My experience entering Israel as a vaccinated tourist
Update (11/29/2021): Israel has closed its borders to all tourists for at least two weeks due to the Omicron variant. As we learn more information about the variant and Israel's reopening plans, we'll update the story below.
The last time I visited Israel, I was locked in my hotel room for 36 hours.
On Dec. 11, 2020, I arrived at an eerily quiet Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Of the handful of passengers who flew on the 318-seat United 787-10 Dreamliner with me, most were Israelis returning home from a visit to friends and family abroad.
I was one of the few foreigners who had received special permission from the government to enter the country. I was about to fly on the historic first commercial flight between Tel Aviv and Dubai, and had planned a 36-hour layover in Israel to make sure I wouldn't miss it.
I stayed at one of the only open hotels at the time, the Intercontinental David Tel Aviv, and had three entire floors to myself. It was just me and some airline flight crew. Across the street from my hotel was a government-run quarantine hotel, where most inbound passengers were forced to stay for two weeks. I could see them waving at me from their balconies.
It was a strange time — especially compared to my last "normal" visit to Israel in October 2019 — but one that I'll never forget.
In fact, it was those memories of my 36-hour quarantine that made me even more excited to visit Israel as soon as it reopened to the world.
As a Jew, it felt weird to be shut out of Israel, "my" country, for nearly two years. When I learned that Israel was officially reopening on Nov. 1, I knew I needed to get there.
How would the country change? And what would it take to pull off a mid-pandemic trip? You're about to find out.
Requirements to enter Israel
Tourists who would like to visit Israel must satisfy certain criteria to be eligible for entry. This includes being either fully vaccinated (with a booster dose, for most people), or providing proof they have recently recovered from COVID-19 (excluding those who've recovered in the U.S.).
There are many intricacies and additional conditions to entry, all of which I cover in my detailed guide to visiting Israel as a vaccinated tourist.
Be sure to check it out as a refresher, and continue reading for what it was like to actually travel to and enter Israel.
Entering Israel as a vaccinated tourist
My journey to Israel began at New York’s JFK Airport with a flight on American Airlines.
The first (and only) document check I had was at the check-in desk in New York. There, I was asked to present my entry declaration form, along with my negative PCR test and green pass.
Israel requires all inbound travelers to present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure. Additionally, you must fill out an online entry form with your health information and travel itinerary.
After completing the entry declaration, you’ll receive a email that contains a confirmation of submission, along with a green pass that you’ll use to enter indoor restaurants and attractions once in Israel. (Note that I discuss these documents at length in my reopening guide.)
After the check-in agent confirmed with her supervisor that these documents were sufficient, she printed my boarding pass — and none of these papers were checked again.
In fact, my vaccine card was never checked throughout the process.
At the gate and on the plane, the only items that were needed were my passport and boarding pass.
The same was true once I landed.
The first stop was to clear passport control, which had been relocated since my last visit through Ben Gurion Airport.
There are now individual border entry kiosks located at each pier of gates that require a scan of your passport photo page and a quick picture. You’re then issued an entry permit in the form of a small card, which replaces a stamp in your passport.
Once you receive an entry permit, you’ll walk down the ramp and into the arrivals area — the same process as before the pandemic.
The old passport control counters are still in use for foreigners, who will need to stop here for a quick interview where you’re asked the purpose of your trip and other travel details. (No questions were asked about my health or vaccine status.)
My interview lasted mere seconds, and I was issued a blue “gate pass” which allowed me to proceed into the baggage claim area.
Nothing had changed at baggage claim and customs. Throngs of people still searched for their bags around the carousels.
After I cleared customs, things finally started to look different.
The arrivals hall was closed to the public. All passengers were funneled directly into a COVID-19 testing site, which was located a few steps away in a massive banquet tent.
Those who didn’t prepay for their tests were required to stop at the cash register first. Everyone else could proceed directly into the testing site.
Even with over 70 stations for the tests, it was still a balagan – a mess. People didn’t know where to go or what to do.
