Can you see jerusalem from bethlehem

Bethlehem is located on the West Bank, which is part of the Palestinian Territories. Although Bethlehem is only 10 km 6 miles away from Jerusalem, Israeli citizens cannot visit it. Similarly, Palestinian citizens also have very restricted access into Israel.

On the other hand, tourists are free to enter and exit the checkpoint from Jerusalem to Bethlehem without any restrictions. Crossing over to Bethlehem is pretty safe for tourists. The town is a big attraction and the Palestinian authorities go to great lengths to make it safe to visit. You just need to bring their passport with an Israeli-issued tourist visa to enter and exit the Palestinian areas.

You can visit Bethlehem either with a group tour, or independently. If you want to visit independently, you have two options for crossing over from Jerusalem to Bethlehem: by bus or by taxi. Car rental companies in Israel do not insure your car for driving inside the Palestinian territories, so if you get into an accident, or the car gets stolen, you are not covered. The cheapest way travel from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is by bus.

The Arab bus No. Another option is to take a taxi from any place in Jerusalem. If you choose to hire a cab, make sure you agree with the driver ahead of time about the price. If you want peace of mind and minimum hassle at the checkpoint into the West Bank, you should book a group guided tour. There are several tour companies that offer day trips to Bethlehem guided tours from many points in Israel, like Abraham Tours, Tourist Israel, or Tours by Locals.

Many people visit Bethlehem as a day trip from Tel Aviv , or Eilat. However, since Jerusalem is the closest city to Bethlehem, all tours that start in other cities, change busses in Jerusalem to cross over to Bethlehem.

The Palestinian territory does not have its own currency. I even drove to Ramallah on a Sunday afternoon. Went through the check point with no issues. I am planning on going again this year. My concern now, is that Google Maps used to provide driving directions from Jerusalem to the any number of cities in the West Bank, but now they don't. I wonder why? Israeli rental companies do not allow you to take their cars into Bethlehem or anywhere else in the Palestinian Authority.

As you found out, you were not physically stopped. However, you are in breach of contract if you take the car there. And your insurance will NOT cover you there. If you want to drive legally in both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, rent a car from a company in East Jerusalem that will allow you to do so. But these are small companies that probably do not have a website in English or at all. As said, had you been in an accident you would have had no insurance.

Had the car been stolen, you would have owed the rental agency the full cost of a new vehicle. If you were using your credit card for part of the insurance ,that would have been invalid because a credit card will nit pay when you break the terms of a contract.

Rent next time from an East Jerusalem agency. Have to repeat what others have said - the fact that you were not stopped by police has nothing to do with the legality of what you did or didn't do - it is not their responsibility to make sure you follow the terms of your contract - which you didn't. You were lucky that nothing happened - otherwise you would have had a very unpleasant and super expensive surprise. BTW, you indicated that locals told you that you couldn't take a car with Israeli plates into Bethlehem.

Actually, as said, it should have been a rental vehicle. Vehicles owned by individuals who can legally enter usually make sure to have the appropriate insurance. Arab cab drivers, which describes a huge percentage of cabbies in Jerusalem.

However, a private car can be arranged to collect you from your address and escort you to the city of Bethlehem. Vehicles of all sizes are available from 3-passenger cars to big buses depending on group size, and is available every day.

Check here for transfers from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. There is a public bus service from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and two possible ways to get there by bus. Bus 21 is the most popular, there is no timetable available but service is frequent.

The cost is around 5 NIS, and journey time varies there can be lengthy delays as this local route does not bypass the queues at checkpoints as tourist transport usually does. Spicy See All. Summer in Tel Aviv: the sexy… and the not so sexy! Shabbat in Tel Aviv: what to expect…. Tours See All.

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