karynr

Hi - On a group tour - Have a long night ahead of me. My group will be picking us up at 7:30pm in Jerusalem and dropping us all off at the Tel Aviv airport at 9pm for the group departure flight at midnight. I'm on a different flight that departs at 6am the next morning.
Any suggestions where to sleep for a few hours that won't be too far from the airport or too expensive? I'm not up for a late night in TelAviv to kill time - will need rest before the next leg of my journey.

Oreet

There are no airport hotels - for a 6 am flight you need to be at the airport no later than 3 am - the only rational options for a hotel room are to spend the night in Jerusalem and then take the Nesher shuttle to the airport, leaving Jerusalem about 2 am, or spend the night in Tel Aviv and take a taxi to the airport, leaving Tel Aviv about 2:20 am.

If you feel that it is necessary for you have to have a place to sleep then try to get a room at the Abraham Hostel (in either city) and do that, otherwise, go with the group to the airport, you will get there a bit before 9 pm and just look for a quiet corner to hang out till you can check in at 3 am.

mbgg

If the group drops you off at the airport at 9 PM you won't get to a hotel in Tel-Aviv and checked in before 10 PM. You would have to get up at 2 AM to get to the airport by 3 AM. It's not worth the time, money and effort.

I agree with Oreets: either stay in Jerusalem (at the same hotel or a hostel) and take the sherut to the airport, or go with the group and wait in the airport.

Elkaz

I too think your best bet is to stay in Jerusalem. If the group is getting dropped off at 9PM, that means they are leaving Jerusalem 45 minutes earlier. Why would you want to waste time getting on the bus and then waiting for your luggage to be sorted out. Just stay put and enjoy a final evening in the Holy City. ( you may even opt NOT to be near the hotel while participants are given time for packing)

FranknSense

fyi- I recently had a 6am flight w/ Austrian Air out of Tel Aviv, and showed up at 3. NOBODY was there till 4:15. Even the El Al counter was empty till 4

mbgg

The airport is normally very crowded, especially in the early morning hours, so advising anyone to arrive at the terminal less than 3 hrs in advance of departure is totally irresponsible.

Oreet

Frank's experience is the rare exception to the rule - the 3 hour recommendation is a realistic one and the bottom line is that if you are not at the terminal 3 hours before your flight, you stand a very good chance of missing your flight as you may still be in security, check in, etc. and if that happens no one will hold your flight for you and you will be looking at a very large and unplanned expense to get a new ticket. Don't go there.

mbgg

I suspect that Frank flew out on a Saturday morning when there are no ElAl flights. The situation is totally different on the other six days where there are long lines at all the stations - security, check-in, hand luggage and immigration.