Eilat – Visitors Guide – Hotels, Attractions, and More

Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel, is located by the red sea. Besides beaches and water activities, you can find many additional attractions.

Map

Eilat is located between Aqaba (Jordan) and Taba (Egypt) on the red sea’s shore.

Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit

Interactive map of the area:

Two roads lead to this city, and they are #12 and #90. And the latter is far more popular. And if you are using public transport, then taking a bus is your only option.

Hotels

Let me start by saying that Israel is not a cheap country. And an average double room in Israel will cost about 880 NIS per night (see more data in Israel tourism statistics).

Depending on your budget, you can choose a luxury, regular or cheap hotel. An even more affordable option would be renting an apartment. You can find all these options at Best Hotels in Eilat.

And if you are visiting Eilat on a budget, you can stay at a campsite. You can find the following campsites: Neot Midbar Eilat, Solomon River campground, Campingplatz, Elifaz, Timna Park, and Hai-Bar Yotvata Nature Reserve.

Attractions

A drive from central Israel to Eilat takes about four hours. And many people, especially families with children, make at least one stop on the way. Thus, we will start by suggesting attractions on the way.

Attractions on the way

You can find the complete list at 41 Attractions on the way to Eilat.

Note: recently, we visited Eilat during the Hanukkah vacation. You can find additional details at Visiting Eilat During The Winter.

And now we will go through attractions near Eilat and in the city. The attractions are divided into categories, and the most popular places are marked in bold.

Animal Attractions

• Underwater Observatory Marine Park
• Dolphin Reef
• Eilat Coral Beach Nature Reserve
• Hai-Bar Yotvata Nature Reserve
• The International Birding & Research Center
• Sailing on a Boat at The Red Sea

Note: if you want to find additional info about animals and wildlife, check out Zoos and Aquariums in Israel‎.

Hikes and other activities

• Timna Park
• Red Canyon
• Camel Ranch
• Amram Pillars
• Diving and snorkeling in the Red Sea
• Join a Jeep tour
• Yotvata Park

Attractions inside Eilat

• Musical Fountain
• Ice Mall – a mall with an ice rink
• Botanical Garden Of Eilat
• Eilat Promenade and shopping in the city – I elaborated on these subjects in Visiting Eilat During The Winter.

Beaches

• Mosh Beach
• Princess Beach
• Migdalor Beach
• Dekel Beach
• Hananya Beach

Some beaches, like Hananya Beach, offer different water activities (like parasailing and banana boats).

Jordan and Egypt

Eilat has two border crossings. Many use the Israel – Jordan border crossing to get to the nearby city of Aqaba. And from there, it is only about a two-hour drive to Petra.

The Israel – Egypt border passage is called the Taba crossing after the nearby city. And the town of Taba is a frequent vacation spot.

Summary

As you can see, Eilat offers various attractions. And whether you love animals, hiking, or want to hit the beach, Eilat got you covered. I hope this guide will help you plan your next vacation, and if you have any questions, leave a comment below.

What is your favorite attraction in the Eilat area? Tell us in the comments below.

That’s all for today, and I’ll see you in future travels!

Stay Tuned!

Additional Resources

Here are several resources that I created to help travelers:

• Trip Planner with Attractions and Itineraries is the page that will help you create your perfect travel route.
• What is the Best Time to visit Israel? To answer this question, we will consider the weather, prices, holidays, festivals, and more.
• Information and Tips for Tourists to Israel will answer the most common questions tourists have about Israel (including safety, passports, weather, currency, tipping, electricity, and much more).
• Israel National Parks and Nature Reserves include a complete list, top ten, map, tickets (Israel Pass, Matmon, combo), and campsites.
• If you are looking for things to do, here are the pages for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea Of Galilee, Akko (Acre), Eilat, Nazareth, Safed (Tzfat), and Makhtesh Ramon.