Hey SimSim!

Tel Aviv's great!! I've never been there with children, but I would imagine that Gordon Beach would be great, the hidden alleyways to explore in Jaffa, the Market near Allenby/Sheinkin, Hayarkon Park, lots of kid friendly stuff to climb and play on along the beach promenade near the Renaissance Hotel, and maybe eating at the Tachana (old station) in Neve Tzedek!!

Hope this helps! Have fun and hug TLV for me!

David

Hey SimSim,

First of you have the beach, which is an endless fun for children and adults alike. The weather now in Tel Aviv is great for the beach, and during the next two weeks should be hot.

I don't know your interests, but you have museums about the history of Israel and the different ressistance movements during the British Mandate.

The Flee Market in Jaffa is an adventure, Rotschild Boulevard holds a place of respect as one of Tel Aviv's most lively and beautiful areas during the evening (with hundreds of coffee shops, bars and restaurants). 

If you never had Hummus, or at least, Hummus like it's supposed to be, go to Jaffa and eat there. If you need recommandations for good places (not the touristic crap that you can get anywhere, including in GVA), send me a message.

The Tel Aviv Museum is a good place, including a Planetarium which could be interesting for kids (don't know if they have English though).

Neve Tzedek is a neighbourhood in the south of Tel Aviv (Behind Dan Panorama and David Intercontinental hotels), offering one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Tel Aviv that has been restored and is now an artist colony, with plenty of beautiful places to visit during day and night, good coffees and restaurants.

If you have a car, I recommand driving to Jerusalem (about an hour and a drive), and visiting there for a day or two. You can do the major sites in a day trip. Don't miss the Western Wall, a view of the Dome of the Rock, the walls and maybe King David's Citadel Tower. Also the Jerusalem Museum holds some of the earliest religious texts known to man, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the scrolls of Dark and Light and more.
Also the north is beautiful this time of year, and is only an hour's drive. 

The city of Hulon holds a very special museum, called the Children's Museum. Never been there, but heard it's great for kids of all ages. Check it out on the internet. Quite close to Tel Aviv.

If you want to go south I would recommand the Dead Sea (also a day trip, about two hours drive each way), and Masada, a stronghold from the days of King Herod, the Maccabim, and the Roman Occupation of Judea.

If you have any questions or you need more information, please contact me freely.

Enjoy!

Brilliant thanks guys! 

Will be a bit of a trip down memory lane, in as far as I used to go there annually as a kid but not been for a decade now. 

Will let you know how this place is as seems to be in scope for our trip too - http://www.cameland.co.il/content.php?id=4&tlng=english

Advice from the Ofek clan - highly trustable

used to work at a 5 star hotel on the tel aviv beach up until two months ago, so I recommanded hundereds of places for tourists :) 

Hey Yaron..how long have you been in Geneva for?

We too are going to Israel for 10 days during May, but are at the other end of the spectrum [retired]: very interested in culture, so will definitely go to the Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, Via Dolorosa, Yad Vashem etc. We are also going one/two days to the Dead Sea by car. Have had conflicting reports re the See of Gallilee = one person says "wonderful", another says "nothing there, boring". Do you have any other tips/suggestions please. We'll be on our own. TIA

looks nice http://desert-days.co.il/

The dead sea is a must!  i imagine the kids would love the novalty factor of floating.  plenty of suncream tho... i wish some one told me that!

Hi,

Kinneret (sea of galilee) is great, that's my favourite place, plantations of bananas, mangoes, oranges, etc.... The whole lot is flowering in spring time, very nice. Additionally, if you like doing a bit of sport, such as horse riding, swimming, biking, there  is a whole lot to do in the area. 

For the Dome of the rock, you may not be allowed to access if you are not muslim by the way, even going anyway near.

Eilat is fun, you can swim with dolphins there and even do some introductory dives or simply go snorkeling... 

In any case, I recommend the car option as it gives much freedom, but might not be great in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem so much. With Eldan car rental, you can rent the car in one city and then finally give it back in another or even at the airport, might be worth checking out.

Regards,

Sarah

yes, and be very careful not to get the water in the eyes :-) 

Okidata, I'm omnipresent. There have been many sightings of myself in many different places at once.Including different countries and events. So that makes your question a bit hard to answer.

