Israel Travel Guide: Entry Rules, Money, Transit and What to Know Before You Go

Entering Israel as an international visitor depends on your nationality, though the entry process for visa-exempt travellers changed significantly at the start of 2025. Since 1 January 2025, citizens of approximately ninety visa-exempt countries—including travellers holding passports from the United States, the United Kingdom, European Union member states, Canada, and Australia—must secure an approved ETA-IL (Electronic Travel Authorization) before boarding their flight. This digital authorization operates alongside the standard 90-day visa-free stay granted to eligible tourists. You should submit your application online through the official government portal, with authorities recommending that you apply at least 72 hours before completing flights or other non-refundable travel bookings.

When preparing your application, avoid relying on third-party visa agencies or unverified booking sites that quote arbitrary administrative surcharges. The ETA-IL carries a modest online application fee, but you should check the official government portal directly to confirm the current amount and complete the process without added intermediary costs. Passport validity requirements also depend on how you enter the country. If you travel under the visa-exempt ETA-IL system, your passport must remain valid for at least three months beyond your arrival date. Travellers from nationalities that require a full consular tourist visa must ensure their passport has at least six months of validity from arrival.

Upon clearing border control, visitors are not issued an ink stamp in their passport. Instead, border officers issue a separate paper entry slip containing your photograph, personal details, and barcode, which you must retain alongside your passport until departure. This paper-slip system was established so that a visit does not create physical passport stamps that might complicate travel to other nations lacking diplomatic relations. This distinction is commonly reported as still relevant, but this kind of policy can shift with diplomatic relations—if this matters for your onward travel plans, verify current practice before you go rather than relying on historical assumptions.

The official legal tender of Israel is the Israeli New Shekel (ILS), which serves as the sole standard currency for daily commerce across the country. While foreign currencies like US Dollars or Euros are occasionally accepted by select vendors within heavily touristed quarters, relying on them is impractical and uncompetitive. Everyday transactions in Israel are overwhelmingly cashless, with the country operating as a strongly card-based society. Contactless payments, chip-and-PIN credit and debit cards, and digital wallets are accepted almost everywhere, from supermarkets and sit-down dining spots to city transport hubs, making electronic payments the default way to handle daily expenses.

Even in an intensely digital financial environment, maintaining a reserve of physical shekel banknotes remains sensible. Cash is still practical when shopping at open-air street markets, buying from small local stalls, or travelling outside primary metropolitan centres. When visiting automated teller machines, do not assume you can rely purely on a smartphone or smartwatch. Some ATMs may not yet support contactless or digital-wallet withdrawals, as a phased domestic rollout was reportedly still in progress through 2026 and 2027. Carrying a physical debit or credit card as a backup ensures you can withdraw cash without disruption whenever an ATM lacks digital reader support.

Travellers expecting to open Uber or Lyft upon landing will be surprised: neither service operates as a standard ride-hailing option in Israel as of 2026. Instead, domestic urban transit is dominated by licensed taxi apps, primarily Gett and Yango. Gett operates as the country's main taxi-hailing platform and serves as the official dispatcher managing the authorized taxi stands at Ben Gurion Airport, offering metered fares directly from the terminal. Yango provides an alternative app-based booking experience with the useful feature of allowing cash settlement alongside credit cards, making both applications worth downloading before arriving.

Between major cities, public transit is handled efficiently by Israel Railways passenger trains and Egged intercity buses. However, visitors must account for a major operational hiatus: both bus and train networks shut down completely from Friday afternoon before sunset until Saturday evening after nightfall in observance of Shabbat, as well as on major Jewish holidays. This is where sherut minivans fill a crucial gap. These shared ten-to-twelve-passenger vans follow fixed intercity and urban routes, departing when full, and notably continue running throughout Shabbat when regular public transport is entirely halted.

