Holy Lands Travel to Israel
Updated: Dec 3, 2022
Image courtesy https://www.touristisrael.com/why-visit-israel/8314/
Many people of faith, including Christians, Jewish people, and Muslims would love to go to Israel, whether for the first time or on a recurring basis. Even if you're not a person of faith, there is plenty that the country has to offer. In this article, I'd like to get into some of the details about how to do it on points.
Travel Tips for your Passport/Visa
Here's information on Israel Entry & Exit Travel Requirements.
Important tidbits:
"Have a Passport Valid for at Least Six Months."
"US passport holders are allowed to stay in Israel for 90 days with a free tourist visa, and it's possible, in some circumstances, to extend this."
"When you arrive at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv (TLV), your passport should not be stamped."
" Lebanon is one of the strictest countries, denying entrance to anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport.
Other countries you should avoid entering if you have an Israeli stamp are Syria, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia."
"It is possible to cross the Israeli border into either Jordan or Egypt — but not to Syria or Lebanon. While an Israeli officer shouldn't stamp your passport upon exiting or entering, we have heard reports of select TPG readers having their documents stamped at land crossings. So, you can simply ask the Israeli border control officer not to stamp your passport and, hopefully, they won't."
"US citizens with a valid 90-day tourist entry card (the small blue piece of paper I previously encouraged you not to lose) can visit Bethlehem, which is just a few miles from Jerusalem. Bring your passport along with the small entry card, though you may or may not have to show it at the border. It's best to have at least six months or more validity on your passport if you plan to go to Bethlehem, too."
Rental Car & Public Transit Advice
As shared by this article on renting a car & this article on the Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by train:
A rental car is a viable option in Israel. The roads are good and relatively safe. A rental car is great on Shabbat since public transportation doesn't operate that day as long as your belief system wouldn't prohibit you from driving that day (mine doesn't). Keep in mind that gas is pricey & heavily taxed. Be mindful about the advice on crossing the border in the "Travel Tips for your Passport/Visa" section.
The public transit system is great in many places. You can get from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in just over 30 minutes by cheap (i.e. $6 1 way & free for kids under 5) speed train, while it would take around double the time and a lot higher cost to take an Uber. Here is a map of the train system around Israel.
Image courtesy: https://www.rail.co.il/en/pages/stationsnlines.aspx
For reference, while it doesn't cover the whole country, it covers a significant portion, as you can see here:
Image courtesy Google Maps
Category 1 Hotel Options (lowest points required)
There are some category 1 , category 2 hotel options & category 3 hotel options, (those that cost the lowest points, 2nd lowest, & 3rd lowest) within and around Israel as well as plenty of other options for hotels.
Category 1 options include:
Residence 26 (Tel Aviv: Kayak Open Table)
DEM Hotel Jerusalem (Kayak Open Table)
Category 2 Hotel Options
There are some category 1 , category 2 hotel options & category 3 hotel options, (those that cost the lowest points, 2nd lowest, & 3rd lowest) within and around Israel as well as plenty of other options for hotels.
Category 2 hotel options include:
The Spot Hostel Tel Aviv (Kayak Open Table)
Dave Levinsky – Son of a Brown (Tel Aviv: Kayak Open Table)
City Center Hotel Jerusalem (Kayak Open Table)
Holy Land Hotel (Jerusalem: Kayak Open Table)
Hotel Kaplan (Jerusalem: Kayak Open Table)
Crowne Plaza Jordan - Dead Sea Resort & Spa (IHG)
Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea (Jordan: IHG) Crowne Plaza Amman, an IHG Hotel
Category 3 Hotel Options
There are some category 1 , category 2 hotel options & category 3 hotel options, (those that cost the lowest points, 2nd lowest, & 3rd lowest) within and around Israel as well as plenty of other options for hotels.
Category 3 options include:
Ramada Hotel & Suites by Wyndham Netanya (rated 3.6/5, so many would rather avoid)
Hotel Indigo Tel Aviv - Diamond District, an IHG Hotel
Ramada by Wyndham Jerusalem
Ramada Resort by Wyndham Dead Sea
InterContinental Amman (Jordan), an IHG Hotel
Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla (blue below)
InterContinental Aqaba (Resort Aqaba), an IHG Hotel (green below)
Flights to Israel from DC using Virgin Atlantic Miles (best economy pricing) RT 40k miles plus $326.40 (30.8k w 30% promo transfer)
RT 40k miles plus $326.40 (30.8k w 30% promo transfer)
Here's the best option I'm seeing using Virgin Atlantic miles to fly KLM in economy in terms of lowest cost:
Here's some options with lower mileage requirements with higher $ fees:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
In some cases, availability for flights that low of miles can be plentiful:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
Here's the details of that flight:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
Here's an example using Virgin Atlantic Miles:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
Here's a return example:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
Because Virgin Atlantic miles tends to price per segment, consider a positioning drive, bus, train, or flight to a major city if you're in a place without any major airports nearby, such as if you're in SE VA like me.
