Eilat in Southern Israel is a special free trade zone where nobody pays tax, hence all the shops sell goods at prices 17% lower than anywhere else in the country.
That’s one more reason to visit Israel in general and Eilat in particular! Not only is the climate amazing here and the beaches are beautiful, but you can also shop till you drop pretty much anywhere you go in Eilat!
There is a shopping center on almost literally every corner with a big sign on the front door: “Tax Free”!
If that wasn’t amazing enough for you, the men and women are beautiful in Eilat (and in Israel in general) and they are also super friendly! So, if you want a beach holiday and combine it with a shopping spree, Eilat is really your best choice in Europe!
Direct Flights to Eilat from Europe
I say Europe because there are plenty of direct flights to Israel from Europe and the airport in Eilat is bang in the city center, so you can literally get off the plane, walk across the street and start shopping!
Ryanair, Wizzair, El Al and some other smaller airlines fly here directly from Europe. In addition, you can fly to Tel Aviv and take a connecting flight to Eilat from there or rent a car and drive to Eilat by the Dead Sea.
If you drive, you will have the opportunity to stop off at Ein Bokek, which is a resort on the Dead Sea with free beaches and showers, just by the car park.
That’s exactly what I did: I flew to Tel Aviv from London direct with El Al Israel Airlines and rented a car from Cal Auto through Argus Car Hire.
I picked up the car on Sunday morning and headed over to Jerusalem and then on to Eilat via Ein Bokek by the Dead Sea.
Driving to Eilat from Tel Aviv
If you drive to Eilat from Tel Aviv via Jerusalem on Highway 443 (toll free) then you should stop off at Drive Cafe for breakfast at one of the layby’s.
The easiest way to find Drive Cafe is to take the ramp towards Neot Kedumim, a nature reserve in the forest. Ne’ot Kedumim is the world’s only preserved Biblical scenery, so if you are into that kind of stuff then you should definitely visit.
As you turn right, follow the signs towards Neot Kedumim, passing under the road. Drive Cafe will be in the car park on the other side of Highway 443.
They serve fresh sandviches, tea, coffee, pastries and various other things here from early morning. The locals love it as there was a constant queue of people lining up for their morning caffein fix even on Sunday morning!
I spent about half an hour here stretching my legs after a long flight, finishing off the tasty avocado sandvich, coke and cinnamon roll that cost me 40 shekels.
Arriving in Eilat Before Sunset
I carried on driving towards Jerusalem but halfway there I changed my mind and instead drove on towards the Dead Sea without stopping in Jerusalem. I was thinking that I already had a booking for three nights later that week in Jerusalem and I just wanted to get to Eilat before sunset.
In the end that was not to be because I spent a couple of hours sleeping by the roadside near the Dead Sea as I was exhausted and kept dozing off while driving!
I did not want to have a crash the car so after the military checkpoint by the Dead Sea I pulled over to the roadside and passed out for more than two hours!
Stopping off in Ein Bokek
I ended up arriving in Ein Bokek after lunch and spent another two hours here enjoying the sunshine and the sea water. I only went in until my waist as it felt cold, but in retrospect I should have gone in all the way like the other people did.
Problem is, they had a towel and I did not and it was quite windy.
Anyhow, I left Ein Bokek just before 3PM and started driving down south. At least that is what I thought!
I took the wrong turn and ended up going towards Arad! Fortunately there was a junction not much further to the west and there I could turn south again. Unfortunately the detour added an extra hour to my journey so I arrived in Eilat well past 6, meaning I had missed the sunset.
Checking in at the Club Hotel Eilat
Anyway, I was not too upset as I booked four nights at the Club Hotel in downtown Eilat and so I was sure I would see the sunset again.
The Club Hotel in Eilat was pretty amazing with several swimming pools, a gym, jacuzzi, various restaurants and sitting areas so I was looking forward to my days and nights there!
The only issue was that I was so tired after all the travelling back and forth between the UK and Miami and then to Tel Aviv that I eventually ended up passing out at 930!
This doesn’t often happen to me but I only woke up at 1130 the next morning! It felt like I totally wasted a day but on the other hand I was so refreshed I felt very happy about sleeping in.
Eventually I got out of bed and went to look for lunch then I had a swim in the afternoon and walked around the seaside to watch the sunset.
Early Sunsets in Eilat
Unfortunately this being December, the sun set at 430 every day, so by sleeping until almost noon I only left myself about five hours of daylight!
Since I knew about Eilat’s tax free status I decided to do some shopping and visited the various electronics stores to enquire about their laptops. I was looking to buy a new laptop but the problem is the kind of laptop I want costs between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds and I don’t want to spend that kind of money on a laptop! Even the lower grade laptops that might work with my video editing software cost around 1,000 pounds.
