The sea of Galilee is a truly special place, a must see if you come to Israel, perfect for lazy summer holidays or historical adventures back in time. Hire a car or better yet a bicycle and see the real Israel.
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The sea of Galilee is located about 3 hours drive north west of Tel Aviv. The best way to see Israel is to hire a car. All street signs are in english as well as arabic and hebrew, so it is pretty easy to find your way around. The drive to the Kineret, as it is known to israelis, one must passs a diverse landscape, from the mediterrainian sea, accross some hilly desert, through ancient cities and modern pastoral land.The first glimpse as you come over rolling hills is truly spectacular. A shimmering blue sea, with a backdop of huge red mountains, the border with Jordan. Christians beleive that this is where Jesus walked on water all those years ago. This sea is the only major supply of freshwater in all of Israel, and it also serves as a popular destination for Israelis to enjoy a freshwater swim in the holidays. The Kineret is surrounded by farms and kibbutzim, with ample beaches for camping on. Tiberias itself is steeped in history, with many grand old buildings all with a long and intense history behind them.
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Definately the many beaches on the west side of the Kineret, opposite Tiberias proper. Camping here is truly amazing. I stayed here in July, possibly the hottest month in Israel. It got up to 42 degrees celcius, and it felt much hotter than that!! The hot days leave you no choice but to swim all day in the magical water, and relax under the shade of the trees. I went there again in september for a huge 3 day music festival, called In The Beginning or Bereshete. It was really fantastic, with loads of bands and acts, performing all day and night. There were markets and food stalls, live enertainment, workshops for everything from latin dancing to massage to yoga. The music was great with international regge groups, trance and ambient electronica and a big array of israeli and arabic folk music.
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| What's really great: |
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Swimming at night under millions of stars!! It really is safe to paddle around at night here, though not to deep!! There are no dangerous fish or sea creatures here, the scariest thing that could happen is the moustache of a catfish may brush against you!! Scary for some, but not for anyone who has spent time in the Australian bush!! I also found interesting the fact that many arab-israelis come here for a holiday or daytrip and everyone can share the beach happily together, a real view on the many arab-israelis and jew-israelis who just want to coexist peacefully and enjoy life.
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| Sights: |
The park yarden, at the north of the kineret is really nice. Visit some Kibbutzim, you can stay at most of them which is something different. Explore the town of Tiberias, everything there is of historical value.
Yu can organise hang gliding off the mountains, which is spectacular, I highly recommend it. You can organise this through travel agents.
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Camping is definately the way to go, except in summer if you are not up to the sometimes intense heat. If you can camp, there are enough beaches, all with basic facilities for you to stay at a different one each day for a week or two. My favourite was Halukim beach or Dugit beach, but tsemah beach is also really special, but it is on the southern most part of the Kineret. In Tiberias there are many hotel and guesthouses, all of which you can get some great package deals on.
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I am sure there are clubs here, but it is a fairly orthodox city, so friday night is probably out. I didn't go to any clubs here, because I prefer Outdoor parties in the bush, which there are many of in Israel.
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I didn't go to any here in Tiberias, beacuse I camped and I had so much fun at our campsite,I didn't want to leave.
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| Restaurants: |
If you are camping, you hae to do a BBQ, everyday!! Israel has a excellent choice of not-meat/chicken steaks, which are great for vegatarians, as you can join in successfully with your BBQing carnivores.
In town, there are great bakerys for breakfast bourekas and chocolate milk!! The best rule in Israel, eat where you see a lot of locals eating, Israelis do not eat bad food, even if it is relatively cheap.
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There really is so much to see, that I would recommend getting a good map, and picking out what is moree interseting for you, as there is a lot to see, depending on the time of the year you are there.
I WILL PUT PHOTOS ON THIS REPORT VERY SOON, SORRY FOR THE DELAY!!
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Published on Thursday November 18th, 2004
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Thu, Nov 18 2004 - 12:11 PM
 by binmke
Sounds fantastic...I wish I was having a BBQ on the beach right now!
Thanks for a great report...can't wait to see the pics! |
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