When planning your trip, it’s really important to budget in advance. I mean, you shouldn’t plan every dollar, but you should know the general costs of where you’re going. As a local Israeli, I mostly know how much things cost in Israel, and I’ve decided to make this post to help you out.
Israel is as expensive as a mid-range European country. Depending on your style of travel, expect to pay between 60$ – 110$ a day per person on everything. The most expensive parts of that are accommodation and food.
In the next sections of the posts we’re going to break down the travel costs of Israel, detail some important information related to Israel and money, and give some helpful tips on how to save money when traveling to Israel.
How much does a trip to Israel cost
You should expect your trip to Israel to cost between 60$ and 110$ per day, including all expenses (accommodation, food, transportation, etc.). This means that a two-week trip to Israel should cost between 840$ and 1540$.
The price range is, of course, due to different styles of travel. Budget travelers who mainly stay in hostels, eat in inexpensive places and cook for themselves, use public transportation and mostly go to free attractions (which are common in Israel) will have a much cheaper trip.
Of course, you can choose to stay in hotels, eat in restaurants all the time, rent a car to get around, and go to many paid attractions, but your trip will end up a bit more expensive.
Of course, another major component of your trip cost is the flight itself. You can try to minimize its price by going to a low-cost airline and playing around with the trip dates. Any money you save on the flight is money you can spend and enjoy on the trip itself.
Let’s break down the trip costs:
- Accommodation: the budget option will be a night in a hostel, in a dorm room, which should cost around 20$/night in most hostels. A private room in a hostel is somewhat of a mid-range option, which costs around 60$/night. Hotels are, of course, the higher-end option, which can cost 120$ or more.
The standard of living in Israel is pretty high, and the prices of accommodation take that into account. Any room you’ll go to will be air-conditioned, and many of them will include breakfast. In any case, this should be a major part of your trip budget. - Food: while, of course, the prices of food vary, if you’ll decide to save and cook for yourself and only eat at cheap places, you’ll be able to get away with spending around 15$/day. If you’ll be eating out more, it’ll be closer to 30$. A normal price for a restaurant meal in Israel is around 10$ to 20$, but there are also a lot of small food places where you can get a cheaper meal.
For the drinkers, expect to pay around 15$ for a night out, a bit more if you’ll be going to a place that charges cover. - Transportation: The cost of transportation will depend on how you decide to go around, though most travelers choose to use public transportation. Taxis in Israel are pretty expensive, so this is a good option. The price of a local bus ticket in Israel is around 2$, white intercity buses go at around 5$ to 6$. In the big cities, you’ll also have the option of using scooters (a few bucks per ride), in Jerusalem, there’s the light rail (2$ per ticket), and of course, you can always walk around.
- Attractions: Most of the common attractions in Israel are actually free: things like walking around in the old city of Jerusalem, going to the beach in Tel-Aviv, etc. Expect to pay around 5$/day on attractions, mainly on things like going to museums and tours.
So now you know how we calculated the estimated price range of a day on a trip to Israel. But you might be interested in knowing how much different things cost in Israel, so you know what to expect and not get ripped off.
How much do things cost in Israel?
Of course, in Israel like in any other place, things can cost differently in different places. Here’s will list estimated prices of day-to-day items and services, so you’ll know if things you’re buying are considered expensive or not.
This is not a definitive list and is just here to give you some rule of thumb of how much things cost in Israel compared to where you live.
|
Item / service |
Cheap price |
Expensive price |
|
A bottle of water |
3₪ / 1 $ |
8₪ / 2$ |
|
Taxi ride (in the city) |
30₪ / 10$ |
80₪ / 24$ |
|
A beer (in a bar) |
20₪ / 6$ |
40₪ / 12$ |
|
A beer (in the store) |
6₪ / 2$ |
15₪ / 13$ |
|
Falafel (full pita) |
12₪ / 4$ |
22₪ / 7$ |
|
Shawarma (full pita) |
20₪ / 6$ |
32₪ / 10$ |
|
A Coke |
5₪ / 1.5$ |
10₪ / 3$. |
Of course, there are ways to make sure you’re getting a good deal. For example, if you’re entering a taxi, it’s usually better to use the meter, or simply order the taxi using an application. Buying drinks in stores instead of drugstores and going to major dining places for your food will all ensure that you’re not getting fooled.
After some time, you’ll be able to figure out what’s expensive and what’s cheap. Expect that at first, you might pay a bit extra for things, but you’ll quickly learn the prices of things in Israel.
Of course, Israelis are friendly people, so if you meet a local Israeli, they’d probably love to help you out. Try engaging the people and you’ll be able to learn everything you need quickly.
Should you bring cash with you to Israel?
Like traveling anywhere, you might want to bring some cash with you when you travel to Israel. This can help you avoid some of the charges your ATM providers might impose on your cash withdrawal.
But wherever you go in Israel, a lot of places will accept a credit card, and you’ll have ATMs almost anywhere you go. Just make sure that you use a bank’s ATM because some ATMs charge high fees.
If you do bring some cash with you, know that only Shekels are accepted in Israel. You’ll have to exchange your money at a local change, or at the Israeli post office.
How to save money traveling to Israel
There are some easy ways you can do to save money while traveling in Israel, so you can enjoy travel for longer. I promise you: you’ll enjoy your trip just as much doing these things as you’d otherwise.
There are 3 major costs for travel: accommodation, transportation, and food. Making adjustments regarding these things (in relation to where you’re traveling) will have a major impact on how much your overall trip will cost.
Israel is no different, and we’ve actually covered how much these things should cost at the beginning of the post. But here I’ll give you the actual tips on what to do to save money on your trip.
Here are the best tips on how to save money while traveling to Israel:
- Avoid hotels – stay in cheap hostels. The hostel scene in Israel is incredible, and so many travelers I’ve met over the years speak to that fact. Even cheap hostels in Israel are clean and you’ll have a lot of fun staying there.
I will note that you might want to spend a bit more and go to a more social hostel even if it’s a bit more expensive – you’ll be able to meet people and have more fun on the trip. Even a mid-range hostel will cost much less than a hostel in Israel. - Avoid using cabs if at all possible. Transportation in Israel is a bit difficult, with the public transportation closed on the Sabbath. But taxis in Israel are typically overpriced, so do yourself a favor and use public transportation (and your legs) if it’s possible.
To travel between cities, you can take a train, while in transportation inside the city you can use buses and other local transportation systems. Hell, rent a bike if possible. You’ll save yourself some money and get to experience the place better. - Enjoy the local food… On the cheap. Israel has some great places to eat, but you don’t have to pay a lot to enjoy the local cuisine. Street food is really cheap (things like falafel, shawarma, and more) and you’ll get to experience great Israeli food in the process. If you want to stay healthy, though, I’d avoid Israeli street food. Try to cook for yourself sometimes and go to small cheap places at other times.
If you follow these tips, you’ll be able to save a lot of money on things most people spend on, while enjoying your trip just as much. That’s the best way to travel longer, even in a relatively expensive country like Israel.
Conclusions
Israel is not cheap to travel to, but with a few things in mind, you’ll be able to enjoy a great trip at a reasonable cost. Try to focus on minimizing costs on the accommodation, transportation, and food, and you’ll have enough money to spend enjoying the trip, going to attractions, and visit the local nightlife.
If you decide to take the trip to Israel, have this in mind: the trip might not be as cheap as other places will, but you’ll definitely have a good time.
I fell in love when traveling when I took my first solo trip to Southeast Asia. A year later, I took a trip around Europe and started exploring my own country of Israel. I love finding better ways to travel, and I’m excited to share them with you.
