The Definition of Shabbat

Shabbat, or Sabbath, starts from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Public transportation stops from 3 PM on Friday to 9 PM on Saturday.  It’s possible that you just found the cheapest air ticket to Israel… because you are arriving on Shabbat hours!

Transportation Option From Tel Aviv

By the way, Tel Aviv is only 15km to the airport! These are the options that you have on a Shabbat, and how to arrange them.

1.NEW!Abraham’s Airport Shuttle

This is a new service from Abraham Tours, a well-reputed tour company in Israel. The shuttle bus leaves every 2 hours, on every day including Shabbat. You need to book at least 12 hours ahead. Expect to pay ₪70 ($20).

2.Taxi

From the airport, you will see taxis from the taxi stand, expect to pay ₪150 ($40).  There’s no sherut (shared taxi) option.

From Tel Aviv, just ask your hotel reception to assist you in getting a taxi.

3.Flo Taxi?

The other option is by taking Flo Shuttle. It costs $17 per head and you should book advance online. But people don’t recommend it on TripAdvisor as they never show up. So it looks like from on their website, they no longer offer the Airport to Tel Aviv route.

Transportation Option From Jerusalem

Jerusalem is 52km to the airport! These are the options that you have on a Shabbat, and how to arrange them.

1. Sherut Taxi (Cheapest Option)

Since there is no public transportation option on Shabbat, your next option is taking a sherut taxi. It’s like a mini-van, and they do school bus style.

From the airport, you will see sherut taxis from the taxi stand, expect to pay ₪69($19). Or you can pay online (₪75) to Abraham Tours in advance, the taxi will drop you to Abraham Hostel in downtown Jerusalem.

From Jerusalem, just ask your hotel reception to assist you in arranging a sherut pickup.

2.Taxi

From the airport, you will see taxis from the taxi stand, expect to pay ₪273($80). (On regular days it is ₪228)

From Jerusalem, just ask your hotel reception to assist you in getting a taxi.

3.Airport Bus 485

Though there’s no train on Friday, the 485 airport bus runs till 2-3pm. Check their website for schedule. And the bus resumes service on Saturday around 7 pm. A ride costs 16NIS.

Conclusion

If you haven’t booked your air ticket, try not to arrive on a Shabbatas your transportation options are limited to private services. But it’s not the end of the world, as you only need to pay a bit more to hire taxi.

Why Using an App to Call a Taxi?

It can get problematic getting an honest taxi driver in Israel who don’t take advantage of tourists. Maybe this is an universal problem, and the reason why  Taxi Apps are popular in many places. For example, refusing to turn on meter, taking a longer route, taking you to another destination etc.

Taxi Fare Calculator

The meter rate in Israel is the same, whether you use Gett Taxi App. You can estimate your fare from Taxi Fare Finder. I find it to be accurate. (The estimation from Google Maps is accurate too)

So in Tel Aviv, for a 3 km distance, and 13 minutes ride, I was charged 41.2NIS.

Registration Steps

Find “Gett” from Playstore.

Download it…. and it will automatically change to the Israeli version, if you are in Israel.

Skip skip skip.

And then you need to have an Israeli number to register. A text for verification will be sent. You can start using your account after successful verification. No credit card info needed.

Getting a Taxi by Gett

Choose your car type. I have no idea how to use Gett Delivery. I chose Gett Express. And then you can pre-order taxi, choose your location and destination.

This was my driver. He didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Arabic. But Gett connected us.

While waiting, you can find out more info on your driver. He only started using Gett 5 days ago…. but well, I only started using Gett like 5 minutes ago. I think it makes sense if he has more issues in trusting me.

My Experience Riding with Gett in Tel Aviv

I kept waiting and waiting. It was supposed to be 4 minutes but I waited for 10 minutes because of traffic. In the mean while, 2 taxis passed by and I had to wait for my Gett taxi which seemed like it would never show up at that time. But when he did come, the advantage of using Gett revealed. He clearly knows where I was going because of this app!

The driver used a regular meter. The base fare was 11.5NIS. And it seemed like every 10 seconds of waiting then 1NIS accumulates to the fare.

By the way, in Israel the best navigation is Waze, not Google.

However I don’t get Waze. I still like Google Maps.

This is my recept. The driver orally told me it was 41NIS. I couldn’t see my receipt on the app. So after paying, it appeared later on.

(Failed) My Experience Riding with Gett in Jerusalem

On shabbat, it’s so hard to get a taxi. And I failed 2 times. In the end I had to bargain to get a taxi. 2 km, and I paid 50NIS. So expensive.

Final Verdict

If you need to get a taxi in Israel, use Gett. It’s much easier than haggling!