VISA and Arrival Information:

Passport Control:

Firstly, EVERYONE in the tourist industry sector in Israel has near to perfect English and many speak Russian and French as well. If you have any questions, just ask!

Upon entry into Israel, you must first present a passport that is valid for at least another six months and your entry papers already filled out. If you arrive by airplane you will be given the entry forms on the flight to fill out before landing (along with your visa application). At Ben Gurion airport you must then present these entry forms, your boarding pass and your valid passport.

If you arrive by land, you will be given the entry forms to fill out before undergoing a security check. After that, you must present the filled out entry forms with your valid passport.

If you arrive by sea, you can enter Israel through the ports of Haifa, Tel Aviv, Ashdod or Eilat. Once on land, you go through much the same process at customs as at a land crossing.

Visa Information

The first thing that everyone needs to gain a visa into Israel is a passport that is valid for at least six months from the date that they enter Israel.

Who can apply for a standard tourist visa for Israel?

Most people coming to Walk About Love will be entering Israel on a tourist visa. A tourist visa in Israel is a standard three month visa, like you would find in the EU countries. People coming from the bellow list of countries will be issued a standard tourist visa free of charge upon entering Israel. You will be given the visa documentation to fill out on the plane, bus or ship before arrival and will be asked to hand it in at the border crossing. Those countries are:

Austria, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Lesotho, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Mongolia, Nevis and Saint Kitts, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, St. Lucia, Surinam, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu.

What about people from countries that cannot apply for a standard tourist visa?

People coming from other countries can click here for more details about entry visas into Israel.

Alternatively, you can contact the closest Israeli embassy to you, the contact details of which can be found here.

If you still have trouble getting information about tourist visas to Israel, or getting the visa itself, you can write to info@walkaboutlove.org with your details and your situation and we will try to help you out personally.

Important Note!!

People who plan to travel on to Arabic countries after Walk About Love should request that an Israeli stamp does not appear in their passport BEFORE the clerk stamps your passport at the border entry. You must fill out form 17L instead, which will include some personal details, and that form 17L will be stamped upon entry and exit into Israel. Otherwise, you may find at a later date that your entry into Arabic countries is barred.

Is a three month tourist visa long enough?

The entire Walk About Love journey is exactly three months long, but including meeting up beforehand and the Closing Festival afterwards, you will be here slightly longer than three months. If your outgoing flight is scheduled to leave after the three month visa limit, be aware of this and plan ahead.

Extensions of Stay:

You may choose to apply to Israelג€™s Ministry of the Interior (aka. Ministry of Foreign Affairs) for an ג€˜Extension of Stayג€™ at the following places:

Jerusalem ג€“ 24 Hilel Street 02-6294726

Tel Aviv ג€“ 125 Menachem Begin Street 03-5193305

Haifa ג€“ 15 Pal-Yam 04-8633333

Eilat ג€“ Ha-Tamarim Street, City Center, 2nd Floor 08-6381333

Tiberias ג€“ 23 Zaki Elkhadif 04-6729111

Ben-Gurion Airport ג€“ 03-9774200/1/2

ג€˜Extensions of Stayג€™ are, however, notoriously difficult to get. Additionally, you may have problems entering into Israel on a three month tourist visa in the first place if you already know that you are going to overstay.

Side Trips:

Another option is to take a few days out of the Walk About Love journey somewhere in the middle to visit some other, fascinating country independently for a few days. Most visitors to Israel who want to renew their tourist visa find that a 2+ day trip to the neighboring Sinai region in Egypt or to Petra in Jordan is worthwhile. Other people prefer to fly to Turkey, Cypress, Crete or even Greece for a weekend. There will probably even be groups of people taking short trips together and then meeting back up with Walk About Love after a few days away.

Decide in advance where you would like to visit and then contact your travel agent or the particular countryג€™s embassy for visa information independently of your visa application to Israel. Then, you can easily and truthfully explain at border control that even though your flight is scheduled to leave after your visa expiry date, you plan to take a side trip over land to wherever you have decided to go during your stay. You should have no problem legally renewing your tourist visa on your way back into Israel.

Anywhere or any way you wish to travel is fine, but take note that the authorities do not take kindly to people who overstay their visas here in Israel.

For further Entry Visa information check the Ministry of Foreign Affairsג€™ Internet site.

This information has been largely provided courtesy of Israelג€™s Ministry of Tourism website, http://www.tourism.gov.il/Tourism_Eng/

Border Security Information:

Israeli border security is understandably very thorough. For most people, that means a lot of waiting in long queues and answering a lot of questions as you pass through a series of security checkpoints. You will be required to show your passport, tickets and your entry visa application (which you should have already received and filled out on the plane). You will also be asked a lot of questions about who you are, where you are coming from, what you intend to do in Israel and when you plan to leave. Donג€™t panic and donג€™t worry; just be honest and brief. Walk About Love is a registered charity organization and it will be no surprise to the border authorities that a whole lot of people are coming to walk the Israel National Trail together on Walk About Love.

