basingstoke2

and we will need to return our rental car as well. Does anyone have suggestions as to where to stay, convenient to the airport and avoiding having to navigate through Tel Aviv?

trebex

How early is early? If you are getting to the airport at say 3, 4 or 5 AM, traffic shouldn't be an issue. You can stay anywhere in Tel Aviv. Not sure there's anything closer.

trebex

To follow up - there is the Sadot Hotel www.atlas.co.il/sadot-hotel-tel-aviv/ closer to the airport, but from what I see it is not that much closer.

AlexA

The car rental places at the airport are open 24/7 so that shouldn't be a problem. How early is your flight?
Tel Aviv is close enough so that at an odd hour with little traffic the drive is not bad.

I haven't stayed here but recently saw this new (a year old?) hotel in Rehovot
http://www.leonardo-hotels.com/israe...rehovot-hotels
It's on the outskirts of town near a train station , corporate office parks and lots of restaurants. The drive to the airport is on bypass road that skips all the city traffic of Rehovot, and you can be at the airport in 20 minutes.
If you'll be in Tel Aviv the night before, I don't think it's worth switching, but it might be worth looking into if you're coming from somewhere else

basingstoke2

Thank you trebex. AlexA - Rehovot looks good. Our flight is at 8 AM. I did not know the rental offices were 24/7 - that is good news. We will be in Ein Kerem the 3 nights before. Our plan is to base in Netanya for eight days, Zichron Ya'akov for 5 more and finish up in Ein Kerem before our last night near the airport. I spent a couple of years in Israel some 40 years ago and want to revisit areas we liked best as well as some relatives.

AlexA

Sounds like a wonderful trip , basingstoke2, though 8 days in Netanya seems a little long to me
Are you renting an apartment there or have some connection to that city (the relatives are there?)

I know the Rehovot area because a good friend works in that office park, If you do stay there, as I mentioned there are many reasonable restaurants right there and a sort of boutique supermarket chain for last minute purchases

basingstoke2

Alex, Netanya is just a base for day trips as will be Zichron Ya'akov. We found an excellent rate on an apartment there that meets our requirements, e.g., washer, dryer, parking. I looked around the Rehovot area and just booked a hotel in Mizkeret Batya for our last night. It seems an easy airport drive. Our relatives are in Jerusalem and in a kibutz in the Galil. Thanks for the idea.

mbgg

If your flight is at 8 AM then you have to arrive at the Terminal for check-in by 5 AM (do not even think about arriving later - the airport is extremely busy at that hour!!!). This means that you have to get to the car return about 4:30 AM.

If you are in Ein Kerem the night before then STAY in Ein Kerem !!! The difference in travelling time between Mazkeret Batya and Ein Kerem to the airport is about 20 minutes. Why go to the bother of moving just to save 20 minutes ????? ??????

Netanya and Zikhron Yaacov are very close to each other !! What is the point of choosing Zikhron as your second base? It is not a good location if you are planning to visit the Galilee as you will waste hours every day traveling back and forth. I suggest that you look for a place in Rosh Pina or nearby for those five days.

basingstoke2

Thank you for your input mbgg. Our move from Netanya to Zichron is based on 1. On May 1 the apartment rent jumps; and 2. We like Zichron based on old memories. I mentioned we lived a few years in Israel some 40 years ago - several months of that was just north of Haifa in Qiryat Yam and at that time we enjoyed many day trips to the Galil and found the journey as enjoyable as the destination. Have things changed so much to make that a bad idea now? As far as Ein Kerem is concerned, from my point of view, 20 extra minutes driving in the dark on unfamiliar roads increase the chances of messing up and also removes the possible alternative of just returning the car the evening before and then taking a taxi back to the hotel and to the airport in the morning. Does that make sense?

AlexA

Mazkeret Batya is also an easy drive to the airport (though I tend to get a little lost driving through the streets of this small charming (maybe a little sleepy) town with some artists studios and stores. I only know of one B&B there but there may be others.

mbgg

Zikhon is much further south so you will have to drive over an hour just to get to the Rosh Pina area and probably close to two hours to Kiryat Shmona (I think that Google Maps underestimates the times).
http://goo.gl/maps/pu4ZB
That's a lot of driving back-and-forth if you want to spend several days in the Upper Galilee and Golan area.

