Thinking of travelling to Palestine/Israel in 2014?

[stevecrout]

It turns out I'll be in Ramallah, Palestine for most of 2014 so I'll pass on the offer to the club once again;

If you are thinking of making the trek to Palestine or Israel in 2014 I have a 2 bedroom apartment in the centre of Ramallah that paid up club members are welcome to avail themselves of for up to 3 or 4 people at a time.

Jerusalem is around the corner and the abundance of transportation all over the area makes it easy to do the full sightseeing thing.  I have a network of drivers and sightseeing guides that have proven trustworthy over the past 2 years.

Flights to Tel Aviv airport are typically $1400 - $1800 depending on the time of year you travel and most of the tourist stops in the cities are free of charge.  I'll arrange to pick you up from the airport.

There is no charge for staying at my place, it's just a good opportunity to get to this part of the world and learn a bit more about the past and maybe even get some insights as to the future.. I'll be happy to share the food costs with you.

While I can drive to these destinations once in a while (I have Saturday's off) I would suggest a person should look at about $40 - 60 a day for transport if using the local taxis.

All in all, a fairly inexpensive way to spend a week or two.  The airport is also a great hub for flights to Athens ($420) or Cyprus ($430) or Morocco etc.   

Give me a shout if you're thinking about it and I can give you my in-country schedule. Maribel will be with me for a few of the months.

Happy New Year!

Steve Crout

[Donovan]

Thanks for the offer Steve.  It is tempting but am first going to Newfoundland this May and that is just about as expensive as going any where else.

[Dennis]

Wow Steve, that sounds awesome.  My family and I were planning on Egypt and Isreal just before the Arab Spring took hold in Egypt.  We decided to postpone our trip.  I would love to see Palestine.   I will be discussing this with my wife.

Peace & Grease, Dennis

[stevecrout]

Hi Dennis - actually a trip to Egypt now would be a great idea.  The security situation is OK as long as you don't go into large political gatherings and pay attention to off limits areas. The tour companies are begging for passengers and the boat trip down the Nile to Luxor is not expensive.

On the Israeli side it is business as usual for 99% of the state. Gaza Strip is a bit beat up at the moment and wouldn't be worth the effort to get in unless you had friends or relatives there. Up through Tel Aviv and into Haifa the scenery is great and you can do most of the visiting in a day, using Jerusalem or Ramallah as your base.

On the Eastern side into Sea of Galilee and the crossing to Jordan, everything is working well.  The trip down the highway through Jordan to Aqaba is a real treat.  279 kms of good highway through desert, grand canyon-like landscape to the tip of the Red Sea. Maribel and I did the trip last year and had a great time. Compact cars rent for $28 per day on a Canadian Drivers License.

The news reporting and misunderstanding of the real conditions works the same over here giving the Middle Easterners the impression that all of Canada is under 5 meters of snow. The same holds true for Canadians believing the ME is a war zone.

I think I'd probably postpone a trip to Damascus though.

Steve