Only one gentleman was on hand to control the crowd, yelling at folks to go to the next available counter. Families and groups approached the counters together, so I went searching for one without a line.
It didn’t take me long to arrive at counter 44. The nurse instructed me to take a seat and pull up my payment confirmation barcode.
He then scanned the barcode, verified my passport information and collected two swabs — both were taken from the mouth and then inserted in alternating nostrils. Thankfully, this wasn’t the type of test that tickles your brain.
He then broke the swabs into a test tube, sealed the package and dropped it into a bin that had, by my count, at least 30 other swabs in it.
The nurse then put a paper bracelet on my right wrist and told me to expect results in about a day.
I stopped for a second to get a sense of the volume that this testing site handles — I counted over 40 passengers entering the tent in the course of one minute.
Assuming that pace continues for an hour (and it did for the 10 minutes I waited), that’s 2,400 PCR tests per hour.
The final step was showing my bracelet to the guard stationed by the terminal exit. From there, I was free to enter Israel and head straight to my quarantine location.
For a country that locked its borders for over a year and a half, the entry process was seamless. The online pre-travel forms were self-explanatory and the entry process moved quickly.
It took me under 45 minutes from the moment the plane door opened until I was in the taxi on the way to my hotel.
As mentioned, the most surprising part was that none of my health documents were examined after checking in at JFK. (Israel notes that it performs “random document inspections” upon arrival.)
What it’s like in Israel
After leaving the airport, I headed to my hotel in Tel Aviv, where I'd spend (at most) the first day of my trip.
Israel's quarantine regulations require that all inbound travelers isolate for 24 hours or until receipt of a negative result from the PCR test taken at the airport.
My test was conducted at 6:39 p.m. local time, and I received the (negative) result in my email the next morning at 6:18 a.m. This 12-hour turnaround time was much faster than the stated 24-30 hours. I've heard from friends and other travelers that the Ben Gurion testing site is consistently underpromising and overdelivering on turnaround times.
Armed with my negative result, my first order of business was to walk around Tel Aviv – exactly what I longed to do as I stared out at the Mediterranean Sea nearly a year ago to the day.
My five-mile walk took me past some of Tel Aviv's most popular attractions, including the Azrieli Mall, Sarona Market, Dizengoff Square, Rothschild Boulevard and the old city of Jaffa.
The streets were teeming with activity. Israelis were out in full force.
It was rare to see someone wearing a mask outside. More people wore them indoors, but the majority of patrons were unmasked.
All other major COVID-19 regulations have been suspended as long as you have a green pass (tav yarok), which you’ll receive when filling out the online pre-departure form, as mentioned above.
Israel limits all indoor activities to those who’ve been vaccinated, recovered or recently tested negative through the country’s green pass system.
To access the indoor space at restaurants, museums, gyms and any other cultural institutions or attractions, you’ll need to present a valid green pass, along with photo identification (a foreign passport will suffice).
Though my green pass was checked at most restaurants I visited, I was only asked to show my passport at one establishment.
I've only been in Israel for two days, but I've been surprised at how few tourists I've seen. Places that would usually have long lines of tour buses (like the Carmel Market) were filled with locals and the occasional foreign family or group of friends.
I was especially surprised since nearly every flight I've monitored over the coming weeks from New York to Tel Aviv has been operating close to full capacity. Perhaps there's more pent-up demand from VFR traffic (visiting friends and relatives) than there is from tourists.
Either way, the country is alive and ready to welcome you, as hotels, shops, restaurants and cultural activities have all reopened.
Bottom line
What a difference a year — and three vaccine shots — can make. When I last visited Israel in late 2020, I was confined to my hotel room for my entire stay.
Israel officially reopened to tourists as of Nov. 1 with a multi-step process to enter the country. The quarantine period has been shortened to 24 hours (at most), and I was out exploring Tel Aviv within 12 hours of landing.
While the process might sound daunting on paper, I found it easy to follow.
Follow my how-to guide and planning a trip to Israel can once again become a reality.
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.