Sheila - the sea of gallilee, or Kineret, is Israel's main water reservoir. It nothing like the big water reservoirs in europe or the US, and is probably more like a small pond compared with its european counterparts.
Don't know if there's a lot to do there, other than the beautiful countryside of the north. haven't really been there for more than half a day.

The Dome of the Rock is not accessable to non-muslims, so don't even think about it. The closest you could get is the jewish wailing wall, which is right under the dome of the rock. Don't miss a chance to visit the wailing wall tunnels, a guided tour to the over 2,000 years of history of jerusalem.

Eilat.... lived there for about 3 years. Nothing much to do there except bake in the sun, swim with dolphins (if you're willing to pay good money for it), and maybe snorkeling. If you're a diver, it offers one of the best coral reafs (also protected by Unesco or something.

Dead sea - as Peaky said, bring a lot of sunscreen. Not the 15 spf thing, but the real stuff, unless you want to end up like a lot of French tourists who find themselves in the hospital after two days with level 2 sunburns. This also applies to Eilat in this time of year.

Again, if you have any more question or require some information, please feel free to contact me and I'll try to help as much as I can.

Actually planning to go on a day trip to Jerusalem next week, might use some of my own advices...:)

Thanks!!!!

Hi try the old port. They make beautiful brunch!

Israel is a place to travel with babies. They are welcome everywhere!

Enjoy this nice country!

SimSim, Sheila:

You're in for a great time, and you're going at the right period: when the weather is likely to be real nice, but not too hot (yet). 

Yaron really knows his stuff, so I'd take his advice. 

Here's my short version of the 3 places not to miss, regardless of your age:

- Dead sea. A very unique floating experience. 

- Jerusalem. However, you'll see Jerusalem in a much deeper way if you use a local guide, rather than just travel on your own. If you want a great guide let me know - I have an amazing one who speaks fluent English.

- Yad va Shem. Don't matter if you're Jewish or not, this is a place to visit. It's Israel's "Holocust Musuem", bringing alive the memory and story of what took place to Jews during WW2. It's not only very moving, but also helps explain a big part of current Israeli thinking. 

Enjoy Israel, I think you'll love it!

Nir

Actually the old port is in Jaffa, and though it has a nice boardwalk, it doesn't offer anything. What you probably meant (in my opinion) is the new port, in the north of tel aviv, which has a wooden deck with tens of restaurants which sit right on the water front, and on sunny days are packed with people who worship the sun over great brunches and light drinks.

And about the babies... I'd have to agree. Israel, and Tel Aviv, is one of the friendliest places in the world to visit which children, as they are welcome everywhere. Where in GVA you might find the owners doing a sour face when they see children, in Tel Aviv they would offer them special food, seatings and some places even offer activities.

Loved the Eco-village near Zukim, also the Camel camp, and generally the desert around there, and then Jaffa, and the North, and Jerusalem - really pretty peaceful on a Tuesday after Easter, was surprised

And Neve Tzedek - nice to walk around there and then along beach to Jaffa

Hey SimSim!

You still in Israel?

noooooo was just the week over Easter and weekends either side. Had been 15 yrs since last there. Enjoyed it in ways I wasn't expecting. Still eating the Halva... Want some? 

It is nice to hear good things about Israel 

i wonder if people realize what a fun place it is and how much it has to offer 

to tourists,

for children it is a paradise

I would say the beach probobly the best place to be

then there is the children friendly climate

the carmel market place is such a great place 

so many colors and flavors and yes the tastes 

once you go there i think you appreciate the great effort that goes 

into keeping that place safe and how much work has gone into 

making it such a lively friendly place with so much to offer 

A huge thank you to all those who have taken the trouble to respond. We leave before the crack of dawn on Thursday and hope for a wonderful, peaceful and interesting holiday in Israel. Will post on our return to let you all know how it went.

My good friend says that to tell an idiot that he is an idiot is a waste of time 

if he knows he is an idiot, he is not an idiot 

if he does not know he is an idiot , telliing him will not change the fact 

that he is an idiot

p.S. 

i was so happy to finally see a positive thread on Israel but i guess in every

barrel there must be a rotten apple just dying to get attention by idiotic comments 

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/pictures/0,,1543331,00.html