In getting around Israel, be aware of the Sabbath: from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, train and bus services are not available in Israel except in Haifa, Nazareth and Eilat, and limited sherut services - shared taxis, see below. Unless you have a car, or are willing to pay for a taxi not shared, if you're day tripping on a Friday, you should start thinking about how to get back by noon at the latest, and you should plan on staying near your lodgings on Saturday.
Also note that both youth and students usually get discounts at buses and trains. Showing a valid student ID will usually entitle you for 10% discount for one-way long-distance travel, while for short distance bus travel those below the age of 18 can usually get half-priced Kartysia - a punch-card valid for 20 rides. Each bus driver has a hole-puncher which makes a unique shape on the card. Both the card and when given a receipt must be kept until the end of the ride as there are random checks by bus officials.
Public transport is used heavily by soldiers traveling to/from their bases, so a bus or train packed full of soldiers some armed is a common occasion and does not indicate any special occurrence. One can expect higher crowding on Thursday evening and Friday morning due to weekend leave and very high crowding on Sunday mornings until about 10:00 due to soldiers returning to their bases.
By taxi
Taxis are very common in Israel. To differentiate from a shared taxi sherut, a regular Israel taxi is sometimes called special using the English word. The driver should use the meter both inside and outside cities in Hebrew, moneh, unless the passenger agrees to prefix a price however agreeing to go off the meter is almost universally in the driver's favor. There are surcharges; for calling a taxi âª3.50 as of June 2006, for luggage âª2.90 a piece and for hailing a taxi at Ben Gurion Airport âª5. Drivers are known to try to cheat tourists by not turning on the meter to begin with and then fighting about the cost at the end of the ride. It is best to specify that you absolutely require the 'moneh' to be activated before you leave unless you know how much the trip should cost, in which case you can make a deal. However, if you are caught off guard some drivers will become extremely rude or even violent if you refuse to pay despite the meter never having been switched on. It is best to try to avoid this common situation but it is better to avoid any conflict with the driver by paying and learning rather than saving your money and risking an unpredictable escalation. Noting the taxis number clearly visible on the outside of the cab and contacting the local taxi authority is an efficient form of redress.
Having said this one anachronism is that Israeli taxi drivers do not expect a tip and neither should you generally offer one. In addition they are more likely to round the fare down to the nearest shekel than up.
All Israeli taxis are numbered and all print out an official receipt on printers attached to their meters, invaluable if you are traveling on business.
You can use taxi service to get from Ben Gurion airport to almost any city in Israel. Fares are fixed and published and all taxis from the airport belong to the Hadar taci company the taxi queue is rapid efficient and the attendents, though brusque, will help. The taxi point is just by the airport station entrance. Never ever take a touted taxi. transportation from the airport and a good starting point to find a taxi ride would be to visit the Ben Gurion Airport's taxi guidelines page (http://www.iaa.gov.il/Ras...) or booking a taxi from a private taxi company such as Israel Taxi (http://www.israeltaxi.net) and many others who offer shuttle service from and to Ben Gurion airport. However, trains are a significantly cheaper option.
By Monit Sherut
Faster than normal buses are minivans, known as monit sherut or "service taxi", that generally follow major bus routes but can be hailed from anywhere on the route not just official bus stops. They are usually quicker than buses, their operations hours may be longer - and maybe most importantly, in many cases the sherut runs 7 days a week, including on Shabbat.
For inter-city lines, if a driver is at a station he may wait until he has a full load of passengers before leaving. Ben Gurion Airport has a rule that drivers are supposed to leave one hour after getting their first passenger, but that rule seems to be left mostly ignored. The upshot of this is that unless you're with a group, or the Sherut already has a load of passengers, you might be in for a wait before you leave. Look for an almost full Sherut!
By road
Israel is known to be one of the easiest places to hitchhike in the world. Most major junctions have a shelter and are well lit throughout the night. This is a great way to meet and interact with the locals. A sign can help put a blank piece of paper inside a plastic sleeve, and with a dry-erase marker you have a reusable hitchhiking sign. When hitchhiking, instead of a thumb, you extend your hand, with 1 or 2 fingers extended, pointing at the road. For short rides, the 1 or 2 fingers should point to the ground. Drivers staying in the area may point downwards while passing, indicating that they wouldn't make a good long-haul ride.
