Planning a 5 day holiday in Israel. Visit and tour some of the lesser known attractions.

Hebrew: חופשה בישראל - סיורים וטיולים בארץ

holiday in israel chili peppers mahane yehuda

Fresh chillis in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Market - Image credit: Fancycrave

So, you are planning a holiday in Israel - it's a short trip wherein your'e planning to visit the relatives and inbetween family dinners and commitments you want to see as much of Israel as you possibly can,. What are the 'must see' attractions? We asked members of our Facebook group: If you had only 5 days to take a holiday and show someone around Israel, where would you take them? The results were unanimous. You need more time. You cannot possibly tour Israel in 5 days!!!

Surprisingly, when we collected the results, many of the traditionally popular sites were not nominated but some lesser known sites, were. Here are the results:

Northern Israel

Akko - the Old Crusader City
Attlit - Illegal Immigration Museum
Banyas - fresh water pools, the Temple of Pan, a popular Baptismal site, wonderful walks in nature and spectacular scenery
Birkhat Ram
Druze Villages
Hexagonal Pools (Yehudiya Forest)
Kibbutz Merom Golan
Kinneret
Kibbutz Degania
Metulla - Once the site of the "Good Fence" and one of Israel's northernmost settlements
Mt. Hermon - snow covered and skiing opportunities in the winter, magnificent views and flowers and greenery in the spring.
Nimrods Fortress - spend a few hours exploring this amazing ruin
Rosh Hanikra - explore the grottos, experience the view of the white chalk-rock cliffs from the cable-car and take in an interesting presentation of the historical railway line between that was between Haifa and Beirut
Tzfat - one of Israel's four holy cities and a center of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism

Haifa

Central Israel

Jerusalem

Southern Israel

Dead Sea - float your troubles away in the salty water - the lowest point on earth
Ein Gedi Nature Reserve - an oasis with a spectacular waterfall and a family stroll through the bush and thicket
Massada (Masada) an important site in Israel's history. An ancient fortress and modern museum. A cable car and a long, winding path climb are your options to get to the fortifications and scene of the famous seige.
Sde Boker Kibbutz - the home of David Ben Gurion - Israel's first Prime Minister
Craters near Mitzpe Ramon - the world's largest erosion craters known as Maktesh Ramon.

Eilat

Take a Hike

Hiking in Israel

Hiking is a big part of the Israeli culture. The ultimate hike is the Israel National Trail which takes you from Kiryat Shmona in the north all the way down to Eilat in the south.

There are many national parks across the country. Some of the national parks have camping and lodging facilities. The Matmon is the membership card of the Israel Nature & Parks Authority. Differnt Matmon cards give you discounts on camping and free entrance to the various Israel parks. A similar card is available for tourists visiting Israel (The Israel Pass)

Mid-summer daytime temperatures in Israel; June, July and August, often reach the high 30's (centigrade). The best months for traveling are April and May as well as September and October.

Remember...

No matter where you visit, take only photographs and leave only footprints.