Things You Need To Know Before You Travel To Israel

Shabbat and Saturday Travel

In the Jewish religion Shabbat, or Saturday, is the holy day of the week and because Israel is the Jewish State, you can expect travel to be impacted by the country-wide observance of Shabbat. All public offices and most businesses are closed on Shabbat, which begins Friday afternoon and ends on Saturday evening. In Tel Aviv, most restaurants remain open while trains and buses just about everywhere do not run, or if they do, it's on a very restricted schedule. This can complicate plans for day trips on Saturday unless you have a car. (Also note that El Al, Israel's national airline, does not operate flights on Saturdays). By contrast, Sunday is the start of the work week in Israel.