about these photos:

I visited Israel for the first time in Juiy of 2017. The trip was booked just 2 weeks out and few plans were made in advance ... just an apartment for the first 6 nights, 3 in Tel Aviv and 3 in Jerusalem. I met up with a great friend I met on safari back in Africa and we were off ...

Tel Aviv was amazing. We were in a great location to walk to the Old Town (Jaffa) or the beach. And we ate all the hummus! Jerusalem was the next stop so we booked a train the night before and off we went. We again had a great location right next to the main market and a short walk to the Old City right on the train line. Four days were spent exploring the Old City and a day trip to the Dead Sea & Masada. Also met up with a friend's cousin for a great night out seeing things from a local's perspective. We underestimated the whole Shabbat thing when literally EVERYTHING closes so ended up sans dinner Friday night, but we did end up scoring a ride to the airport in (what we were told) a 1979 Rolls Royce!  

From there we booked domestic flights to Eilat (2 days in advance) in the south (temps were 115+ degrees) but also had some great swims in the Red Sea. While apprehensive about the Israeli/Palestinian issue it was actually a non-issue and never even mentioned.

Do note that even when traveling domestically security (all 5 layers+) was a massive presence. They checked hand and checked baggage THOROUGHLY and I was grilled several times over past travel. In the end it was fantastic: great food, amazing sights, nice people and I swam in the Med, Dead & Red Seas all on this trip!