jenhack

What is a reasonable daily budget for Israel? I have heard that it is VERY expensive. Our tour provides breakfast & dinner so our main expenses would be lunches, teas & drinks en route (apart from souvenirs, etc). Just taking into consideration the daily necessities, how much should we provide for? Souvenirs, etc. would be extras, of course!

Thanks,
Jen

eri

Jen,
Here I am again. Israel is not that expensive now if you pay attention to some basic "rules". Most restaurants in Israel offer "business lunch". These are 2-3 course meals, usually with good selection. Something like an early American happy hour. a meal like that usually costs 15-20 dollars per person depends on the restaurant. Shopping is different for everyone. If tours, transportation, breakfasts and dinners are provided, I would think that 40 dollars a day per person (without shopping) is more than enough.

africnow

This is soooo relative. Israel is no more expensive than Spain or Italy, lots more expensive than SEA and lots cheaper than London!

Souveniers - who can know what you want to buy? You can get a ram's horn for instance, real and kosher for thousands, or in plastic for NIS20 only.

A cup of coffee and a piece of cake in a coffee shop can run you US$14 for two, but a quick falafel is only US$1. - 2. each.

So really, it is up to you how much you want to spend.

jenhack

Thanks to both of you ~ you've both been helpful in answering other questions too.

Now that I have a rough idea of how much our extra meals etc. will be, I realise that I'll have a lot more money for shopping than I initially thought!

Kathy4HIM

I have had many a yummy lunch in Israel for $5................a pita with turkey and "fixings" in it and a soft drink. YUM! A slice of pizza and a drink...........a small salad and a drink. And of course the ever popular falafel is quite budget-minded. I can easily get by on $10 a day or less. (Our trips also have breakfast and dinner included).....

I leave for Israel Monday.......back on the 22nd.

Kathy
Paragon, Indiana, USA

jenhack

Thanks Kathy! We probably will only have about $100 per day so the less we have to spend on necessities the better!

We're only going early May but since its my first trip ever out of SA you can see I'm panicking already!

Have an awesome trip!
Jen

africnow

Kathy's "pita with turkey and fixings" is called a 'shwarma'. Very popular fast food here, includes salad. With turkey it is the less expensive version. The real shwarma is made with lamb and is much more expensive. HINT: Never eat shwarma after 3 or 4 pm ! It is the dregs.

laurie_ann

I;m just going to Israel the first time in May, but I plan to use the strategies for saving money the same as elsewhere. 1. pick up a bottle of water and a snack (granola bar, crackers, whatever) at a grocery or convenience store in the morning BEFORE you are so starving for lunch or dinner that you will eat anything at any price. 2. when you want lunch (or aspirin or whatever) ask a shop keeper or museum attendant where is an inexpensive food place nearby. The food places near major tourist attractions (doesn't matter Eifel Tower, Roman Colliseum, whatever) tend to take advantage with high prices, low quality but if you can get directions to walk even a block or two away you can usually do better. 3. grocery stores or what we call in U.S. drug stores but really have much more can be great places for souvenirs too. See also Budget Travel Magazine on line with other budget travel tips. http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt...020201090.html

jenhack

Thank you for the advice. And the budget travel tips site is excellent, we've learned so much from it. I've printed the articles from as far back as I can and I'm going to keep an eye out for April & May's tips before I go.

evelyntrav

Jen, I have been reading your posts as they have been helpful as we plan our trip to Jordan and Israel.

My question: which tour group are you using for the Israel portion of your trip?

jenhack

We have been using a tour company in South Africa called Pilgramage Tours, but their "partner" in Israel who has made all the arrangements is NAWAS in Jerusalem. Unfortunately I don't have any details on how to contact them.

evelyntrav

Thanks, Jen. I was able to find a little about them and it is not a good match for me.

FainaAgain

In Tel Aviv there are many AM-PM stores where you can stop to pick up picnic food, if you have breakfast and dinner included, one meal can be not cooked.

I had my own water - re-used the plastic bottle filling it up with the tap water. Some people say to re-use bottles is not safe health-wise, but I didn't get sick.

Israeli food seems very expensive at first, but once you realize the price is in shekels and you have to divide it by 4-5 to convert to dollars, it gets so much cheaper