Before you leave
You’ll begin by going online for visa and travel information. Each country should have a website that tells you the process of gaining entry to Palestine. Currently, most Americans and Europeans receive a 3-month tourist visa upon arrival to Israel and once clearing customs (granting access to both Israel and Palestine).
However, since such logistics can change, it’s recommended that you verify this information with your country’s travel advisory website or your nearest Israeli Embassy or Consulate.
Maps on your Phone
Download maps to your phone such as maps.me. When you arrive, it’s likely that you won’t have internet access except were lucky enough to find free Wi-Fi hotspots.
If you take your SIM card with you from home, you may be able to connect to the internet, but only at high international roaming rates. Also, this coverage may be spotty at best. If you plan and download maps, you’ll be prepared to use the information when you are offline.
Using a SIM Card
Even if you get an Israeli SIM at the airport after you land, you won’t be able to use it in Hebron. Only the Palestinian carriers, Jawwal and Wataniya, have a signal, up to 3G, in Hebron.
Both carriers have roaming agreements with Israeli carriers, so you will have a 3G signal on trips to Israeli territory. Having maps downloaded to your phone will be very useful before you are able to get a Palestinian SIM.
If you arrive late, plan to stay a night in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv
Plan to stay one night in Jerusalem. It will be more convenient because you will want to make sure that your arrival in Hebron happens during the Excellence Center business hours – 8 am to 8 pm, Saturday to Thursday. Depending on when your flight arrives and how long you stay in the airport, you may not be able to reach Hebron in a timely manner, and should thusly stay in Jerusalem.
After a restful night in Jerusalem, you’ll be able to wake up in the morning and travel to Hebron at a time that is more convenient for the staff. The section for “Navigating Jerusalem” has a map and locations/descriptions of the important landmarks for your trip. It is recommended you find a hotel or hostel near one of these landmarks.
Choosing your flight
Your best bet is to fly to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv, Israel, but you can also fly to Queen Alia Airport (AMM) in Amman, Jordan. Transportation to Hebron is much easier from Ben Gurion Airport, so that is recommended. Some of the difficulties in crossing the Palestinian/Jordanian border are specific to crossing at the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge, including the need for a visa, long delays, and a fee if you don’t plan on staying 2 nights in Jordan.
Some of these difficulties can be avoided if you spend a couple of nights in Jordan and cross at the Aqaba/Eilat border, but then you’ll have to reserve a bus from Eilat to Jerusalem and continue from there. If your plans take you through Jordan, please call the Excellence Center and they will help you plan your trip.
If you fly to Ben Gurion Airport, try to avoid flights that arrive on or just before the Jewish Sabbath which starts at sunset on Friday ends at sunset on Saturday. Public transportation will not be available, the airport will be empty, and there will be fewer personal and group taxis. If you happen to be arriving on the Jewish Sabbath, please contact the Excellence Center and ask that a taxi is arranged to pick you up.
Navigating Ben Gurion Airport
Right after you land, you will go through customs. When you tell them that you plan to stay in the Palestinian (H1) Area of Hebron, they may take your passport (a rarity) and ask you to wait. If they go through this process, they will eventually interview you. Be polite, diplomatic and honest, and they will return your passport, letting you pass through customs.
Ben Gurion Airport does not have a luxurious food court or a lot of stores like some airports. It seems to be designed to get you on your way. Still, you will find some useful amenities.
If you haven’t already, we recommend you go to the currency exchange at the airport and get some Shekels (ILS). They are accepted in Israel and Palestine and will get you out of the airport and to your destination. Also, if you are having trouble finding ground transportation, there is an information desk that will assist you.
Ground Transportation
From this point, you will have a choice of using either buses, sheruts/services, or taxis. We will be describing how to travel by bus (mostly) because it is the cheapest way to travel. Just about any part of this trip that can be taken by bus can also be taken by sherut/service or taxi. There will be signs that direct you to the various ground transportation options, and if you are not sure, the information desk will help you.
You know what buses and taxis are, but you may not know about the sheruts/services. Sheruts (Hebrew) or services (Arabic) are shared taxis.While taxis are yellow cars, Sheruts/services are either orange minivans or white mini-buses. Sheruts/services have a destination, but the departure time is usually dependent on when the vehicle reaches full capacity..
Compared to the taxis, what you lose in convenience, you gain in savings. If you don’t know the exact drop-off point, tell the driver about your specific destination. Show him on your downloaded map, give him an address or both. He will either take you to your destination or tell you when you are close enough to walk. As a foreigner, there will be taxis trying to convince you to go with them. Best to stick with your plan.
