Sports and the Outdoors
Dor Beach. Part of a coastal nature reserve, Dor Beach, also known as Tantura Beach, is a dreamy stretch of beige sand. Rocky islets form breakwaters and jetties provide calm seas for happy bathers. Amenities are ample: chair and umbrella rentals, a first-aid station, a restaurant, and changing rooms. The beach, beside Kibbutz Nahsholim, gets crowded on summer weekends and holidays. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking; showers; toilets. Best for: partiers; swimming; walking. Off Rte. 4, Nahsholim-Dor, Haifa, 30815. Nature reserve NIS 35, beach entrance free.
Paradive. The company organizes thrilling tandem skydives 14,000 feet over the Mediterranean. No experience is required. It's about 3 km (2 miles) north of Kibbutz Nahsholim. Habonim Beach, Nahsholim-Dor, Haifa, 3084500. 04/639–1068; www.paradive.co.il.
Underwater Archaeological Center. Kurt Raveh, a marine archaeologist and resident of Kibbutz Nahsholim, runs the Underwater Archaeological Center. Raveh conducts underwater expeditions and "dives into history" where divers (even those without experience) get to tour ancient shipwrecks (many of which he discovered) and explore reefs under his experienced eye. You can also arrange kayaking trips along the coast. Kibbutz Nahsholim, Nahsholim-Dor, Haifa, 30815. 052/516–2795; www.northern-wind.co.il.
Atlit Detention Camp. Atlit, a peninsula with the jagged remains of an important Crusader castle, also holds a more recent historical site: to the west (about 1,500 feet from the highway) is the Atlit detention camp used by the British to house refugees smuggled in during and after World War II. The reconstructed barracks, fences, and watchtowers stand as reminders of how Jewish immigration was outlawed under the British Mandate after the publication of the infamous White Paper in 1939. More than a third of the 120,000 illegal immigrants to Palestine passed through the camp from 1934 to 1948. In 1945, Yizthak Rabin, then a young officer in the Palmach, planned a raid that freed 200 detainees. The authenticity of the exhibit is striking: it was re-created from accounts of actual detainees and their contemporaries; you see the living quarters, complete with laundry hanging from the rafters. The camp is 15 km (9 miles) south of Haifa. Rd. 7110, Nahsholim-Dor, Haifa, 30350. 04/984–1980. NIS 32. Sun.–Thurs. 9–5, Fri. and holiday eves 9–1. Closed Sat..
