So, you’ve booked your plane tickets and your hotels. Your passport is up to date and you’ve bought all the items on your packing list. It’s just a few days till you’re enjoying sunrise hikes up Masada and sunset swims in the the Mediterranean. You’ll drink Turkish coffee under the stars and sip wine in the Galilee mountains. But, before the magic happens, there are still a few things you can do to make your Israeli adventure run as smoothly as possible.
1. Pango for Parking
Israelis love their technology, and they really love their phones. So, it’s no surprise that parking meters have gone the way of subway tokens and public phones.
So how do you pay for on-street parking? How do you even know if on-street parking is permitted? If the curb is not painted or painted a Zionist blue and white, you’re safe to park
Downloaded Pango, Israel’s most popular parking app. Just enter your credit card and the license plate of your rental car and you’re good to go.
2. Xe.com currency converter
You’re in the shuk (outdoor market). You see a gorgeous scarf. You ask the stall owner how much it is. Twenty shekels. Uh oh. Is that a good price? Is it a bad price? How do I know. No worries. Just download xe.com ahead of time and you’ll have up-to-the-minute currency conversions at your fingertips.
3. WAZE-Real Time Directions
Did you know that this world famous driving app was developed in Israel? It’s the preferred driving app for Israelis from the Golan to Eilat. It takes just a minute to download this free app and there’s an English option so Hebrew proficiency is not needed.
4. Gett-Taxi
So, you don’t want to compete with Israeli drivers? No problem. Just download the Gett taxi app and you can call a taxi day or night. It’s easy to use and since payment is via credit card, you don’t have to worry about whether you have enough cash.
5. Moovit – Public transportation, Moovit will tell you which bus or train can get you from point A to point B. It will also tell you departure times so you can plan your trip ahead of time.