So you’ve traveled in Israel for quite a while, partied in Tel Aviv, experienced the religious sites in Jerusalem, hiked mountains and valleys in the Galilee, felt the magic of the desert and ate a lot of hummus and falafel.
If you don’t feel satisfied yet, wanting to prolong your adventures and are wondering where you can go from Israel, well, look no further!
From Israel you can start your African adventure by going to Egypt or flying to Ethiopia or continue exploring the Asian part of the middle east, by going to Jordan or flying to the UAE.
In addition, Cyprus is just a few hours of a boat sail and Greece and Turkey aren’t too far as well.
Israel is located between Africa and Asia, on the Mediterranean coast, making it also relatively close to Europe.
Here you can get ideas of places to go to after your visit to Israel, based on those 3 continents.
I Hope you’ll find this information helpful:) let’s dive in!
Embark on a mystical African adventure
Egypt
Does exploring the ancient civilizations of the Nile, seeing the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx or simply chillaxing at the beautiful shores of Sinai makes your travel bug itch?
Well, you can find all of that and more in just a few hours of drive south of Tel – Aviv!
In 1977 a peace treaty was signed between Israel and Egypt, enabling a free transition between the countries. Egypt is located south- east of Israel with the Sinai peninsula, the part of Egypt that borders with Israel, being also the border between Asia and Africa.
This area is mainly a desert and as such, probably won’t be suitable for everyone, but can be amazing for desert lovers!
And actually, having said that, there are so many vacation resorts in oasis throughout the area, especially on the shore, that even non desert lovers might have a good time.
Also, the beaches. Many people consider them the most beautiful beaches in the world. You can find there empty beaches with no soul around, as well as places with lots of tourism infrastructure and giant hotels, and anything in between.
Add to that beautiful diving spots and sand dunes all around, and you’ll have an amazing vacation!
Sinai is one of the favorite vacation sites for Israelis, so don’t be surprised to hear a lot of Hebrew there:)
Aside from Sinai, you have, of course, the mainland of Egypt.
Once a powerful empire in the ancient world, having one of the most known ancient civilizations with its remnants still standing until this day, and then got conquered by many empires and nations, each leaving their own mark on the area.
Sailing down the Nile river, visiting the great pyramids of Giza, ancient tombs, places, learning about how the people lived off the river and which tools they used and exploring the north western parts of the Sahara desert.
A great opportunity to wake your inner Egyptologist!
West and south of Egypt
If Egypt has sparked your African spirit, you might keep exploring this magical continent.
Egypt borders with Sudan to the south and Libya to the west, 2 beautiful countries with a very hospitable culture and a fascinating history, though less known than the Egyptian history, still interesting nonetheless.
Libya doesn’t have an international relationship with Israel, and entering the country after visiting Israel may be a bit problematic. Adding to that the uncertain political situation there and the fact that most governments advise against traveling to Libya, might make you think twice before entering there.
But having said all of that, Libyans are considered to be friendly and warm people, and there are reports of tourists that claim they had a good impression of the locals. However, it’s hard to ignore the political state.
Sudan, on the other hand, is considered to be safer than Libya, though most of the governments still advise not to go there.
Tourists that visited Sudan also claim that that Sudanese people are warm and friendly, but the still not so certain political condition might make you feel unsafe. Also, the Darfur region and South Sudan should be avoided right now.
Anyhow, in both cases, you better do your research and think twice if you want to go to those countries.
Aside from that, the rest of north Africa is considered relatively safer, with an amazing Sehara desert experience, remnants of ancient civilizations, gorgeous beaches and interesting culture (though, again, make sure to always do your own research).
From Sudan you can continue to Ethiopia and from there to Kenya and Uganda.
Until now I was talking about crossing borders through the land and I want to mention air travel too.
There are a lot of flights from Israel to Ethiopia because it’s often a stopping point for flights to other parts of the world, so getting from Israel to East Africa should be easy and might be a good option if you want to check out African safaris and have an adventure towards the south of the continent.
Go east, to explore the middle east!
Jordan
The second neighbor that Israel has a peace treaty with is Jordan. After it was signed in 1994, the borders of the 2 countries opened and Israelis, as well as Jordanians, started to travel between the countries.