What not to pack in your on-flight hand luggage:

It would be wise not to pack any of the following items into your hand luggage when boarding any plane:

Knives, pliers, Swiss army knives or scissors of any description (including toenail clippers)
Liquids of any kind, including water in a sealed bottle. Only the import limit of alcoholic beverages in their original, sealed packaging will be admitted.
Flammable liquids, gases or materials of any kind. This includes lighters, matches, camping stove gas cylinders and burnt fire twirling equipment (if you can smell it, it has residue flammable liquid on it!).
Anything that could be misconstrued on an x-ray as flammable or explosive materials, such as a battery recharger or a matchbox.

Fire Dancers:

NB: If you are a fire dancer and would like to bring your equipment with you on a flight, take the used wicks off your equipment before you fly. If you must bring used wicks, wash them thoroughly first with laundry detergent and water, then put them into a sealed container in your luggage separately from any other twirling equipment parts. At customs, avoid mentioning the word ג€˜fireג€™ as much as possible. Do not even mention the word ג€˜fireג€™ to explain that the Kevlar wicks are fire retardant: the authorities will automatically react to the word ג€˜fire.ג€™ If asked directly what your twirling equipment is, it is true and honest to say that your hobby is a specialist dancer and this is your performance equipment/ props. Your equipment then falls under the category of ג€˜sports equipment,ג€™ which you do not even need to legally declare. If asked what it is made from, it is also honest to say that it is made from metal and cloth. Customs are not looking to cause you trouble and donג€™t need a lengthy explanation of the inns and outs of fire dancing and equipment structure. They are on the lookout for anything flammable, so mentioning the word ג€˜fire,ג€™ even though you and I know that the equipment is fire RETARDANT, automatically draws their concern.

Customs:

At customs in Ben Gurion International Airport, there are two lines: green means that you donג€™t have anything to declare. Red means that you have something to declare. If you have something to declare, you may be allowed to enter with that item or it may be confiscated and returned to you upon leaving the country.

At every other border crossing, the customs officer requires that you submit a written form of all the items that you need to declare.

What Not To Bring:

It is forbidden to bring into the country: plants, firearms, raw meat, raw materials, knives or pen knives (not intended for professional use), flammable equipment, of any kind, liquids or gases of any kind including water bottles and especially flammable liquids (except for up to one liter of alcoholic beverage or two liters of wine in the original, sealed packaging). All these items must be declared upon entry into Israel at customs.

What You Are Allowed To Bring:

People who have nothing to declare may take the green line at Ben Gurion International Airport or can write that they have nothing to declare on their forms at the other border crossings. Items that do not need to be declared include:

Personal clothing, shoes and cosmetics in appropriate quantities for personal use.
Alcoholic beverages ג€“ up to one liter for hard liquor and up to two liters for wine per person aged 17 and over.
Up to 250 grams per person aged 17 and over of tobacco.
Up to $200 worth of gifts other than alcoholic beverages, alcoholic perfumes and tobacco.
Up to three kilograms of food (but not more than one kilogram of any kind of food)
Laptops, cameras, video cameras, movie cameras, personal music players, binoculars, personal jewelry, musical instruments, prams, camping or sports equipment, bicycles and other personal articles that have an intended, declarable purpose.

Animals:

Bringing dogs, cats or other animals into is allowed, but under very specific circumstances. Firstly, no animal under three months will be admitted. Secondly, only two animals per type of animal are permitted per person and they MUST be accompanied by their owner in possession of a certificate of health from a licensed vet. They must also hold an international certificate of vaccinations.

For more details on what you can and cannot bring, click here to visit the Israeli Customs and VAT website or contact the Department of Customs at 5 Bank of Israel Street, The Government Complex, Jerusalem. Telephone: ( 972) -2-6664000.

Information for this page was provided courtesy of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.

Getting from Ben Gurion Airport to the Walk About Love starting point near Eilat:

Ben Gurion International Airport is located in a town 20km away from Tel Aviv and 40km from Jerusalem in the central region of Israel. Eilat, the closest town to the Walk About Love meeting point, is located at the bottom most tip of Israel. To get from Ben Gurion International Airport to Eilat, you will need to either catch another flight locally, a bus, train, taxi or a lift.

Flight:

The easiest and quickest way to arrive at the starting point of Walk About Love after entering into Israel through Ben Gurion airport is by taking an internal flight from Tel Aviv to Eilat. The flight will take less than an hour, but this is also, of course, the most costly way to get there both monetarily and environmentally.