If you don’t want to get overcharged, just insist that you want a sherut or service. If you enter service, are the only passenger and the driver is ready to leave, be careful, as you’re about to get charged the taxi rate. In that case, insist on only paying the rate that is recommended for the service. The driver won’t accept your offer and you can then leave to find a service. Make your arrangements so you don’t have to leave immediately. It’s easier to refuse an expensive ride if you know you can wait for a cheaper.
Getting to Hebron, Palestine
To get to Hebron, you may cross an Israeli checkpoint. This is more of a problem for mapping programs than it will be for you. Most mapping programs assume you can’t cross the checkpoints, so they usually just don’t provide any directions in the West Bank.
People, on the other hand, cross from the Israeli to the Palestinian side with no more difficulty than passing through a turnstile like the one pictures on the left. You should be able to get through with your baggage. If not, nearby soldiers will provide instructions for entry. Crossing from the Palestinian side to the Israeli side can be more complicated in general, but usually not for foreigners.
From the Airport
From the airport, it’s best to go to Jerusalem. If you look at the two maps below, you’ll see that the airport really isn’t in Tel Aviv, it’s in Lod. Lod is closer to Tel Aviv, but if you start toward Jerusalem by going toward Tel Aviv first, you’ll be going out of the way. To get a visual, the two maps below compare trips from the Airport to both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Both trips are direct and require no transfers.
Airport to Tel Aviv by Train Airport to Jerusalem by Bus
It’s easier to just take the Afikim bus 485 that goes directly from the airport to Jerusalem. You’ll find the bus on the second floor of the terminal. It costs 16 ILS, takes about one hour, and it runs every hour at the top of the hour, 24 hours a day, except that it does not operate between 2 pm on Fridays to 7 pm on Saturdays. For more detailed information click on the following link then click the drop-down for Afikim:
There is also a “Nesher” Service Taxis to Jerusalem. You want to take the one that goes to Central Jerusalem or the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. It costs 41 ILS. For more detailed information click on the following link then click the dropdown for “Nesher” Service Taxis to Jerusalem:
Navigating Jerusalem
If you want to be on your way to Hebron, you will want to keep yourself near the blue line on the map below. It traces the portion of the light rail line that connects the Central Bus Station to the Arab Bus Station. The Central Bus Station is your likely connection to all points in Israel, including the airport, and the Arab Bus Station is your likely connection to all points in Palestine.
Staying near that portion of the light rail line will keep you close to the either bus station and will provide you with a convenient means of transport to and from either.
If you take the Afikim 485 bus, you may be under the impression that it will go to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, but that’s only partially true. It will take you to the pin labeled on the above map at “Afikim Main Stop”, which, as you can see, it is near the Central Bus Station, but not at the Central Bus Station.
When you arrive, it will look like any regular bus stop, except that most people will leave the bus at that point. To make sure you get off at the correct stop, you can ask the bus driver for help or you can look up the stop online. On Google Maps, it called “ICC / Shazar”. If you pass this stop, the bus will continue south to the pin labeled “Afikim Last Stop” which will be out of your way. Once you’ve arrived, you can walk, take a train, or take a taxi to the hotel or hostel that you reserved prior.
Now, you will have to decide whether you are departing Jerusalem from the Central Bus Station or the Arab Bus Station.
Option 1: From the Arab Bus Station in Jerusalem
The most convenient option is to take a service (shared taxi). Services are usually parked near the pin labeled “Bus Drop Off” on the map to the left either on Ha-Nevi’im street or in the corner of the parking lot. The drivers can be heard shouting: “Al Khalil! Al Khalil! (Arabic for Hebron).
The cost for one of these will be about 25-35 ILS and the trip should take about 50 minutes. Before you board, tell the driver you want to go to the al-Hussein bin Ali School (Madrasat al Hussein Ben Ali Althanawieh). If you take this option, don’t bother with the section about Navigating Bethlehem and jump to the section on Navigating Hebron.
At times, like Fridays during Ramadan, this map changes and the bus stop caters exclusively to bus 234. They stop at the pin labeled “Bus Drop Off” on the map above and quickly unload and load passengers. There are people at the bus drop off to guide you to the proper bus.
