A short trip to Eilat, ISRAEL
Location: southern Israel, Gulf of Aqaba
Currency: Israeli new shekel (~0,24 €)
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| view from the plane (Credit:hedipexplores) |
How to get there: We flew with the low-cost company, Ryanair from Budapest, HUN. The airport which serves the international flights is in Ovda and is located about an hour bus ride from Eilat. The ride is rather boring, however if it happens to be your first ride in the country the scenery might take your attention 👀
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| view from the plane (Credit: hedipexplores) |
The town itself is rather small hence we did not take any local bus, only used our pre-downloaded Google map sheets to find our hostel (Little Prince Hostel). The walk took about half an hour, not including a pint and a hummus sandwich. The reception staff was kind and welcoming. The hostel offers ear-plugs for free.
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| Irish pub in Eilat (Credit: hedipexplores) |
And this isn't a joke.. 😁 There is a night-club on the base-floor so if you wanna sleep after a long and strenous desert hike, you'd better grab those tiny things and put them into your ears. Believe me. Apart from this, the room was clean and comfortable. We had a 4-bed room for the 2 of us (my travel buddy and myself).
Two and a half day is not much, so we did our best to see the most possible. After arrival we did some exploring within town and then planned the next day's schedule.
The following day, we walked to the bus station to get a bus to Timna Park. From the bus stop we walked to the entrance which took a while. However, if you're a sporty one with enough time, you can save the entry fee which applies only in case you arrive on foot.
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| in Timna Park (credit:hedipexplores) |
On the busride we were enclosed by young military students holding military weapons like schoolkids wear their backpacks. For the first glance the situation was rather frightening, then - I guess - we just got used to it. They were friendly by the way, telling jokes to each other, having fun. Never seen such a paradox situation before.
Anyways, the park was amazing! As far as I can imagine planet Mars could be something similar. And I'm not alone with this opinion. We did keep a good pace while hiking on this deserty landscape. See the pictures below! 😉 We barely met anyone on this trail, I suppose most of the visitors went by car.
There is a mine within the park wich we did not visit this time, however it is told to be the oldest copper mine on the world. The view, the landscape, the change of temperature in a desert during the day are such experiences I never had before. It was absolutely worth a trip!!
It is mainly built up from red sandstone formed by wind and fluvial erosion during the past. Obviously the big difference in the temperature has its own footpring on the landscape, too.
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there is life, in the desert..
(credit:hedipexplores) |
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| underwater (credit:hedipexplores) |
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| afternoon on the beach (credit: hedipexplores) |
Next day (being a little bit hangover) we went to the beach, south of Eilat (Migdalor beach or somewhere around). When it was sunny, it was okay, but the wind was a bit chilly so towels were needed as a cover not just to dry yourself up. We spent few hours there, chilling, snorkelling, swimming or just doing nothing, chatting. The snorkelling experience is really awesome, you can see many things underwater! Later in the afternoon we went to look around in the town, just taking it easy.
In the evenings we went out in a club, there were plenty of them along the seapromenade. In the hostel we met some cool people so it was more fun to go out alltogether, as well as to spend the day together on the beach the following day :)
The last day morning the busride was allright to the airport, than the flight went allright as well. Arriving back to Hungary, we definitely realised it's winter here 😩
Regarding the practical facts:
- food is expensive, basically everything is expensive compared to a hungarian wallet.
- mornings and evenings are chilly, almost cold, whereas during the day it gets really warm. Cold winds arrive in the late afternoon
- the few local people we met were nice and friendly, and spoke English
- the hostel is well-equipped
- security staff at the clubs keep an eye on ladies when they leave the club - trying to avoid unwanted people around them, just to make sure they're safe and sound
We did not eat in restaurants, only had some hummus and vegetables (and my friend had some meat) during the days, so I can't tell any advice on what or where to eat.
As a closing paragraph, I have to say, that it was a great trip, one that went beyond my expectations, so I definitely recommend you to go and visit Israel/ Eilat if you have the chance!
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| Timna Park (credit:hedipexplores) |
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| Timna Park (credit:hedipexplores) |
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| Timna Park (credit:hedipexplores) |
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| my travel buddy (credit:hedipexplores) |
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| Timna Park (credit:hedipexplores) |
