ENG -- Israel - first impressions

In this post we will introduce some general information about Israel and how we organized, on our own, the transport between Ben Gurion Airport, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, but also within the two cities.

One of the reasons we chose to spend our holiday in Israel was that we could, for several days, to forget about the cold in Romania and to spend some days in February in a sunny area. Except for one single rainy day, the maximum temperatures experienced were around 20 degrees Celsius.
From Bucharest, we flew with a low cost operated by Wizz Air to Ben Gurion, an airport located close to Tel Aviv, at a distance that can be traveled by train in 10 minutes. The flight ticket, bought about 3 months ago, cost around 50 euros. The flight lasted about 3 hours.

Israel is at the intersection of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa

Before we arrived in Israel, we searched for information about the entry visa and the security check at departure. Even though from the stories of others we could have understood that it was difficult to enter and especially to leave the country, our experience was not negative at all. Upon arrival, the only check was that of passports, and the checking didn't took too much, comparable to the most of the airports we passed. The difference was that we did not received the visa stamp on the passports, but we received a ticket that held a visa and had to be kept until we left the country. This ticket was also requested at the hotel upon check-in. On departure, security control consisted of an interview where we were asked a few questions about us and about what we visited in Israel. Following this interview they stuck a bar code on the back of the passport. Important is the figure with which this code begins. Depending on the first digit, additional checks may or may not take place. Figures are from 1 to 6, 1 for locals, 2 for tourists assigned with the lowest security risk and 6 for high-risk. In our case, because we got a code starting with figure 2, we did not need to go through other security filters, except for luggage scanning, common in all airports. From the stories told by others who flew with other airlines, we understand that it is possible to carry out security checks at the departure airport and, if it is considered necessary, to check the luggages.

We decided to spend our holidays in two cities: Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The first stop was in Jerusalem. From the airport, we took the 485 bus that departs from hour to hour. The ticket cost 16 shekels and bought it directly from the driver. The trip lasted about 35 minutes, and the station where we went down is on a street parallel to the street in front of the central bus station in Jerusalem. The bus is equipped with a USB charger and WI-FI internet connection.

The tram number 1, which reaches up to one of the entrances to Jerusalem's old fortress, the Jaffa Gate, passes through the front of the central bus station. The ticket price is 5.90 shekels and can be purchased from the vending machines in each tram station.
You can watch the tram line as a landmark to reach Jerusalem's old fortress if you want to walk around and feel the atmosphere of the place even better. When we arrived, there were street shows (songs and dances of local youth), and the main market, Mahane Yehuda Market, was full of tourists and locals attracted by the flavors and variety of products displayed on sellers' stalls.

Do not expect low prices, Jerusalem being a rather expensive city. There are many small supermarkets in which a 1.5 liter bottle costs between 7 and 10 shekels. We found one larger supermarket where for the same water you paid 12 shekels for a 6-bottle pack.
Generally, in other cities, supermarkets can easily be found on Google Maps, but in Jerusalem many supermarkets were marked on the map, which in reality were just small shops with high prices and / or a degree of cleanliness that did not encouraged someone to buy food from them. A first view of the size of a supermarket can be viewed by viewing the pictures attached to the points on the map, in case they exist.
The food is expensive too, a portion of the shaworma costs about 45 shekels in most places, and even the McDonald's prices are high, the smallest and cheapest hamburger being 8 shekels.
But even so, we managed to find better food prices in the Basti restaurant in Jerusalem, close to the Damascus Gate (just cross the street from Armene Patriarchy or Stations 3 and 4 on Via Dolorosa) where we paid only 20 shekels on shaorma during happy hour (between 17.00 and 20.00).

The transfer between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv was also done by bus. There are two options: the 405 bus that has the final station in Tel Aviv Central Bus Station and 480 bus to Arlozorov Terminal. Both buses can be taken from Jerusalem's central bus station from the 3rd floor. The ticket costs 16 shekels and is bought directly from the driver and the journey takes about an hour.
We went to Tel Aviv using local buses  and the ticket for a trip cost 5.90 shekels.

To get from Tel Aviv to the Ben Gurion Airport we chose to go by train because it was simpler and faster. The other option would have been by bus but we would have to change two buses and it would take about an hour. The train can be taken from the Tel Aviv main railway stations: Savidor Center, Tel Aviv Hashalom, Tel Aviv Ha'Hagana. From Ha'Hagana, the ticket costs 13,50 shekels, and in 10 minutes you can reach Ben Gurion Airport's 3rd terminal. If your flight departs from terminal 1, you will need to take the airport bus that makes free transfer between terminals.
Unfortunately, we did not pay attention to Tel Aviv train station and we took the wrong train. We were lucky and we did not lose the plane because we left 4 hours before to the airport and the first train station was reached in 10 minutes. Ten minutes that seemed they never end when we knew we were going in the wrong direction. We arrived in Lod Ganey-Aviv where we waited another half an hour to get the train back, because the train for airport was not passing through that station. After another 10 minutes of traveling, we arrived at the Tel Aviv Ha'Hagana station again, from where we left, and this time we took the right train.
In order not to take the wrong train as we did, watch the electronic panel where the trains are displayed. The train that arrives at the airport is also announced by English station before arrival, but we rushed and took the one before. The trains are a few minutes away, so it's easy to get them wrong. In our case, the train for the airport should have gone to 6.39 of the station, and at 6.37 the other train arrived, which we wrongly assumed would go to the airport at 6.39.

