Eilat has two goals: to get you tan and to make you poor. The city is soaked with the sweat of rowdy Israelis, international backpackers, and European tourists. The air is abuzz with jet skis and cell phones. Some swear by Eilat’s sun, coral, and nightlife, while others see the city as a huge tourist trap attached to a nice beach. In between the cocktails and Coppertone, stick your head in the ocean and you may notice some of the most spectacular underwater life the world’s seas have to offer. Above the waves, the wildlife is covered in muscles and bikinis.
Weekends are almost always busy in Eilat. Students from as far away as Be’ersheva and Tel Aviv come down to party, and families come for the resorts, spas, and carnival atmosphere of the promenade. The busiest times of the year are Passover (Mar. 29-Apr. 5 in 2010), Sukkot (Sept. 23-29 in 2010), and Israel’s summer vacation (July-Aug.), when nearly 100,000 Israelis descend upon the city. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that this is a good time to visit. True, there are more parties and crowded pubs, but hostels and restaurants charge double their normal rates, petty theft runs rampant, and every inch of beach is occupied.
Flights: Eilat Airport ( ETH; ☎ 08 636 3838), on the corner of ha-Tmarim and ha-Arava. Israir (☎ 08 634 0666; www.israirairlines.com) has 7 flights a day to Tel Aviv ($57-95). Arkia (☎ 08 638 4888 ...more
Eilat is a 5km strip of coastline along the Negev’s sandy bottom, the precarious intersection of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia; at night the lights of all four are visible along the horizon ...more
Public Transportation: The #15 Bus is the main method of transportation, stopping at the major hotels and dive centers along its north-south route through Eilat. It runs hourly on the hour from the ...more
Tourist Office: (☎ 08 630 91 11), on the north beach promenade, near the bridge. Open Su-Th 8:30am-5pm, F 8am-1pm. Banks and Currency Exchange: There are various oddly named currency exchange agencies ...more
Eilat’s once-thriving hostel scene has declined sharply over the last few years. Old favorites have fallen upon hard times, and many of those that survived have only done so by moving upmarket ...more
If you want to eat beachside in Eilat, be prepared to pay an arm and both legs. The ritzy patio restaurants along the main promenade cater to tourists with a dazzling array of ethnic cuisines, very few ...more
Eilat’s brilliant underwater world is filled with marine creatures, from the undignified blubber fish to the regal emperor fish, frolicking in a psychedelic coral paradise. With its warm tropical waters ...more
Eilat’s nightlife has a little bit of everything: beer swilling with hard-core backpackers, dancing with greased-up Israelis, and hobnobbing with affluent yuppies. Most bars open after lunch, though ...more
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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