Traveling to Israel do you think it’s dangerous?

As long as you stay out of Gaza you'll be fine.

Hi Charlotte, You bring up 2 very different subjects, travel to Israel & just traveling at the age of 80.

1) Have you asked your doctor?

2) Do you have adequate health insurance for the trip including medical evacuation insurance?

3) How about requesting assistance at the airport ahead of your flight?

4) Consider wearing support stockings on the plane. I have an 81-year young girlfriend who just returned from Portugal & Amsterdam, I suspect she had an aisle seat and got up often, but she LOVED the trip!

5) No comment on whether Israel is dangerous or not, but my neighbor just got back from a 2-week trip there & said it was fabulous.

6) It 's GREAT you're on a non-stop flight!

Maybe post a new thread under general Europe with a question about what experienced 80 year old travelers on the Forum do to ease the stress of travel. People here are SO helpful, and I guarantee there will be lots of advice about how to make this as stress-free as possible.

Good luck & hope you let us know if you do go on this trip!

I will be 76 when we visit Israel and Jordan next year. Looking forward to our visit.
I visited Israel in 1985 and loved it.

You are probably safer in Israel than any major US city.

This is your second thread where you express anxiety about whether this is the trip for you. To me this is a bit of a red flag. The honest answer is that there is risk involved every time you step out your front door. Yes, there is some risk associated with travel. There are also many positive experiences.

I think the big issue here is that you truly don’t feel comfortable about this trip no matter how much the idea of it appeals to you. You need to stop and reassess if it is the right trip for you. I wouldn’t keep asking complete strangers on a travel forum. I would talk with friends and family that know you and know your current physical and practical capabilities.

I hope that you can come to a confident decision that is right for you, however it turns out.

I am 78 and have a cruise booked from Haifa to Istanbul October 2024. Of course I will be flying to Tel Aviv first and spending a few days in Tel Aviv pre-cruise and a few days in Istanbul post cruise. So I will be about 80 when I go.

As long as I feel good, I am going. If the airlines allow us to travel, why not. If my cruise line allows me to travel, why not. On one of my last cruises, we celebrated the birthday of someone turning 100. She did have family caring for her but she was 100 and cruising.

I have friends who are Baha'i. I know they are loving and caring and tight knit. Since you are going on a pilgrimage, aren't there other Baha'i's to assist you if need be. Aren't there other Baha'i's going on the same pilgrimage from the USA? Maybe even from Miami?

I suggest you contact your local or national Baha'i center and see if there is a group going together. And surely your faith is going to comfort and maybe protect you.

As someone else suggested, speak to your doctor and see what he / she thinks. Maybe your doctor can prescribe you something that will relax you on the long flight. Myself, I am an insomniac and can not sleep before traveling because I am so excited Thus, I conk out on the plane and sleep most of the way.

As to the Middle East, one never knows what might happen in that area of the world. But then one never knows what might happen in any area of the world. Witness Maui, Hawaii.

My feeling about aging and travel is. Yeah, something might happen while traveling but I would rather it happens while traveling than in a Medicare funded nursing home.

Not being a Baha'i, I can not enter the Center itself but I will be going to the Gardens in Haifa.

I hope that you will report and review your trip on this site.

We, 70 year-olds at the time, travelled to Israel in 2017. We self-drove and felt perfectly safe everywhere—even when we inadvertently strayed into a Palestinian controlled area. Of all the places we went Haifa felt the most diverse and inclusive, perhaps due to the Bahai influence, not sure, but it was palpable. If safety in Haifa is your concern I would not worry. The beautiful Bahai gardens are fairly steep so, depending on your level fitness, it is possible that you might need a bit of assistance there but presumably that will be available to you. I wish you good health and a wonderful experience.

Honestly, as long as you wear compression stockings as suggested, flying to Tel Aviv is not going to be more dangerous than flying to, say, Los Angeles. Once you're on the plane, well, you're there, you eat, you try to sleep, you watch movies... Personally, I do not find that the length of the flight makes much of a difference.

Carol now retired-we're not just at risk "everytime we step out the door". Home is a major risk due to falls.