The slow part of this arrival is border control, not the taxi rank. Build hours into the plan, and know that demonstrations have closed the airport road.
Allow far more time than the flight suggests
- Allow extra time for increased security measures and checks at airports, and the FCDO singles out Israeli holidays and the summer tourist season.
- Questioning and baggage searches happen on the way out as well as the way in. A tight connection on departure is a bad idea here.
- Some travellers are held for several hours. If somebody is meeting you, tell them the arrival time is not the time you will appear.
Before you leave the hall
- Check what you were given. An entry card, not a stamp, is normal at Ben Gurion. A stamp restricted to "Palestinian Authority only" or "Judea and Samaria only" is not, and the FCDO says it is unclear how somebody holding one can even leave the airport lawfully. Ask at the desk rather than outside.
- Keep the entry card with the passport for the whole trip.
Getting into Tel Aviv
- Take extra care using public transport in Tel Aviv, particularly at transport hubs and on buses in the greater Tel Aviv area. The FCDO's own wording is to consider using other forms of transport.
- That advice follows bombings on three buses in the Tel Aviv area in February, in which two further devices failed to explode and nobody was hurt.
The road to the airport is not always open
- There have been large political demonstrations in Tel Aviv, and entry to and exit from Ben Gurion has occasionally been affected.
- Airspace has closed at short notice during periods of regional escalation, and flights have been cancelled or delayed. Keep departure plans under review rather than fixed.
If you are driving
- You need both the 1968 international driving permit and your UK licence in the car, and you cannot buy an IDP outside the UK.
- You must carry a green card proving minimum insurance cover.
- If you plan to drive into the West Bank, check the insurance covers it. Some hire companies do not insure vehicles taken there, and it may be easier to hire a fully insured car from a company in East Jerusalem.
- Do not drive into ultra-Orthodox areas of Jerusalem on Shabbat, from sunset on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. Residents may throw stones at the car.
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