Must-see places in Israel, besides Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

I'm jealous you'll be spending time in Israel, one of my favorite countries on the planet!  I would highly recommend heading up north, Haifa is a great little beach town with fantastic restaurants, definitely check out the Baha’i Shrine and Gardens while you're there.

One of the most unexpected "wow" moments for me was when I was hiking with some friends in the Hermon Nature Reserve, just north of the Golan Heights near upper The Galilee, and discovered the Banias Waterfall.  It's not a very big waterfall, but it's absolutely gorgeous.  If you get up north don't miss a chance to enjoy this beautiful hike!

Have a blast!

I think a visit to  Masada and the Dead Sea should be high on the list.  You can visit a hotel or resort along the Dead Sea, or the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve is a good option to get access to an amazing and interesting place.  Masada is a very powerful place and extremely important in Jewish history.

The highlight of my Israel trip was Caesarea and Netanya. Both have beautiful beaches. However, Caesarea is more of a vacation town as opposed to Netanya, which has a nice boardwalk area and some great restaurants. Also, Netanya is not a far drive from Jerusalem, if you wished to stay in the city. Another cool place to go is the Dead Sea. You float on the water and they offer all sorts of spa treatments. If you do end up going to the Dead Sea, do NOT stay at the Daniel Hotel. They have horrible service and the rooms are dirty.

I'd consider Masada the highlight of our trip. Masada is a great historical sight o check out, and the most fun part is hiking up or down. It's typically a full day activity, but it's totally worth it, if you enjoy history. Another thing to do if you enjoy history is an archeological dig. You don't need any experience, it's really easy to book, and super fun for the whole family, unless you are claustrophobic.

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me!

I recommend you to also visit: Dead Sea, Masada, Acre, Caesarea, Safed, Negev ( Mizpe Ramon area)... depending your religion you might be interested in different areas, in the Jaffa gate information office they have everything to help you with that.
In Jerusalem, the Abraham Hostel is great.
Enjoy!

Hi Mandy,

Israel is a small country so you can catch up quite a lot within 2 weeks. If you like the desert, I strongly recommend Mizpe Ramon, or better say - Ramon Crater. it is a unique and stunning geological phenomenon of a crater within a mountain in the middle of the desert and the view is breath taking.

As mentioned above by many, Masada and The Dead Sea are also worth a visit, a mix of history and fantastic view.

In the north I'd recommend Nazareth for history and religion, Sea of Galilee for sight seeing and relaxation, and also Golan Heights if you have the time. 

Most importantly - leave enough time for good restaurants, especially in Tel Aviv

Hey Mandy,

Just to give you some quick references to read on:

The Dead Sea, Masada, Eilat, Zikhron Ya'akov

If you want to experience Less known parts of the city there is a small company running special tours called Mekomy - I think you like some of the stuff that are a bit away from the touristy places.

Hello,

I recommend you to visit Masada, and the Negev, Dead Sea and Ein Gedi, all in the south of israel. Highlights: Masada, Red Canyon, Ein Gedi, Dead Sea, Kumran if you like history, and ramon crater. I don't recommend you to spend much time in Tel Aviv unless you like nightlife trips, Jerusalem and the south are much more interesting. I don't recommend you to take a hotel in the Dead Sea itself, prices are extremely pricey, especially compared to Germany, and can go easily to 400 euro a night. I recommend you if you're visiting the south of israel, to book a bedouin tent, google it. affordable and a nice experience. 

Have a nice travel!

2 weeks is a lot of time in Israel, you can catch up a lot!

the highlights are  Jerusalem,  Tel Aviv, the area of  Galilee and  Eilat.

Tel Aviv is a great city to spend a couple of days, eat the best food in Israel (isn't cheap) and sunbath with the locals (packed on weekends).

Jerusalem is an amazing place to spend a couple of days as well. It soooooo old. Just remember it's all shut down in the weekend due to religious reasons, so visit Jerusalem in weekdays. A guided tour is a must there. 

Check out Tripadvisor for restaurants and hotels. Not sure how to recommend without knowing the price range. In general - Israel is expensive.

go to Ein Gedi (dead sea) and to Masada, you can visit Eilat as well for some water excursions. 

You can take a trip up-north Golan Heights (wine tastings and green fields) , Caesarea (great beach with historic reminding of the roman empire)

The Dead Sea is a must.

Haifa, Akko, Golan Heights, Caesarea, Netanya, and Eilat Streetare some of the places often overlooked when visiting Israel. Abraham Hostels is amazing and cheap!

in April I would recommend going to the Dead Sea. Pop into Booking.com and choose the one suiteable to your budget. There are no more than 15 hotels there. Stay there for 3 days, relax while reading the newspaper as you are sitting in the sea, go to see Masada(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada), if you like Christian sites you better try a few days next to the Sea of Galilee and Nazareth. So: 3 days Tel aviv, 4 days Jerusalem, 3 days in the Dead Sea and 3 days in the Sea of Galilie - that will be perfect for a 1st time visit in Israel.

Haifa

Sea of Galilee

Makhtesh Ramon

Dead Sea

and so many more places....

Hello Mandy and welcome to our little crazy place on this planet :-)

Please check my detailed answer referring to recommended places in Israel. Mind you, it tends to be a bit off the beaten track, but by all means worth the trip!

Agamon Hula, nature reserve, just before sunrise

Regards, Meir Jacob, founder of Trips For Photographers