Useful country information

London to Haifa, Tel Aviv & Jerusalem

There are two options for travel from London (or anywhere else in Europe) to Israel, although there are problems with both options:

Option 1:  By train all the way via Istanbul, Syria & Jordan...

• Travel by train from London to Istanbul, as shown on the London to Turkey page.  Departures are daily, and the journey takes three nights.  By all means spend a day in Istanbul and head on that evening, but I'd recommend a night there as a comfort break as well as for sightseeing.

• Travel from Istanbul to Aleppo in Syria, using the daily train from Istanbul to Adana in southern Turkey, then a bus.  For times, fares & info, see the London to Syria page.  Travel on to Damascus by train - train times and fares are also shown on the London to Syria page.  At the Syrian border, be sure not to show any indication that you plan to visit Israel.

• Travel by bus from Damascus to Amman in Jordan.  There are several buses daily, the journey takes 5 hours.  See the Jordan page.

• Take a bus or taxi from Amman to the Allenby Bridge border crossing with Israel.  Pass through customs and passport control.  Take another bus or taxi into central Jerusalem.

You can book the London to Istanbul train journey through any UK European rail ticketing agency, as shown on the London to Turkey page.  You can book the train from Istanbul to Adana either at the station when you get to Istanbul, or through a travel agency in Istanbul, as shown on the London to Syria page.  You can book the buses from Adana to Aleppo when you get to Adana.  You will need to book the Aleppo-Damascus train at the station in Aleppo, and the Damascus-Amman train at the station in Damascus.  In planning a trip like this, you may find this technique helpful.

Option 2:  By train+ferry to Greece then direct ferry from Piraeus to Israel...

The journey from London to Israel takes about seven nights.  The journey involves travelling to Athens to pick up one of the several weekly year-round sailings from Piraeus to Haifa in Israel.  However, as at January 2010, both Poseidon Lines and Salamis Lines' Piraeus-Cyprus-Israel ferry services remain suspended because of the political situation in Israel, and they show no sign of resuming.  A car ferry service for motorists and freight may be operating, though.  You can check the latest situation with Viamare Travel.

Option 2a:  By train+ferry to Greece then ferry to Israel via Cyprus...

As of summer 2008, a passenger cruise ferry sails at least weekly from Rhodes (and on some dates Crete) to Limassol in Cyprus between June & October taking 1 night, then weekly between April & October from Limassol to Haifa in Israel taking 1 night.  If it's still operating, for sailing dates and prices see www.varianostravel.com/Cruises/ferry_service.htm.  For train & ferry travel from the UK to Rhodes, see the London to Greece page.  It may seem a bit daunting to plan a multi-stage train + ferry journey from the UK to Israel via Athens, Piraeus, Rhodes & Cyprus, but you may find this planning technique helpful.

Onwards train travel from Haifa...

From Haifa, air-conditioned trains of Israeli Railways run regularly to Tel Aviv and Beersheeva. Visit the Israeli Railways website for train times and fares.  The railway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has now been rebuilt, and as from April 2005 trains once again link Tel Aviv with Jerusalem.

Train travel in Israel...

Israel has a modern and rapidly-expanding train network.  The line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, closed for some years, re-opened in early 2005, and fast air-conditioned trains also link Tel Aviv with Haifa.  However, there are no international train services to or from Israel.

Tel Aviv ► Jerusalem

Trains leave Tel Aviv’s Merkaz station (also known as Tel Aviv Central – Savidor) for Jerusalem's Malha station every hour from 05:54 to 19:54 on Mondays-Thursdays and Sundays, journey time 1 hour 40 minutes for the 82 km (51 mile) journey.  They also call at Tel Aviv's Hashalom station 2 minutes after leaving Merkaz.  Trains return from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv every hour from 05:43 to 21:43 on Mondays-Thursdays and Sundays.  On Fridays, trains run hourly in each direction until around 13:00, there is no service on Friday afternoons and just one late-night service on Saturdays after dark.  Jerusalem Malha station is some way from the old city or indeed the central part of the new city, but a taxi will cost less than £5/$8.

Fare: 22.50 shekels (£3.70 or $2.50) one-way, 40.50 shekels (£6.70 or $10) return.  Child under 10, 17.50 shekels one-way, 35 shekels return.

Haifa ► Tel Aviv ► Ben Gurion Airport  & Be’er Sheva

On Mondays-Thursdays and Sundays, two trains an hour link Haifa with Tel Aviv (Merkaz station) and Ben Gurion airport. Haifa-Tel Aviv journey time 50-60 minutes for the 85km (53 miles), Tel Aviv to Ben Gurion Airport 19 minutes. One train an hour links Tel Aviv Merkaz with Be’er Sheva, some trains starting back in Haifa. On Fridays, trains run hourly in each direction on both routes until around 13:00, there is no service on Friday afternoons, or on Saturdays until after dark

For other train routes, train times & fares in Israel, see www.rail.co.il.

Find hotels in Israel

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

• www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system).  It has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one price, then charge you another!).

Backpacker hostels...

• www.hostelbookers.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelbookers offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

Travel insurance & health card...

Get travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year (I have an annual policy myself).  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

In the UK, try Columbus Direct or use Confused.com to compare prices & policies from many different insurers.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65 (no age limit), see www.JustTravelCover.com.

        If you're resident in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

    If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try Travel Guard USA.

Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...

It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.  If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're not left stranded if your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself.  In addition, some credit cards are significantly better for overseas travel than others.  Martin Lewis's www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use an ATM abroad.  Taking this advice can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your normal high-street bank credit card!

You can avoid ATM charges and expensive exchange rates with a Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or their multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card, see www.caxtonfx.com for info.

Get an international SIM card...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're not careful you can return home to find some huge bills waiting for you.  I've known people run up a £1,000 bill in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a simple trip to Europe.  However, if you buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company such as www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid.  It cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide, and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries.  It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills when you get home.  It also works for laptop or PDA data access.  A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't expire if it's not between trips, unlike some others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone number' for life.