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Israel June 2018 - variety of questions (Chani?!?)

Posted by (North Georgia, USA) on

I just confirmed a work trip to London and Israel in June. Have to travel from London on a Saturday because of work schedule. Direct flights on BA are very expensive and ElAl only has a red eye, so I'll probably take easyJet flight from Luton around noon Saturday.

I work on Sunday and Monday in Beer Sheva and our local contact insists we not stay in Beer Sheva but in Tel Aviv. They arrange a driver for us each day. This seems excessive to me but I don't know enough to argue. I'd prefer not to waste 3 hours of commute time each day but given that my husband is coming along, he will probably have more options in/from Tel Aviv. Thoughts?

We plan three nights in Tel Aviv and three in Jerusalem at Notre Dame Center. We are very interested in Christian history and I think my husband would like to explore to the north the days I'll be working. Do you recommend any individual guides or very small group tours? He's not one for a large group situation. From Jerusalem, I'm not sure if we should rent a car or do individual tours. We have such a limited time, I am willing to spend more to get a fuller experience. Any experiences or suggestions would be appreciated. I'd even consider staying somewhere else besides Jerusalem but that seems to be most suggested next stop.

I must eat gluten free and I think I will gorge myself on hummus, but if anyone has other suggestions for where I might get good gluten free bread as a carrier for the hummus, that'd be great!

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
15794 posts

You rang?

Last first. More and more restaurants have gluten-free bread and rolls. You can find them in some minimarkets and all supermarkets. The only problem with shopping for them is that all the labeling is in Hebrew. It is possible to eat hummus without pita (I don't think there is gluten-free pita), just use a fork. It's quite good on a plate with shwarma, falafel and assorted salads. BTW "without gluten" in Hebrew is le-lo gloo-tain

Notre Dame Center is a great location in Jerusalem. Be sure to check out the view from their rooftop. There is so much to see in Jerusalem that I wouldn't recommend any day trips during your short time there, unless you want to spend a day at the Dead Sea.

Trying to see the Christian sights in the Galilee (Nazareth, Tiberias) is difficult on day trips from Tel Aviv and worse from Jerusalem because there's so much driving time involved. There are two Crusader sights along the coast, Caesarea (also quite good Roman ruins) and Akko. Akko is easy to get to by train, Caesarea a little more complicated but quite doable.

There are some very good private guides but rates are not cheap here. You'll find recommendations on the tripadvisor.com Israel forums.

Posted by
1159 posts

Oh, geesh, I just realized I never responded to this. Thanks so much for replying. I have reached out to one of the local guides on TA (Eyal) and we're working on a plan. With our time so limited, I think it's a good investment to hire a guide. Let me know if you'd like to meet us on the roof of the Notre Dame Center for a drink in late June. I'd love to meet you!

I ended up with the easyJet flight and will be our first time taking an intra-Europe flight. We've either been on tours or taken trains in the past. My husband is an anxious flier and if anything goes awry, I'll never hear the end of it. :)

Should I expect most falafel to be gluten free? I have high hopes of sourcing some GF bread with which to scoop my hummus - yes, I know I CAN eat it with a fork, I just don't WANT to! lol

Posted by
1159 posts

We have a reservation at Machneyuda in Jerusalem on our last night! I made rez via their online system, but never received an email confirmation. I put a note in the rez asking if they could accommodate my being GF but never got a response on that, either. Should I be concerned? I was going to email them for confirmation before we leave, regardless.

Posted by
16409 posts

FYI.......London to Israel is not Intra European. Israel is not in Europe.

Posted by
15794 posts

If you are worried about the restaurant reservation, you could phone them. Theoretically there's no gluten in falafel but it's quite possible that some (many?) places add some wheat flour. You'll have to ask before you eat. GF is not uncommon here, so people you ask should know. I'm always happy to meet forum friends. What are your dates?

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