During my trip in the middle east, I made sure to do a complete Israel travel spending breakdown. Because Israel is my first travel destination during my one year trip, I definitely made a lot of newbie mistakes. The biggest mistake I made is underestimating the cost of travel in Israel. The cost of taxi rides and entrance fees to popular tourist spots start to add up after awhile.
Cringing from overspending
Regardless, I learned a lot of valuable lessons when it comes to backpacking that ultimately helped me later on my travels.
My complete Israel travel spending breakdown:
- Taxi – $231.66 (695 Shekels)
- Food and Water – $44.33 (133 Shekels)
- Toilet attendant tip – $0.33 (1 Shekel)
- Accommodations (2 Nights at Tel Aviv Best Western and 3 Nights at the Post Hostel in Jerusalem) – $70 (210 Shekels)
- Local transportation (bus and train): $13 (39 Shekels)
- Entrance Fee to Masada – $24.67 (74 Shekels)
- Entrance fee to the Dead Sea – $19 (57 Shekels)
My total Israel travel spending: $403 CAD (1,209 Shekels)
During my 6 days in Israel, my spending average was: $80.60 CAD per day.
Not included in this Israel travel spending breakdown is the cost of my flight from Vancouver to Tel Aviv. I spent $73.53 and 40,000 Aeroplan miles for my flight to Israel. Thanks to one of my sister and Karen, we also redeemed 32,000 Best Western points to help reduce the cost of our stay in Tel Aviv.
Total Israel travel spending with flight: $476.53 CAD (1,420.59 Shekels)
I was hoping to spend $50 per day while in Israel but learned that it was not possible since I am traveling so fast. The only way to reduce the cost of traveling in Israel is to slow down and use public transportation as much as possible. There are places like Bethlehem where local transport is not possible and you do have to take a taxi to reach that area.
Beautiful but expensive country
In conclusion, Israel’s prices is comparable to Europe. The country is definitely not a cheap place to visit. Do make sure you do some thorough preparation before deciding to explore this often misunderstood land (thought to be as dangerous to visit when really it is not).
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