tips for driving in israel

Somewhere near Mt. Beatitudes.

An Israeli-American friend once told me that Israel is basically the size of New Jersey. His point being, that, Israel is a small country and getting around is not difficult.

While public transportation (inter-city busses and, in some areas, trains) exists, some of them may not operate during Sabbath. 

So, with a bit of research on car rental companies, Mr. Sazy Rock and I decided to rent a car for greater flexibility with me being the primary (and, truth be told, the only) driver. These are my tips (which is accurate as of this publication):

• For Americans, an international driving license is unnecessary. But, you will need to bring/show your US license.
• We rented a car from Eldan. Most people find it a good company. I thought it was just okay with very poor car return procedures in Jerusalem. They rented me an old battered car but I just took pictures at the pick up point to prove I did not cause any of the scratches (plus, I bought insurance). They also provided me with an email for the return procedures, which I found to be completely inaccurate -- the address they told me to return the car did not have any Eldan personnel (or any Eldan presence) at all.

Our car rental.

• Check your rental agreement to see if you can or cannot drive in the West Bank (it's usually not allowed). 
• If you have Google Maps (or Waze) on your phone, you won't need to rent GPS (or an iPad) from the car rental company.
• Drivers drive on the right side of the street.
• Do NOT turn right on a red light. 
• Rental cars are affordable but gas is expensive. (Luckily, the country is not that big so there is no need to drive great distances.)
• Uber is not popular in Israel. Instead, an application called Gett is the app of choice (there is an English version). Unlike Uber, Gett drivers are actual taxi drivers. 
• If it is your first time using Gett in Israel and you did not receive a promotional credit, email them and tell them that you would like to try Gett and request a credit. (It worked for me twice -- both in Israel, where I received ₪30, and in London, where I received £5, where Gett is also available.)

The Sea of Galilee.

I found that getting around in Israel was easy and driving allowed us to see the country better in our own time. And, when we finally turned in our car, Gett took us to where we wanted to go.