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- Travel Advice: Check Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice for
Israel and the Palestinian Authority before arranging your trip and before
you go.
- Airport Security: Lengthy personal questioning and baggage searches by
security officials can be expected on arrival and particularly on
departure from Israel. There are good reasons for tight security in Israel
and we advise you to co-operate even if the questioning appears overly
intrusive. Electrical items, cameras and portable computers may be taken
from departing passengers for security inspection and returned to them in
UK. Damage may occur.
- Keep the blue slip of paper given by Immigration in a safe place - you
will need it on departure.
- Medical Insurance: Health care in Israel is not free and any form of
medical treatment can be expensive. Check that you have full insurance
cover for emergency treatment, hospitalisation and medical evacuation to
the UK. If you cannot obtain cover for a specific illness, ensure that
extra funds can be sent to you easily. Hospitals will insist on payment
and may take legal action to delay departure until bills are met.
- Travel Insurance: Travel insurance should cover unexpected expenses
such as missed, cancelled or delayed flights, lost luggage and stolen cash
or credit cards.
- Drugs: Penalties for smuggling and trafficking in illegal drugs are
severe. Those caught in possession can expect a prison sentence and
deportation.
- Funds for stay: Bring sufficient with you for immediate use.
Additional cash can be obtained from 'hole in the wall' dispensing
machines (CDMs) using internationally accepted credit cards. Money
transfer through Western Union to a local post office normally takes 3 to
4 hours during normal working hours - Israeli post offices and banks close
from midday Friday to Sunday morning. Paper currency issued by banks of
Scotland cannot be exchanged in Israeli.
- Cash points are available in Jerusalem, including the East, but there
are less in the West Bank and Gaza. Most banks in Jerusalem are closed on
Fridays and Saturdays but in the West Bank and Gaza they are usually just
closed on Fridays.
- Keep belongings in a safe place. The theft of passports, credit cards
and valuables from public beaches is commonplace.
- Respect of local laws and customs: Carry identification at all times.
Foreigners are required to show some form of identify if requested by the
local authorities. When travelling within Israel it is permissible to
carry photocopies of the date and entry stamp pages of passports to avoid
losing the original. Passports may be required when crossing between
Israel and the Occupied Territories and when entering Jerusalem. Passports
and immigration slips must be produced when crossing into or out of the
Gaza Strip.
- It is wise to take heed of any official advice given about movement
into and within the West Bank or Gaza.
- British/Palestinian dual nationals staying for longer than 3 months
should contact the Consulate before leaving.
- Modest Dress is advised for areas of Jerusalem, West Bank and
especially for Gaza.
- Visitors should ensure that they comply with customs regulations.
Those arriving with valuable personal items (computers, camcorders etc)
may be required to pay a deposit that is refundable on or after departure.
Tax may be levied on items sent to visitors already in Israel and no
refund given.
- Working in Israel without proper authority may result in detention in
prison followed by deportation - a process of up to six months.
- Radar speed traps operate on roads within Israel and fines for
speeding are high.
- Israel is a country in which a number of religions and cultures mix.
People feel strongly about their beliefs and customs. It is important for
the visitor to be aware of this at all times. For example, it is not wise
to go into Jewish ultra-orthodox areas of Jerusalem on Shabbat (Saturday).
It is also important to be sensitive about taking pictures of people in
Muslim areas and the military or police anywhere. All travellers who are
new to the area should get a good guidebook, which covers these, and other
local sensitivities.
- Passports and Visas: Leave a copy of your passport and your itinerary
with a contact in the UK.
- Visitors to Israel holding passports with less than six months
validity may be turned away by airlines and ferries at ports of
embarkation, and can be refused entry at the Israeli border. Failure to
leave by the date stamped in your passport or to apply for a timely
extension of stay can result in deportation of a fine.
- Enter next of kin details into the back of your passport.
- Getting around It is not safe to hitchhike in Israel. If travelling to the desert, go with others, take a supply of water and a mobile phone and let someone know your itinerary and expected time of return.