USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT ISRAEL
The
sun almost always shine…
April though October are rainless, June to August are hot summer month. November to March are winter months with cooler temperature and rain although interspersed with many sunny days.
Passport
requirement…
Passport must be valid at list for 6 month. Visa will be granted automatically upon arrival for Australian. For visitors who so request, the visa may be stamped not in the passport but issued on a separate document.
As a rule, dress
in Israel extremely informal, casual for daytime and informal for evening.
Bring lightweight clothing, head covering, comfortable walking shoes and
swimwear. Modest attire for visit to religious sites is required. In Jerusalem
or other hilly areas, a light jacket is recommended.
In Israel’s major cities, shops are usually open from 09:00 until at least 19:00 from Sunday to Thursday. The afternoon break or siesta is between 13:00 and 16:00 is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. More and more shopping malls are being built around the country, offering even more flexible hours and a cool, air conditioned environment in which to browse items such as leather, gold, Jewelry and diamonds.
On Friday shops
usually close between 14:00-15:30 and most Jewish establishments do not open on
Saturday.
Banks are open
every morning from 08:30-12:30. Some commercial and tourist branches are open
until 14:00, and most banks offer afternoon banking hours from 16:00-18:00
twice a week (varying according to the bank). All banks are closed on Saturdays
and Jewish holidays, but most have automatic tellers accepting most major
international credit cards, against which cash may be withdrawn. The unit of
currency is the New Israeli Shekel (NIS) usually referred to as
‘shekels’ and come in a variety of denominations. Each shekel consists of 100 Agorot.
Most hotels, businesses and restaurants honor all major world credit cards.
VAT exemption or refund generally applies to goods and services paid by tourists in foreign currency. VAT is refunded on purchases provided that receipts and the refund form are presented with the merchandise at the airport bank.
Israel’s standard time is two hours ahead of GMT, one hour ahead at mid- European time, and seven hours ahead of USA Eastern Standard Time.
Power supply is 220 volt, AC 50 cycles, although most major hotels usually offer built – in 110 volt electric razor transformer.
Languages…
Although Hebrew and Arabic are Israel’s official languages, just standing at a street corner can be experience: passerby conversing in Hebrew, English, Arabic, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian.
Israel’s adopted second language spoken so extensively that even street sign also in English.
Food…
Due to the
cosmopolitan composition, cuisine in Israel is equally varied and restaurants
may be found offering delicacies from all over the world. Based on traditional
Jewish dietary law, Kosher cuisine, or ‘Kashrut” is
observed in almost all hotels and many restaurants.
Tipping…
Tipping is fairly standard in Israel. Some restaurants add the service charge to the bill, if not, a tip is expected. 10% is normal. Usually one tips tour guides and one bus drivers , unless otherwise directed by the tour leader or travel agent.
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