I travelled from Hastings to Gatwick by train, there is a train station integrated into Gatwick making it very easy to move from one to another with your luggage. Gatwick to Riga and Riga to Tel Aviv on Air Baltic. This is one of those airlines that charges extra for everything 35 euro for a 20 kg suitcase, 12 euro for a meal and there is no entertainment system at all but there was plenty of legroom. At Tel Aviv immigration they did not stamp my passport but gave me a small card as a 3 month visa, it has to be carried with your passport and shown when you leave the country. There are a few ATM’s at the airport and you will need cash to buy your train or bus ticket. Do not buy a SIM card here, they are 3 times the price of an identical one you get in the city. There is a train station in the airport and the fare into the city is 13.50 shekels, all the machines speak English.
- Waiting for the train at Hastings
- England
- Lone cloud
- Riga Airport
- Tel Aviv Airport
- Israel Visa
- Train ticket, it says ????
Tel Aviv – second largest city in Israel with a population of 435,000. It is a mix of Middle east and western cultures, some parts of the city are old and some new and modern. Jaffa is the original city and the Arab area, it is now part of Tel Aviv. The best part is the stretch of coast from the old Tel Aviv port area to Jaffa, a distance of about 5 km which has been developed with boardwalks, beaches and parks. The first shock you get is when you see the prices on a menu, this is an expensive city on par with or more expensive than most European cities. The sabbath starts at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday, everything is closed including public transport, no trains or busses. SIM cards are quite reasonable NIS 100 on the “019” network for unlimited calls and SMS and 9 GB data, it started working immediately. 10 shekels is approximately $3.
- Rothschild Boulevard
- Bench
- Art
- Lone tree
- Dizengoff Mall – bought my SIM card here
- HaKosen – Street food
- Pita Shwarma USD$10
- Menu
- Menu
- Illegal Immigration Memorial
- The ships
- Illegal Immigration Memorial
- Illegal Immigration Memorial
- Illegal Immigration Memorial
- Illegal Immigration Memorial
- Illegal Immigration Memorial
- New immigrants
- The local drop
- Intersection
- The Great Synagogue
- Haganah Museum
- Haganah Museum
- Haganah Museum
- Haganah Museum
- Haganah Museum
- Haganah Museum
- Haganah fighters
- The Oath
- Orde Wingate
- Founders Monument
- Independence Hall
- Independence Hall
- Independence Hall
- City Bikes
- Bank of Jerusalem 1909
- Art
- Free stuff
- Carmel Market
- Carmel Market
- Carmel Market
- Carmel Market
- Hummus
- Look at all the pigeons
- Art
- The beach
- .
- Old Tel Aviv Port
- Old Tel Aviv Port
- Old Tel Aviv Port
- Old Tel Aviv Port
- Yarkon River
- .
- Once upon a time
- Once upon a time
- Dog Beach
- Drinking water
- Gordon Beach
- Police and my bike Suzuki DL650 Vstrom
- Frishman Beach
- Police
- .
- Altalena – almost civil war
- Bograshov Beach
- Charles Clore Park
- Mosque
- Charles Clore Park
- Pay for you beach furniture here
- Lifeguard and 36c
- Jaffa
- Jaffa clock Tower
- Turkish Governor’s house
- Jaffa market
- Jaffa restaurant
- Family lunch
- Blonde
- Menu
- Abrasha Park
- At the top
- What it means
- The view from the top
- Sarona fountain
- Sarona
- Sarona
- Sarona
- Sarona
- Sarona
- Sarona Market
- Sarona Market
- Sarona
- Art
- Jabotinsky Institute
- Jabotinsky Institute
- Jabotinsky Institute
- Jabotinsky Institute
- Fountain
- Art
- IDF Museum
- IDF Museum
- IDF Museum
- IDF Museum
- IDF Museum
- IDF Museum
- IDF Museum
- IDF Museum
- Etzel Museum
- Etzel Museum
- Etzel Museum
- Etzel Museum
- Etzel Museum
- Florentine
- The price of fuel
- Florentine
Hi Chris!
Glad the UK weather waved you goodbye with a smile 🙂
The photos are wonderful, enjoying the detail. I need to read the ones with info on. Looks so special – and you even saw a DL! Yay! 🙂 And pigeons!!! – lol!
The main synagogue looks interesting.
You have had a fabulous first 4 days, glad you’re enjoying it all.
Looking forward to next update!
H xx