As far of Ein Kerem is concerned, it is a suburb of Jerusalem and you will have three days to familiarize yourself with the road into town and to Highway 1 that goes to the airport. You can get lost just as easily going from Mazkeret Batya !

I don't understand your last comment. All rental agencies (except the airport) close by 6 PM. Where will you return the car the evening before and how will you get back to where you are staying ?

You are making it unnecessarily complicated; keep the car, stay in Ein Kerem and drive to the airport. What could be simpler ?

AlexA

"I don't understand your last comment. All rental agencies (except the airport) close by 6 PM. Where will you return the car the evening before and how will you get back to where you are staying ?"

mbgg, I think basingstoke 2 is saying that if he stays some place closer to the airport on the last night, he would consider dropping off the car at the airport, taking a taxi back to his hotel/B&B and then take a taxi back to the airport the next morning

I suppose you could do that, but the taxi to and from the airport will probably cost about 150 shekels each way, so it adds time and money. Personally, I wouldn't bother.

mbgg

alexa:
If he doesn't want to return the car at the airport, it would be far simpler to return the car in Jerusalem in the afternoon, go back to Ein Kerem, then take a taxi (or the sherut?) to the airport around 4 AM. Why bother with Mazkeret Batya ?????

Elkaz

I too see no reason to leave Ein Kerem the last night. The amount of time spent checking out of one place and then locating and checking into the second place is a ridiculous waste of time. There are so many better ways to spend one's last day of vacation. Musical hotels shouldn't be your parting activity.

Also, Ein Kerem--go to Highway 1 and follow the road to you see the EXIT for Ben Gurion. Get off the exit and stay on the road ( there is only one--only way off is either you have arrived at the airport or you have jumped the barrier and have now dropped many many many feet to the other roadway below.

basingstoke2

Again, thanks for the input. Staying in Ein Kerem (or we might decide to switch to Jerusalem proper instead of Ein Kerem) the last night could make sense. Perhaps I could turn in the rental car in Jerusalem and take other transportation to the airport since we would not really need the car the last few days so could return it in Jerusalem early instead of at the airport the morning of the flight. However, we would have to leave at 04:00 or before. What are our options - I assume a taxi but is that our only option and would it be reliable to depend on a taxi at that hour.

sandi

Goodness, if you don't need the car the last few days, return it at your convenience; call for a taxi or sherut to take you to the airport. Simple! No headaches.

Oreet

Definitely don't hold on to the car any longer than you need it - return it when you are done.

The easiest way to the airport from Jerusalem (including Ein Kerem) is with Nesher sherut - a shared taxi-van service that has been in operation for 50 or more years. You need to reserve a day in advance. They need to know what time your flight is, how many people, and where you are staying. They will then tell you what time they will pick you up - yes, even in the middle of the night. They will provide door to airport service and get you to the airport so that you are there 3 hours before your flight, which is when you need to be there. Cost is reasonable, service is reliable.

basingstoke2

We finalized our itinerary and it goes like this:

First 3 nights in Netanya
Next 7 nights in Zichron Yaakov - The more we go back to our memories of the area, the more time I wanted to spend there - hence 7 nights. We will have lots to see and do and interesting day trips scheduled.
Next 5 nights in Jerusalem - The things we wanted to do in and about Jerusalem will take more than the originally scheduled 3 nights so we added 2 nights. We will be staying in the Talpiot area, one that I remember. DW has relatives in Netanya and in a kibbutz not far from Nazareth. I have relatives in Jerusalem.
Last night in Mezkeret Batya - we seriously considered the suggestions of just leaving to the airport from Jerusalem but decided to spend the last night here - I want to check out the town and especially the hotel as a base for a longer stay our next trip. We will return our car in Rehovot the day before we leave and take a taxi to the airport.

Elkaz

Definitely different than most people, but it is logical and if it suits your needs then go for it. BTW from what I understand Netanya has just redone the whole center of town--so whatever you remember will probably be gone! Enjoy

basingstoke2

Thanks Elkaz,

I expect there has been a great deal of change since my days there - it was just after the '73 war when I was sent to work on some projects. We were on the first passenger flight to land and it was quite the experience with continuing air force flights going low towards the Golan and long trains of tanks going south. During that time I saw most of the country, even camping on the shores of the Red Sea far south of Eilat. So, this will be an opportunity to revisit what were favorite places. Netanya is one place that we did not visit at that time so it will be new to us.