If you are taking the bus, it will be more complicated than riding in the service, but it’s cheaper and sometimes the only choice. Going by bus requires that you take a bus to Bethlehem, then you walk to the place where the services gather and take service the rest of the way. It will cost 7 ILS for the bus to Bethlehem and 9 ILS for the service to Hebron.
The buses usually line up by the pin labeled “Bus Pickup” on the map above. Buses 231 and 234 both go to Bethlehem, but they have slightly different paths. Bus 231 isn’t as direct at 234, but bus 231 takes you almost exactly to where you want to go in Bethlehem and it gets you around the Israeli checkpoint, while bus 234 drops you off right outside the Israeli checkpoint. To compare the two bus routes, refer to the maps below:
Bus 231 to Bethlehem Bus 234 to Bethlehem
Still Option 1 (if you took the bus): Navigating Bethlehem
If you take bus 234, you’ll find yourself at the bus stop at the traffic circle at the top of this map. First, you’ll have to cross the Israeli checkpoint. Once you go through, you’ll be at the place where the blue walking path on the map begins. Usually, you’ll be able to find a service right after you cross the checkpoint. If you do, skip to the last paragraph in this section. If you don’t find a service immediately, follow the blue walking path on the map until you get to Bab-Azqaq. You’ll notice that you are being directed away from the grey walking path. That’s because that path is cut off by the separation barrier.
If you take bus 231, you’ll be right near Bab-Azqaq. It’s not quite as close to the intersection as the bus stop on the map indicates, but it’s only about a block away.
Bab-Azqaq is the intersection between Hebron Road and Derech Beit Jala. The services gather at the SW corner of the intersection. Whether you get service near the checkpoint or at Bab-Azqaq, you will hear drivers shouting: “Al Khalil! Al Khalil! (Arabic for Hebron).
The cost for one of these will be 9 ILS and the trip should take about 40 minutes. Before you board, tell the driver you want to go to the Hussein bin Ali School (Madrasat al Hussein Ben Ali Althanawieh).
Option 2: From the Central Bus Station
The cheapest option is to take either bus 381 or 383 from the Central Bus Station to the Israeli side of Hebron. You can board either of these buses on the third floor of the station at gate 6. You don’t get your bus ticket at the ticket counter, you buy it when you board the bus. It costs 8.1 ILS (8 Shekels and 10 Agorot). Take the bus to the last stop on the line, Bet Romano, which is marked on the map to the left with a pin labeled “Bet Romano”.
It takes about one hour. That’s the easy part. The hard part is that your navigation app is likely to assume that you can’t cross the checkpoint and will send you 3 hours out of your way to reach your destination. To avoid this issue, follow the badly drawn blue line on the map until you reach the stadium. It takes no more than 30 minutes to walk.
If you prefer a taxi, you can find one shortly after crossing the checkpoint. Tell the driver you want to go to the Al Hussein Bin Ali School (Madrasat al Hussein Ben Ali Althanawieh). It should cost 1-2 ILS. From there, the section on Navigating Hebron will get you to the Excellence Center.
Navigating Hebron
Mapping programs don’t have the correct information for the location of the Excellence Center, but we’re trying to change that. Until that happens, refer to the map below as a guide for how to get to the Excellence Center.
If you’re in a service or a taxi and you’ve told them you are going to Alhussain Bin Ali School, you will arrive at the red pin on Ein Sarah Street. You’re almost there. If not, you are probably close enough to walk the rest of the way. You should be able to find directions by searching for “Alhussain Bin Ali School” in your mapping app.
If you don’t want a walk, you can get a taxi and tell them you want to go to school (Madrasat al Hussein Ben Ali Althanawieh). It should cost 1-2 ILS. The Excellence Center has two locations. One is at the blue dot from where We are writing these directions.
Get to the Excellence Center
To get there, go south on Ein Sarah street until you pass the stadium. Turn left. Pass the stadium again and the mosque just behind it. Turn left on to the alley just after the mosque. On the map, this alley stretches between the blue dot and the stadium. Go to the second set of doors.
To go to the other center, we will once again start from the school where the taxi or service dropped you off. If you look across the street from the northern end of the school, you will see this building in the picture on the left. Cross the street and go around this building to the right. At the back of the building, you will see a staircase. Go up the staircase, past the dentist’s office, and the office on the next floor will be the Excellence Center.
Congrats and welcome to the Excellence Center!
Any questions?
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact at Rafat@excellencenter.org. Whatsapp:+972599479880
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For more information, please visit our website: https://excellencenter.org
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