Israel is a small country with a Mediterranean coast, green hills in the north, the Dead Sea and the Negev desert in the south. Distances are short, so old cities, beaches and desert can fit into one trip.
Israel for visitors
Jerusalem's walled Old City has sites holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, including the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Israel Museum holds the Dead Sea Scrolls. Tel Aviv is a beach city of white Bauhaus buildings and cafés, with the old port of Jaffa at its southern end. Further north, Haifa has terraced gardens on Mount Carmel, Akko has a Crusader-era old town by the sea, and the Galilee has Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. In the south, the clifftop fortress of Masada overlooks the Dead Sea, the Negev has the vast Ramon Crater, and Eilat, on the Red Sea, is the place for diving. Trains and buses link the main cities, though most services stop on Shabbat.
Time in Israel
Israel has one time zone, Asia/Jerusalem, and is on UTC+2 right now. Clocks go forward one hour on the Friday before the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October. The next change forward is on 26 March 2027, and the next change back on 31 October 2027. Right now Jerusalem is 2 hours ahead of London, 2 hours behind Dubai and 7 hours ahead of New York.
Climate and weather
The coast and the north have a Mediterranean climate, with hot, humid summers and mild, rainy winters; the hills around Jerusalem are cooler and less humid, and the Negev, the Dead Sea and Eilat are hot desert. In Jerusalem, average highs reach 30°C in August, and average lows fall to 7°C in January. The capital gets about 526 mm of rain a year, on around 42 days, almost all of it from November to March. January is the wettest month in Jerusalem.
- Jerusalem
- Istanbul
Show the numbers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem | 12.7 | 14.0 | 17.4 | 22.0 | 26.2 | 28.6 | 30.0 | 30.3 | 28.9 | 25.9 | 19.9 | 14.9 |
| Istanbul | 8.8 | 9.4 | 12.0 | 16.1 | 21.0 | 25.7 | 28.0 | 28.2 | 24.6 | 19.9 | 15.0 | 10.7 |
Best time to visit Israel
Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, are the most comfortable seasons for sightseeing and hiking. Summer is hot, and humid on the coast. Winter is cool and wet in Jerusalem and the north but mild in Eilat and at the Dead Sea. Many businesses close and public transport is limited on the main Jewish holidays, in spring and early autumn, and the country comes to a standstill on Yom Kippur.
Practical facts
- Capital: Jerusalem. Population: about 9.3 million (UN World Population Prospects 2024, 2023 estimate).
- Currency: Israeli New Shekel (ILS). Cards and contactless payments are widely used.
- Languages: Hebrew, Arabic. English is widely spoken; toda means thank you in Hebrew.
- Calling code: +972.
- Weekend: Shabbat, from Friday evening to Saturday evening; many shops close and public transport largely stops.
- Driving: on the right.
- Emergency numbers: police 100, ambulance 101, fire 102 ([1]).
Plan your trip with hoyoopin
- The live weather and the month-by-month climate table for Jerusalem are on this page.
- World Clock and Weather for Tel Aviv, Haifa, Eilat or any other town in Israel.
- Asia: time zones and key facts for the continent.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Israel, getting help: ambulance 101, fire 102, police 100.