Bed & Breakfasts in the Galilee -- There is a good range of bed-and-breakfast establishments in the region, including accommodations in private homes and in moshav and kibbutz facilities that are somewhat less expensive than those in the official Kibbutz Hotel and Guest House Chain. Most tourist information offices in major cities (including those in Tiberias, Haifa, and Safed) now are equipped with computers that let you access the current lists of bed-and-breakfast facilities available throughout the Galilee. You can telephone for reservations ahead of time, or play things by ear when you arrive.
The Kibbutz Country Lodging Bed and Breakfast network rents simple but pleasant rooms in various kibbutzim throughout the Galilee. Rooms are a bit less fancy than in the Kibbutz Hotel Chain, but they're adequate, often in beautiful locations, and give you a closer look at kibbutz life than the more insulated Kibbutz Hotels. At some kibbutzim, the rooms are in special guest buildings; in others, you get an empty kibbutz member's room or apartment that has been especially set up for visitors. Rates are $70 to $90 for a double most of the year. In North America, you can book a 1-week or more itinerary of Kibbutz bed-and-breakfasts as well as a package with a rental car through the Israel Tourism Center (tel. 888/669-5700 in the U.S. and Canada, or 201/556-9669; Israelhotels@worldnet.att.net). There is a NIS 160 ($35) booking fee. Ask for a brochure of the bed-and-breakfasts so that you can select the kibbutzim you'd prefer. Once you get to Israel, you can book kibbutz bed-and-breakfast accommodations through the Kibbutz Hotels Chain Office, Smoleskin Street, Tel Aviv (tel. 03/524-6161; fax 03/527-8088); however the American Israel Tourism Center's office is better equipped to deal with your questions about accommodations and itineraries.
Among some of the recommended private families offering guest facilities are: Mary and Sasson Soffer, Mitzpe Tal El, M.P. Osrat 25167, Israel (tel. 04/996-6060; fax 04/996-2336), offering charming rooms and fabulous breakfasts in a contemporary Israeli dream house with wonderful vistas. The house has four guest rooms, two with private showers. It is located at Tal El, north of Highway 85 between Akko and Karmiel. Prices range from NIS 180 to NIS 203 ($40-$45) per person with facilities and discount for children; most credit cards are accepted. Buki and Rochelle Cohen, M. P. Bikat Beit Ha Kerem 25129, Israel (tel. 04/980-2471; fax 04/980-3690), have four pleasant rooms in Har Chalutz, a community founded by Americans from the Reform Jewish Movement. Located in the Tefen Mountain Range of north-central Galilee, it offers lavish breakfasts, a Jacuzzi, and balconies and pergolas overlooking gardens. The rates are about NIS 180 to NIS 225 ($40-$50) per person; no children and no in-house smoking. Free travel advice and homemade cakes and cookies are also part of the experience here.
At the completely vegetarian Moshav Amirim, Amirim, M. P. Karmiel, 20115, Israel (tel. 04/698-9571 office), you can arrange for bed-and-breakfast with a number of moshav families. All families in Amirim's B&B program can prepare superb meals for you with advance notice; there is also a wonderful vegetarian restaurant (Dahlia's) on the moshav. Bed-and-breakfast arrangements in private homes are not generally recommended for families traveling with children.
Another interesting choice is the Bed-and-Breakfast in a Galilee Arab Village Program, which you can arrange by calling Ruthi Avidor (tel. 04/980-0708). Rates per person are in the NIS 135 to NIS 180 ($30-$40) range. This program offers a unique opportunity to meet members of the Galilee's large Arabic community, and to experience the traditional hospitality of an Israeli Arab home. Accommodations are either in a family house or in a nearby apartment, to which your hosts will bring breakfast. You can specify whether you would like accommodations in which you have more personal contact with your host family. Many families in this program do not speak English fluently, but things work out. Rooms are comfortable, clean, and usually filled with little personal touches that the women of the house have planned for their guests' comfort. Most guests in this program so far have been Jewish Israelis, but the host families look forward to having foreign guests, and hope that the visits will help create greater understanding. Roads in Israeli Arab towns are hard to follow; be certain your hosts make a map, and note the way back to the main road from your lodgings.
Among Kibbutz Country Lodging Bed and Breakfasts in the NIS 135 to NIS 160 ($30-$35) per person range, try Kibbutz Amiad (tel. 04/693-3829; fax 04/693-5337) and Kibbutz Kedarim (tel. 04/698-6300), both in the vicinity of Korazim, just northwest of the Sea of Galilee; Kibbutz Snir (tel. 04/695-2508 and Kfar Szold (tel. 04/690-7176), both in the extreme Upper Galilee; and Kibbutz Sasa (tel. 04/698-8699) and Kibbutz Yiron (tel. 04/698-8394; fax 04/698-0888), both in the beautiful, wild northern countryside near the ancient Baram Synagogue.
