TRAVEL TO ISRAEL FROM USA

USA to Israel Travel
Covid restrictions

COVID RESTRICTIONS UPDATES

ENTRY PERMIT APPLICATION

Application for an entry permit to Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic for passengers traveling with a foreign passport –https://govforms.gov.il/mw/forms/knisalisrael@mofa.gov.il#!requestDetails

Foreign travelers must apply to obtain an electronic approval 10-21 days before departure to Israel.

DOCUMENTS 📎

DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO TRAVEL TO ISRAEL FROM CANADA

PASSPORT ONLY – Canadian citizens need only a passport with validity of six or more months counting from date of arrival to Israel. To deal with lost, stolen or damaged passport check out renewed Canadian passport processing timings to plan your travel.

USA passport

While the Government of Canada issues passports with an “X” gender identifier, it cannot guarantee your entry or transit through other countries. You might face entry restrictions in countries that do not recognize the “X” gender identifier. Before you leave, check with the closest foreign representative for your destination.

Other travel documents

Different entry rules may apply when travelling with a temporary passport or an emergency travel document. Before you leave, check with the closest foreign representative for your destination.

VISAS:

  • Tourist visa: Not required for stays up to 90 days
  • Business visa: Not required
  • Student visa: Not required
  • Work visa: Required (must be arranged by Israeli employer)

Before you travel, check with your transportation company about passport requirements. Its rules on passport validity may be more stringent than the country’s entry rules.

ENTRY STATEMENT FORM – The Government of Israel issues an entry card on arrival. This is another document that must be submitted within 48 hours before flight. 

TRAVELING TO ISRAEL AIRLINES 🛫

American Airlines

Here are airlines which normally serve direct flights to Israel from North America:

  • Air Canada
  • American Airlines/US AirwaysDelta
  • El Al Israel Airlines
  • United

It is approximately 10-14 hours of direct flight. Of course, you can always pick a flight connecting Europe.

SAFETY OF ISRAEL FOR AMERICANS 🤚

Israel is generally a tourist safe country. Over 4 million tourists visit Israel every year, at least so it was before the pandemic restrictions. Never the less a number of precautions are advised by the US government for travel to Israel such us:

  • Avoid all travel to Gaza Strip
  • Avoid all travel to border with Syria
  • Avoid all travel to border between Israel and Egypt
  • Avoid all travel to border with Lebanon
  • Avoid non-essential travel to West Bank
  • Avoid non-essential Border with Gaza Strip

Religious and social traditions

Dress conservatively, behave discreetly and respect religious and social traditions to avoid offending local sensitivities, especially when visiting religious sites, particularly in Jerusalem. 

During periods of religious holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Pesach (Passover) and Ramadan (see below), stay informed of the security situation, follow the advice of authorities, respect local customs and monitor local news reports for changes to checkpoint and border-crossing hours of operation.

During the lunar month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, expected to begin around April 23), refrain from drinking, eating and smoking in public between sunrise and sunset in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 

Photographs

Ask permission before photographing people in Muslim or Orthodox Jewish areas. Do not take photographs of military or police personnel or installations.

WHAT CLOTHES TO PACK FOR TRAVEL TO ISRAEL 👕👔

Number of items to pack will firstly depend on duration of your stay.

For a shorter trip (three to five days), you will manage with the following: a pair of underwear and socks per day, a pair of pajamas, one or two dressier outfits, one or two active wear or athleisure outfits, one or two casual outfits, and two pairs of shoes. For a longer trip (over a week), you can manage with a pair of underwear and socks per day, one or two pairs of pajamas, three dressier outfits, three to four casual outfits, two pairs of shoes, and two active wear or athleisure outfits.