The prices we spoke about above are in shekels, and in order to compare them, you should know that one dollar is roughly equal to 3.5 shekels.

In the following articles, we will write about what you can visit in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, but also about how to get to the Dead Sea on your own.

Israel - primele impresii

In aceasta postare o sa va prezentam cateva informatii generale despre Israel si cum ne-am organizat pe cont propriu transportul intre aeroportul Ben Gurion, Ierusalim si Tel Aviv, dar si in interiorul celor doua orase. 

Unul dintre motivele pentru care am ales sa ne petrecem vacanta in Israel a fost ca am putut sa uitam pentru cateva zile de frigul din Romania si sa petrecem cateva zile din februarie intr-o zona insorita. Cu exceptia unei singure zile ploioase, temperaturile maxime resimtite au fost in jurul valorii de 20 de grade Celsius.

Din Bucuresti am zburat cu un low cost operat de Wizz Air pana in Ben Gurion, aeroport situat aproape de Tel Aviv, la o distanta care poate fi parcursa cu trenul in 10 minute. Biletul de avion, cumparat cu aproximativ 3 luni inainte, a costat in jur de 50 euro. Zborul a durat aproximativ 3 ore. 

Israel se afla la intersectia a 3 continente: Europa, Asia si Africa

Inainte sa ajungem in Israel am cautat informatii despre viza de intrare in tara si despre controlul de securitate de la plecare. Chiar daca din povestile altora am fi putut intelege ca este dificil de intrat si mai ales de iesit din tara, experienta noastra nu a fost deloc una negativa. La sosire, singurul control a fost cel al pasapoartelor, iar verificarea a durat destul de putin, comparabil cu majoritatea aeroporturilor prin care am mai trecut. Diferenta a fost ca nu am primit stampila cu viza in pasaport, dar am primit un tichet care a tinut loc de viza si pe care a trebuit sa il pastram pana la plecarea din tara. Acest tichet ne-a fost solicitat si la hotel la efectuarea check-in-ului. La plecare, controlul de securitate a constat intr-un interviu in care ni s-au pus cateva intrebari despre noi si despre ce am vizitat in Israel. In urma acestui interviu ti se lipeste un cod de bare pe spatele pasaportului. Importanta este cifra cu care incepe acest cod. In functie de prima cifra, pot avea loc sau nu controale suplimentare. Cifrele sunt de la 1 la 6, 1 fiind pentru localnici, 2 pentru turistii carora li se atribuie cel mai scazut risc de securitate si 6 pentru cei cu risc ridicat. In cazul nostru, pentru ca am primit un cod incepand cu cifra 2, nu a mai fost nevoie sa trecem prin alte filtre de securitate, cu exceptia celui de scanare a bagajelor, comun in toate aeroporturile. Din povestile spuse de altii, care au zburat cu alte companii aeriene, am inteles ca este posibil sa se efectueze control de securitate in Otopeni si, daca se considera necesar, sa fie verificate si bagajele.

Am hotarat sa petrecem vacanta in doua orase: Ierusalim si Tel Aviv. Prima oprire a fost in Ierusalim. Din aeroport am luat autobuzul 485 care are plecari din ora in ora. Biletul a costat 16 shekeli si l-am cumparat direct de la sofer. Calatoria a durat aproximativ 35 minute, iar statia in care am coborat se afla pe o strada paralela cu strada din fata autogarii centrale (Central Bus Station) din Ierusalim. Autobuzul este echipat cu incarcator USB si conexiune la internet prin WI-FI. 

Prin fata autogarii trece si tramvaiul 1 care ajunge pana aproape de una din intrarile in cetatea veche a Ierusalimului, Poarta Jaffa (Jaffa Gate). Pretul unui bilet este de 5,90 shekeli si poate fi achizitionat de la automatele din fiecare statie de tramvai. 

Puteti sa urmariti linia de tramvai ca reper pentru a ajunge in cetatea veche a Ierusalimului, daca vreti sa va plimbati si sa simtiti si mai bine atmosfera locului. Cand am ajuns noi erau spectacole pe strada (cantece si dansuri ale tinerilor localnici), iar piata principala, Mahane Yehuda Market era plina de turisti si localnici atrasi de aromele si diversitatea produselor expuse pe tarabele vanzatorilor.

