Hotels in Jerusalem

[cwistyred]

We will be taking a cruise out of Israel in Oct of 2024. We will arrive 5 days before the cruise to tour Jerusalem and all the major sites. We will be there during Rosh Hashanah, which will be exciting but complicate some aspects of the trip. We are older but mobile.

What area of Jerusalem would you recommend to see the most and have to use transportation the least? We have looked at hotels near the big market - Machane Yehuda, the Christian Quarter and right outside the Damascus Gate. The holiday may make checking in at certain hotels on the date we plan to arrive - October 4th, impossible. 
Thank you for any recommendations!

[IgKh]

If you don't mind me asking, do you practice the Jewish religion (in particular, keep Kosher)? Did you intentionally plan on coming on the Jewish New Year holiday, or did it just turn out like that due to the timing of the cruise?

Personally I don't view Rosh Ha-shana in Jerusalem as exciting, more like a 3 to 5 day long house arrest. Checking in would not be an issue tough. Everything else might be.

Edited September 13, 2023 by IgKh

[cwistyred]

No, we are not Jewish. I am very familiar with the holidays however as I grew up in New York. The cruise is sailing on October 9th of next year. We are coming in on the 4th. Just the luck of the draw. Trying to be optimistic as we will have to deal with the limitations of the dates we will be there.  That is why I wanted to know what area will be best to stay in, as I know transportation will be limited.  We will be taking organized tours during our visit, so that part is taken care of. 

[sherrihall128]

8 hours ago, cwistyred said:

No, we are not Jewish. I am very familiar with the holidays however as I grew up in New York. The cruise is sailing on October 9th of next year. We are coming in on the 4th. Just the luck of the draw. Trying to be optimistic as we will have to deal with the limitations of the dates we will be there.  That is why I wanted to know what area will be best to stay in, as I know transportation will be limited.  We will be taking organized tours during our visit, so that part is taken care of. 

 

Which cruise line are you using? We are cruising out of Haifa with NCL on October 9th next year. I am not as familiar with Jewish holidays like Rosh Ha shana, although my grandma was from Israel. She mostly celebrated the big holidays like Passover and Hannukah with us. We plan on arriving in Israel after sunset on the 5th of October (which is a Saturday, so I'm aware of the restrictions before sunset). Is there anything different that I should expect?

[IgKh]

14 hours ago, cwistyred said:

No, we are not Jewish. I am very familiar with the holidays however as I grew up in New York. The cruise is sailing on October 9th of next year. We are coming in on the 4th. Just the luck of the draw. Trying to be optimistic as we will have to deal with the limitations of the dates we will be there.  That is why I wanted to know what area will be best to stay in, as I know transportation will be limited.  We will be taking organized tours during our visit, so that part is taken care of. 

OK. If your tours during the holiday and the subsequent Shabbat are organized and you'll be picked up from your hotel, that's good. That does rule out anything within the walls of the old city, since vehicle access there ranges from highly restricted to non-existent.

 

I normally like to recommend staying in a hotel in or around the Western City center (the so called "triangle", bounded by Jaffa Road, King George V Street and the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall). This area has good access to the old city as well as other attractions, and is very lively in the evenings with lots of restaurants / cafe / bars. But during the holiday it will pretty much all be closed and will have to suffer through re-heated hotel breakfasts and dinners. On the other hand, you arrive in the tail end of the holiday, so just two nights and then you'll have three "normal" nights so it could be acceptable.

 

Otherwise, consider Arab or church owned lodgings in the area north of Damascus gate, Arab majority areas aren't as much affected. OTOH, the Damascus gate area is a known trouble spot for violent flare ups, which are somewhat more likely during Jewish high holidays.

You can also move hotels, or perhaps even spend the first two nights in Tel Aviv?

 

I wouldn't stay near the market, you'll be dependent on the light rail to get anywhere else and the traffic in the area is ridiculous. I also wasn't aware there were decent hotels there at all?

Edited September 14, 2023 by IgKh

[cwistyred]

6 hours ago, IgKh said:

OK. If your tours during the holiday and the subsequent Shabbat are organized and you'll be picked up from your hotel, that's good. That does rule out anything within the walls of the old city, since vehicle access there ranges from highly restricted to non-existent.

 

I normally like to recommend staying in a hotel in or around the Western City center (the so called "triangle", bounded by Jaffa Road, King George V Street and the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall). This area has good access to the old city as well as other attractions, and is very lively in the evenings with lots of restaurants / cafe / bars. But during the holiday it will pretty much all be closed and will have to suffer through re-heated hotel breakfasts and dinners. On the other hand, you arrive in the tail end of the holiday, so just two nights and then you'll have three "normal" nights so it could be acceptable.

 

Otherwise, consider Arab or church owned lodgings in the area north of Damascus gate, Arab majority areas aren't as much affected. OTOH, the Damascus gate area is a known trouble spot for violent flare ups, which are somewhat more likely during Jewish high holidays.

You can also move hotels, or perhaps even spend the first two nights in Tel Aviv?

 

I wouldn't stay near the market, you'll be dependent on the light rail to get anywhere else and the traffic in the area is ridiculous. I also wasn't aware there were decent hotels there at all?

Thank you very much for the help and information. I think I have found a good accommodation in the Christian Quarter near the Jaffa Gate.  Hopefully we will have access to at least a few open restaurants in that area.

[Mrs f.]

If you will also be in Israel on Yom Kippur  be aware that the entire country shuts down...some restaurants reopened after YK ended, some didn't.  Amazing to see people strolling on major roads

[Markanddonna]

We had an apartment in west Jerusalem last November. You have to experience Shabbat to see why that is a good idea. Even the McDonalds had some restricted hours. Keep in mind that store owners often close down a few hours before Shabbat begins, not at sundown. We were the last people served at 1:30 PM at a restaurant on Shabbat. The owners need to clean up and maybe stop at a store for their own preparations before everything closes down.

Edited October 18, 2023 by Markanddonna

[cwistyred]

On 10/18/2023 at 6:42 AM, Markanddonna said:

We had an apartment in west Jerusalem last November. You have to experience Shabbat to see why that is a good idea. Even the McDonalds had some restricted hours. Keep in mind that store owners often close down a few hours before Shabbat begins, not at sundown. We were the last people served at 1:30 PM at a restaurant on Shabbat. The owners need to clean up and maybe stop at a store for their own preparations before everything closes down.

Thank you for the information. Looks like this trip is unlikely to occur. Do not know for certain. So incredibly horrible for Israel, and the good people of the Middle East. God Bless.