Yotvata Kibbutz - specializes in fruit cultivation and dairy farming. It supplies much of the milk and several varieties of fresh fruit and packaged goods to the Negev / Eilat region under its logo of a setting sun with two linked palm trees. They also take in traveling volunteers and have a Hebrew school for foreigners.
In Israel itself, Jerusalem, Masada and the Dead Sea are a few hours away by bus, and can be easily visited in a day or two on organized tours.
South of Eilat is the border crossing to Taba Egypt, where the Taba Hilton and nearby Taba Heights beach resorts are situated. Here begins the Egyptian Sinai peninsula where St. Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai are located.
Within walking distance of Eilat's North Beach is Israel's border with Jordan. A short drive away is the Rabin border crossing to the adjacent Jordanian town of Aqaba, Jordan's largest port and tourist resort. Further inland is the ancient Jordanian city of Petra. See the respective city pages for detailed crossing information.
To get to the Egyptian border take a taxi 35 NIS from Eilat to the border, or take bus line 15 6 NIS and walk across. On the Egyptian side there is a minibus station as well as further along a full bus station. Note the border can take between 20 min to 2 hours. You will need to pay an exit fee when leaving Israel of 103 NIS Feb 2012 and if travelling further south than Taba another fee 75EGP - Apr 09 at the checkpoint south of the border. If you plan to continue further than the Sinai, deeper into Egypt Cairo then you need to apply for a visa in the Egyptian consul in Eilat. The embassy is open from 9:30am to 2pm on Sunday to Thursday. It takes aprox. 20 min for European and American tourists, and costs 100 NIS. Remember to bring a passport photo with you to the embassy - it is required for the visa, and the embassy has no photo-taking facilities. If you don't have a passport photo handy, you can take one on the 2nd floor of the shopping mall right at the corner of the Eilat beach. If you are on an organised tour, some tour companies can arrange the visa on the day of the tour at the border.
