Israel and West Bank?

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Sun, 2018-03-25 06:37
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Israel and West Bank?

Hi,

I searched through warmshowers' forum archive but have not find much about Israel and West Bank. I am considering to make a 3-weeks trip there this September. Thus looking for any hints or information from cyclers who were there and may share some experience - mainly in terms of safety, ability to travel freely, passing border with West Bank, wild camping posibbilities (if allowed and safe) as well as on some great cycle routes that could be recommended there.

Advise or dischourage, please ;-)

Thanks in advance!

Darek

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Mon, 2018-03-26 02:26
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I haven’t cycled in Israel

I haven’t cycled in Israel yet, but I have done two long trips there in which I hitchhiked around and I slept in my tent a lot. Israel is a very easy country to stealth camp in. In densely populated parts of the country you might find it difficult to find a completely hidden spot, but even if you just put your tent somewhere in the suburbs for a night, no one will bother you.

It’s an odd country. Crossing borders can be a hassle because the police are very suspicious of everyone, but once you are actually inside the country, you feel like you can do whatever you like.

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Wed, 2018-03-28 16:16
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Israel 2014 and 2017

Hi,

 

I've been traveling through Israel on 2014 and Israel and West Bank - in 2017.

 

General tips:

  • cycling is very popular sport in Israel, though mostly MTB. So if you look on OpenCycleMap you'll see a lot of cycleways. Be advised - those are mostly MTB trails and going with trekking bike might be demanding
  • on the other hand, I traveled quite much along Shvil Israel (https://www.israeltrail.net/) which is hiking path and it was very good alternative for motorways (which is a bit of problem in northern part of Israel)
  • When travelling along small paths you may need to take into consideration, that some villages may have closed gates and the only way in is through roads that cars take
  • Along motorways there might be some dirt roads you may take as a more bike-friendly. Avoid tunnels on high speed ways (single and double digit roads). They are very narrow without sidewalk and cars are going pretty fast

West Bank

  • You need to remember, that West Bank is divided in 3 zones (A, B, C) and you may not notice the border with West Bank, but there might be some controls when comming into Zone A. But it was smooth and we crossed it without waiting. Not all crossings between zones are controlled, so you might be lucky and not experience any control at all
  • I did travel only along Jordan river in West Bank, so I do not have experiene with other parts, but felt totally secure

 

Camping:

  • I did not take tent for any of my trips, but I noticed maybe one or two camping sites along my way so it's probably not popular in Israel
  • You shouldn't have problems finding good place in northern and southern part of country, which are a more sparsly populated. In central part of country, which is quite dense, you may try to resort to national parks, though I do not now, if its allowed to camp there

You can find maps of my trips here and here.

Generally - I strongly recommend. Especially Negev and Tiberias region (if I remember correctly, around Tiberias there are real cycleways :-)). I regret not venturing more into West Bank, but at the time I was there, weather discouraged us from spending more time there.

I may also share privately contact with cyclist activist there which may provide more information.

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