Traveling from Ashdod to Jerusalem

[Abby Ruth]

We would like to travel on our own from Ashdod to Jerusalem and then stay overnight in Jerusalem, picking up our cruise in Haifa the next day. We've hired a private guide to drive us from Jerusalem to Haifa.

 

We've been advised by someone who has spent time in Israel that it is not easy to get from Ashdod to Jerusalem on our own. Has anyone done this? What is your advice?

[Rosiegirl676]

Hi Gail,

 

I think your best bet to go from Ashdod to Jerusalem is to get a driver to take you there. There could be public bus transporation which would cost you less and you could find this out by going to the website for Eged bus company but I think it's better and safer to go by private car and you know there are some interesting things to see along the way like Masada and the Dead Sea too!

 

Rosie:p

[Fblack]

If things don't settle down in Gaza soon the whole issue may be moot. We too are going on Celebrity to Ashdod and Haifa later in 2009. Hamas was firing rockets onto Ashdod over the weekend. This could force cruise lines to cancel those ports. It's a long way off for me, but who knows.

[Abby Ruth]

Hi Gail,

 

I think your best bet to go from Ashdod to Jerusalem is to get a driver to take you there. There could be public bus transporation which would cost you less and you could find this out by going to the website for Eged bus company but I think it's better and safer to go by private car and you know there are some interesting things to see along the way like Masada and the Dead Sea too!

 

Rosie:p

 

Hi Rosie,

 

I don't think we'd consider a bus in Israel. We were thinking of a sheroot if they exist between Ashdod and Jerusalem. It does seem that hiring a driver is the best bet and we're considering it. We do want to go straight to Jerusalem though. We've to to Masada and the Dead Sea twice and really want to spend our time wandering around Jerusalem. We hope to see some tourist sights between Jerusalem and Haifa the next day.

 

I was just wondering if anyone has experienced travel on their own and what they did.

[Abby Ruth]

If things don't settle down in Gaza soon the whole issue may be moot. We too are going on Celebrity to Ashdod and Haifa later in 2009. Hamas was firing rockets onto Ashdod over the weekend. This could force cruise lines to cancel those ports. It's a long way off for me, but who knows.

 

I guess there's always a question as to whether a cruise ship will stop in Israel until it actually gets there. October is still a long way away, but if the region is unstable, we could be disappointed. I'm not even counting on going to Haifa if things heat up from Lebanon. We'll have to wait and see and hope, for our cruises and the survival of Israel.

[Keith1010]

Alot will likely change between now and then. We visited Ashdod on a World Cruise in 2007. In 2006 there were a number of issues but by the time we got there all was settled and we had a wonderful visit.

 

Keith

[zipporah]

Hi, any update on going from Ashod to Jerusalem? How long will a taxi take?

Are there vans? Does anyone have any recent experieces to share?

 

Shirley

[Sabbycat]

Hi there everyone,

 

I am looking at booking for the Sept. 26th, 2009 celebrity Equinox departure. I have not yet because of the state of affairs between Isreal and Palastine. Has anyone else had these worries? Any words of advice?

 

Furthermore, anyone know what ports of call will be put in place of Ashdod and Haifa should things become unstable?

 

Thank you in advance for your replies : )

[Keith1010]

Hi there everyone,

 

I am looking at booking for the Sept. 26th, 2009 celebrity Equinox departure. I have not yet because of the state of affairs between Isreal and Palastine. Has anyone else had these worries? Any words of advice?

 

Furthermore, anyone know what ports of call will be put in place of Ashdod and Haifa should things become unstable?

 

Thank you in advance for your replies : )

 

We will be there next spring as part of a cruise we are on. I just don't worry about these issues. A lot can change in the world from day to day. We were there in 2007 and had a great time. About nine months earlier there were problems but we knew a lot could change and it did. I would not hesitate to book this.

 

Keith

[ldog]

We'll be in Israel in October. If it's not safe I'm sure the cruise line (HAL) will substitute other ports or we'll have a sea day or two. I'd really like to see Jerusalem and the Dead Sea but if it's not meant to be not big deal. We'll still have a great adventure!

[happy trailer]

I'm taking a short cruise out of Ashdod this Sunday. I live right outside Jerusalem, and the taxi driver I use regularly is giving me the 'special rate' of 250 shekels (around 60 dollars) for the trip to the port from my home.

