If you’re on vacation in Israel, the New Year holiday period is the perfect time to head for the beaches and more adult oriented sites…but if you’ve got kids with you, you’re going to have to fight the holiday crowds to have some fun, especially in places like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
So beat the crowds with these five awesome activities we’ve picked and know well, an hour or two’s drive out of the big cities. You’ll probably still come across some crowds (not sure there’s anywhere crowd-free during the holidays!) but these are a nicer type of crowd, we promise!
Kite Flying at Gan Guru
This Aussie park (Gan Guru – Kangaroo, get it?) at Kibbutz Nir David, close to Bet Shean, will be holding a huge kite flying festival, both for pros and amateurs. There’ll even be workshops to help build your kite (15-25 shekels a pop). It all happens between 09:00 and 17:00 on Friday 30th September. The Gan Guru park, which is strangely (!) full of kangaroos and koalas, will also be open to visitors (costs 43 shekels per person). For more info, call 04-6488060/1.
Marzipan Museum Workshop
The Marzipan Museum at Kfar Tavor (on the road to the Sea of Galilee) will be holding workshops throughout the holiday, as well as tours of their museum (you won’t believe some of the items are made from marzipan!). The museum will be open every day, including the holidays itself, and usually open from 10:00 to 17:00, though closing slightly earlier on Wednesday 28th and Friday 30th. It will cost adults 20 shekels, children 37 shekels. For more info, call 04-6772111.
Honey Festival at Devorat HaTavor
It’s almost impossible to avoid honey during a Jewish New Year, and here’s the perfect spot to overindulge: the Devorat HaTavor center on Moshav Shadmot Devora (right next to Kfar Tavor). Over three days, from the 29th to the 1st October, you can enjoy a two hour tour of the resident beehives and learn all about the sticky stuff. Yes, of course, you get to taste some honey straight from the honeycomb! It’ll cost you 22 shekels, and your kids 45 shekels. For more info, call 04-6769598.
Derekh HaEtz (Path of the Tree)
Get back to nature and enjoy a tour of taste of trees and their environment at the Derekh HaEtz park (see our review here), also on Moshav Shadmot Devora. Especially for the Jewish New Year they’ll be open on Wednesday and Friday this week from 09:00 to 15:00. For adults 20 shekels, the kids 39 shekels. For more info, call 04-6620606.
Sweet happenings at the Spice Farm
Head to the Bethlehem of the Galilee (yes, there are two Bethlehems in Israel!) for some sweet activities at the Spice Farm there (Havat HaTavlinim). You can experience the joys of honey, plus take a free tour of the fields of herbs and spices. The New Year events run from Thursday 29th to Saturday 1st October. Each day at 11am learn about bees and honey, and among the many workshops available, learn to make honey (mixed with halva, yummy!). Kids will cost between 20-50 shekels, but adults are free. For more info, call 04-9533405.