Many tourists who wish to visit Israel wonder: “Which is the best time of year to visit Israel?”. The most important thing to realize is that any time you choose to visit Israel is a good one. If you have already booked your airline tickets you can be quite certain you will make the most out of your trip regardless of your specific dates. While there is no one answer which fits all, here are a few things to consider before planning a trip to Israel.
- Your availability: Planning around your busy schedule is quite a challenge. The first thing to understand is that anytime you come is an amazing time for a trip. It is possible to work around religious holidays and nonideal weather. in short, if you only have a specific week to travel to Israel, please use it!
- Religious holidays: Israel is a country of multiple religions. This affects how busy the roads and the sites are. The Muslim Holiday of Ramadan is always a busy time, which affects the service industry, as many people fast during this holiday. Passover week is extremely busy with local tourists. Food options are also limited in many places to “kosher for Passover” foods (no bread). Most sites, trails, nature reserves, and attractions are very busy and it is best to avoid Passover week if possible. Christmas and Easter are busy holidays too. Having said that, coming to see the festive parties in Jerusalem during one of these high holidays could be a highlight. Just be aware of the fact that many others enjoy religious sites on high Holidays.
- School vacations in Israel: The school system vacations are also something to consider. Elementary schools are off on June 20th for the summer vacation. Middle School and High School are off on June 30th. this means that starting July 1st, things get busy.
Weather in Israel
The weather in Israel is quite comfortable for all-year-round touring. The ideal times for swimming in the Mediterranean are between May and October. However, some people could find the water temperature in May a bit cold. If your heart is not set on swimming, there are many months with Pleasant weather, as long as you manage to avoid the rain. For example, October and November in Israel are beautiful warm months with very little rain. The spring in Israel is a beautiful time to visit when everything is green and the flowers are blooming. The months of March and April are ideal and beautiful aside from the very busy Passover week and the Easter weekend. On occasion, there could be extremely hot weather during Spring.
Can you name a few great times to visit Israel, which are not too busy and the weather is great?
- The month of September: before or after the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a great low-season option with warm weather and little internal tourism due to the beginning of the school year.
- May and early June: Visiting Israel during these months can also be ideal as long as you can make it before June 20th. The weather is hot (but not too hot), it is possible to swim in the ocean and there is very little chance of rain.
- The month of January: after Christmas break, the country becomes very quiet and with fewer tourists. While the weather could be on the chilly side, we have many weeks of beautiful sunny weather even during January. Of course, there are no guarantees, but you can always plan around the weather with your Israeli tour guide if needed.
What is the worst time to come to Israel?
First and most important: any time visiting is a good time and you will enjoy the country regardless. Despite that, some would feel the following times are less ideal:
- Passover week when everything is busy.
- Some people would consider July and August to be too hot.
- Christmas vacation: Of course, this is a very popular time to come to Israel because many are off school and work. However, please keep in mind that December 25-31 is one of the busiest weeks of the year.
- Recently, Israel has become a hub for cruise ships. If you are not on one, it is worthwhile to avoid heavy cruise seasons. These are not consistent so you may need some google searching.
What are the steps for booking the best dates for your Israel trip?
- Choose three 1-2 week periods that are possible for your party to travel to Israel.
- Check if there are any corresponding Holidays for Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
- Review the above article to make sure the weather and the tourism highs of your dates suit you.
- Book airfare.
