Money

Israel is a moderately priced country compared to Western Europe, but it's more expensive than many of its Mediterranean neighbors. Prices are much the same throughout the country. To save money, try the excellent prepared food from supermarkets (buy local brands), take public transportation, eat your main meal at lunch, eat inexpensive local foods such as falafel, and stay at hotels with kitchen facilities and guest houses. Airfares are lowest from late October to early December and from late January to early March.

Sample prices: cup of coffee, NIS 12; falafel, NIS 10; beer at a bar, NIS 20; canned soft drink, NIS 10; hamburger at a fast-food restaurant, NIS 20; short taxi ride, about NIS 30 to NIS 35; museum admission NIS 32; movie, NIS 35.

Prices throughout this guide are given for adults. Substantially reduced fees are almost always available for children, students, and senior citizens.

Banks never have every foreign currency on hand, and it may take as long as a week to order. If you're planning to exchange funds before leaving home, don't wait till the last minute.

Currency Conversion

Google (www.google.com.)

Oanda.com (www.oanda.com/currency/converter.)

XE.com (www.xe.com.)

ATMs and Banks

Your own bank will probably charge a fee for using ATMs abroad; the foreign bank you use may also charge a fee. Nevertheless, you'll usually get a better rate of exchange at an ATM than you will at a currency-exchange office or even when changing money in a bank. And extracting funds as you need them is a safer option than carrying around a large amount of cash.

PIN codes with more than four digits are not recognized at ATMs in Israel. If yours has five or more, remember to change it before you leave.

The main branches of all the banks—Hapoalim, Leumi, Discount, First International—are in Jerusalem's downtown area, but they are arguably the last resort for changing money. Several times a week they have morning hours only (different banks, different days), they give relatively low rates of exchange, and it usually involves waiting in line and having the clerk fill out paperwork.

Banks in the Negev towns and Eilat have their own hours and closing days, which vary. ATMs (called kaspomats in Israel) are generally not enclosed but rather installed in a wall, usually next to a bank.

ATMs are ubiquitous all over Israel. Look for machines that have stickers stating that they accept foreign credit cards or that have a PLUS, NYCE, or CIRRUS sign. All have instructions in English. Almost all ATMs now have protective shields around the keypad to prevent anyone seeing your PIN.

With a debit card, the ATM will give you the desired amount of shekels and your home account will be debited at the current exchange rate. Note that there may be a limit on how much money you are allowed to withdraw each day and that service charges are usually applied. Make sure you have enough cash in rural areas, villages, and small towns where ATMs may be harder to find.

The banks and the exchange bureaus in the downtown Jerusalem and Jewish neighborhoods close early on Friday and reopen on Sunday morning.

Credit Cards

It's a good idea to inform your credit-card company before you travel, especially if you're going abroad and don't travel internationally very often. Otherwise, the credit-card company might put a hold on your card owing to unusual activity. Record all your credit-card numbers—as well as the phone numbers to call if your cards are lost or stolen—in a safe place. Both MasterCard and Visa have general numbers you can call (collect if you're abroad) if your card is lost, but you're better off calling the number of your issuing bank, since MasterCard and Visa usually just transfer you to your bank; your bank's number is usually printed on your card.

All hotels, restaurants, and shops accept major credit cards. Israelis use credit cards even for $5 purchases. Plastic is also accepted at banks for cash advances, although some banks will accept one card but none of the others. For cash advances using a Visa card, go to the Israel Discount Bank or Bank Leumi; with a MasterCard go to Bank Hapoalim or the United Mizrahi Branch.

Most credit cards offer additional services, such as emergency assistance and insurance. Call and find out what additional coverage you have.

Reporting Lost Cards

American Express (800/528-4800 in the U.S.; 336/393-1111 collect from abroad. www.americanexpress.com.)

Diners Club (800/234-6377 in the U.S.; 303/799-1504 collect from abroad. www.dinersclub.com.)

MasterCard (800/627-8372 in the U.S.; 636/722-7111 collect from abroad. www.mastercard.com.)

Visa (800/847-2911 in the U.S.; 180/941-1605 in Israel. www.usa.visa.com.)

Currency and Exchange

Israel's monetary unit is the new Israeli shekel, abbreviated NIS. There are 100 agorot to the shekel. The silver one-shekel coin is the size and shape of an American dime, but thicker. Smaller-value bronze coins are the half-shekel and the 10-agorot coin (both of which are larger than the shekel). There is also a 2-shekel round coin (silver), a 5-shekel hexagonal coin (silver), and a similar-size 10-shekel coin (bronze center, silver rim). Paper bills come in 20-, 50-, 100-, and 200-shekel denominations.

Dollars are widely accepted at hotels and shops, less so at restaurants. As of this writing, the exchange rate was about 3.45 shekels to the U.S. dollar.

In Israel, the best rates are at ATMs or at the myriad of currency-exchange shops (typically marked Change) in and around the central areas of the large cities. In Jerusalem you'll find these around Zion Square and the Ben Yehuda Street pedestrian mall, and at a few strategic locations elsewhere in the city (Jerusalem Mall, German Colony neighborhood, Jewish Quarter).