Marian Paroo Posted January 21, 2015 #801 Share Posted January 21, 2015 http://www.atlas.co.il/cinema-hotel-tel-aviv/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Paroo Posted January 21, 2015 #802 Share Posted January 21, 2015 .... that will knock your socks off!! http://www.thenorman.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyyyycruiser Posted August 30, 2015 #803 Share Posted August 30, 2015 cab ride to Tel Aviv from Ashdod is it a problem and return later in the evening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlajr Posted August 31, 2015 #804 Share Posted August 31, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyyyycruiser Posted August 31, 2015 #805 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwesq Posted September 15, 2015 #806 Share Posted September 15, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Paroo Posted September 16, 2015 #807 Share Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almostnewtocruise Posted September 16, 2015 #808 Share Posted September 16, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Paroo Posted September 16, 2015 #809 Share Posted September 16, 2015 My bet is there are taxis -- check Tripadvisor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afzeluches123 Posted September 16, 2015 #810 Share Posted September 16, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaBT Posted September 16, 2015 #811 Share Posted September 16, 2015 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2910car Posted September 16, 2015 #812 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Can we use Euros in Israel or should we get Israeli money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlajr Posted September 17, 2015 #813 Share Posted September 17, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlajr Posted September 17, 2015 #814 Share Posted September 17, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwesq Posted September 17, 2015 #815 Share Posted September 17, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwesq Posted September 17, 2015 #816 Share Posted September 17, 2015 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo59 Posted September 20, 2015 #817 Share Posted September 20, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlajr Posted September 21, 2015 #818 Share Posted September 21, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul6453 Posted September 21, 2015 #819 Share Posted September 21, 2015 I do believe finding a taxi to take you from the Ashdod port to Tel Aviv will be very expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlajr Posted September 23, 2015 #820 Share Posted September 23, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moksha22 Posted September 25, 2015 #821 Share Posted September 25, 2015 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 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Paroo Posted September 25, 2015 #822 Share Posted September 25, 2015 You can use $ in large establishments an cabs but be ware of cheats. Best to stick to shekels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moksha22 Posted September 25, 2015 #823 Share Posted September 25, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlajr Posted September 26, 2015 #824 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Hi everyoneWe 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".) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moksha22 Posted September 26, 2015 #825 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Thanks jlajr Will look at the links provided by you. Grateful for the trouble you took to find these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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