 

Boarding starts at 11am, and he said I should plan to have him pick me up at 9:30 because of traffic.

 

My husband is going to try to pick my up when I get back from the cruise; if not he'll either arrange for the taxi driver to meet me, and if that doesn't work out I'll either grab a cab at the pier, or take either a sherut (shared van) or bus from Ashdod to Jerusalem, and make my way home from there.

 

I'll post here when I get back if I wound up on either the sherut or the bus to let you know how that worked out, and how much it cost.

[happy trailer]

I wound up arranging for my taxi driver pal to pick me up at the pier for the trip home, but I did notice that several local Ashdod cab drivers were waiting around for passengers, and many of the Israelis who had been on the ship were using them.

 

BTW, a couple of new highways recently opened, and they speed up the trip from Ashdod to Jerusalem, but you still need to figure that the trip from the pier to downtown Jerusalem will take an hour (and it could take longer, depending on traffic).

[Lurontravel]

How long is the drive from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, or Ashdod to the Dead Sea?

[iceburg1]

I wound up arranging for my taxi driver pal to pick me up at the pier for the trip home, but I did notice that several local Ashdod cab drivers were waiting around for passengers, and many of the Israelis who had been on the ship were using them.

 

BTW, a couple of new highways recently opened, and they speed up the trip from Ashdod to Jerusalem, but you still need to figure that the trip from the pier to downtown Jerusalem will take an hour (and it could take longer, depending on traffic).

 

Hi Ruth,

 

We are having difficulties finding a taxi van or SUV that can accommodate the 5 of us in our party from Ashdod to Jerusalem and back on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. We are planning on a visit first to Yad Vashem and then on to the Old City of Jerusalem before heading back to Ashdod. We will be leaving for Jerusalem from Ashdod at 8:00AM and returning from Jerusalem at 5:00PM.

 

Any chance that your taxi driver friend can accommodate us or maybe you or he/she knows of someone who can? We do not need a guide as we will be spending a good part of the day at Yad Vashem and the Kotel and Tunnels where it is either self-guided or a guide is provided.

 

Thanks for your help in advance.

Harry

[happy trailer]

Hi Ruth,

 

We are having difficulties finding a taxi van or SUV that can accommodate the 5 of us in our party from Ashdod to Jerusalem and back on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. We are planning on a visit first to Yad Vashem and then on to the Old City of Jerusalem before heading back to Ashdod. We will be leaving for Jerusalem from Ashdod at 8:00AM and returning from Jerusalem at 5:00PM.

 

Any chance that your taxi driver friend can accommodate us or maybe you or he/she knows of someone who can? We do not need a guide as we will be spending a good part of the day at Yad Vashem and the Kotel and Tunnels where it is either self-guided or a guide is provided.

 

Thanks for your help in advance.

Harry

 

Hi Harry,

 

Um- we've already discussed this on the other thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=913621&page=2

 

I don't mean to be rude, but I'm sure you can understand that I'm here to (happily) give advice, not to help make arrangements for drivers, guides, etc. I even think my doing that sort of thing would likely be against CC regulations.

 

If you've exhausted all possibilities- and haven't found any members of your roll call who can help, or past cruisers with experience (maybe by posting on this or another thread on CC)- and are really, really frustrated then you can try reaching me by posting a comment to one of my blog entries (you won't see your comment posted; it first goes to my email account): http://gleefullife.blogspot.com I'll try to respond within a couple of days.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE TO EVERYONE! Please contact me off list only if you sincerely feel you've fully explored all other avenues, and aren't getting anywhere. I'm happy to offer advice, but I'm sure you understand that my role is not to get personally involved with your plans and arrangements.

[iceburg1]

Hi Harry,

 

Um- we've already discussed this on the other thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=913621&page=2

 

I don't mean to be rude, but I'm sure you can understand that I'm here to (happily) give advice, not to help make arrangements for drivers, guides, etc. I even think my doing that sort of thing would likely be against CC regulations.

 

If you've exhausted all possibilities- and haven't found any members of your roll call who can help, or past cruisers with experience (maybe by posting on this or another thread on CC)- and are really, really frustrated then you can try reaching me by posting a comment to one of my blog entries (you won't see your comment posted; it first goes to my email account): http://gleefullife.blogspot.com I'll try to respond within a couple of days.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE TO EVERYONE! Please contact me off list only if you sincerely feel you've fully explored all other avenues, and aren't getting anywhere. I'm happy to offer advice, but I'm sure you understand that my role is not to get personally involved with your plans and arrangements.

