Eilat Travel Guide: Epic Things to Do In Israel

August 22, 2019

At the southern tip of Israel, on the coast of the Red Sea lies the resort town of Eilat. I had heard about this amazing destination, but unfortunately did not make it there on my first trip to Israel. On my second trip, I decided

this was a must-visit, and I’m so glad we made the trip down there this time, because Eilat is the perfect place to both relax but also have some epic experiences. If you’re interested in learning more about the amazing things you can do and see while in this city, keep on readin!

If you missed my first installment of my Israel trip, make sure you give it a read! Haifa is a super under-rated city in Israel and I highly recommend you add it to your itinerary when visiting this country!

Things to see on your way to Eilat….

I’m not going to sugar coat it for you…Eilat is a little out of the way as far as Israel geography goes. Yes, its a tiny country, but this city is on the very southern tip and not super close to any of the other major cities/landmarks, so you really do have to go there with intention. It is about a 4 hour roadtrip from Jerusalem. You can either rent a car, which isn’t an issue because all the street signs also have English on them, take a bus, or you can catch a flight as they have a small airport there. I recommend driving yourself, because that way you have your own transportation and you can see some really cool sights on your way in, such as Neot Semadar!

Neot Semadar: The Artsiest Kibbutz

First of….I mean first of all let’s just talk for a second about this place. I saw a photo of Neot Semadar on Instagram while scrolling looking for inspiration for my own trip (I talk about this in my packing for Israel video, make sure to check that out!) and came across photos of this place and my jaw DROPPED.

fantasy desert architecture at Neot Semadar in Israel

This is a kibbutz located north of Eilat, which honestly shocked me because when I hear the word “kibbutz,” it doesn’t make me think of epic, fantasy-like structures like this one. Neot Semadar was founded in 1989 by a group of friends interested in creating a learning community that focuses on cooperation and creativity in daily life. They focus on organic farming, desert architecture, water recycling, and the art center which you see here. They also have a winery! This art center has a program of courses and seminars on a regular basis. Many of those who live in this kibbutz are artists and all the residents participated in the construction of this building, which took about 15 years to build. Its definitely an epic photo opportunity!

Timna National Park

Located about 17 miles north of Eilat in the Negev Desert, Timna National Park is a majestic national park with ancient history and geology. This region was where the ancient Egyptians discovered copper. As you may know if you paid attention in history class, copper was the first metal used to create tools, weapons, and other objects, so this area was incredibly important to the ancient world. You can see the ancient copper mines and mining shafts throughout the park. I’ve always been fascinated with ancient Egypt, so it was really something else to visit this park and try to imagine what it was like thousands of years ago.

While you could easily spend a whole day here, we went straight to the site of Solomon’s Pillars, one of many unique geological sandstone formations to be seen throughout the park. This valley was once covered in water, and these formations are due to water’s erosion as the water levels dropped over the course of many years.

Solomon's Pillars in Timna National Park, Israel

If you are a lover of hiking or biking, Timna is a great destination for both these activities, and there are trails of all different lengths and skill levels. As this park is pretty massive, its best to enter the park via car and drive around. You can also book a tour. Tourist Israel has some great tips on different ways to see Timna, so I highly recommend checking out there site for more info on this.

Where we stayed in Eilat…

Ok, so we got to stay at William’s Guest House during our stay in Eilat, and I can’t recommend this place enough. I will say that you NEED to make sure that as soon as you know what dates you’ll be staying in Eilat, book this place right away, because it is a small Airbnb style place and they only have a couple guest houses, one of which is a Moroccan Yurt! Because we didn’t book enough in advance, we did not get the yurt, so that’s why I’m telling you to book this place ASAP! William’s Guest House is a beautiful, peaceful oasis just outside the city and the owners of this place are so nice and live on site. If you’re looking for accommodations that aren’t the massive high-rises on the beach, this place is for you!

Epic Bucket List item: Eilat Dolphin Reef

One thing you definitely need to do when you visit Eilat is visit the Dolphin Reef! I think swimming with dolphins was the first thing I ever put on my bucket list of life when I was about 5 years old and my mom told me I had to wait till I was a strong enough swimmer. Here I am, age 31, crossing this amazing experience off my list! We originally booked ourselves to snorkel with the dolphins, but they convinced us to pay a little extra and scuba dive instead. As soon as they suggested this, I was both excited and filled with fear…I’ve never done scuba before so I was freaked out.

Swimming with dolphins at Dolphin Reef, Eilat

My sisters and I decided go for it, despite being a little scared, and the instructors at the Dolphin Reef make sure that you know exactly what to do and you also have your own scuba instructor who literally holds your hand the entire time to make sure you’re ok. When I first went underwater, I did slightly freak out and thought I couldn’t do it, because honestly breathing underwater is hella weird, but I made myself take deep breaths in and out and concentrated on my breathing as if I was in yoga class, and that really helped me! Now I am so glad we went the scuba rather than the snorkel route, because you get so much closer to the dolphins and the beautiful coral reefs. Make sure you check out my youtube video for footage of this, it was such an amazing experience!

Even if you don’t want to get wet, you can still come to the Dolphin Reef just to hang out by the water; its a great beach just to come hang out at for the day! They also have floating platforms you can walk out on to see the dolphins up close without getting in the water. The great thing about this place is that the dolphins are not in captivity, they are able to come and go from the Dolphin Reef area into the Red Sea as they please.

Yachting on the Red Sea: How do you say “Bougie” in Hebrew?

Seriously though, what is more bougie than having your own private yacht tour of the Red Sea? We took off from the marina, well stocked with snacks and wine, and it was such a fun day out on the water! You get a much better view of Aqaba, Jordan, (which is right across the water)and there’s a spot in the middle of the Gulf of Eilat where you can be in the waters of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia all at once. We jammed to some awesome music and caught some sun and took a dip in the impossibly blue water. To top it all off, on our way back in we even had some dolphins come say hello, which was really cool!

dolphins swimming in the red sea Israel flag

Off-Roading in the Desert: Taking a Jeep Tour in the Eilat Mountains

girls in backseat of jeep in eilat mountains

Yet another epic thing you can do in Eilat is take a Jeep tour into the Eilat mountains. This is definitely for people who love to go off-roading and see the surrounding nature and views of the desert. We were picked up by our driver at our hotel in the coolest jeep. Before heading out on our adventure, we stopped for beers, which I would highly recommend doing because when else can you drink a beer in the backseat of a jeep while winding through the mountains??? I was’t driving! Please note, if you’ve got back problems, this might not be your ideal activity as the ride is super bumpy, but its so much fun. We stopped several times for our driver to point out different wildlife and explain different geological rock formations. He knew all the best views for us to get incredible photos and we finished off the tour by taking in the sunset from the top of the mountains.