Eilat Travel Tips

Eilat is a western city and is located in the beautiful Negev desert from where you can start many treks and trips, also to Egypt and Sinai.

In this page you will find practical information to plan a scuba diving trip to Eilat:

Where to stay?

I usually use this website to book in advance my hotels in Eilat as they usually have the lowest rates I find. I like it because it's free to cancel and change the dates.

You have a good variety of options for accommodation in Eilat, from 5 star hotels to rudimentary youth hostels (for the tightest budgets!).

Almost all the 4 or 5 Stars hotels are located near the northern beaches, behind the promenade where you can also partake in a lot of shopping.

Some hotels are also located around Coral Beach on the road of Taba border (Egypt) and are more suitable for people looking for quiet and nature.

The prices are relatively high and are the highest during July, August, and the Jewish Holidays.

Hot tip: don’t come to Eilat during these periods and check the calendar before organizing your trip.

All youth hostels are located in Eilat city, usually around the central bus station where you really can find the best and the worst. It’s usually cheap, you can find a place in a dorm around $20. Same tip as for regular hotels: don’t come during July, August and Jewish Holidays if you want to avoid crowded places and expensive services.

You also have 2 alternatives: the Field School that offers basic rooms / shared rooms and camping; it’s located in front of the Nature Reserve at Coral Beach. You also have the Cactus B&B that is the only B&B in Eilat: very cosy and colourful place to stay with a little private garden for each room; you should make your reservations well in advance though as it’s often full.

Activities and excursions in Eilat

There is an active nightlife in Eilat with many bars and night clubs, especially during the summer and holidays. There are also some music concerts organized throughout the year and trance parties in the desert from time to time.

Around Eilat, if you are not diving you have a lot of nice excursions to do in the Negev desert like Timna Park or Red Canyon, many treks through spectacular sandstone formations.

From Eilat you can also make 1 day excursion to different places like:

• The city of Jerusalem with all its religious sites and so special atmosphere
• The Dead Sea that is the lowest point on earth and has a very high salinity which makes you float like cork. Nearby, you can visit the unique Massada fortress located at the top of an isolated cliff, in the middle of the Judaea desert.
• Mitzpe Ramon that is the largest crater of the Negev, one of the most magnificent spaces in Israel in which to go walking.
• Petra: vast city cut into the stone by the Nabateans more than 2000 years and located in Jordan.
• Sinai desert covered by rocks and mountains with colors ranking from light white via yellow and red to dark black and the Egyptian part of the Red Sea all around.

Best time to visit Eilat

Eilat has a desert climate moderated by the proximity of the Red Sea. The temperatures are often over 40 degrees Celsius in the summer and highest temperatures are usually in July and August (high season) getting up to 50 degrees.

For people who can’t stand the heat, avoid coming in summer if you can. In the winter, the temperature is around 18 to 21 degrees, the coldest months are January and February (low season).

Best time to visit Eilat is September and October as the weather is absolutely great.

Health and Safety

If you are planning an upcoming dive trip or travelling to Eilat, it is a really good idea to invest in travel insurance for scuba diving, because you never know what could happen and when you might need it (because accidents do happen!). I recommend this diving insurance as they offer worldwide coverage and focus on providing scuba divers a quality insurance and medical assistance service.

Where is Eilat located in the world?

Eilat is located in Israel, in the south of the Negev desert, on the top of the Gulf of Aqaba and has a border with both Egypt and Jordan.

See the map below.

Eilat Map

 

How to get to Eilat?

To come to Eilat from abroad, you have a few options:

– direct flight from abroad to Eilat. It’s usually only with El Al airline company and quite expensive but also much more comfortable.

– flight from abroad to Tel-Aviv and then a connecting flight to Eilat. It can be cheaper and the air-lines are more regular but the trip can take a longer time.

– flight from abroad to Ovda (Ovda is an airport located at 40 kms from Eilat). It’s usually charter air-line so cheaper but the flights are arriving only twice a week, on Thursday and Sunday.

To come to Eilat from Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem, you have different options:

– Take the bus from the central bus station. The bus is the cheapest way to travel: ticket around 75 NIS. Around 4,5 / 5 hours to get to Eilat. Bus every 1,5 hour.

– Take the plane either directly from Ben Gourion international airport or from Sde Dov airport (it is a local airport located in Tel-Aviv city for domestic flights only). The one way ticket to Eilat costs around 350 NIS and the flight is about 45 min. Plane every 1,5 hour on Arkia, Israir or El-Al.

– Rent a car: you have plenty of websites for rental car in Israel. It’s quite cheap and you can easily give back the car from a different place than the one you took it. The trip on the road takes around 4/5 hours.

Satil Wreck © Nicolas Barraque

Getting Around

Eilat is a small and safe city so you can actually walk everywhere. You can easily take taxis as there are a lot and it’s quite cheap. You can also travel by bus and the public bus system is improving lately.

Eilat Photos

Scuba diving

You will find all information about sea life, best time to visit, top dive spots, etc. in our review: Eilat Diving