Jordan is mostly known for the astonishing Petra. Other than that, you can visit Aqaba, a vacation city close to the Israeli Eilat, the Jordanian resorts on the shores of the dead sea, the classic Amman and the ancient Hellenistic Roman ruins that are spread throughout the country with the most famous of them being the city of Jerash.
North, south and east of Jordan
Jordan has borders with Syria and Iraq, 2 war torn countries that most of the governments are advising to not travel to.
Lebanon is relatively safe, but you may encounter problems entering the country if they suspect that you were in Israel before (Lebanon is one of the countries that bans entry of tourists when an evidence of visiting Israel is found).
But if you do make it to Lebanon, you’ll experience one of the most beautiful (or even the most) countries in the middle east, with lots of green mountains, beautiful valleys, beaches, interesting history and kind people.
From Jordan you can also travel to the Arabian peninsula, visiting Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain. Those 3 countries have a relatively good relationship with Israel (when compared to the rest of the Arabic world) and they tend to overlook the fact that you came from Israel (recently peace treaties were signed between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, so with those 2 there won’t be a problem at all and you can even fly there straight from Israel).
Other countries in the peninsula; Oman, Yemen and Qatar, don’t have good relations with Israel and may also ban you from entering if they discover evidence of visiting Israel. Though, like with Lebanon, each of those countries is unique and rich with history and wildlife and they are very recommended to visit (just take into consideration the fact that Yemen had a really rough decade with civil wars, terror attacks and a humanitarian crisis, so, again, do your research and think twice if you want to travel there. Oman and Qatar are considered safe countries).
Another fascinating country to visit in the area is Iran, but then again you have the problem of avoiding having evidence of traveling to Israel.
Iran is considered a relatively safe country to travel to with a very rich history, so it can be a great option to travel to if you have the chance.
Go on a Euro trip!
Though Israel isn’t connected to Europe by land, Europe is probably the most visited continent by Israelis (due to the fact that we can’t visit most of the countries around us in Asia and Africa… and also because of the more western culture of Israel).
Israelis love Europe, both families and young people, it’s relatively close, beautiful and cheap (at least the eastern part…).
Cyprus
The island of Cyprus is about an hour flight from Israel and it’s a good vacation place, with wonderful beaches and ancient ruins of the civilizations and empires that once ruled there.
If you want to spice up your journey, you may sail there, which takes about 24 hours from Israel.
Greece and Turkey
2 of the most visited countries by Israelis. Be it the similar culture, the beautiful vacation spots or the cheap prices, those countries are amazing and close to Israel.
A flight from Israel to Istanbul is about 2 hours, and 2 and a half hours to Athens.
You can also sail to those countries from Cyprus, which can be an adventurous way to get to Europe’s mainland without flying.
East Europe
The balkans, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and the former USSR stated in Eastern Europe became a big tourist destination for Israelis and can be a great idea for the continuation of your trip from Israel. Again, it’s relatively close (a few hours flight), cheap and beautiful, with the classic Eastern Europe culture.
You can also do an amazing journey of getting there from Israel through the sea and land, without flying.
Conclusions
Where to travel after Israel? There are a lot of options as you can see.
If you’re aiming towards a short vacation then you can have short visits to Egypt, Jordan or Cyprus.
If you want something more, then flying to other countries in the Middle East, Africa or east – south east Europe can be a great idea.
And if you’re looking for an amazing journey, you can cross borders through the land or sail the Mediterranean.
The biggest obstacle here is the issue with traveling to some of the Arab countries after Israel. I think it might be better if you first visit the Arab countries that don’t have ties with Israel and then visit Israel. Israel lets people who’ve been to Arab countries, even to clear enemies of Israel (like Iran), but prepare yourself to be held and interrogated for a few hours at the entrance to Israel (I haven’t heard of cases of banning tourists that’s been to Arab countries from entering Israel, but most of them have experienced some unpleasant time of being held and interrogated).
To be honest, writing this was fun and sad at the same time. Not being able to move freely and travel to places without worry just because of politics sucks and I hope that one day we could all travel the middle east peacefully without fearing getting questioned by the authorities or banned from entering a country.
I aspire to live an adventurous life and have always been attracted and curious about the unusual and the different. After discovering a sort of talent for writing I decided to start playing with words and from then on, I’m feeling the need to express myself to the world, through the written word.