Suitcase

If you plan to laundry during your vacation or visit, you will manage with even fewer items. But generally essential clothing items to consider are below:

Clothes to Pack

  • Socks (for changing after hikes, the beach, etc.)
  • Underwear
  • Light or warm jacket (depending on travel season)
  • Coat (depending on weather or for winter trips)
  • Sweater/Sweatshirt (4-5 for winter trips, 1-2 for summer trips)
  • Casual Shirts
    • Long sleeves recommended for chilly nights in the desert and winter trips
    • Short sleeves recommended for hiking and summer trips
  • Jeans
  • Pants (belt)
  • Shorts
  • Extra hiking clothes (including for a water hike in the summer)
  • Dresses (1-2 ‘going out at night’ outfits)
  • Nice outfit for Shabbat (check boys/girls sections for details)
  • Suits
  • Ties
  • Sleepwear / Pajamas
  • Swimsuits / Bathing suits (1 for winter trips, 2 for summer trips)
  • Gloves for winter trips

For Girls

  • Skirts
  • 1-2 long dresses/skirts for Shabbat and religious sights
  • Underwear
  • Bras
  • Scarves/cardigans for religious sights
  • Dress Shoes
  • Feminine products (even if you’re not expecting, bring just in case)
  • Feminine hygiene everyday pads
  • Hair Ties
  • Perfume
  • Deodorants
  • Razors

For Guys

  • 1-2 official, button down shirts for Shabbat
  • 1-2 nice jeans/pants for Shabbat
  • Deodorants
  • Cologne
  • After shave
  • Razors

ELECTRICAL APPLIENCES

Israel’s official standards for plug and sockets are types C and H.

Type H Plugs in Israel

ELECTRICAL APPLIENCES

The Type H, or Israeli 16 A/250 V unearthed, plug is incompatible with other sockets. These are the plugs and sockets types used exclusively in Israel, the West Bank & the Gaza Strip. The centres of the line and neutral pins are spaced 19 mm apart. The centre-to-centre distance between the earth pin and the middle of the imaginary line connecting the two power pins is 9.5 mm.

Type C Plugs in Israel

ELECTRICAL APPLIENCES

The Type C plug (also called the Europlug) has two round pins. The pins are 4 to 4.8 mm wide with centers that are spaced 19 mm apart; the plug fits any socket that conforms to these dimensions. Type C is the most widely used plug internationally.

For extensive packing guide for travel to Israel with consideration to weather, planned activities, electric adapters and more see “What to pack for travel to Israel in 2022” blog.

MONEY IN ISRAEL 💳

The Israeli currency is the Shekel (officially “New Israeli Shekel”), worth around 30 cents. You may encounter the currencies English abbreviation as NIS or ILS.

Money in Israel

Official website: bankisrael.gov.il

Symbol:

Central bank: Bank of Israel

Subunit: Israeli agora

Banknotes: ₪200, ₪100, ₪50, ₪20

Coins: ₪5, ₪2, ₪1, 10 Agora, ₪10, ½ 

ISO code: ILS

Current conversion rate:  

On arrival in Israel, it’s a good idea to use your bank-card to withdraw some Shekels from the ATM in the arrival-halls at Ben Gurion – or change small amounts of dollars/or travelers’ checks at a bank or your hotel. There are ATM machines all over Israel and credit cards are widely accepted however not all ATMs may accept Canadian cards. Credit cards are not widely accepted in the Gaza Strip.

STAY CONNECTED🕴

If you are visiting Israel for a very short period, say 1-2 days, it will probably save you trouble just to activate roaming services with your provider. If the stay is longer you will want to get a local sim card with generous data packages to stay on the grid, use the maps, use on QR code reader to check facts about historic locations or translate the signs.

ROAMING TO ISRAEL

Check out roaming options from Canada’s 3 national mobile networks to get the get the sense of options available from the industry giants:

* Verizon Wireless

* AT&T Mobility

* T-Mobile US (including historic fourth provider Sprint since 2020)

LOCAL SIM CARD IN ISRAEL

For longer stays its incomparably cheaper to get the local sim card with a local Israeli number, 100 GB of high-speed internet, unlimited outgoing and incoming calls to Canada as well as unlimited local calls.

* Your local sim card will be loaded with a virtual US phone number for unlimited USA/Canada outgoing calling.

For American card users – Calling Canada/USA from Israel:

* Dial the phone number using this format: 00 – country code – number
** For example: to call a USA/Canada number dial: 00-1-1234567890

The international dialing code for Israel is 972. To dial to Israel from abroad, first dial the international dialing access code that is specific for your country (for example 00), then dial 972 followed by the area code and local number. When dialing within Israel, the local area code has to be preceded by a zero, “0”. For example, a number dialed as 03.1234567 within Israel, should be dialed as 972.3.1234567 from outside of Israel.

