival.

You say your vacation is 11 days, but how many full days do you have ? If you arrive in the afternoon of the first day and leave in the morning of the11th day, then you really have only NINE days for touring.

Going from Tel-Aviv/Jerusalem to Dahab takes a full day ! 5 hours by bus to Eilat, crossing the border, then the drive from Taba to Dahab (at least 2 hrs). I assume that after this long drive you will want to spend at least 2 days there, which means a total of 4 days minimum, including the travel. So if you have only nine days total then you are left with no more than 5 days for the rest of Israel. If you spend "a few days in Jerusalem" you have only a day or two for everything else !

I think you should think carefully about your priorities for this vacation.

Welcome. One quick comment. Two women traveling the region should not be hitchhiking. Regardless of what anyone else says, there is no reason to take the risk. Bus travel is cheap and convenient so why do it?

IMHO you are thinking of doing too much in a short period of time. Eleven days will go by quickly. You do not mention your budget, but keep in mind that every time you cross country borders your expenses will mount. It will cost 105NIS every time you leave Israel. It will cost you to enter Egypt as well.

My advice, based on the limited amount of information you've provided about your interests, is to spend your eleven days in Israel. You can lounge at beaches, go on any number of cultural / historical adventures, see the desert and so forth right in Israel without running around from country to country.

Good luck.

lake traveller - thank you lots - thought id ask as hitched in europe but heard mixed re Israel, and yes short time so dont want to waste time on sides of roads any way :)
IMHO???! and as u may imagen our budget is more on the budget end...! so it sounds rite to maybe not cross boarders... any AMAZINGLY beautiful beaches you would recommend? think TA may be a bit flashy for my likin! but of course will check out and not pre concieve a place ive not been too!! thank you any way for ur advice! makes it all the more real and closer! xx

mbgg - firstly 11 full days..arr 5am on day 1 and leave 8pm on day 12... so actually 11.5 days!! :)
yes i think u are both right about distances etc. and i of course am going to do prior reading to going..but used here as first port of call! i had been told 'its only size of wales can cover lots of ground space!' but also whilst in israel...maybe just stick to and enjoy israel?!!

well thank you both lots for replies... what a great first few responses for a first time travel forum-user!! x

Dahab is fantastic, you'll meet tons of cool travellers there. Penguin is the best. Once there you can arrange to spend a night in the desert with the Bedouins, much cheaper and more authentic than on the Israeli side.

Hitchhiking the tourist police will not let you do it in Egypt, it's against the law as whoever drives you could be accused of moonlighting as a tourist guide or tourist driver without a permit, a severe offence in the country. You'll have to take buses or taxis. In Israel it's generally safe and you'll see many youngsters doing it. That said you can always end up in the car of some macho jerk, you never know. I'd agree with the above - public buses are convenient, not expensive and you can chat with Israelis on board, many youngsters travel this way.

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are both very interesting, with very different vibes.

Life is super expensive in Israel and youth hostels are sometimes fully booked months in advance so make sure you book somewhere early on, or try Couchsurfing maybe.

Hitching in Israel is just as safe as it is in Europe. But who said it was safe in Europe...
Public transport is frequent, safe and fast except on weekends (non at all Friday afternoon-Saturday evening) and rural areas in the Negev and Golan (not very frequent).
Beaches: Tel Aviv has great city beaches and you'll enjoy waking up in your guest house and walking/cycling straight to the beach. Good out of the city beaches you can probably reach by bus/train: Nitsanim, Ga'ash/Shfa'im, Dor, Achziv.
To help you begin planning: Jerusalem, Dead Sea (inc. Masada and Ein Gedi), the North (Acco, Haifa, Sea of Galilee area, maybe a day in the Golan), and Tel Aviv can give you a possible outline for your trip.

Life is super expensive in Israel

The usual Catw exaggeration to deter tourists. Israel is not dirt-cheap like its neighbours and it is more expensive than the US - it is more on a par with western Europe. Definitely not "super"-expensive as you public transportation is "super"-cheap (compared to Britain, for example), there is a good selection of reasonable street food and there are many reasonable hostels.

#4 Hitchhiking the tourist police will not let you do it in Egypt, it's against the law as whoever drives you could be accused of moonlighting as a tourist guide or tourist driver without a permit, a severe offence in the country. That was not in my personal experience!

On March 1st as the East Delta Travel buses were striking, and subsequently there was no bus service between Sharm and Dahab. From the airport, the taxi driver dropped me of at the Sharm toTaba road police check point, where I easily hitched a lift into Dahab, from in front of the police check point. The guy who gave me the lift gratefully accepted the money I gave him ''for his children'', when he dropped me outside the Jasmine Pension.

Israel's cost of living is on par with Europe, quality costs.

#4 Life is super expensive in Israel and youth hostels are sometimes fully booked months in advance so make sure you book somewhere early on, or try Couchsurfing maybe.

That was not my personal experience in March. I walked into the Eilat IYHA, (an ideal location for both plane spotters and swimmers) on two separate occasions, and got the accommodation I wanted without pre-booking. The Masada IYHA was also available at 48 hours notice, and was booked on line.

As indicated above: Israel's cost of living is not super expensive, as asserted by #4, it's on par with Europe, quality costs.

Sandyfoot, it's better to read what people say before writing your own reply. Our fellow traveller said he was traveling to Israel in July/August, the busiest period in the year, when hotels and some youth hostels are booked months in advance.

Israel is expensive considering it's in the Middle-East. A hotel in Tel Aviv can cost as much as in Europe, and the quality is not that good as compared to Western standards.