Nu va asteptati la preturi mici, Ierusalim fiind un oras destul de scump. Sunt foarte multe supermarketuri mici in care o sticla cu apa de 1.5 litri costa intre 7 si 10 shekeli. Noi am gasit un singur supermarket mai mare unde pentru aceeasi apa plateai 12 shekeli pentru un bax de 6 sticle. 

In general, in alte orase, supermarketurile pot fi gasite usor pe Google Maps, dar in Ierusalim erau marcate pe harta foarte multe supermarketuri care, in realitate, erau doar niste magazine mici cu preturi ridicate si/sau cu un grad de curatenie care nu te incurajau sa cumperi mancare din ele. O prima parere despre dimensiunea unui supermarket va puteti face vizionand pozele atasate punctelor de pe harta, in caz ca exista.

Mancarea este la fel de scumpa, o portie de shaorma la lipie costa 45 shekeli, in majoritatea locurilor, si chiar si preturile la Mc'Donalds sunt mari, cel mai mic si ieftin hamburger fiind 8 shekeli.

Dar chiar si asa, am reusit sa gasim preturi mai ok pentru mancare in restaurantul Basti din Ierusalimul vechi, aproape de poarta Damasc (vis-a-vis de Patriarhia Armeneasca sau statiile 3 si 4 de pe Via Dolorosa) unde am platit doar 20 shekeli pe shaorma in timpul de happy hour (intre orele 17.00 - 20.00).

Transferul intre Ierusalim si Tel Aviv l-am facut tot cu autobuzul. Exista doua variante: autobuzul 405 care are statia finala in Tel Aviv Central Bus Station si autobuzul 480 care ajunge in Arlozorov Terminal. Ambele autobuze pot fi luate din autogara centrala din Ierusalim, de la etajul 3. Biletul costa 16 shekeli si se cumpara direct de la sofer, iar calatoria dureaza aproximativ o ora.

In Tel Aviv ne-am deplasat folosind autobuze locale, iar biletul pentru o calatorie costa 5,90 shekeli.

Pentru a ajunge din Tel Aviv in aeroport am ales sa mergem cu trenul pentru ca era mai simplu si  mai rapid. Cealalta varianta ar fi fost cu autobuzul, dar ar fi trebuit sa schimbam 2 autobuze si ar fi durat aproximativ o ora. Trenul poate fi luat din garile principale din Tel Aviv: Savidor Center, Tel Aviv Hashalom, Tel Aviv Ha'Hagana. Din Ha'Hagana biletul costa 13,50 shekeli, iar in 10 minute puteti ajunge la terminalul 3 al aeroportului Ben Gurion. Daca zburati cu Wizz Air, care pleaca de la terminalul 1, va trebui sa luati autobuzul aeroportului care face transferul gratis intre terminale.

Din pacate, noi nu am fost atenti in gara din Tel Aviv si ne-am urcat in trenul gresit. Am avut noroc si nu am pierdut avionul pentru ca am plecat cu 4 ore inainte spre aeroport, iar prima statie a trenului a fost la 10 minute. Zece minute care pareau ca nu se mai termina cand stiam ca mergem in directia gresita. Am ajuns in Lod Ganey-Aviv unde am mai asteptat inca o jumatate de ora pentru a lua trenul inapoi, pentru ca prin Lod Ganey-Aviv nu trecea trenul de aeroport. Dupa alte 10 minute de calatorit, am ajuns din nou in statia Tel Aviv Ha'Hagana de unde am plecat intial, iar de data aceasta am luat trenul corect. 

Pentru a nu lua trenul gresit cum am facut noi, urmariti panoul electronic unde sunt afisate trenurile. Trenul care ajunge la aeroport este anuntat si prin statie in limba engleza inainte de sosire, dar noi ne-am grabit si l-am luat pe cel dinainte. Trenurile trec la cateva minute distanta, asa ca e usor sa le incurci. In cazul nostru, trenul pentru aeroport ar fi trebuit sa plece la 6.39 din statie, iar la 6.37 a sosit celalalt tren despre care, in mod gresit, am presupus ca va pleca spre aeroport la 6.39.

Preturile despre care am vorbit mai sus sunt in shekeli, iar pentru a le putea compara, ar trebui sa stiti ca 1 shekel (moneda folosita in Israel) este aproximativ egal cu 1-1,1 Ron, sau ca 1 dolar este aproximativ egal cu 3,5 shekeli.

In articolele urmatoare vom scrie despre ce puteti vizita in Ierusalim si Tel Aviv, dar si despre cum puteti ajunge pe cont propriu la Marea Moarta.