One of Israel’s best beaches - Hof Dor (Tantura)

If you’re looking for a truly great beach in Israel and even have a couple of days spare for a romp up north, you should consider checking out Dor Beach (Hof Dor, often known as Hof Dor Tantura). Located between the Mediterranean and Mount Carmel, Dor Beach is surely a contender for one of Israel’s best beaches.

It’s not quite on the tourist route, but Dor Beach really isn’t too far off the beaten track as it’s not too much of a drive from either Tel Aviv (up to 1 hour) or Haifa (20 minutes). Dor Beach is also just off one of the main roads in Israel (Road 4, just after the turn off for Zichron Yaakov, if heading north), so really is easy to get to.

And once you’ve made that little drive, I think you’ll be glad you made it. OK, it hasn’t got all the facilities of a Tel Aviv beach, but the sea is great (when is the Med never great?), there’s an island to explore just a quick wade away, there are fishing boats bobbing in the sheltered bays, and finding a quiet spot for you and your beach towel is fairly easy, even in peak season.

The main beach itself costs a few shekels to get in, but once you’re in you have access to kilometers of coastline. Head left for a more secluded spot with windswept sandy beaches and fishing boats or head straight to the sea or to the right for a more family oriented beach complete with lifeguard.

If you’ve got an extra day or two to spare we’d highly recommend staying at the Hof Dor Holiday Village, which has a variety of reasonably priced accommodation options (18 cottages, 45 concrete igloos (see the gallery of pictures at the end of this article, they’re actually a lot bigger than they look), 10 holiday homes, 10 wood cabins and even a camping area where you can pitch your own tent). For more details, check out their website. My wife swears by the place, she was practically raised there, so what more of a hot recommendation can you ask for?!

Seriously, this is a great beach to visit in Israel, you won’t be disappointed. Just let me run through that list of attractions once more, just for you beach connoisseurs (please, stop drooling): a private, beautiful, sandy beach, palm trees, offshore island, a fishing harbor, a beautiful diving site, ancient ruins to explore, restaurants, a pub…

Below you can check out some pictures from a recent long weekender at Hof Dor.