Planning a trip to Tel Aviv

Parking

City Layout

Tel Aviv and Jaffa (Yafo in Hebrew) together form a large urban area. But the part of Tel Aviv–Jaffa visitors focus on is the downtown seafront section, extending east only to the thoroughfare of Ibn Givrol Street. This is a 6km (3 3/4-mile) long strip at least 1km ( 2/3 mile) wide, but only certain sections are of interest to visitors—the rest of the turf is residential or industrial.

Main Arteries & Streets

Tel Aviv’s big streets mostly run north and south, roughly parallel to the sea. Herbert Samuel Boulevard is right along the beach. It starts near the Dan Hotel and runs south to Jaffa, with a promenade running alongside it—great for strolling and jogging.

Ha-Yarkon Street is a half-block inland, and runs from the northern tip of Tel Aviv down to the border with Jaffa; it is dotted with hotels of all sizes and prices. At the northern tip of Ha-Yarkon, you’ll find the Old Tel Aviv Port, filled with trendy cafes, pubs, and restaurants, many overlooking the sea. Ben-Yehuda Street is the next block inland. The streets between Ha-Yarkon and Ben-Yehuda from the Dan Hotel southward are thick with good restaurants and small hotels. Northern Ben-Yehuda is home to more exclusive design and clothing shops.

At its southern end, Ben-Yehuda curves into Allenby Street, which continues southwest. Allenby is an old-fashioned low-budget shopping drag. Off Allenby you’ll find the Carmel Market, Tel Aviv’s roaring outdoor labyrinth where fabulous fruits and vegetables (as well as a million other things) are sold. The Nahalat Binyamin network of pedestrian streets, filled with shops, eateries, and a busy Tuesday and Friday crafts fair, is right off Allenby next to the Carmel Market; farther south is the offbeat Neve Tzedek neighborhood.

Perpendicular to Allenby, inland from the Carmel Market, is King George Street, lined with bakeries, cafes, and small shops connecting to the next big north-south thoroughfare, Dizengoff Street. Here you’ll find the big Dizengoff Tower Shopping Mall at Dizengoff and King George streets, plus lots of fast-food places up to and north of Dizengoff Square, which is really a raised circle.

Ibn Givrol is the most inland of the major north-south streets. Its northern end is close to the Golda Meir/Tel Aviv Center for Performing Arts and the Tel Aviv Art Museum. Farther south, Ibn Givrol is close to the Mann Auditorium and the Tel Aviv Cinémathèque. It’s lined with lots of places to eat and dine.

Fast Facts

Currency Exchange-There are a number of internationally connected ATMs in the hotel district along Ha-Yarkon and Ben-Yehuda streets,as well as scattered elsewhere in the city. Check with your hotel desk about which is the closest. In addition, you can use the currency exchange offices along Ha-Yarkon and Ben-Yehuda streets. They usually have exchange rates comparable to the banks.

Doctors & Dentists-You can get a list of English-speaking doctors and dentists from your embassy and often from your hotel’s front desk. For Tel Aviv Doctor, a private, expensive, but very convenient service for travelers on Basel Street, call tel. 054/941-4243. The Tel Aviv Dental Clinic offers emergency dental care, 24/7 at 1 Zeitlin St., near Rabin Square (tel. 03/691-5159).

Drugstores-The Superpharm at 4 Shaul Hamelech St. is open throughout the week, 24 hours. For a list of on-duty pharmacies open on Shabbat (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, website in Hebrew only), ask your hotel or go to
www.tel-aviv.gov.il/Residents/HealthandSocial/Pages/Pharmacies.aspx.

Emergencies-For police, dial tel. 100. In medical emergencies, dial tel. 101 for Magen David Adom (Red Shield of David), Israel’s emergency first-aid service and ambulance. For fire, dial tel. 102.

Hospitals-Ichilov Hospital (tel. 03/697-4444) has an emergency room, dental clinic, and Malam Traveler’s Clinic for immunizations. Bikur Rofeh, an emergency health clinics at 90 Yigal Alon St., accepts all forms of travel insurance and can be reached at 📞 03/627-2350.

Post Office-There are branches of Israel Post, the country’s postal service, in different locations throughout Tel Aviv. One close to the beach area is at 61 Hayarkon St. Another branch is at 170 Ibn Gabirol St. Hours are usually Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 8am to noon and 3:30 to 6:30pm, Wednesdays from 8:30am to 12:30pm, and on Fridays from 8am to noon. Most branches require you to make an appointment before arriving, which you can do at the post office website, the app, or by calling tel. 171. Israelis, especially tech-adverse elderly, use the post office for everything from sending and receiving packages to paying their electric bills and city taxes, so be prepared to wait.

Safety-Israel’s largest metropolitan area has less crime than most cities its size, but there is still enough that you must observe the normal precautions. Don’t walk in deserted areas, especially the beaches, after dark. Terrorism is always a concern. Get away from and report any unattended bags or packages.

Getting Around

By Bus-Bus no. 4 and Sherut no. 4 from the New Central Bus Station to the center of Tel Aviv go northward to Allenby Street and on to Ben Yehuda Street; on Ben Yehuda, you will be running parallel to and a block inland from the many hotels on Hayarkon Street.
   
