If you ask me, traveling is one of life’s greatest joys. When I travel, I feel alive, I feel smarter and I have a wonderful chance to get to learn new things about myself and those who travel with me. What a great thing!
I love travelling to new, and also old places, discovering new cultures, and really getting a close and intimate experience at a place. Probably, my most memorable experiences from my trips would be conversations with local people, who really gave me new insights and great ideas.
As a tour guide, and as an Israeli, I love sharing my thoughts, experiences and true insights about my country and about my life here. I find that often people who travel with me in Israel are fascinated by the different cultures, kibbutz life, start up nation, and just about all of Israel’s complexities . I would love to share my thoughts with you during our tour together, while we walk or over a plate of hummus 🙂
Just before you come, I would like to share a list I’ve created of things to remember and know. These are mostly technical things, but they can definitely make your visit to Israel much easier, so that you can then really focus on what matters – having a fabulous time!
Here it goes:
When entering Israel you will get a small blue and white piece of paper attached to your passport. Keep it! This is like your passport stamp and essential if you don’t want to pay VAT on hotels, car rentals and shopping.
Remember the weekend in Israel is Friday- Saturday. Saturday is the Jewish holy day, and therefore there is no public transportation and most businesses are closed. Friday is a half day and businesses, as well as public transportation will close sometime around the afternoon. Sunday is a normal week day for us.
We have lots of holidays! So please make sure you check if there are any holidays during your stay, and of course, feel free to ask us before planning your trip. Some holidays mean that things are going to be closed, like on Shabbat (Saturday), and some simply mean everything will be packed!
Tour guides in Israel must have be licensed. We go through a very long training and for most of us this is a lifetime career. All tour guides in Israel must have a valid license, with a picture on it. Don’t go with anyone who is not a licensed tour guide, as cheap as they may be, because this is a violation of the law. Also, if this person is caught guiding with no license, your tour will be immediately stopped and that person is facing a very big fine. So, it’s very simple, just join us 🙂
Commonly used credit cards are Visa and Mastercard, Diners. Some businesses don’t accept American Express, so if you have one try to also have another card with you.
Wifi is very easy to find in Israel – at the airport, in many bublic areas of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, on buses and of course at every restaurant and caffe.
If you plan to take taxis you can download an app called Gett, which is the easiest way to call a taxi. We don’t really use Uber over here. Also, if you hall a taxi on the street make sure to ask for the meter. Some cab drivers, especially in tourist areas, will try to over charge…
If you plan to also use public transportation you will need a special card, called ‘Rav Kav’. It is green and can be charged with money to be used all over the country. You can get one at the airport (look for a sign that says Rav Kav), or purchase it from the bus driver, and it would cost you 5 ILS.
Tips at restaurants are almost mandatory. When sitting at a restaurant people leave between 12-15% of the bill as a tip to the waiter/waitress.
Most Israelis speak good English, so don’t hesitate to stop and ask for directions.
I hope this helps! And of course, if you have any questions for us, we are always happy to answer.
Shalom, Naomi