Flights within Israel
A viable flight within country is from Tel Aviv (TLV) to Eilat (ETM). A 1 way can be had at times for under $50. The drive from the 2 airports would take over 3 hrs while a flight is typically 1 hr.
Image courtesy https://www.google.com/travel/flight
Flights to Israel from DC on Air France Miles
When a cheap cash fair is available, one could technically use pay with points on cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve where 1.5 cents per point are possible, although I typically wouldn't recommend it.
Here are some examples of viable options on points:
& on a different date (Dec 31):
3 images courtesy Air France.
I have seen where Tel Aviv was counted as part of an Air France Promo, which is the lowest I've ever seen for miles flights to Tel Aviv.
$ Flights to Israel from DC & SE VA
$ options I'm seeing from DC or SE VA at the moment go under $700 on a rare occasion, but Tap Air is not well-rated & many wouldn't go for an almost 9 hr layover unless they wanted to see Lisbon or could work out of a lounge in Lisbon (i.e. the ANA lounge there).
Image courtesy Google Flights
Flights to Israel from small cities in the US with a United presence using ANA miles flying Star Alliance (viable though not ideal if wanting direct economy & 2nd best business class pricing)
There are solid options using ANA miles, especially from the West Coast, to fly on Star Alliance carriers like United for 65k miles round trip economy, 104k miles RT business class, and 195k miles RT in 1st. Keep in mind that it would require round-trip travel & that these miles can't be used for non-family.
Flights to Israel from US using Turkish Air Miles & Smiles (best business class pricing & best direct economy pricing)
Round trip pricing using Turkish Air Miles & Smiles starts at (per round trip):
64k in economy
94k in business class (supposedly, though I didn't see any business class available online to verify)
Sometimes if it's available as a saver award on United for those who aren't United airlines cardholders or who are not signed in, it will be available on Turkish even if it doesn't appear to be available online. For instance, I didn't see any multi-leg economy tickets from Richmond or Norfolk to Israel, though I saw them available at the saver level in economy online on United.com , using Singapore Airlines miles, & on Lifemiles.com .
Flights to Israel from DC on British Airways Avios
There are viable options from DC to Tel Aviv using British Airways Avios, particularly for those who have a BA credit card that has the $100 statement credit for taxes/fees on flights from the US on British Airways to the UK, and particularly for those with the same card who spend $30k in a year on it who are using the travel together ticket for a discounted mileage requirement. It's also a nice option for anyone looking to do a free stopover in the UK. Unlike the other miles mentioned in this article, Avios have had plenty of past examples where they did a 40% transfer promo for acquiring miles.
Here's the off-peak 1-way pricing:
Image courtesy British Airways
& here's the off-peak return, which is priced better than the way there by a significant margin:
Image courtesy British Airways
Image courtesy British Airways
Flights to Israel from DC & SE VA using AA miles (72k +$58.30 RT)
Image courtesy AA
Image courtesy AA
The return flights are priced starting at the same amount of miles and a bit more $, though with worse availability at this price:
Image courtesy AA
Additional Flight Options to Israel
See as well options on Iberia using Iberia Avios, but keep in mind that Iberia doesn't fly to DC year round & that the website can be finnicky (it is now to the degree that I'm unable to price out the flight options on Chrome because it's bugging).
You won't find any options to Israel using the following airline miles:
Aer Lingus
You won't find options to Israel on the following airlines:
Qatar Airways
United flies direct from DC to Tel Aviv
Flights to Israel from the East Coast on Lifemiles (too pricey in miles at 42.5k 1 way, but better than United Miles pricing for direct & indirect flights on United)
Flights to Israel from DC on United Miles (too pricey)
Flights to Israel from DC on United Miles may include direct options, but at 44.4k miles 1 way, they're not a great option to use.
Image courtesy United.com
Flights to Israel from US on Delta Miles (too pricey typically)
If you're looking to fly using Delta miles, look elsewhere typically, since starting at 77k miles 1 way from DC is some of the highest prices out there:
Image courtesy Delta.com
One exception is during limited-time promotions. For instance, in the past, I once saw a 2 cents per mile air +hotel option on Delta.
Flights to Israel from US on Singapore Airlines Miles (too pricey in economy)
When available, these will run you 52k for a 1 way via Turkish Airlines & 51k for a 1 way on other carriers.
Image courtesy SingaporeAir.com
Where to Get Miles & Points
As usual, the best places to get miles & points (as well as status benefits in some cases) is via credit cards sign-up bonuses, ongoing credit card maximizing, and buying points.