Bus no. 5 and Sherut no. 5 from the New Central Bus Station go to Heichal Hatarbut, Dizengoff Square and Dizengoff Street. Bus no. 54 runs from the New Central Bus Station to Jaffa. Ask to get off at the Clock Tower Square on Yefet Street.

Note: You’ll need to either purchase a Rav Kav, a smart card that you load ahead of time and which can be used on buses and trains, or use the Rav Kav app, which allows you to scan a QR code on the bus to pay your fare, or to load more cash onto your card. Rav Kavs can be bought at Tourism Information Centers, at the airport, train stations, kiosks, and at many local businesses. For a list of places where you can purchase and charge your card, go to https://ravkavonline.co.il/en/store/service-stations.

Standard bus fare is NIS 5.5. You can transfer on buses within the city for up to 90 minutes from the time you first swiped your card. Kids under 5 ride for free. An unlimited day pass that allows you to travel throughout Tel Aviv and its suburbs costs NIS 13. But if you prefer to pay as you go, it’s worth it to pre-load money onto the card or app ahead of time, as you’ll get more value for your cash: for example, for NIS 50 you get NIS 62.5 that you can use for bus fare; NIS 100 translates into NIS 125.  You should always check Google Maps or Moovit before heading out, as bus lines can change due to road work or special city events.

To get to Jaffa from central Tel Aviv, take bus nos. 10, 14, or 18, heading southward. Buses no. 10 and no. 13 runs along the beach, and takes you to Jaffa’s Clock Tower on Yefet Street, close to Old Jaffa and the flea market. Bus nos. 14 and 18, which you can pick up on King George Street near Dizengoff Street, runs through Jaffa on Yefet Street. If you’re walking (30–45 min., depending on your starting point), simply head south along the Tel Aviv Waterfront Promenade, which runs into Jaffa. If you’re going northward, you can catch bus no. 289 from Ibn Gvirol to get to the ANU Diaspora Museum of Jewish History and Tel Aviv University.

As part of an effort to modernize and liberalize a transportation system historically dominated by the ultra-Orthodox establishment, which opposes travel on Shabbat, Tel Avi’s mayor in 2019 began a system of 19-passenger minibuses that run on Shabbat, with more than 500 stops throughout Tel Aviv and nearby cities. It’s called Busofash, meaning “bus on the weekend” in Hebrew. They look like large tour buses and are clearly labeled. The buses run roughly every half hour, though be sure to check whatever transportation app you’re using, as they’re known to run off-schedule. Bus no. 706 starts at the central Israeli town of Ramat Hasharon, continues through the Tel Aviv University area, then into northern and central Tel Aviv, the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim, then south toward Jaffa. Bus no. 707 connects Ramat Aviv to Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Bus no. 705 runs along Yefet Street into southern Jaffa. Bus no. 708 will bring you to the tech hub of Ramat Hahayal, where you can dine at the bustling Shuk Tsafon food market or watch a concert at the Zappa Live Music bar. At the time of publication, the Shabbat bus service was still in its extended launch phase and free of charge (for political reasons, it will likely remain free for some time).

By Taxi/Sherut Within Tel Aviv-Ten-passenger vans run along the bus no. 4 and 5 lines. They even run on a reduced schedule on Shabbat. If a van comes along, by all means take it rather than wait for the bus. Prices are the same as bus fares on weekdays; on Shabbat there is a small surcharge.

It’s almost impossible to hail a taxi from the street, especially during rush hour or at night. Instead, head to a hotel and enlist the help of a doorman, or order a taxi through the Gettaxi app. 

You have the right to demand that the meter (ha-sha-on) be used, but many drivers will try to negotiate a fixed nonmetered fare to your destination, which may or may not be to your advantage. By law, the meter must be used, especially if you insist. There are legal surcharges above the metered fare on Shabbat and after 9pm. If you use the meter, ask for a receipt (ka-ba-lah).

By Train-For train schedules, go to  www.rail.co.il/eng. The best train station for those staying in central Tel Aviv is the Arlosoroff Street Station, at the eastern end of Arlosoroff Street. There is train service up the coast to Nahariya; south to Beersheba; slow, infrequent service to the western edge of Jerusalem; and a rail link to Ben-Gurion Airport. Israel Railways is undergoing a period of revival and expansion. It’s becoming more and more pleasant to use.

By Scooter/Bike–Tel Aviv is outfitted with more than 500 miles of convenient bike paths, providing an extremely convenient and time-saving solution to getting around quickly and largely independently of traffic jams. For bikes, download the Tel-o-Fun app on your phone, and pick up and return a bike at any one of the city’s 200 parking stations.

There are even more reserved parking spots for electronic scooters—a white outline on the side of the street, probably already packed with other scooters—where you can use Bird, Lime, Wind, Dott, Tier and a number of other operators. Wear a helmet (many vehicles already have one attached), as there has been a rise in accidents involving scooters, especially in areas in south Tel Aviv and Jaffa where bike paths are less common.

On Foot--If you can spare the time, and if it’s not sweltering hot, Tel Aviv is a fabulous walking city, with people-watching and landscape changes that vary from block to block. Walking from the Port in the northern part of the city to the Port in Jaffa, in the southern part of the city, takes around an hour and a half. Abraham’s Hostel offers fabulous walking tours in Jaffa’s Old City (on Tuesdays and Sundays) and around the graffiti’d walls and street art of hipster-packed Florentin (on Thursdays and Saturdays) for around NIS 100 per person.