Cruise Critic member in Israel, happy to answer questions

[Marian Paroo]

http://www.atlas.co.il/cinema-hotel-tel-aviv/

[Marian Paroo]

.... that will knock your socks off!!

 

http://www.thenorman.com/

[joeyyyycruiser]

cab ride to Tel Aviv from Ashdod is it a problem and return later in the evening

[jlajr]

I do not believe finding a taxi to take you from the Ashdod port to Tel Aviv would be difficult, but it could be expensive. According to the official price list (http://media.mot.gov.il/PDF/HE_TRAFFIC_PUBLIC/Taharif_monit.pdf, in Hebrew), between 05:30 and 21:00 taxis in Israel cost ILS 12.3 + ILS 0.3 per 78.74 meters/11 seconds for the first 15 kilometers + ILS 0.3 per 65.66 meters/11 seconds over 15 kilometers. To drive from Ashdod to Gordon Beach in central Tel-Aviv is 39 kilometers, according to Google Maps. That would be at least ILS 12.3 + ILS 57.15 + ILS 109.66 = ILS 179.11 - each direction.

[joeyyyycruiser]

Thank you

[gwesq]

Good info in this thread. Possibly I missed it, but I am wondering what is involved in getting from Aqaba, where the cruise ends, to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, without flying? It seems a car to Eilat would be a very short trip, but unclear if that can be done. Want to spend more time in Israel than the cruise provides.

 

Thanks

[Marian Paroo]

It can be done, but I would need to look it up. Could take a while. Glad you want to see a little more, especially Tel Aviv

Edited September 16, 2015 by Marian Paroo

[almostnewtocruise]

Good info in this thread. Possibly I missed it, but I am wondering what is involved in getting from Aqaba, where the cruise ends, to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, without flying? It seems a car to Eilat would be a very short trip, but unclear if that can be done. Want to spend more time in Israel than the cruise provides.

 

Thanks

 

I am not an expert either. but there are buses between Eilat and Tel Aviv (and between Eilat and Jerusalem). I did a "mock" booking one way and got a price of 82 NIS one way. Here is the Egged (the bus company) link :

http://www.egged.co.il/HomePage.aspx

 

Of course you'd need to get to Eilat from Aqaba. Which shouldn't be a problem either.

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

 

Miriam

[Marian Paroo]

My bet is there are taxis -- check Tripadvisor

[afzeluches123]

Never done this, but since there is a very strict border check I think the only way to pass from Aquaba to Eilat is through buses or Taxis and you'll have to switch taxis at the border. Then when you reach Eilat you can take a bus but they are not very frequent. Taxi will cost a small fortune.

[TaliaBT]

Good info in this thread. Possibly I missed it, but I am wondering what is involved in getting from Aqaba, where the cruise ends, to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, without flying? It seems a car to Eilat would be a very short trip, but unclear if that can be done. Want to spend more time in Israel than the cruise provides.

 

Thanks

 

As far as I know the only ship that is doing turn-around in Aqaba is Voyages to Antiquities in March 2016.

I wonder, are you skipping the post-cruise offered by the cruise company and want to go to Israel instead?

If I were you I would go on the post-cruise as planed but change the return flight.

Cross to Israel from Amman via King Hussein Bridge (formally Allenby) to Jerusalem. If it cost you too much using multi-destination flights plan you can still take your return flight from Amman, crossing back at the end of your Israeli part of the tour.

If you have more time, tour Israel from Jerusalem to the north and you can cross back to Jordan from the north, via Jordan River Bridge, back to Amman with an option to visit Jerash on the way.

In anyway, if you want to cross into Israel via Arava Border Cross this is not difficult. Take a taxi from Aqaba Port to the cross and from the Israeli side to Eilat. One thing I suggest you if you are planning to rent a car and that is to pre book it. Take into consideration that if you are returning the car elsewhere in th north an extra charge will be added.

Enjoy!

[2910car]

Can we use Euros in Israel or should we get Israeli money?

[jlajr]

Can we use Euros in Israel or should we get Israeli money?

 

Some places like hotels and restaurants frequented by tourists might accept Euros, but possibly with unfavorable exchange rates.

