Weezie

Looking for a place to stay on a Saturday night. Tel Aviv is out. Is everywhere else shut down because of the Sabbath?
I was thinking about the Howard Johnson's at Sefat but then someone said all was shut down on Sat.
Ideas?

eri

What do you mean by "shut"? Tel Aviv is very busy on Saturday. All hotels are open. Please explain.

Weezie

We are planning to go to Tel Aviv on Sunday and Saturday is the one hotel we haven't planned yet. I read in one of my guidebooks that Sefat was very quiet (closed?) on the Sabbath and it was suggested to visit there a different day/night. Is this incorrect?

Mamamia

I'm a bit confused here... Sefat (Tzfat) is a good 2.5 hours drive from Tel Aviv, so, it's not like if Tel Aviv is closed, we'll try the suburbs...

ANd you must be talking about Friday night, which is the eve of the Sabbath.

But the truth is, Sefat is mostly an orthodox town today, so natrally it is much more limited on the Sabbath. Tel Aviv, on the other hand, is alive and bustling on Saturday, maybe most of any other city in Israel.

There sure won't be any problem to get into a Tel Aviv hotel on a Saturday or Friday night.

Weezie

So sorry for the confusion...
We are staying Friday night in Jerusalem (American Colony) and are looking for a plan for Saturday and a hotel room for Saturday night. On Sunday we got to Tel Aviv for two nights at the Dan. If we were to try to go to Sefat for the day on Saturday and spend the night at, say, Howard Johnson's Rmon Inn, would things be closed?

eri

I am still confused by your question. What exactly do you expect to be open or closed? The shops will be closed in Sefat. Will you have a rented car? If so, you could drive around the Galil region and get to Rimon Inn in the evening or afternoon. Rimon Inn is a nice hotel. As you were told, Sefat is a 2-3 hour tour. Shops are non significant there, so what does it matter if they are open or closed. You could drive to Rosh Pina, a nice old/renewed settlement with some nice retaurants. As a matter of fact it has some nice inns and B&Bs and you could stay there. You could also go to Metula on the northern border with its small hotels and B&Bs. There are so many nice places in the north. Most Israelis travel on Saturday and you'll be surprised to see how many places are "open".

Weezie

Thanks eri, that's exactly what I didn't understand. When talking about "shut down" I envision something like the way some small towns in, say, Kentucky (where I grew up) close down on Sundays. There ain't nothin' goin' on except church.

Mamamia

Weezie,

Safed has become very orthodox in past years, and lots (if not most) of the small art galleries have been shut down... The charm of that ancient town is still there, but don't go there on a Saturday.

Saturday is different, depends where you go... Stores are closed in most of Israeli cities, but in many outside shopping malls they are opened... Restaurants and coffee shops in many cities are the same, many closed, some are opened. Jerusalem is more conservative than Tel Aviv... Public transportation does not run in most of Israel during the Sabbath. But taxis do run.

Certainly you can get to any hotel on a Sabbath.

Yes, renting a car is a good idea, you can travel in the Galillee, Rosh Pina is very trendy these days, many good, family-owned little restaurants in the Galillee, and you should also add Tiberias and the Sea of Galillee to your list...

Weezie

thanks for the info Mamamia