 

I am sorry that you took offense at my request. Maybe I did not make it clear that I was just looking for a driver that might be able to accomodate our group of 5 people with a van or SUV. Most of the taxi companies that I asked said they could only hold 4 passengers. I did not think it would be such a terrible thing to ask for a driver's name and contact information. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[happy trailer]

I am sorry that you took offense at my request. Maybe I did not make it clear that I was just looking for a driver that might be able to accomodate our group of 5 people with a van or SUV. Most of the taxi companies that I asked said they could only hold 4 passengers. I did not think it would be such a terrible thing to ask for a driver's name and contact information. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

No offense taken at all, but frustrated, as I had already answered your question on the other thread.

 

To reiterate- I really do think you'll do fine approaching a cab at the port and asking them to call a van for you.

 

Last Friday, my husband and I went to a beach in Ashdod that is right next to the port, and on the way home, just a couple of blocks away, we passed a lot filled with the sherut type vans. Their drivers were just hanging around.

 

But, I thought you were going to ask the guide you hired for a tour up north to find a driver for you? That really sounded like the best solution.

 

I really don't want to get involved with making personal recommendations, or supplying a person's contact info, for a couple of reasons (in addition to it likely being against CC rules):

 

- I don't want to be held responsible if my contact isn't considered 'up to par', especially since Israelis standards often don't meet American expectations

 

- If I do it for one person.........

 

I'm always happy to answer questions and give advice, but I've found it necessary to draw a line at supplying contact info.

 

Enjoy your cruise- and please don't hesitate to ask more questions :)

 

BTW- I think it would be really nice if you would post your contact info for the taxi companies you were in touch with- I'm sure there are other cruisers who would love to have that info!

[seve]

:)Hi Abby

We are going on the same cruise and i was also considering travelling from Ashdod to Jerusalem privately have you found out any more information. I had even considered hiring a car. But this seems rather expensive.

Sevi

[Zbignev]

I also thought to pick a taxi at the port, but then I've found an offer for guided shore excursion from Ashdod to Jerusalem with a group for $110 per person http://www.beinharim.co.il/private_trips.php?trip_type=36

If it works fine I would take with them Nazareth tour from Haifa

[Everbest]

My daughter and I will be at Ashdod port in October and would like to go to Jerusalem and tour on our own. Are there taxis waiting at the port that we can use to get to Jerusalem or would it be better to hire a taxi now over the internet? If we should hire one now, is there a site that we can use?

Thank you.

[happy trailer]

My daughter and I will be at Ashdod port in October and would like to go to Jerusalem and tour on our own. Are there taxis waiting at the port that we can use to get to Jerusalem or would it be better to hire a taxi now over the internet? If we should hire one now, is there a site that we can use?

Thank you.

 

Hi!

 

From my experience, from when I took a quick low budget cruise out of Ashdod, there will be taxis waiting at the port when you arrive. The driver will speak at least enough English for you to communicate, and if he is more fluent, ask him to point out sights of interest along the way- he'll be more than happy to!

 

BTW, I've set up a thread on this forum to answer questions about visiting Israel. It's filled with information (including ideas for visiting Jerusalem on your own), and I'm always happy to answer questions.

 

Here's the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=913621

[kurlycue]

Hi from kurlycue. My daughter and I are taking the Sept 26 departure and I'm sorry to see you booked the earlier one. We could have shared expenses on some shore excursions. I'd love to hear about your trip before we leave, but as you know we must leave Los Angeles, to head for Rome, the day before you return. Oh well, I'll look forward to any posts by you after we all return home.

[Abby Ruth]

:)Hi Abby

We are going on the same cruise and i was also considering travelling from Ashdod to Jerusalem privately have you found out any more information. I had even considered hiring a car. But this seems rather expensive.

Sevi

 

We don't have any definite plans yet for traveling from Ashdod to Jerusalem. I was in contact with a taxi driver, but he asked me to recontact him two weeks before. I may try him again in about two weeks.

 

We are only going one way as we're planning to stay overnight in Jerusalem and meet the ship again in Haifa. If you'd like to share a hired car or taxi one way, let me know. My e-mail is gail dot kernish at verizon dot net.