how to travel israel on my own
How to travel Israel on your own. Can you travel to Israel on your own? YES of course you can!!! I’ve lived in Israel on and off for about 13 years. You surely can get around and see a lot!
It is completely feasible to travel to Israel alone (without a guide). But why would you want to do an ENTIRE TRIP on your own?
It is more than possible to explore the Holy Land by yourself. In just 2-3 days, you can cover Jerusalem, while the rest of the country might take 7-12 days depending on your itinerary.
Tour groups typically divide Israel into eleven regions, including the coast, Nazareth, Galilee, Golan, Samaria, Jerusalem, the Shephelah, Bethlehem, Jericho, the Dead Sea, and the Negev if you want to fully immerse yourself in the country's culture.
When you join a typical Holy Land tour, you'll be part of a group and rely on the tour leader and staff to make all the arrangements. This includes park passes, transportation, lodging, and some of your meals. The group leader and/or tour guide will provide the itinerary and information about each site. Israel's tourism industry is quite vast, so you'll have a wide variety of options for accommodations, including hotels, kibbutz lodges, hostels.
Renting a car is the most convenient option for this kind of tour, (I have a million stories about car rentals in Israel) but there are other modes of transportation available, including public transport and even a biking path for those interested, camel, donkey’s and a random mule! I’d say that often a camel maybe the safest option! Oh you could also mix and match these options according to your liking.
PROS of Traveling alone:
You can linger at the coffee shop, sleep in and get lost all by yourself! Did I say get lost?! Umm don’t trust the gps in Israel.
CONS:
TRANSPORTATION. Car rental is expensive and if you are not used to driving in Israel, I wouldn’t advise it. Personally, I have a friend that visited recently, and she is amazing at navigation - in fact, that is what she does for business. Mid-way in the trip she had become so frazzled that we hired a driver for the remainder of the trip! It really is just that difficult.
There are three main highways across the country. IF there is an accident on one - there is no easy way to ‘go around it’. GPS will re-route you into circles and then try to put you onto a highway you are not allowed to go onto if you are renting!
HOLY SITES: Yes you can go and look around and read the signs but honestly the vast knowledge of the guides are amazing. Well worth hiring a seasoned guide. Why leave one of the most amazing lands and not understand what and where you just were!
HOTELS: Yes there is a plethora of hotels but what if you want to go glamping or go to a boutique hotel? The guides are the ones who know where these hidden gems are! Let me tell you about his lovely hotel that only has 25 rooms - where you will be remembered by name!
MY RECCOMENDATION!!! What do I encourage my friends and family to do? I say book an experience with a Curated Tour Company like mine!!
I will ask you all the questions!! What do you want to achieve? What is your bucket list? Do you want a religious pilgrimage? Do you want to go view the local startups and learn about all the advancements in Israel? Do you want to go visit some of the most unique natural wonders? Let me know! I am happy to curate something special just for you.
THEN .. I would encourage you to book a few more days where you can go back to those favorite places .. meander by yourself. Sit, linger for a day or a week longer!
Do both!!!! If you can only chose one, I’d go with someone that would want to curate that special experience for me! It’s worth it!
You will never be the same.
ummm I’m pretty sure my friend that rented a car will never be the same as well?! But boy we have a story to tell!!! That one and the time we both received tickets on the train and thought we maybe on our way to jail!!! I’ll save that for another day!
