Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Holiday-makers relaxing on one of the beautiful beaches at Eilat, on the Red Sea coast
YOUTH HOSTELS
compulsory, it does entitle you
to preferential rates, and may
be more cost-effective.
As well as providing basic
accommodation, the IYHA
also offers package tours.
A range of different itineraries
these areas on your own,
these centres will also often
offer accommodation at a
daily rate. The rooms are
simple but clean, and all
include a private bathroom
and air-conditioning. They
mostly sleep between four
and six people, although
some double rooms are also
available. If you are paying
on a room-only basis, the cost
is generally less than NIS 190
per person, although prices
for the organized holidays can
vary significantly depending
on the type of itinerary.
Booking in advance is
obligatory, and the SPNI's
centralized booking office can
also reserve rooms at some of
the kibbutz hotels located in
the natural reserves and parks.
For those on a tight budget
youth hostels are ideal, and
often the cheapest places to
stay in Israel. They have no
age limits either, so you will
find a mixture of people
staying at them, from young
backpackers to many older
travellers. There are plenty of
hostels to choose from, with
around 32
Israel Youth Hostel
Association (IYHA)
hostels,
affiliated to Hostelling Inter-
national, as well as a large
number of independent ones.
Hostels in Israel are located
in the major tou
r
ist areas -
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv,
A
includes full dinner, bed-and-
breakfast at a choice of
hostels, and passes for public
transport and national parks.
They also organize fly-drive
packages, which can be a
cheap and easy way of seeing
the country if you want to
follow your own, more
flexible, holiday schedule.
FIELD SCHOOLS
A Eilat and
Galilee - and also throughout
the rest of the country. Most
offer single, double, and
family rooms as well as the
more usual dormitories, with
prices starting between
NIS 40 and NIS 120 per
person. Israeli hostels are
generally modern, with basic
facilities and clean, simple
accommodation. The price
includes linen, and in the
Israel Youth Hostel
Association hostels it also
includes breakfast. In the
independent hostels you can
pay for the room only, and
be entirely self-catering.
If you plan to stay at IYHA
hostels for any length of time,
you may want to pay for
membership. While this is not
There are 24 Field Study
Centres in Israel, run by the
Society for the Protection
of Nature in Israel (SPNI)
.
These are located in the
vicinity of some of Israel's
major natural reserves, and
were established as a way of
promoting a better understand-
ing of the country's natural
environment and history
through organized educational
holidays, lecture programmes
and summer schools. This
is still their main focus, and
their varied selection of
organized holidays revolves
around the region's diverse
history, archaeology, geology,
flora and fauna.
If you would prefer to visit
Sunbathing by the Dead Sea