 

I recommend getting shekels, either at a currency exchanger or at an ATM. ATMs are fairly widespread in Israel, especially in cities and towns (for example, for VISA ATMs in Tel-Aviv, http://www.visa.com/atmlocator/index.jsp#%28page:results,params:%28query:tel-aviv%29%29). Keep in mind that many non-bank ATMs charge a withdrawal fee over and above your bank's ATM withdrawal fee.

 

Personally, I usually don't spend too much time searching for the absolutely best rates, as time = money IMHO. Then again, I'm never exchanging that much money to make a 0.1 exchange rate difference mean that much of a difference in net cost.

[jlajr]

Good info in this thread. Possibly I missed it, but I am wondering what is involved in getting from Aqaba, where the cruise ends, to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, without flying? It seems a car to Eilat would be a very short trip, but unclear if that can be done. Want to spend more time in Israel than the cruise provides.

 

Thanks

 

As others have mentioned, you'd need to get from the Aqaba port to the border crossing, which I don't think is more than a ten-minute drive (don't try using Google Maps, though, unless you want a chuckle).

 

Then you'd need to get from the crossing to either the Eilat central bus station, a stop along the way by taxi, or the Eilat airport, again not more than a 10-minute drive. According to http://www.iaa.gov.il/en-US/borders/yitzhakrabin/Pages/default.aspx, there is no public transportation from/to the Israeli side of the border crossing.

 

However, that page does indicate you can cross the border by bus, so you might be able to find a private operator offering service from Aqaba to Eilat, or maybe even all the way to Jerusalem or Tel-Aviv.

 

You could fly relatively cheaply on Arkia, Israir, or El-Al from Eilat to either Ben-Gurion Airport outside Tel-Aviv and about a 45-minute drive from Jerusalem (depending on traffic); Sde Dov airport in Tel-Aviv; or even Haifa.

 

You might also want to consider staying in Eilat, or Aqaba for that matter, for a night or two. Aqaba's cheaper, I believe.

[gwesq]

As far as I know the only ship that is doing turn-around in Aqaba is Voyages to Antiquities in March 2016.

I wonder, are you skipping the post-cruise offered by the cruise company and want to go to Israel instead?

If I were you I would go on the post-cruise as planed but change the return flight.

Cross to Israel from Amman via King Hussein Bridge (formally Allenby) to Jerusalem. If it cost you too much using multi-destination flights plan you can still take your return flight from Amman, crossing back at the end of your Israeli part of the tour.

If you have more time, tour Israel from Jerusalem to the north and you can cross back to Jordan from the north, via Jordan River Bridge, back to Amman with an option to visit Jerash on the way.

In anyway, if you want to cross into Israel via Arava Border Cross this is not difficult. Take a taxi from Aqaba Port to the cross and from the Israeli side to Eilat. One thing I suggest you if you are planning to rent a car and that is to pre book it. Take into consideration that if you are returning the car elsewhere in th north an extra charge will be added.

Enjoy!

 

It's a new ship - will be in its first season, and this sailing is November 2016. THey do not have any post-cruise packages lined up yet. I am trying to avoid taking return flight from Amman, and want to see more of Israel after the cruise. We'll do Petra via ship's tour, and definitely want to swim/snorkel in Gulf of Aqaba, in honor of a friend who recently passed away shortly after celebrating Her 92nd birthday diving in the Gulf of Aqaba.

[gwesq]

As others have mentioned, you'd need to get from the Aqaba port to the border crossing, which I don't think is more than a ten-minute drive (don't try using Google Maps, though, unless you want a chuckle).

 

Then you'd need to get from the crossing to either the Eilat central bus station, a stop along the way by taxi, or the Eilat airport, again not more than a 10-minute drive. According to http://www.iaa.gov.il/en-US/borders/yitzhakrabin/Pages/default.aspx, there is no public transportation from/to the Israeli side of the border crossing.

 

However, that page does indicate you can cross the border by bus, so you might be able to find a private operator offering service from Aqaba to Eilat, or maybe even all the way to Jerusalem or Tel-Aviv.

 

You could fly relatively cheaply on Arkia, Israir, or El-Al from Eilat to either Ben-Gurion Airport outside Tel-Aviv and about a 45-minute drive from Jerusalem (depending on traffic); Sde Dov airport in Tel-Aviv; or even Haifa.