The same model I looked at in the UK for 1,200 came in at 1,060 pounds in Eilat excluding the tax but then I figured there was no point buying it in Eilat.
That’s because if I have any problems I won’t be able to return it, whereas in the UK I have a 14 day no-questions-asked returns policy and one year warranty.
That’s not to say the savings wasn’t tempting enough but with electronics at this value I felt it was worth buying it domestically for returns reasons.
I’d like a Lenovo laptop with the latest gadgets like the solid state drive and a good video card, but I simply can’t part with that kind of money!
(PS: I eventually ended up buying one in the UK directly from Lenovo – that’s what I am using now to write this post).
Well, that’s not to say I did not enjoy going from shop to shop in Eilat! I especially liked the Ice Mall where there is a huge Ice Ring in the middle of the shopping center! And this is in the middle of the desert!
Sleeping in – Every Day!
I spent my second and third days pretty much the same way as the first: I slept in until noon, then went swimming and sunbathing in the afternoon followed by a walk to the beach to watch the sunset! I know, call me a lazy tourist!
The fourth day I decided to do something different – this time I actually used my snorkelling kit in the sea! I took some amazing shots, with some fish in the water plus the bottom of the sea clearly visible.
It just goes to show how clean the water is in Eilat!
At the end of my last day I also visited the local museum which costs 10 shekels to go inside. The Eilat Museum is not easy to spot, I did not actually know it existed even though I walked past it all week! The Club Hotel is actually right next door to the museum!
Visiting the Eilat Museum
Yes, you can call me blind too! I only ended up noticing it because I went to have a look at the big glass pyramid to find out what it was. Then I noticed a sign to the entrance of Eilat Museum. I thought the museum was inside the glass pyramid so I decided to enter.
It was great to visit the museum because I learned so much about the history of Eilat which otherwise I would not have known at all!
In a nutshell: The United Nations promised this side of the bay to the Jewish people from the former British protectorate of Palestine to form a homeland.
Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. The Arabs did not want to give this land to the Jews and there was a lot of fighting over it, which ended with a handful of Jews capturing what was to be Eilat.
Back in 1945 there was pretty much nothing here, except for a few earthen huts which the Jewish conquistadors used to pin a flag on, declaring it part of Israel.
You can also see aerial photos of Eilat here, showing you how much the city has grown from literally nothing to what it is today!
The Botanical Gardens in Eilat
Eilat is home to a very nice botanical garden at the northern edge of the city, as you approach from Jerusalem on Highway 90.
The Botanical Gardens in Eilat are operated by a family and originally started out as a garden center but then turned into what it is today. You can still buy flowers and plants here but if you are a tourist you can simply wonder around the site.
This was the first botanical garden that grew plants in the desert according to organic principals, using salty water.
The site where the botanical garden is today used to be a military site to view Jordan on the other side of the border. It is quite fascinating that you can still see some of the installations! You can also climb into the lookout too see Jordan in the valley.
Incredibly, there is also a tropical garden with a waterfall, using distilled water. The entrance fee wasn’t much and I spent a good couple of hours here, so I would definitely recommend a visit!
Eilat’s Migratory Bird Sanctuary
The International Birding and Research Center, just across the road from the Eilat Botanical Gardens is an internationally important stopping point for migratory birds.
Millions of birds pass through Eilat every year, many of which stop over in order to rest and feed before the last leg of their journeys to Africa.
On their way back, the Eilat Migratory Bird Sanctuary is the first stop the birds reach to refuel after crossing the Sahara desert.
Thanks to restoring the salt plains to their original conditions, the park now also draws an abundance of mammals, reptiles and insects.
Unbelievably, Eilat used this area as their rubbish dump for decades, when locals decided to come together to save the last resort of the migratory birds!
Entrance to the park is free of charge year-round. You can find accessible paths along which you can hide in observation points to check out the birds.
Walking to the Red Canyon
The Red Canyon (Wadi Shani) is about 30 minutes north of Eilat by car but you can also reach it by bus going to Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva or Jerusalem.
The Red Canyon in Eilat is similar to the slot canyons in Utah, except it is a lot smaller. In all honesty I was a bit disappointed as I walked through the canyon in about five minutes!
Anyhow, the entire hike took me about two hours which I really enjoyed, so if you have the time definitely come out here to check out the scenery.
If you are lucky, you might even find some Rock Hyrax, Hooded Wheatear, Ornate Mastigure and Nubian Ibex.
Just remember, do not feed any of the animals!
Anyhow, I hope you’ve enjoyed this article – for me it was fascinating to see how Eilat grew from five or six huts into this metropolis of millions of tourists today! Well worth a visit!