The Transport in Jerusalem + How to arrive from the Airport

On this page :

    1. Transport To and From Jerusalem
    2. The location of the Central Bus +Train Stations in Jerusalem
    3. How to get Information on Trains and Bus lines
    4. Transport Inside Jerusalem
    5. How to Pay for the Transports in Israel
    6. The Transport in Israel during the Shabbat day (week-end)
See this Interactive Map with the places mentioned later on :

To and From Jerusalem

How to get from the Airport to Jerusalem

The International Airport (Ben-Gurion Airport) is located between Tel-aviv and Jerusalem, about 40 Km from Jerusalem and 25 Km from Tel-Aviv. It takes around 40 minutes to travel by car between Jerusalem and the Airport. (from the Airport to Tel-Aviv see here).

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Option 1 : New Train

A new train line between Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, via the airport.
The journey between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem takes about 35 minutes. Between the airport and Jerusalem 20 minutes. The train station in Jerusalem is called Navon and it is located in front of the Central Bus Station.
Frequency : Every 30 minutes.
Night : Doesn’t function at night.
Week-End : The trains in Israel do not function on Shabbat day (the week-end).
More information  : Israel Railway website

Option 2 : Public Bus

Bus number 485 (operated by Afiqim company). It goes every hour, including at night. It doesn’t function on shabbat day. It has several stops in jerusalem including the Central Bus Station. Price 16 Shekels.

Option 3 : With Shared Taxi Service

Shared Taxis (“Sherut” in Hebrew) are minivans that can take about 10 people. They are flexible and can get you down at different points in Jerusalem.
The Shared Taxi service runs also at night and at Shabbat day.
From the airport, you just have to get out of the building and you will be directed to one Taxi-van. They leave when they get filled with people.
From Jerusalem to the Airport : You can pick a Shared Taxi from the Central Bus Station (they leave about every 20 minutes) or reserve by phone. One of the big companies is Nesher.
Common price  : About 60 Shekels per person. Use this Currency Converter

Option 4 : Taxi

They operate all the time. There is a boarding point outside the terminal.
Common price  : About 280 Shekels for the Taxi. Use this Currency Converter.

How to get from Jerusalem to Tel-Aviv

Option 1 : New Train

A new train line between Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, via the airport.
The journey between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem takes about 35 minutes. The train station in Jerusalem is called Navon and it is located in front of the Central Bus Station.
The trains in Israel do not function on Shabbat day (the week-end).

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See the location of the train stations in Tel-Aviv.

Option 2 : Bus

From Jerusalem Central Bus Station, bus number 480 to reach the Central Station at North Tel-Aviv and bus number 405 for the  Central Station at South Tel-Aviv.
In Tel-Aviv, the South Central Station is the bigger one and the one you may want if you need to make a bus change in order to travel to other Israeli cities. Otherwise, it is better to reach the northern bus station because :

  1. It is easier to reach destinations inside Tel-Aviv like the town center, the beach…
  2. The place is smaller, easier and much more pleasant than the South central station.
  3. The Tel-Aviv Central Train station is nearby, if you want to go to Haifa, for instance.

See the location of the two Central Bus stations in Tel-Aviv.

Location of The Main Central Bus station + New Train Station of Jerusalem (Navon)

Located on the left side of Jerusalem, close to Tel-Aviv highway.

See on Map here or on the Interactive Map above

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Location of the Train Station Malka (not the main one)

There is here an old train line that runs in mountains and valleys and the journey to Tel-Aviv takes 2 hours instead of 45 minutes by bus. So if you want to make a trip with a nice scenery and especially if you have children and you don’t have any idea how to entertain them, then take this train.
This Train station is not located in a conventional location, it is far away from the city center and the Central Bus Station. It is located in the South of the city, near the mall Malha. See location on the Interactive Map above

Location of the Jerusalem Bus Station for the West Bank

You may take a bus from this station in order to travel to Palestinian towns like Bet-Lehem and Hebron. For some destinations in the West Bank, the bus may be from the regular Central Bus Station.

