THINGS TO KNOW

Instead of Monday-Friday, our week starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday.

On Friday, shops and malls begin to close around 3pm because of Shabbat.

On Saturday, almost all shops and malls are closed until 7pm. Restaurants, cafes, and most bars are open.

Busses do not operate unless it is a Shabbat bus - these are large coach busses that only come once an hour.

TAXIS
You cannot haul a taxi here. Do not try, they will not stop!

Instead, download the app "Gett” - it is basically our version of Uber, except the payment is based on a meter instead of doing it ahead of time.

Note: We do not have Uber or Lyft.


BUSSES
The best way to know the bus schedule is through an app called “Moovit”. This is also the best way to pay for the bus.

When you get on the bus, the way to pay is through the app by scanning the QR code that you will see on the machines at each entrance. Keep in mind that a bus worker might come onto the bus at any point to check if you paid, and they do not care if you are a tourist who doesn’t speak Hebrew.

Rush hour in Israel starts at 3pm and ends around 7pm. If you choose to take the bus around this time on a weekday, it might be very crowded.

Make sure to wave your hand when you see a bus approaching your stop. Sometimes, without this, the bus driver will just drive right past you :) Welcome to Israel!

SCOOTERS
Another way to navigate the city is by electric scooter. Our preferred app is “Lime”.

Please wear a helmet at all times, do not ride with more than one person on a scooter, and always ride on the bike lane. While this is mainly for your safety, please also be aware that police officers will stop you and fine you if you do not follow these rules.

It is highly recommended to make reservations for dinner, especially from Wednesday-Saturday. You can do so through the app called “Ontopo”.

The common/average amount to leave for tip is from 10%-12%. If the service was outstanding in some way, then 15%-20% can be left.

If you want to order food to your Airbnb or Hotel at any time, you can do so through the app “Wolt”.

Note: We do not have Grubhub, Doordash, or Ubereats.

In Tel Aviv, you should have no problems getting around with only English (Russian helps, too). However, if you want to know:

• Shalom — Hello, Goodbye, and Peace

• Ken — Yes

• Lo — No

• Sababa — Cool, great, awesome

• Slicha — Excuse me / Sorry

• Todah — Thank you

• Bevakasha — Please / You’re welcome

• Ani lo mevin(a) — I don’t understand (mevin for men, mevinah for women)

• Ani medaber(et) anglit — I speak English (medaber for men, medaberet for women)

• Efshar tafrit b’anglit? — Can I have an English menu?

• Ma nishma? — How are you? / What’s up?

• Effo hasherutim? — Where is the bathroom?

• Kama ze oleh? — How much does this cost?

• Boker tov — Good morning

• Erev tov — Good evening

• Laila tov — Good night

• Bo Nishtakker — Let’s get drunk

• At Hamooda — You’re cute (to compliment a girl)

Israel has alert systems that let you know before a siren begins. You will not be caught by surprise if there will be a siren.

To be the most updated, download the app “Home Front Command”. This app will typically give you an alert at least 5-10 minutes before a siren starts to sound.

During this 5-10 minutes, the app will tell you to seek shelter. If you are in a public place like a restaurant, shop, or bar, the workers at the establishment will tell you where the nearest bomb shelter is. If you are in your Airbnb or Hotel, you will have a bomb shelter near the entrance of the building.

You can always find the nearest bomb shelter by following or asking the people around you.

Standard protocol:

• Alert on app that gives you 5-10 minutes to get to nearest shelter

• Enter shelter by the time siren sounds

• Wait 10 minutes AFTER siren FULLY STOPS before leaving the bomb shelter