Tel Aviv-Yafo Travel Forum

Hello!, Im supposed to go to israel in May and see Tel Aviv and Haifa. I was wondering are there any buses that leave from Tel Aviv to foreign countries near by..that Israel has a good relationship with?. I noticed on Wikipedia it said if your passport has an israel stamp lebanon, kuwait, syria and a bunch of other countries wont let you in.

Thanks!

Hello,
First of all, there's plenty to do and see in Israel besides Tel-Aviv and Haifa, enough to keep you busy and happy for several weeks: Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Massada, the Sea of Galilee & Tiberias, The Red Sea with Eilat, the Negev desert, ancient cities from Biblical times, Greek and Roman era (Cesarea, Beit-Shean & more), crusader period (Akko & others), Ottoman era to name just a few; difefrent ethnic groups to visit adn get to know; excellent nature hikes, bike trips & more.
I hope this is enough to whet your appetite...

The easiest neighboring countries to visit are Jordan (especially Petra as a side-trip from Eilat) and The Sinai Peninsula of Egypt (cross the border in Eilat).

Ilan

I see that Ilan has already given a thumbnail and "short" version of what Israel has to offer, but I have lived here for 38 years and have still not seen it all, so there IS a lot to see and do here.
BUT, yes there is a but here...if you desire to travel to Arab/Moslem countries after your visit to Israel, then you need to ask the Israeli Border Authorities not to stamp your passport. They are aware that people visiting Israel do visit other countries who would not allow you in if you had an Israeli passport stamp. What the Israeli authorities do is issue the stamp on a seperate piece of paper that you keep with your passport during your time in Israel. Then when you leave Israel you can discard that paper.
Enjoy your stay and get out of the towns if possible.
Martin

Thank You to both your responses!. If I go to Jordan however by bus..its fine if they israel stamps my passport correct?..I understand that Israel and Jordan are on good terms?.

Yes, in general Israel and Jordan are on good terms, but if you want you can still ask not to have the Israeli authorities stamp your passport, but rather issue with the seperate paper. Who knows where you might desire to go next year !!
Martin

The only problem with the stamp on a blank piece of paper ( that you keep with your passport) is that I've heard of some car rental agencies and hotels refusing to not charge the VAT that tourists are exempt from paying. Their arguement is that they don't know to WHOM the paper really belongs! They want to see the VISA stamp in your passport. So, while you can avoid the stamp you do take a chance in other things.

That is the first I have heard of a problem with the stamp from a car rental agency. The official stamp is on a piece of paper (which itself is issued by the border authorities) that does have the passport number on it also, so cannot understand what the problem is.
Martin

Israel successfully manages to alienate themselves from their neighbours and only a few neighbouring countries have diplomatic relations (and open borders) with them - namely Jordan and Egypt.
I would suggest you do not get an Israeli stamp in your passport as this may make future travel (particularly to many muslim nations) difficult for you in the future.
There are buses going to the borders of Jordan and the West Bank, I would recommend seeing Petra in southern Jordan and spending some more time around the dead sea and Amman, or go to Egypt depending on how much time you have.
Or just spend the whole time exploring Israel and the Palestinian Territories, I'm sure there is lots to see there too.
Note: You will NOT be allowed into Syria, Lebanon, Saudi and many other neighbours if there is evidence of a visit to Israel in your passport.

sikky -

>>Israel successfully manages to alienate themselves from their neighbours

Not quite true. It's the other way around: They have alienated Israel. And they have done so since Israel's creation in 1948.

Whatever you say Ramot.
I'm not going to get into a political discussion with you over Israel.

Fair enough. :)

All the best.

We had no trouble going to Petra and Amman by bus with Israeli and Jordainian stamps. There are some other posts where people have had problems in some Arab countries if Jordon or Egypt stamp your passport at a border they share with Israel.

I also have a similar question. We want to get our hosts a break. We would like to fly and take a boat somewhere for about a week. We found the ferry to Cyprus. Anybody have any interesting suggestions.

Sikky: Israel has not managed to alienate itself from anyone...the Arab nations have alienated Israel since the creation of the country. Check the history books before you make statements that can be construed as prejudicial, please.