Making the most of Eilat
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
At the northern end of the Red Sea, Eilat Port is Israel’s gateway to the South. Its modern 1,200 m. terminal handles Red Sea cruise passengers, and the resort city of Eilat is only minutes away.
Eilat, or Elat, is Israel’s southernmost city and its leading tourist attraction. It meets the red sea on one side and the Arava (wilderness) desert on the other; tourism drives most business activity and most residents’ work.
Within a 50km. (35 miles) radius, you can find:
Experience Bedouin hospitality.
Bird watching and a ringing station: Eilat sits on the main migration route between Africa and Europe.
Tours by camel.
At Coral Beach Nature Reserve, an underwater preserve, tropical marine flora and fauna can be found. Coral World Underwater Observatory lets visitors view marine life in its natural habitat. At the southern end of Coral Beach, the park includes aquariums, a museum, simulation rides, and shark, turtle and stingray tanks.[8]
Diving is available, including skin and SCUBA diving, with equipment to hire on or near every major beach. Diving clubs and schools, open all year round, provide SCUBA equipment rental and compressed air.
Dolphin Reef offers the chance to swim and interact with dolphins, and also operates as a marine biology and research station.
Try freefall parachuting.
Nearby places
Taba, Egypt.
Visit the Dead Sea.
Food and shopping
As a free trade zone, Eilat has no Israeli VAT (15.5%).
The Promenade follows the full Eilat coastline and hotel strip. Its local-resident stalls sell items such as “sharwals” (comfortable beach pants), “longis” and inexpensive Jewelry. It is difficult to avoid when in Eilat, and you will probably walk through it and browse the goods several times a day.
Mol Yam Shopping mall is an appealing mall at the edge of the promenade, with shops largely made up of Israeli clothing chains.
The new Eilat shopping mall (“Hakenyon Hahadash”) is a pleasant small mall beside the airport. The newly opened Big mall, with some Israeli clothing chains, is a few minutes’ drive from the hotel strip and can sometimes be cheaper than Mol Yam.
Falafel is the most widespread and affordable street food. It comes in a full or half pita bread with salad, pickles and Tehina, while the balls are normally made from hummus (chick peas) or full (broad beans) seeds with parsley and spices. Anyone with an edgy stomach may prefer to try one falafel ball before ordering a full serving…
In Israel, unlike places such as Turkey, Shawarma is made with turkey meat and normally arrives in pita bread with salad, Tehina and pickles. As pita sizes vary, look at the size before you order if you want value for money. Ask for a serving without salad or pickles to increase the meat for the same price and avoid needing a second serving.
Money
The currency is the New Israeli Shekel (NIS).
Many ATMs around Israel are linked to both European and American banking systems.
Staying connected
Hebrew is the language.
In the past year, many food chains, municipalities and academic centers have increasingly offered free wireless internet access. Across Israel, it can generally be found at all Mc. Donalds’ branches, selected Burger King branches, ‘Aroma’, ‘The Coffee bean and Tea Leaf’ and ‘Arcaffe’ coffee shops, ‘Tal Bagels’ branches, Jerusalem city center, Even Gvirol st. in Tel-Aviv and certain academic institutes.