 

You might also want to consider staying in Eilat, or Aqaba for that matter, for a night or two. Aqaba's cheaper, I believe.

 

 

I did look at Google Maps - very crazy. I think it took me to about 5 countries, including Turkey & Cyprus. Very weird!

[Jimbo59]

Are there ATM's at the Ashdod Cruise Port? Their website only says a currency exchange is available.

 

Also, do Israeli taxis accept credit cards? We want to take a taxi from the port to north of Tel Aviv and I don't know how much the taxi fare will be. Paying by credit card is the easiest, or i could get cash shekels from an ATM.

[jlajr]

Are there ATM's at the Ashdod Cruise Port? Their website only says a currency exchange is available.

 

Also, do Israeli taxis accept credit cards? We want to take a taxi from the port to north of Tel Aviv and I don't know how much the taxi fare will be. Paying by credit card is the easiest, or i could get cash shekels from an ATM.

 

According to http://www.visa.com/atmlocator/index.jsp#%28page:results,params:%28query:%27Ashdod,%20Israel%27%29%29, there is no VISA ATM at the Ashdod Cruise Port. http://www.mastercard.com/global/atmlocations/ shows ATMS not too far from the port, but I'm fairly certain the map's wrong. You'd have to look at the address for each ATM and see how close to the port it really is.

 

I don't really know for sure about taxis accepting credit cards, but a Google search for the Hebrew phrase for "taxis credit cards" shows results that indicate at least some do credit cards. Also, there is a Gett app (http://gett.com/il/) that might allow you to order a taxi from/to the port and use a credit card for payment.

[paul6453]

I do believe finding a taxi to take you from the Ashdod port to Tel Aviv will be very expensive.

[jlajr]

I do believe finding a taxi to take you from the Ashdod port to Tel Aviv will be very expensive.

 

Indeed. From an earlier reply:

 

I do not believe finding a taxi to take you from the Ashdod port to Tel Aviv would be difficult, but it could be expensive. According to the official price list (http://media.mot.gov.il/PDF/HE_TRAFFIC_PUBLIC/Taharif_monit.pdf, in Hebrew), between 05:30 and 21:00 taxis in Israel cost ILS 12.3 + ILS 0.3 per 78.74 meters/11 seconds for the first 15 kilometers + ILS 0.3 per 65.66 meters/11 seconds over 15 kilometers. To drive from Ashdod to Gordon Beach in central Tel-Aviv is 39 kilometers, according to Google Maps. That would be at least ILS 12.3 + ILS 57.15 + ILS 109.66 = ILS 179.11 - each direction.

[Moksha22]

Hi everyone

We will be arriving in Israel on celebrity constellation end October.

Just wondering if it is possible to pick up at the cruise port or any other place a local smartphone chip for 3 day use ?

And if US dollars are acceptable or do we need to have Israeli currency ?

[Marian Paroo]

You can use $ in large establishments an cabs but be ware of cheats.

Best to stick to shekels

[Moksha22]

Thank you Marian for your prompt response. Will carry shekels for miscellaneous expenses. Tour co has agreed to take US D for their charges.

Meanwhile would you know anything about how to get a local phone chip for 3 days with international calling and data services?

Thanks for your help

[jlajr]

Hi everyone

We will be arriving in Israel on celebrity constellation end October.

Just wondering if it is possible to pick up at the cruise port or any other place a local smartphone chip for 3 day use ?

 

My short answer is "I don't know", unfortunately.

 

I'm not familiar with the Ashdod port and the area around it, but a little familiar with the area around the Haifa port. There is a post office a couple of blocks away from the passenger terminal at Sha'ar Palmer 1, which might sell a local SIM card (http://www.israelpost.co.il/mall.nsf/prodsbycode/175?OpenDocument&L=EN). According to the website, it is open from 08:00-16:00 Sundays through Thursdays. There might be shops near the terminal also selling similar SIM cards.

 

Or, you could order an Israeli SIM card from, for example, https://www.prepaidisraelisim.com/. (Not an endorsement; no connection with the company; just a Google search result for "Israeli sim cards".)

[Moksha22]

Thanks jlajr

Will look at the links provided by you. Grateful for the trouble you took to find these.