Israel – What to Visit, Where to Stay and How to Arrive – Page 2

Note : You are on Page 2, Start with Page 1.

Maps – Orientation

Map 1 – Israel Location

Map 2 – Main Attractions

Map 3 – Interactive Map

  • Points in Blue – Connected by Train
  • Points in Red – Only Bus

What to Visit in Israel ? – Part 2

Places related to Religion – Bethlehem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee (Tiberias)

If you are religious Christian :

Then you may be interested in visiting places that are important Christian sites.
Such sites are Jerusalem, Bethlehem,  Nazareth and maybe also the Sea of Galilee.

Jerusalem

For Jerusalem, you should visit the page What to Visit in the Old city of Jerusalem. In Jerusalem there is the famous Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to Christianism it is the place where Jesus is buried. Also in this area is the the Church of all Nations (church of the Agony) in mount of olives and the Dormition Abbey.
See where to Stay in Jerusalem.

Bethlehem

Another place of Christian pilgrimage is Bethlehem. According to Christianism it is the place where Jesus was born. The Church of the Nativity is here. See more Info in Wikipedia.
Bethlehem is very close to Jerusalem (just 8 Km), so it is easy to visit. Note that Bethlehem is located in the Palestinian territories so expect a road control on your way there.
See Hotels in Bethlehem.

How to arrive to Bethlehem ?

There are 2 types of buses going from Jerusalem to Bethlehem :

  1. Most of the buses to Bethlehem are starting from the Palestinian bus station outside the Damascus Gate of the old city of Jerusalem (see location of this bus station in the Transport page of Jerusalem). It is possible that these buses would not appear on the smartphone App like Google Maps and Moovit.
  2. Regular Buses travelling to Jewish villages near Bethlehem. These buses do appear on the smartphone App like Google Maps and Moovit, so just use your smartphone to find the bus passing near you (put “Bethlehem” as destination ).

Nazareth

In the New Testament, the town of Nazareth is described as the childhood home of Jesus. Read more details in Wikipedia.

In the city there is the Church of the Annunciation (see details in Wikipedia)

and beside it the church of St Joseph. 

Both churches were recently renovated and they are very beautiful.

The old town of Nazareth is pleasant. There are Hummus restaurants and small coffee places. There are also places to drink a beer.

If you you want to stay to sleep in Nazareth there are small places with character and also bigger hotels. See Hotels in Nazareth.

How to arrive to Nazareth ?

Nazareth is located in the north of Israel. It is an important Arab-Israeli city.

Unlike Bethlehem, Nazareth is well within normal Israeli territory, so you can arrive with a regular bus from one of the central stations in Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem or Haifa.
See location on the following Map.
Haifa is closer to Nazareth than Tel-Aviv is to Nazareth. See where are located the central bus stations in the Transport pages.

The Train of Israel doesn’t reach Nazareth (for now), so you need to take the bus. You can reach with the train the nearby town of Afula and then take a short bus ride, but it is easier to take a direct bus from one of the main cities. The distances are not big and you may be in Nazareth in less than 2 hours.

Sea of Galilee – Tiberias city

The Sea of Galilee is mentioned several times in the life of Jesus, so you may want to visit this big lake. The biggest city on this lake is Tiberias. It is a touristic city and from the sea promenade you can take a short sail on the lake. The holy site for Christianism is Capernaum (see Wikipedia) and it is located in the north part of the lake.
See Hotels in Tiberias.

How to arrive to Tiberias ?

Tiberias is a medium sized city in Israel (see location on the Map above). Unfortunately the train does not reach Tiberias, so you will need a bus from one of the central stations in Israel.
Haifa is closer to Tiberias than Tel-Aviv. See where are located the central bus stations in the Transport pages.

Safed (Tzfat)

This city is related to Judaism. It is a small city in the upper Galilee (900 meters high) with very nice views over the surroundings. It is an antique city that was always an important Jewish center and also today there is a community of Orthodox Jews living here.