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The Israeli Train Company

There is only one company in Israel. You can get information on their website.
In Israel, you can reach with the train : Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer-Sheva and the international airport.
You can not reach with the train : The dead sea, Eilat, Tiberias and Nazareth (you need to take a bus).

The Bus Companies and Information on Bus Lines

  1. It is recommended to download to the smartphone the application Moovit (free). It works fine in Israel. The application detects the bus station where you are and tells you which lines are about to arrive. You can also consult bus itineraries. Of course that you need an internet connection on your smartphone.
  2. You can also use the application of Google Maps on your smartphone, it does the same as Moovit but with a different interface. First search a destination on the map and then click the button : “How to arrive”.  Choose the option “Transport” and it will show you the buses and even guide you in real time.
  3. You can look for bus information on the websites of the bus companies or ask at the information desk in the central bus stations.

Egged is the main Bus company, operating in Jerusalem and on National lines.
See Egged Website for information about lines or call them at *2800 or 03-6948888

More Bus Information Sites and Route Planners:

Bus.Gov.Il   Phone:   *8787 or   052-9998787 or   072-2588787

Bus.co.il  Phone :  1-900-72-1111 

Transport Inside Jerusalem

The Tramway (Light Train)

For now, there is only one line of Tramway. It is slow compared to an underground system, but still very convenient and easier than looking for information about buses. You can use the Tram to reach most of the tourist attractions, especially the old city and the town center and the Holocaust museum.

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Here in the Map, you can see the central part of the line, the part that gets from the Central Bus Station to the Old City and the City Center :
(or see it on the Interactive Map above)

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See how to get to each Tourist Attraction at the Tourist Attractions page.

The Tramway doesn’t operate on the Shabbat day and at night.

You can visit the official Tramway site, for more details.

How to Pay for the Tramway :

See the next page : How to Pay for the Transports in Israel.

Buses

For all the cases that the Tramway doesn’t reach your destination, take the bus.

See how to get to each Tourist Attraction at the Tourist Attractions page.

  • Note : The Tramway of Jerusalem and the Buses are operated by different companies.

Taxis

Yes, there are many Taxis in Jerusalem. Most of the Taxi drivers are honest, but make sure the Taxi-Meter is running at the beginning of the ride and that you are not asked special prices just because you are a tourist.

Bicycle

There is a sharing system for bikes in Jerusalem which functions via a smartphone application. It is not as popular as in Tel-Aviv. One of the reasons that it is less popular is because of the mountainous condition of Jerusalem.

Transport in Jerusalem on the Week-End – Shabbat day

See the next section on this page: The transport in Israel during Shabbat.
Jerusalem is more religious than Tel-Aviv and the public transport is almost non existent during Saturday.

Sightseeing Bus

There was one (bus 99), but apparently it doesn’t function anymore.
You can find many tours in Jerusalem and the surroundings in the page about the guided tours.

How to Pay for the Transports in Israel ?

See this on the second page.

The Transport in Israel during the Week-End – the Shabbat day

Unfortunately, because in Israel religious parties have political power, there is almost no public transport the day of Shabbat in Israel.
The Shabbat day is not exactly Saturday. It starts on Friday at sunset and ends on Saturday at sunset. The transports will stop to run a little bit earlier and re-start a little bit later.
So, on the week-end, if you don’t want to use Taxis, stay in a place where there is a lot of food. Another option, is to stay for the week-end in Tel-Aviv, the transport is a little bit better on Saturdays, there are shared Taxis running.

What transports work on Shabbat day in Israel :

  1. Taxis
  2. Shared Taxis (Sherut, minivans) inside Tel-Aviv
  3. Shared Taxis (Sherut, minivans) between Jerusalem and the airport
  4. Rental bike systems (like Tel-O-Fun and Mobike in Tel-Aviv).
  5. Private cars and rental cars
  6. The airport for International airlines but not for El-AL.
  7. From 2019, the municipality of Tel-Aviv is running a limited transport service to its suburbs ,during Shabat. It is called NaimBesofShavua.

What transports do not work on Shabbat day in Israel :

Regular Buses, Trains and Trams inside and between the cities of Israel (there are some exceptions like the city of Haifa, where there are some buses).

Continue to the next page – How to Pay for the Transports in Israel

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