FOOD 🍟🍝

You will be glad to know that in Israel you can find some of the world renown food chains like McDonalds or Pizza Hut if you are looking for something relatively familiar. “Relatively” because the specific fast food restaurant you might be visiting can be serving kosher food in accordance with Jewish religious and dietary restrictions.

Check out the international food chains in Israel and their availability in different cities in Israel.

And if you are ready to experience the traditional Israeli cuisine, here are the famous national food chains of Israel and their availability in different cities around the country.

TRANSPORTATION

Train in Israel

TRAIN: Train system in Israel is an efficient and inexpensive service (single ride from Ben Gurion airport to Jerusalim-Malha without discounts is about 20 NIS) connecting destination in most of the country. Travelers can take a train from Ben Gurion airport to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Check out train routs, ticket prices and departure times here.  

You can get yourself a Rav-Kav card which is a reusable contactless stored value smart card for making electronic payments as a joint fare collection system for the different public transportation operators across Israel. Rav-Kav card is about 10.90 ILS (approx $3.50) and is widely used for electronic ticketing on transportation. You can order the Rav-Kav card online and preload Rav-Kav app. The cost per ride will vary depending on your destination.

Bus to/from Ben Gurion airport: Bus line 445 takes passengers from the airport to central Tel Aviv. The bus operates every hour on the hour, excluding Shabbat (Friday evening through Saturday evening).  The last bus on Friday afternoon is at 3:00pm.Ticket price to/from Tel Aviv: 9.30 NIS

 Bus in Israel

FLIGHTS: Israel has daily internal flights to Tel Aviv, Haifa, Galilee and Eilat aboard Arkia, El Al and Israir. Airports in Israel:

  1. Ben Gurion Airport Tel Aviv (International)
  2. Ilan & Assaf Ramon Airport Eilat 
  3. Herzlia Airport
  4. Haifa Airport
  5. Ovda Airport
  6. Kiryat Shmona Airport
  7. Rosh Pina Airport

TAXIS: Taxis are available around the city. Normally there is a starting fare of 11 NIS in the cities. You can negotiate a fixed rate with the driver or insist on driver’s usage of meter (moneh) which they are legally obligated to do. The night rides (effective from 9:01pm until 5:29am) and rides on Shabbat are about 25% more expensive.

There are popular applications in Israel, Gett Taxi & Yango, which you can use to order your taxi:

GETT (TAXI) – Taxi App in Israel

Gett Taxi logo

Gett Taxi also has a Gett Kid app, which allowes to order a cab with a car sit for your baby. Drivers accept cash and credit cards. The app provides full information on driver, monitors the location of the taxi and gives the arrival time of the cab.

Download Gett for iOS, Android

YANGO – Taxi App in Israel

Yango taxi app in Israel

You can preinstall the app before the travel to save time and data while you are traveling

Download Yango for iOS, Android

Also consider downloading these useful apps before traveling to Israel to make you stay more comfortable & resourceful.

Shared taxis in Israel - Sherut

SHARED TAXIS: Sherut or shared taxis are about 10 seat mini buses. As you get on you tell the driver where you need to be dropped off and pay a fixed fare accordingly. You then wait for the rest of the seats to get occupied Shared taxis or “Sherut” are popular type of transportation. Ask your hotel for the nearest Sherut stand. You can contact sherut 24 hours in advance and schedule for them to pick you up at your location when you need.

CAR RENTAL: Most international car rental groups have offices in Israel like Sixt, Hertz and others. You can find good Israeli car rental firms at your location as well. Your Canadian driver’s license is valid in Israel.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Police ………………………….……………………………………………….          100

Police non emergency ……………………………………………………           110

Ambulance …………………..……………………………………………….          101

Fire ……………………………..……………………………………………….          102

For a complete list of emergency contacts, emails & websites click here.

CONSULAR ASSISTANCE FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS IN ISRAEL

United States officials provide consular assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

U.S. Embassy Jerusalem
14 David Flusser Street
Jerusalem 93392
Telephone:
 + (972) (2) 630-4000
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: + (972) (3) 519-7551
Email: JerusalemACS@state.gov

Contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for information and assistance in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank.


U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv Branch
71 HaYarkon Street
Tel Aviv Israel 63903
Telephone:
 + (972) (3) 519-7575
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: + (972) (3) 519-7551
Email: TelAvivACS@state.gov

HAVE A SAFE TRIP!

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