For information about all domestic and international flights, please visit the Israel Airport Authority website.

Bus:

The Egged Bus Company is the leading bus company in Israel that runs between cities, but they donג€™t travel directly from the airport to Eilat. To leave Ben Gurion International Airport by bus, catch Egged bus # 475 to the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv. They leave every half hour from 6am to 10:30pm and shouldnג€™t cost more than around 12NIS.

Once at the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station you can catch an Egged bus # 842 anytime between 6am and 7:30pm to the Eilat Central Bus Station. A bus leaves Tel Aviv approximately once every hour and can take up to six hours to arrive.

Train:

Train is the easiest and fastest way out of Ben Gurion International Airport. There is even a train station inside the airport, right outside gate 8. Trains start running between Ben Gurion train station and Tel Aviv HaShalom train station at 5:16am and finish running at 11:20pm. There are no direct trains to Eilat, but HaShalom train station in Tel Aviv is just 5 minutes walk from the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, where you can catch an Egged bus to Eilat (see above ) and then another to the Walk About Love starting point.

You can find out more about train schedules and destinations if you visit the Israel Railways website by clicking here.

Taxi:

To the left, outside gate 8 at Ben Gurion International Airport, there is a manned taxi stand under a white, tarpaulin shelter. There you will find an English speaking attendant who will not only assign you a taxi, but can print you out a receipt with the standard, legal price to travel by taxi to wherever you tell the attendant that you are going. Then you do not have to haggle (as is often the case with Israeli taxi drivers), but can simply pay the price on the invoice when you get to your chosen destination. Also note that there is a 2NIS (approximately) tariff per bag and another 2NIS tariff if three or more people travel in the taxi together. Taxis in Israel, however, are not cheap and the average price for a taxi between Ben Gurion International Airport and anywhere in Tel Aviv is usually between 140-180NIS, depending on the hour of day.

Lift:

While Walk About Love cannot endorse people hitch hiking randomly from roadsides to meet up with Walk About Love, there is a forum on the website on which people can post lifts wanted or offered. Find a lift with another Walk About Love member and start the journey before you even arrive! Itג€™s the social, economical AND ecological solution!

Public Transport Schedules:

Please also note that public transport in Israel stops at around midnight (sometimes before) every week night. On Fridays and on the day before public or religious holidays, public transport usually stops running at around 2pm in winter or 4pm in summer months. It starts again on Saturday night/ on the evening after the holiday, after dark. There are, however, yellow mini-buses that seat around ten people, run the same approximate routes as their counterpart buses, start earlier and run much later (including public holidays and Saturdays) than the normal buses. They charge around the same price as well, but you have to flag them down and tell the driver where you want to get off as they donג€™t necessarily stop at the designated bus stops.

Getting to Lighthouse Beach meeting point from Eilat:

The Lighthouse Beach in Eilat is where, between the 27^th of February until the 1^st of March 2009, you will meet up with the all the rest of Walk About Love and prepare to begin walking the journey together!

The Lighthouse Beach (ג€˜Hof Hamigdalorג€™ in Hebrew) in Eilat is outside the actual city centre itself, along the coastline on the way to the Taba border crossing with Egypt. The city centre of Eilat is fairly small with the airport and the Central Bus Station situated within a short walking distance from the Marina and the beach. Eilat is an international and tourist friendly city as it is not only situated on the scenic, corralled shores of the Gulf of Aquaba, it also sits at the bottom most point of Israel, walking distance from both the Egyptian and Jordanian border crossings.

You can get to Eilat by airplane, bus, taxi or by foot (from the nearby border crossings).

From Eilatג€™s airport you only have to cross the road to get to the Central Bus station.

From Eilatג€™s Central Bus Station, you can take Egged Bus number 15 to the Taba border crossing with Egypt, but ask the bus driver to let you off earlier at ג€˜Hof Hamigdalorג€™(ג€˜Lighthouse Beachג€™). Walk down from the main road to the beach and be welcomed by your Walk About Love brothers and sisters!

Alternatively, if you donג€™t have too many bags, you can take the hour or so walk to the meeting point. You just follow the beautiful scenic coastline, past the port and the coral reef nature reserve to the Lighthouse Beach (ג€˜Hof Hamigdalorג€™) on the other side, not too far from the Taba Border Crossing with Egypt.

For more information, contact Eilatג€™s Tourist Information Centre:

Address: 8 Beit Hagesher st.

Telephone: 08-6309111

E-mail: avik@tourism.gov.il

Opening hours: Sun-Thu : 8:00am-4:30pm

Israeli Tourist Information Offices around the world:

CIS

Israel Government Tourist Office

B. Ordinka 51, 113095 Moscow

Tel: 007-95-937-3642

Fax:7095- 935-76-49

Director: economy@moscow.mfa.gov.il