Generally speaking, hitchhiking in urban areas is less popular than in other parts of Israel. It is more accepted in rural areas, particularly sparsely populated areas like the Golan Heights that have little bus service.
Tourists should note that the British Foreign Office considers it unsafe to hitch-hike in Israel, like most countries in Europe and the Middle East. This advice applies specifically to tourists and is not a comment on the safety of hitch-hiking for locals and is not specific to Israel.
Local West Bank settlers rely heavily on hitchhiking for transportation. Almost every car will stop and suggest a lift if you stand in any settlement's gate as most of them are defended by IDF soldiers. Nevertheless, It is only safe to hitchhike between Jewish settlements/cities, or a few well known and well defended junctions; any other way is considered especially dangerous - in the past Israeli hitchhikers have been kidnapped and murdered by Arabs while waiting for a ride.
By train
One of the best advances in transport in Israel in recent years has been the modernization of the train system, now set for major expansion as part of the country's efforts to combat global warming, gridlock, and smog. Israel Railways currently runs intercity lines from Nahariya to Beer Sheva via Haifa, Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion airport note that not all trains travel the whole route, and suburban lines radiating from Tel Aviv to Binyamina, Ashkelon, Kfar Sava, Rishon LeZion, Modiin and Bet Shemesh. There are also lines between Bet Shemesh and Jerusalem, and between Beer Sheva and Dimona.
Tel Aviv has 4 train stations, and Haifa has as many as 6, providing easy access to many parts of those cities.
Trains run 2-3 times per hour in peak travel times and at least once an hour at off peak hours. Trains on the Nahariya-Haifa-Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion Airport line run through the night too. Note, however, that after midnight trains stop in Haifa at the Hof Hacarmel station only, and in Tel Aviv at Merkaz Central. All other Tel Aviv and Haifa stations close after midnight. One must also remember that trains operate only on weekdays there are no trains from Friday afternoon till Saturday evening. In fact, the trains stop several hours earlier on Friday than buses do.
A high-speed train line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem via Ben Gurion airport is now under construction as of November 2007, the line is open as far as Modi'in, and service to Ben Gurion airport is fully operational. For now, the only train to Jerusalem via Beit Shemesh is very slow, and it ends in the out-of-the-way Jerusalem Malcha station. It's Israel's most scenic rail ride, though, and the area it traverses is sometimes called "Little Switzerland". In winter, after a rare heavy snowstorm, Jerusalem may get cut off for a up to a day from the rest of the country by road, making the train the only possible connection between the capital and other parts of Israel. The scenic line to Jerusalem was built by the Ottoman Turks and dates back to 1892. Because of the long travel time and inconvenient location of the Jerusalem Malcha station, the line is not widely used. During holiday periods these trains can get crowded, though.
Work is also underway on a line that will connect Tel Aviv to its southern suburbs - Holon, Bat Yam and Rishon LeZion - and will continue via Yavne to Ashdod and Ashkelon.
Train fares are generally more expensive then equivalent bus fares especially for the line from Tel Aviv to Beer Sheva, with a train fare almost double that of the bus fare. In exchange, you can generally expect a much higher level of comfort, speed, and safety.
Some lines have double-decker carriages.
By bus
Main Article: Bus travel in Israel
Use Bus.co.il to help plan your trip.
Buses are the most common form of public transportation for Israelis and travelers alike. They are cheap, fast and reliable. The only problem tourists will face is that it is very difficult to plan your journey through Israel by bus; a problem the main article Bus travel in Israel aims to solve. The extensive national bus system is run by a public corporation called Egged pronounced "Eg-ged", the second-largest bus network in the world. Additionally, a bus company called Dan operates mainly in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and other major cities such as Be'er Sheva, check their web site for details. Egged, and Dan have English-speaking representatives with nation wide phone numbers. Some other companies are active as well.