Car rental agencies operate directly out of Ben Gurion Airport and major city centres for travellers planning road trips between regions. If you decide to drive, review your rental agreement and policy exclusions thoroughly. Standard Israeli rental vehicle insurance policies typically exclude coverage for Area A locations, such as Bethlehem, Jericho, and Hebron. Driving a rental car into those zones voids your vehicle coverage, so travellers visiting those locations should arrange an organized guided tour or hire a local driver instead to ensure continuous transport and valid insurance throughout their itinerary.

Understanding the rhythm of Shabbat is essential for navigating daily life in Israel. The Jewish Sabbath begins just before sunset on Friday afternoon and concludes approximately twenty-five hours later upon nightfall on Saturday, with exact start and end times adjusting seasonally. Throughout religious and predominantly Jewish neighbourhoods, commercial life pauses: retail shops, government offices, supermarkets, restaurants, and municipal transit cease operations. While some businesses in non-Jewish areas remain open, dining and transit options become limited. Private taxis continue operating during this period, though higher demand can result in noticeably pricier journeys, making advance planning advisable.

Visiting sacred locations requires observant dress and mindful personal conduct, particularly at prominent holy sites like Jerusalem's Western Wall. Men entering the prayer plaza must cover their heads; complimentary kippot are provided at security checkpoints near the entrance. Women should wear modest clothing that covers the shoulders and extends to longer skirts or trousers; sleeveless tops, shorts, and mini-skirts are prohibited. While a head covering for women is customary, it is not strictly mandatory. When stepping away from the Western Wall prayer area, it is customary practice to walk backward respectfully rather than turning your back to the stones.

Discretion regarding photography is strongly expected across religious neighbourhoods and ultra-Orthodox communities, where using smartphones, digital cameras, or recording devices during Shabbat or inside residential enclaves is considered deeply intrusive and should be avoided. Outside of religious quarters, everyday social interactions are informal and direct. In restaurants and cafes, tipping customs follow an established standard: leaving roughly ten to fifteen percent for table service is standard practice for attentive hospitality. Always verify whether a service fee is listed on the printed bill before calculating your tip, and settle gratuities in cash when possible.

The most comfortable periods for visiting Israel are the shoulder seasons of spring and autumn, when outdoor exploration across historic sites and nature reserves is most enjoyable. Spring extends from March through May—with April offering particularly ideal conditions—delivering pleasant temperatures and blooming landscapes before the intense summer heat sets in. Similarly, autumn spans from September through November, bringing milder, comfortable daytime weather paired with pleasant evenings. These transitional months provide balanced conditions for walking city streets, exploring desert terrain, and sightseeing without dealing with the oppressive temperatures that characterise midsummer.

By contrast, summer runs from June through August and brings relentless heat, combining high humidity along the Mediterranean coast with dry, scorching conditions across inland and desert valleys. If travelling during summer, schedule outdoor activities for early morning hours and stay hydrated. The winter months from December through February are generally mild overall with periodic rainfall, but marked regional variations exist across the country. Northern regions and higher elevations can experience cold, rainy conditions, while southern desert destinations around the Dead Sea and Eilat remain comparatively warm and sunny throughout the winter.

This is the section of any Israel travel guide most likely to be out of date by the time you read it, so treat it as a starting point for your own check rather than a final answer. Search results in September 2026 indicated the US State Department's advisory, covering Israel, the West Bank and Gaza together, was renewed on 26 August 2026, placing Israel and the West Bank at Level 3 ('Reconsider Travel') and Gaza separately at Level 4 ('Do Not Travel') — we could not load travel.state.gov directly to confirm this, so read it as an indication and check the page yourself.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office guidance we could verify directly is more specific: as of its 22 July 2026 update, it advises against all travel to Gaza; to the Tulkarm, Jenin and Tubas governorates of the West Bank (except Route 90); to areas of northern Israel near the Golan Heights; and within 500 metres of the Gaza border, with a wider advisory against all but essential travel to most of the rest of the West Bank (named exceptions include East Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah). The main tourist cities aren't inside those named zones — but that isn't the same as 'safe': the US rating covers the whole country, and conditions can change at short notice. Check travel.state.gov and gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/israel directly, and as close to your travel date as possible, rather than trusting any fixed list of areas — including this one.