Lick your finger and hold it to the wind: what’s that strange thickness in the air? Is it humidity? Sweat? Vaporized arak? After about a day in Eilat, you’ll realize that it’s some combination of the three, and what you make of that fact seems to be more about taste and less about truth. Some treat the city as an oasis of cocktails and Coppertone in the Negev, an adventureland perfect for snorkeling through coral reefs by day and stumbling through bars by night. Families make the trek to Eilat in search of tans and tranquility. And outdoorsy purists see Eilat as the Negev’s hairy backside, an overpriced urban cesspool whose only half-redeeming quality is the overpopulated beach.

Regardless, they all come. Weekends, especially in July through September when school is out, turn Eilat into a crazed zoo, and eager hotels and restaurants jack up their prices in response. The same goes for most Israeli holidays, which may be why real devotees say the city is never better than in the dead of winter, when the promenade empties out and the hustle, grease, and phone jabbering is replaced by a few contemplative beachgoers, making it an entirely new city.