Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TRAVEL INFORMATION
T
he easiest way to
deals, especially if you
are prepared to travel
with a smaller, lesser-
known airline, or take
advantage of a charter package. There
are no direct sailings to Israel from
mainland Europe; the only sea route is
from Athens via Cyprus. Travelling
overland is an arduous business as all
European trains terminate at Istanbul.
get to Jerusalem
and the Holy Land
is to fly direct. Jerusalem is
served by Ben Gurion Airport, and there
are also international airports at Eilat,
Amman in Jordan and Sharm el-Sheikh
in Sinai. There are frequent flights to
Ben Gurion and, being a busy tourist
destination, it is possible to get cheap
The logo of leading Israeli
airline El Al
reservation desks. There is a
domestic terminal for flights
to Eilat; Jerusalem and Tel
Aviv both have small city
airports for internal flights.
Ben Gurion reputedly has
the tightest security of any
airport in the world. The time
taken to inspect every item
of baggage means that
passengers must check in
three hours before departure.
However, anyone flying with
El Al can check in luggage
the day before at special
offices in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
and Haifa. Those who do this
need only turn up at the
airport an hour and a quarter
before departure.
Arrival hall of Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion, Israel's main international airport
FLYING TO ISRAEL
to make your own way up to
Jerusalem and back, a bus
journey of between four and
five hours each way.
GETTING TO AND FROM
BEN GURION AIRPORT
The Israeli national airline
is
El Al
. It has direct flights
to Ben Gurion Airport from
most major European cities,
as well as from New York,
Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami,
Baltimore and Orlando in the
United States. Ben Gurion is
also served by a great many
foreign airlines, including Air
France, Alitalia, British Air-
ways, Lufthansa and Swissair;
and American Airlines, Delta,
Tower Air and TWA.
Fares are seasonal. The high
season is during the Jewish
and Christian holiday periods,
in particular Passover, Easter
and Rosh ha-Shanah
(see
pp36-9)
. At such times fares
are at a premium and it can
often be hard to find seats.
It is always worth looking
into flights to Eilat's Ovda
airport. This largely caters for
charter traffic, and it is on
these flights that the cheapest
fares are to be found. The
drawbacks are that there are
often restrictions on the dates
you may travel and you have
Ben Gurion Airport is at Lod,
about 22 km (14 miles) from
Tel Aviv and some 45 km
(28 miles) from Jerusalem.
Private taxis take about 45
minutes to Jerusalem, or you
can take a shared taxi, or
sherut (see p310t
, which is
much cheaper. These leave
from just outside the arrivals
hall. They do not set off until
they are full, but it is rare to
have to wait more than 10
or 15 minutes. The
sheruts
run through the night and
will drop passengers
anywhere in the city.
Egged buses Nos. 945
and 947 depart every
half hour from around
5:30am until 9pm for
Jerusalem's Central Bus
Station on Jaffa Road.
While this is the
cheapest method of
getting from the airport
into the city, the bus
station is more than a
kilometre from the
BEN GURION AIRPORT
Named after the first prime
minister of Israel, Ben Gurion
Airport lies southeast of Tel
Aviv, just off the road to
Jerusalem. All international
flights arrive at and depart
from the ultra-modern
Terminal 3, which opened in
2004. Services at the airport
include duty-free shops, a
telecommunications office,
foreign currency exchange
offices, car-hire outlets and
tourist information and hotel
El Al aeroplane on the runway at Ben
Gurion airport