There is a street with a lot of Art galleries.

There is and impressive old Spanish Synagogue to visit. “Abuhav” Synagogue.

It is recommended to visit Safed, if you have time.

How to arrive to Safed  ?

There is no train to Safed. You can arrive by bus from many cities in Israel and especially from the nearby ones, like Tiberias. There are many buses from Haifa (the north bus station “Merkazit Hamifratz”). Travel time about 1.30 hours.

You can arrive with the train till the city of Karmiel and then continue by bus (about 1 hour). See where are located the central bus stations in the Transport pages.

Beit-Shean

The highlight of this small town is a national park with ruins of a Roman city.

It is very impressive. There are remains of a cardo street, a Roman theater, a bathhouse and much more. It is possible to climb an hill and get a panoramic view. After sunset there is also an audiovisual show.

It is extremely hot in this region, so prepare yourself.

How to arrive to Beit-Shean  ?

Very easy. There is a train from Haifa to Beit-Shean every hour. The travel takes 50 minutes. From the train station in Beit-Shean, you need to take a bus to the national park (which is located in the town center).

See where are located the central bus stations in the Transport pages.

Extra Visits : Eilat, Kibbutz, Petra, Organized Tours.

Eilat

Eilat is the most southern city of Israel. It is located on the red Sea, near the border with Egypt (see location on the Map above). The view in Eilat is very nice, there are the red mountains of the desert and there is the beautiful waters of the sea. The waters are usually calm and clear. It is very hot in Eilat.
There are a lot of Hotels in Eilat, especially big ones.
See Hotels in Eilat.

How to arrive to Eilat ?

The distance from Tel-Aviv (on the road) is about 350 Km. It takes about 4 or 5 hours.
You can take a bus from one of the two central stations in Tel-Aviv (see location on the Tel-Aviv Transport page) or from Jerusalem (see location on the Jerusalem Transport page). There are also night buses to Eilat. You better reserve your place on the bus.
There are also flights to Eilat from Tel-Aviv airport (Ben Gurion airport).

Petra (Jordan)

Petra is a very famous antique site in Jordan country.  See details in Wikipedia.
From Eilat in Israel, you can make a trip to Petra, with an organized trip or on your own.
See Hotels in Petra.

Regions to visit with a rented car or an organized tour

The Negev desert

The Negev desert is located in the south of Israel (see on Map above). The landscape is interesting, but more difficult to access with public transport than the places mentioned before, so you may want to join an organized tour. One interesting place in the Negev desert is the crater of Ramon (see details in Wikipedia) which was created from the impact of a meteor.

The Galilee and the Golan Heights

These are regions located in the north of Israel (see on the following Map). There are some nice rivers and waterfalls in the region, but they are more difficult to access with public transport than the places mentioned before. The Banias river is popular for kayaking.
The city of Safed (Tzfat) in the Galilee is easy to access (Tzfat  was mentioned before).
Technically also Natzareth + lake of Galilee (which were mentioned before), are part of the Galilee.

If you want to visit a Kibbutz

A Kibbutz is a special sort of village in Israel. The original Kibbutzim (plural of Kibbutz) had socialist values and the idea of sharing things among the members. Today the Kibbutzim are more capitalist, but they are still interesting to visit. You can read about the Kibbutzim in wikipedia.

Many Kibbutzim have hotels for tourism, so you can sleep in them. For example Ein-Gedi in the Dead Sea. There are hundreds of Kibbutzim in Israel, including in the Galilee and the Negev. You can try to find accommodation in a Kibbutz with Booking.com.

Organized Tours in Israel

If your time is limited and if you want to be transported to touristic places instead of dealing with public transport, then you may prefer to join an organized tour for one or more days. See organized tours in Israel.


star More on Jerusalem  :
star More on Israel  :
star Others  :

star If you find incorrect data in this page, like a restaurant has closed or a big river has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.

alien